A member of the Duke Blue Devils basketball team is blaming himself after a one-point loss to the UConn Huskies.
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"I ruined our team's season," Cayden Boozer said through tears after the game. "That's the best I can put it."
Boozer, a guard for the perennial championship contender, committed a turnover with six seconds remaining in the Elite Eight matchup against UConn. The Huskies took advantage of this miscue and secured the 73-72 win.
Here's what happened: Boozer had the ball as Duke held a 72-70 lead. All he needed to do to lock up a spot in the Final Four was get fouled. The freshmen chose a different path. He attempted a pass over two UConn defenders, but the ball never reached his target.
Cayden Boozer : 15 points on 4-5 shooting, 1-1 from 3, 6-6 from the FT line, 5 rebounds, 6 assists & 2 steals in 28 minutes (Threw the bad pass that led to Braylon Mullins' game-winning 3 with 0.4 seconds left) pic.twitter.com/1U5eY6BBOK
— Lee Harvey (@ben__zucker06) March 30, 2026
Silas Demary Jr. tipped the ball, which gave the Huskies the chance to recover. Freshman Braylon Mullins recovered the tipped pass and then sent the ball to two-time national champion Alex Karaban.
Karaban then fired a pass back to Mullins, who nailed a game-winning shot from the March Madness logo. This gave the Huskies a one-point lead with 0.3 seconds remaining in the game.
"I turned the ball over," Boozer said while sitting in front of his locker after the game. "I should have been strong with the ball. I cost our team our season."
Granted, this turnover is far from the only reason why the Blue Devils lost. It just became the moment that went viral on social media.
Duke had a 15-point lead at halftime, but UConn erased this with a furious second-half comeback. The Huskies outscored the Blue Devils 44-28 in the second half, including a free throw with 10 seconds left to set up Mullins' game-winning shot.
Duke now ends its season with a 35-3 record. The team fell short of the Final Four and an opportunity to play in the national championship.
UConn, however, will now face off with Illinois. The two teams will meet on Saturday at 6:09 p.m. ET. The winner will go on to face either Michigan or Arizona.
