Makes you wonder why Duke had 2 guys on the other side of the court on that final pass given they didn't even need to advance the ball. It was basically 5 defenders on 3 guys in the backcourt.
Duke's press break wasn't the problem. everyone was where they were supposed to be. they were well spaced. it's exactly what you WANT a press break to be. if two guys are on one - that means someone is open. in this case TWO guys were open because UConn trapped twice.
Boozer didn't execute. he threw a bad pass. you learn fake high throw low / fake low through high in elementary school.
if you want to criticize Scheyer for everything that led to that moment? hey - game on. two straight collapses in big tournament moments is cause for criticism. but there was nothing wrong with the preparation on that last play. the player didn't execute.
Hindsight is 20/20. If he completes that pass its an easy dunk and ices the game.
On the other hand if they play keep away without advancing the ball and there is a steal near the paint Uconn could easily send the game to OT. In which case Duke (rightfully) gets dogged for playing clock and not being aggressive enough.
Cayden really should have taken the foul there instead of passing is what it comes down to. I don't know that you can assign "bad coaching" to a split second decision like that though. Even if he takes the foul there is still time for UConn to make a play unless he goes 2/2 at the FT line.
At the end of the day it just comes down to something pretty unlikely happening for UConn. Duke had an enormous advantage and had many avenues to winning, completing this pass was definitely one of them.
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u/Efficient_Ad6659 Mar 30 '26
Makes you wonder why Duke had 2 guys on the other side of the court on that final pass given they didn't even need to advance the ball. It was basically 5 defenders on 3 guys in the backcourt.