A controversial foul called against Cooper Flagg loomed large over the final seconds of Saturday’s NCAA Tournament Final Four game between Duke and Houston.
With a spot in the national championship game on the line, the Blue Devils led the Cougars 67-66 in the closing moments inside the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas. Duke guard Tyrese Proctor got fouled and was awarded a one-and-one with under 20 seconds left in the contest.
Proctor missed the first free throw, leading to a mad scramble for the rebound. Flagg was whistled for a loose ball foul while battling with Houston forward J’Wan Roberts for the loose ball. The foul sent Roberts to the line, where he made both to give the Cougars their first lead of the second half.
🤯🤯🤯#MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/w9pDCcb7Dx
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) April 6, 2025
Here’s another angle of the foul called against Flagg. Even the CBS announcers felt the referees should have let the contest play on, especially given the game situation.
Houston heads to the line for a one-and-one, trailing by one, after this foul on Flagg. pic.twitter.com/xYkvA3vx1x
— CBS Sports (@CBSSports) April 6, 2025
The last thing spectators want is an iffy call completely changing the outcome of a big game. While many felt Duke still deserved most of the blame for its late meltdown, several fans and media members were left scratching their heads over the call on Flagg.
That was an absolute horrible foul call vs Cooper Flagg. No way. No way.
— Stephen A Smith (@stephenasmith) April 6, 2025
What a ludicrous foul call on Cooper Flagg
— Kevin O'Connor (@KevinOConnorNBA) April 6, 2025
That was an outrageous foul call on Cooper Flagg https://t.co/JcecVJmzdU
— Libaan Osman (@libaanstar1) April 6, 2025
The foul against Cooper Flagg was one of the worst calls of all-time. The refs gifted Houston easy points.
— Blaine (@BlainGrey) April 6, 2025
Flagg led all scorers with 27 points to go along with 7 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals, and 3 blocks. But his efforts were not enough to prevent Duke’s monumental collapse in the 70-67 loss to Houston.
