Little brother? North Carolina has a huge leg up on Duke over the last decade

Duke has been an unstoppable buzzsaw throughout March Madness, led by the Wooden Award winner and future No. 1 pick Cooper Flagg. That momentum came to a screeching halt in Saturday's Final Four, however, as Houston reeled off nine unanswered points in the game's final minute to pull out the improbable comeback victory.

RIP to the 2024-25 Blue Devils. You will be remembered fondly, for the most part.

This was a seismic, totemic meltdown from Duke. The essence of March is surprise, and folks across the globe were stunned into silence (or vociferous celebration) on Saturday. This Blue Devils team has been remarkably consistent all season, overwhelming teams with talent as well as execution. The Cougars weren't a team to mess with, however, and Duke's last-minute shenanigans propped the door wide open for a Kelvin Sampson team that never gives up.

Duke's fourth loss this season will be remembered for a long time. This sort of meltdown lives on in the collective conscience. Houston deserved this win, no doubt about it, but the Blue Devils controlled their own destiny in the second half. This was a collapse for the ages, and it will forever taint a memorable campaign.

It's also free fodder for North Carolina fans, who can continue to lord their March Madness success over unhappy Duke fans until further notice.

North Carolina's March Madness track record puts Duke in little brother territory

This was a challenging campaign for the Tar Heels faithful. Hubert Davis' squad paled in comparison to Duke from the jump. North Carolina registered a single Quad 1 win all season. When it came time for their second Quad 1 victory in the NCAA Tournament, UNC couldn't quite pull off the comeback as a No. 11 seed against No. 6 Ole Miss.

Such was life in the ACC. The entire conference underwhelmed aside from Duke. Jon Scheyer's squad cruised to the ACC Tournament title, even after Cooper Flagg went down with an ankle sprain. The gap between Duke and the second-best ACC team was oceanic.

And yet, in the history books, it is UNC that has dominated the last decade. At least in March.

Duke has a well-established recruiting edge, which won't let up soon. The Blue Devils had the No. 1 freshman class this season, led by a trio of projected top-10 picks in Cooper Flagg, Kon Knueppel, and Khaman Maluach. It will be the same next season, with the Boozer twins and five-star Shelton Henderson already committed.

That said, despite the recent skew in favor of Duke, both in terms of talent and success, that last decade has largely belonged to North Carolina. The Tar Heels have three trips to the championship round of the NCAA Tournament. Duke is still at zero under Jon Scheyer. Some of that is circumstantial, but the Blue Devils scored one field goal in the final 10 minutes of Saturday's crushing loss. That sort of collapse is indicative of something wrong at a team's core.

Duke will be very good in 2025-26. It's only a matter of time until Scheyer breaks through. But, these are the perils of relying so heavily on recruitment. Freshmen are volatile in March Madness. NIL has changed the game. Very few contenders can keep the same core together for years, but even so, Duke's recipe is a flawed one.

If UNC can bounce back next season, Duke fans won't hear the end of this.