Former Boilers: Duke's Mason Gillis Hit With Flagrant Foul in Final Four
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Mason Gillis is playing in his second straight Final Four, this time in a Duke uniform. And in Saturday night's semifinal clash with Houston, the former Purdue forward and Big Ten Sixth Man of the Year was hit with a flagrant foul.
In the second half of Saturday's Final Four game, Gillis was assessed a Flagrant 1 after his arm caught Houston's Joseph Tugler in the face. Cougars star LJ Cryer knocked down a three-pointer on the play and officials reviewed the contact Gillis made on Tugler.
After a few minutes at the review screen, officials confirmed the play warranted a Flagrant 1.
24-year-old Mason Gillis with the MMA spinning blind elbow on Joseph Tugler. #FinalFour
— The Whole Delivery (@TWDTV1) April 6, 2025
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It doesn't appear as though Gillis intentionally hit Tugler, but with contact above the shoulders, officials will almost always call a Flagrant 1.
At that point in the game, Duke owned a 59-45 lead. Cryer's three-pointer cut the lead down to just 11 points. Cryer then made one free throw and a basket to make the score 59-51.
Houston went on a 25-8 run to overcome a 14-point deficit and defeat Duke 70-67. The Cougars will advance to the National Championship Game to play Florida.
Gillis transferred to Duke after the 2023-24 season at Purdue, in which he won a Big Ten regular season title and reached the National Championship Game. In his lone season with the Blue Devils, Gillis has averaged 4.2 points and 2.6 rebounds per game.
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Dustin Schutte is the publisher of Purdue Boilermakers on SI and has spent more than a decade working in sports journalism. His career began in 2013, when he covered Big Ten football. He remained in that role for eight years before working at On SI to cover the Boilermakers. Dustin graduated from Manchester University in Indiana in 2010, where he played for the men's tennis team.
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