Duke basketball's season ends in heartbreak, but the Brotherhood remains

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Look at our photo gallery of Duke basketball reaction to stunning loss to UConn

WASHINGTON, DC – MARCH 29: Nikolas Khamenia #14 of the Duke Blue Devils walks off the court after being defeated by the UConn Huskies 73-72 in the Elite Eight of the 2026 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at Capital One Arena on March 29, 2026 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)

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Look at our photo gallery of Duke basketball reaction to stunning loss to UConn

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Look at our photo gallery of Duke basketball reaction to stunning loss to UConn

WASHINGTON, DC – MARCH 29: Patrick Ngongba #21 of the Duke Blue Devils walks off the court after being defeated by the UConn Huskies 73-72 in the Elite Eight of the 2026 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at Capital One Arena on March 29, 2026 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)

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Look at our photo gallery of Duke basketball reaction to stunning loss to UConn

WASHINGTON, DC – MARCH 29: Cameron Boozer #12 of the Duke Blue Devils walks off the court after being defeated by the UConn Huskies 73-72 in the Elite Eight of the 2026 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at Capital One Arena on March 29, 2026 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)

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Look at our photo gallery of Duke basketball reaction to stunning loss to UConn

WASHINGTON, DC – MARCH 29: Cayden Boozer #2 of the Duke Blue Devils walks off the court after being defeated by the UConn Huskies 73-72 in the Elite Eight of the 2026 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at Capital One Arena on March 29, 2026 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)

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Look at our photo gallery of Duke basketball reaction to stunning loss to UConn

Mar 29, 2026; Washington, DC, USA; UConn Huskies guard Braylon Mullins (24) celebrates after making the game-winning three-point basket against the Duke Blue Devils in the second half during an Elite Eight game of the East Regional of the men’s 2026 NCAA Tournament at Capital One Arena. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

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Look at our photo gallery of Duke basketball reaction to stunning loss to UConn

Mar 29, 2026; Washington, DC, USA; UConn Huskies guard Braylon Mullins (24) hits a go-ahead three-point basket late in the second half during an Elite Eight game of the East Regional of the men’s 2026 NCAA Tournament at Capital One Arena. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The locker room was about as one would expect after a loss, especially one so abrupt: quiet.

Players sat tucked in their lockers, some with towels over their faces with most – if not all – crying.

A season that had carried Duke basketball through months of adversity, growth and belief had ended in the most abrupt way imaginable: a stunning 73-72 loss to UConn in the final seconds of the Elite 8.

“I don’t have the words,” Jon Scheyer said after the loss. “What I do know is literally this team, what each individual player went through just to play the game, I’ve never seen anything like it.”

Duke overcame being down two starters, Patrick Ngongba II and Caleb Foster, to win back-to-back ACC regular season and tournament titles for the first time since the 2010-11 seasons.

Different players stepped up during the stretch, none more than Cayden Boozer, who assumed the starting point guard role in place of Foster. He posted back-to-back career highs in the conference tournament and added a career-high 19 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

But after the loss to the Huskies on Sunday, Cayden sat solemnly in his locker, in between Jack Scott and Brock Davis, blood on the right side of his jersey. He was unsure how it got there, but was sure how he felt.

“Terrible,” he said.

He took the loss particularly hard, blaming himself for Duke’s last turnover in the final six seconds that Braylon Mullins turned into a game-winning 3-pointer for UConn with 0.4 seconds left.

Duke led the game for 38:26, UConn just 51 seconds.

“Really tough to push past it right now,” he said. “Probably in a few days I’ll be able to figure it out. I feel like I let down my team.”

When twin brother Cameron Boozer finally made his way to the locker room from the postgame press conference, he was swarmed by reporters in his corner locker. His right eye was half shut from an elbow to the face he sustained in the first half.

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“I don’t know how I got hit,” Boozer said, staring at the ground while answering questions. “(But) I got hit, I felt it right away. But I’ll be fine.”

It was possibly the last game the brothers played together, with Cameron Boozer likely off as a top-three pick in the 2026 NBA Draft.

“It’s been an incredible year,” Cameron said. “Not just one brother, but this whole team. It’s a special group, a special group of people. I’m just so grateful. So blessed for this opportunity. All the players, all the coaches, I love these guys.”

Darren Harris sat with tears in his eyes while answering questions from reporters. Patrick Ngongba II sat with a towel over his head, his right foot elevated on a chair. Nik Khamenia and Dame Sarr both sat and answered questions in low tones.

Sarr said he was “really sad,” and Khamenia “hurt.”

Isaiah Evans leaned back in his locker, out of his jersey and dressed in a dark gray Duke jumpsuit.

“Grateful for the ride,” Evans said.

“What this season meant to me was redemption. I knew that I was going to be in a position to help Duke get another national championship. We had the team to do it, we all worked really hard.”

While it stings now, the season will be remembered for more than the stunning loss to UConn — it will be remembered for the relationships forged along the way.

“For only having eight or nine months with a group, these are my brothers,” Cayden Boozer said. “I’m always going to have these relationships. I’m gonna invite these guys to my wedding. Just the group that we had, being able to be around these guys.”

Anna Snyder covers Duke for The Fayetteville Observer as part of the USA TODAY Network. Reach her at asnyder@usatodayco.com or follow her @annaesnydr on X, formerly known as Twitter.

This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: Heartbreak ends Duke’s March Madness run, not the Brotherhood behind it

Duke basketball’s season ends in heartbreak, but the Brotherhood remains

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