Grading Duke's Two Stunning NCAA Tournament Collapses

Let's grade Duke's two historic collapses across the last two NCAA Tournaments.

Mar 26, 2026; Washington, DC, USA; Duke Blue Devils head coach Jon Scheyer stands on the court during a practice session ahead of the east regional of the men's 2026 NCAA Tournament at Capital One Arena. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images | Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

For the second season in a row, the Duke Blue Devils saw their season end in crushing fashion, leaving the program and its fans in utter disbelief.

This time around, the Blue Devils blew a lead once as large as 19 points to 2-seed UConn in the Elite Eight. Duke was up 44-29 at the halftime break and boasted an 11-point advantage with just under eight minutes to go.

Mar 26, 2026; Washington, DC, USA; Duke Blue Devils center Patrick Ngongba (21) dribbles during a practice session ahead of the east regional of the men's 2026 NCAA Tournament at Capital One Arena. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images | Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

It all came crashing down in the final seconds, as most fans around college basketball have seen. Duke simply needed to inbound the basketball and wait to get fouled, but one rookie mistake by Cayden Boozer later, the ball found the hands of Braylon Mullins, and the rest was history.

The Blue Devil faithful don't have to look back too far to find the last time Duke underwent an utter collapse in the NCAA Tournament, as a similar scene unfolded in the 2025 Final Four against Houston.

Duke Blue Devils head coach Jon Scheyer yells down court Saturday, March 21, 2026, during the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament second round game against the TCU Horned Frogs at Bon Secours Wellness Arena in Greenville, South Carolina. | Alex Martin/Greenville News / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

All of Duke's four most recent losses have come as a result of blown double-digit leads in the second half. Let's grade the two collapses when it mattered most, in the NCAA Tournament. We'll grade them on an A-F scale, with "F" obviously being the worst.

Apr 5, 2025; San Antonio, TX, USA; Duke Blue Devils forward Cooper Flagg (2) walks off the court after losing to the Houston Cougars in the semifinals of the men's Final Four of the 2025 NCAA Tournament at the Alamodome. Mandatory Credit: Robert Deutsch-Imagn Images | Robert Deutsch-Imagn Images

2025 Final Four Against 1-Seed Houston: D-

Before Sunday night, this was up there for the worst collapse in the history of the NCAA Tournament.

The Blue Devils led the contest against the Cougars for 35 minutes and generated a lead as high as 14 points with just over eight minutes to go, but couldn't hang on.

Apr 5, 2025; San Antonio, TX, USA; Duke Blue Devils guard Kon Knueppel (7) walks off the court after losing to the Houston Cougars in the semifinals of the men's Final Four of the 2025 NCAA Tournament at the Alamodome. Mandatory Credit: Robert Deutsch-Imagn Images | Robert Deutsch-Imagn Images

Similar to 2026, once Houston brought full-court pressure in the final couple of minutes, Duke struggled to get the ball in bounds. It held a 66-59 lead with about a minute and a half to go, then threw it away.

The Blue Devils were outscored 11-1 over the final minute and change, falling 70-67. Duke became the first team in NCAA Tournament history (at least since 1986, when steals became official) to have a higher field-goal percentage, more assists, more free-throw attempts, more steals, and fewer turnovers than its opponent and still lose the game.

Apr 5, 2025; San Antonio, TX, USA; Houston Cougarsguard L.J. Cryer (4) controls the ball against Duke Blue Devils guard Tyrese Proctor (5) during the second half in the semifinals of the men's Final Four of the 2025 NCAA Tournament at the Alamodome. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-Imagn Images | Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

Teams that checked those boxes were 335-0 before Duke crumbled.

Mar 29, 2026; Washington, DC, USA; Duke Blue Devils forward Cameron Boozer (12) talks to Blue Devils center Patrick Ngongba (21) during a stoppage in play against the UConn Huskies in the second half during an Elite Eight game of the East Regional of the men's 2026 NCAA Tournament at Capital One Arena. Mandatory Credit: Amber Searls-Imagn Images | Amber Searls-Imagn Images

2026 Elite Eight Against 2-Seed UConn: F-

It's still fresh, but Duke's collapse on Sunday night could be the worst loss in Duke basketball history. The Blue Devils held a lead as large as 19 points in the first half and were up by 15 heading into the half. Jon Scheyer's club held a 15-point lead at half, a 17-point lead with just over 17 minutes to play, an 11-point lead with under eight to play, and a five-point lead with under two to play.

Then, it all came crashing down in a moment that will live in college hoops infamy.

Mar 29, 2026; Washington, DC, USA; Duke Blue Devils guard Dame Sarr (7) makes a layup against the UConn Huskies in the second half during an Elite Eight game of the East Regional of the men's 2026 NCAA Tournament at Capital One Arena. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images | Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

Duke broke UConn's first trap, and Boozer simply had to hold onto the ball and wait to get fouled. Instead, tragedy struck.

The Blue Devils' 2025 defeat was more of a drawn-out collapse, and although UConn spent the entire second half trimming the deficit, Duke was still in control with 10 seconds left and couldn't get it done.

Jon Scheyer and the Duke bench watching Braylon Mullins' last-second heroics pic.twitter.com/rePQvtTlIB

— CBS Sports College Basketball 🏀 (@CBSSportsCBB) March 30, 2026

The Huskies held two leads throughout the entirety of the contest: 2-0 and 73-72. Previously, 1-seeds in the NCAA Tournament that held a 15-point or larger halftime lead were 134-0.