The No. 1 seeded Houston Cougars were defeated by No. 4 Duke with a 54-51 win in the Sweet 16 of the men’s NCAA tournament on Friday, making them the second top seed to go home early.
The Cougars faced a tough break in the first half after star guard Jamal Shead left the game with an ankle injury and did not return. After the game, the CBS broadcast showed Duke players consoling Shead, who was sitting on the bench.
The Blue Devils were led by forward Kyle Filipowski, who finished the game with 16 points and nine rebounds.
The Cougars are the second top seed to go home early, after No. 1 North Carolina lost to No. 4 Alabama in the Sweet 16 on Thursday. The two other No. 1 seeds - UConn and Purdue both booked their spots in the Elite Eight.
Duke heads to its first Elite Eight under head coach Jon Scheyer and its first appearance in the post-Mike Krzyzewski era. Krzyzewski, known as ‘Coach K,’ retired in 2022 after 42 years as Duke’s head coach. He is the all-time winningest coach in men’s Division I college basketball.
For Duke, this is the 24th Elite Eight appearance in the program’s history, matching Kansas for the third most times getting that far, and trailing only Kentucky (38) and North Carolina (29).
Duke will face Atlantic Coach Conference foes No. 11 North Carolina State on Sunday at the American Airlines Center in Dallas.
Scheyer, who is in his second season at the helm, reminisced on what he learned from Krzyzewski playing under him and being on his staff as a coach.
“Coach K has prepared me for moments like this one because we’ve been in so many games like this together, starting when I was a player for four years, but then being on staff with him for 10 or 11 years,” Scheyer told reporters after the game.
“I’m beyond fortunate to have learned from him as a player and as a coach just the amount of situations you’re in together. I could go on and on. Being down in a game, being up, just learning how to win, that’s the biggest thing I’ve learned from him.”
