Grading Duke's Two Stunning NCAA Tournament Collapses

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.