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Jay Bilas Assigns Blame For Duke's Epic Final Four Collapse

Originally posted on The Spun | By Hunter Hodies | Last updated Apr 8, 2025 10:47 AM ET

Florida won its first national title in men's college basketball since 2007 on Monday night over Houston.

After being down by as many as 12, Florida rallied to win by a basket, 65-63. Houston had a chance to win on its final possession but couldn't get a clean look off.

Will Richard led the Gators in scoring with 18 points and Walter Clayton Jr. finished with 11 points after being held scoreless in the first half.

Duke was in the driver's seat to play Florida in Monday's National Championship Game until it blew a 14-point lead with eight minutes left to Houston in the Final Four.

It was a choke of epic proportions and ESPN's Jay Bilas thinks it was because Duke wasn't experienced enough in close games.

"I thought the biggest factor in the game was the fact that Duke was inexperienced in close games and that's where I felt the ACC really let them down," Bilas said on College GameDay. "Everybody else in this Final Four had played games that came down to the wire day after day and game after game, and it reminded me of 1991 when Duke was playing UNLV in the National Semifinal. UNLV was undefeated ... but they hadn't played in a close game."

Duke had blown out a lot of teams in its wins this year and had not played in a close game very often. Houston took advantage of that and made the stops it needed to make down the stretch while also chipping away at that lead.

This was a big missed opportunity for Duke since this was one of the school's best teams in recent memory. The Blue Devils may not have Cooper Flagg for the 2025-26 season since he is projected to be the top pick in the 2025 NBA Draft if he declares.

He was great during the season, averaging 19.2 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 4.2 assists per game.

This article first appeared on The Spun and was syndicated with permission.

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