Three Thoughts on Houston’s 54-51 Loss To Duke
The Houston Cougars lost to the Duke Blue Devils, 54-51, in a Sweet 16 game in the NCAA Tournament in Dallas, Texas, on Friday.
Just about everyone will talk about the loss of Houston (32-5) point guard Jamal Shead, who was the Big 12 Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year. His ankle injury, suffered in the first half, changed the direction of the game.
But, even without Shead, Houston fought, just as it did when it lost its lead to Texas A&M in the second round and gritted its way to a win in overtime, in spite of four players having fouled out.
But, this time, Houston couldn’t find a way. LJ Cryer finished with 15 points and J’Wan Roberts added 13 points. Duke’s (27-8) Jeremy Roach had 14 points in the second half while Kyle Filipowski led the Blue Devils with 16 points.
Here are three thoughts on the game.
LOSING SHEAD
Jamal Shead’s ankle injury with 6:38 left in the first half was one of the game’s turning points. The Cougars were in the lead and in control, although they certainly hadn’t put the Blue Devils in the rear-view mirror. As Shead went up for a lay-up he severely twisted his right ankle. If you watched the replay you could see him start to feel the pain as he went up to take the shot.
Trainers helped him off the floor and he went straight to the locker room to be evaluated. Shortly after, CBS reporter Tracy Wolfson reported that he was questionable and would not return in the first half. Duke was up one point, 23-22, at the half.
So, for about 20 minutes, we waited to find out if Shead would return or not. Actually, we only had to wait less than 10 minutes to see Shead wheeling himself out of the locker room on a push scooter. It didn’t look good.
He led his team out to start the second half but wasn’t on the floor. The good news is the X-ray on his ankle was negative. The Cougars ruled it a severely sprained ankle and taped it heavily. They left the door open for him to return.
He had two points, three assists and two steals when he left the game.
A GRITTY SECOND HALF
Duke had the momentum as the half started, but it was never clear if the Blue Devils fully grasped it. Duke led, but never put Houston away. At one point the Cougars were down six and it looked like the Blue Devils might start to pull away.
But, without Shead, the Cougars found a way to keep it close.
Mylik Wilson is not a point guard, but he took over the role in Shead’s place so that guards L.J. Cryer and Emanuel Sharp could work. It definitely helped Cryer, who hit Houston’s first 3-pointer of the game in the second half.
Forward J’Wan Roberts had another huge game, at times playing well outside of the paint and even stealing a pass on the wing that helped set up free throws for himself on the next possession.
Ramon Walker Jr., the guard who was supposed to miss the rest of the season when he suffered a knee injury in February, hit just his seventh 3-pointer of the season in the second half.
The thing is, Duke stepped up its defense, too. The Blue Devils extended it into the backcourt to ensure that Cryer and Emanuel Sharp had little room to shoot 3’s. It forced the Cougars to work even more through Roberts, a matchup the Blue Devils clearly liked even though Roberts and Blue Devils forwards Ryan Young and Filipowski fought to no worse than a draw.
THE FINAL CLIMB?
Duke led 52-48 with 2:58 at the final television timeout. Duke’s Mark Mitchell had just traveled underneath his basket while trying to make a basket, so coming out of the time out Houston had the ball.
After cutting the lead to two points several times, this was the time for Houston to either make that final climb to a tie or the lead or spend the rest of the game chasing Duke.
They spent the rest of the game chasing. Tyrese Proctor stole the ball from Cryer on the next possession, but Duke failed to get a shot up on the other end.
Then, Houston missed two shots for points on the other end, giving Duke another chance to open up the lead. This time, Jeremy Roach hit a mid-range jumper to push Duke’s lead to six points with 1:13 left.
Houston had gone more than three minutes without a point. Emanuel Sharp changed it with an old-fashioned three-point play as he drew a foul on a drive to the basket with 48 seconds left.
Duke had a chance to ice the game but Filipowski’s 10-footer rimmed in and out and Houston rebounded. Head coach Kelvin Sampson called timeout with 16 seconds left and Houston needed a 3-pointer or 3-point play to tie.
Cryer drove for a lay-up but missed and the ball went out of bounds on Duke with 8.9 seconds left. Sharp got the inbounds pass and worked for a 3-pointer but his shot hit the front of the rim and Duke held on.
In spite of the grit the Cougars showed to stay in the game without Shead, Houston couldn’t make that final climb.
Now, all they can think about is what might have been had Shead not gotten hurt.
You can find Matthew Postins on Twitter @PostinsPostcard.
