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Referees Under Fire For Controversial Cooper Flagg Call In Duke’s Final Four Loss

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Robert Marvi | Last updated Apr 6, 2025 12:15 AM ET

Duke seemed to be on its way to a relatively routine win in the NCAA men's Final Four on Saturday against the Houston Cougars. But Houston made a miraculous late rally and knocked off the Blue Devils by a final score of 70-67.

A key play came with 19 seconds left and Duke clinging to a 67-66 lead. When Tyrese Proctor missed a free throw, Blue Devils star Cooper Flagg was called for a loose ball foul, which resulted in two successful free throws for J'Wan Roberts.

The call appeared to be of the ticky-tack nature, and plenty of fans on X felt it should've been a non-call.

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

"Game altering call," one user posted. "Egregious"

"Not a foul… Never will be a foul…" another user wrote.

"[Expletive] call and I am not a Duke fan," a third user wrote.

"I bet my children's college savings on this man," one user quipped.

"Cost them a championship," another user said. "With how physical they allowed them to play, that was soo soft"

"Tim Donaghy would be proud," another user said.

Flagg has been considered the best player in the nation all season long, and he's widely expected to be the first player taken in this summer's NBA draft.

But despite logging 27 points, seven rebounds, four rebounds, three blocks and two steals, he didn't deliver down the stretch. His shooting cooled off in the second half, and he missed a jumper with eight seconds left that would've given Duke the lead.

Instead, the Cougars will be playing for the national championship against Florida on Monday.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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