Inside Duke's history of choking under Jon Scheyer, from UConn collapse to Houston disaster

Replacing a legend isn't easy, regardless of a school's prestige or resources. By all accounts, Jon Scheyer has filled Mike Krzyzewski's shoes about as well as Duke could have hoped.

Scheyer is 124-25 through four seasons in Durham, including 70-6 over the last two seasons with three consecutive trips to the Elite Eight to his name. Even under the weight of heavy expectations, the Blue Devils put together back-to-back masterful regular seasons and were rarely caught sleeping.

In the NCAA Tournament, the exits have been particularly painful for Duke. The Blue Devils lost a double-digit lead on their way to elimination in 2024, 2025 and 2026. Whether fair or not, those collapses are part of a growing narrative that Scheyer's talented teams are prone to March — and April — meltdowns.

Here's a look at each of Duke's biggest blown leads under Scheyer, from the 2026 Elite Eight to the 2025 Final Four. 

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Duke's history of choking under Jon Scheyer

Duke has blown a double-digit lead in only five of its 25 losses under Scheyer, but those five have all come within the Blue Devils' last seven losses. Each of Duke's last four losses, dating back to the 2025 Final Four, involved a blown double-digit lead.

Here's a look at some of the worst blown leads under Scheyer.

2024 Elite Eight vs. NC State (9 points)

Duke entered the 2024 NCAA Tournament as a No. 4 seed but seemingly had a wide-open path to the Final Four after knocking out No. 1 Houston. Only No. 11 NC State, which sparked its miraculous March run with an upset of Duke in the ACC Tournament, stood in the Blue Devils' way.

After jumping in front by as much as nine and holding an uninterrupted lead for about 20 minutes of game time, Duke was outscored 55-37 in the second half against the Wolfpack, falling apart defensively against DJ Burns Jr. and struggling to keep up as Tyrese Proctor finished scoreless with a 0-for-9 mark from the field.

Relative to some of Duke's other losses under Scheyer, a nine-point blown lead itself doesn't look so bad -- but this was a game the Blue Devils were decisively favored to win, and it appeared to be within their grasp until they allowed 55 points in the second half.

Nov. 12, 2024 vs. Kentucky (10 points)

Facing what looked like a makeshift Kentucky roster in the Champions Classic, Duke was favored to come away with a win as Mark Pope settled into his new job as Wildcats head coach. The Blue Devils led by as much as 10 and went to halftime leading 46-37, but Kentucky rallied back and took its first lead since the opening half with 2:40 remaining.

Duke scored only 26 points in the second half and at one point had an 89.1 percent win probability, according to ESPN.

2025 Final Four vs. Houston (14 points)

As painful as the 2026 loss to UConn might have been, Duke's collapse against Houston might have been more shocking because it was so sudden. 

Duke led by 14 with less than nine minutes remaining and by nine with barely more than two minutes remaining, against a Houston team that had struggled all day long to get into a rhythm offensively. The game looked like it might be over when Houston was called for a technical foul while trailing by five with 74 seconds left, giving the Blue Devils two free throws and possession. Instead, Kon Knueppel made only one free throw and Duke couldn't convert on its possession, keeping Houston within two possessions.

A 3-pointer from Emanuel Sharp made it a one-possession game, and a turnover on the inbounds pass turned into two more points for Houston after a missed attempt at a game-tying shot from beyond the arc. 

Duke still gained possession while leading by one, but Proctor missed the front end of a one-and-one, and Cooper Flagg was called for a foul on the rebound attempt to send the Cougars to the line for the lead. When Duke had a chance to take the lead late, Flagg's mid-range shot came up short, and Houston sealed the improbable win with free throws. 

MORE: How UConn leaned on Dan Hurley's positivity to complete comeback

Dec. 20, 2025 vs. Texas Tech (17 points)

Duke's first loss of the 2025-26 season came at Madison Square Garden days before Christmas, when Texas Tech overcame a 17-point deficit to win.

The Blue Devils controlled the game most of the way, taking that 17-point lead in the early minutes of the second half and still leading by 11 with under seven minutes remaining. Foul trouble limited Texas Tech's options, as JT Toppin had four fouls by the closing minutes and LeJuan Watts fouled out, but the Red Raiders closed on a 19-7 run to steal a win in front of a pro-Duke crowd.

Feb. 7, 2026 vs. North Carolina (13 points)

Duke's lone loss to North Carolina in 2025-26 will forever be known for Seth Trimble's game-winning shot, but the Blue Devils spent a large portion of the game in control before seeing it slip away.

The Tar Heels trailed by as much as 13 in the first half and 11 in the second half, and they faced a six-point disadvantage with under three minutes when Caleb Foster scored to put a dent in their comeback hopes. From there, North Carolina finished on a 9-0 run, taking its first lead of the game in the final second when Trimble drilled a game-winner to send the Dean Smith Center into a frenzy.

2026 Elite Eight vs. UConn (19 points)

It will be hard for Duke to move past its collapse against UConn in the Elite Eight, as the Blue Devils led by 19 and at one point had the chance to stretch the lead to 21 before a pair of missed free throws. 

The Huskies gradually cut into the lead in the second half, but all signs still pointed to a Duke win down the stretch. The Blue Devils extended their lead to five with less than two minutes remaining, and they went into the final minute ahead by four. When Silas Demary Jr. missed one of two free throws in the closing minute, Duke had the ball and a two-point lead with 10 seconds left and simply needed to make free throws to ice the game.

Instead, the Blue Devils' attempt to play keep-away went awry. A Cayden Boozer pass was deflected, ended up in UConn's hands, and ultimately found its way to freshman Braylon Mullins for a 35-foot game-winner that gave the Huskies their first lead since the opening two minutes of the game.

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Jon Scheyer's first 4 years vs. Mike Krzyzewski

While Mike Krzyzewski took over a much, much different program than Scheyer did, Scheyer's results through four seasons are some of the best of any first-time head coach. With 99 more wins than losses, Scheyer's start far exceeds Krzyzewski's start at Duke.

When looking at Krzyzewski's first four NCAA Tournament appearances, Scheyer still has an advantage. Krzyzewski went deeper in his first four tournament appearances than Scheyer has, reaching the national championship game in 1986, but he fell short of the Elite Eight in the other three appearances. Scheyer has reached a Final Four and three consecutive Elite Eights over his first four appearances.

Krzyzewski didn't win a national championship until his 11th season at Duke, though he did reach four Final Fours before the 1990-91 title run.

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