Despite emerging as favorites to win it all this year, Duke came up short against UConn and guard Cayden Boozer couldn’t help but blame himself for his team’s run coming to an end.<\/p>\n
Heading into the\u00a0NCAA\u00a0tournament this year, the\u00a0Duke Blue Devils\u00a0were viewed as one of the favorites to win it all. Unfortunately, their fabled run came to an end as a costly error by guard Cayden Boozer resulted in a 73-72 loss against the University of Connecticut (UConn).<\/p>\n
The clutch three-pointer by Huskies guard Braylon Mullins will undoubtedly be etched in the memory of every Duke player. However, Cayden Boozer,\u00a0son of former NBA player\u00a0Carlos Boozer, appeared to be taking the loss particularly hard. While\u00a0speaking to the media\u00a0after the game, Boozer took the entire blame for the loss.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m going to replay that for the rest of my life,\u201d\u00a0<\/em>Boozer shared about the turnover.<\/p>\n \u201cI turned the ball over. I should\u2019ve been stronger with the ball,\u201d<\/em>\u00a0he\u00a0added.\u00a0\u201cCost our team our season.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n While breaking down his team\u2019s defensive shortcomings in the second half and the disappointment that came with losing in the Elite Eight, Cayden Boozer spoke about his experience with this team, too.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s hard to put into perspective right now, but this is the best time I\u2019ve had playing basketball,\u201d\u00a0<\/em>Boozer commented.\u00a0\u201cThe group of guys that we have. Just really grateful for the moment. Obviously, we didn\u2019t get the job done, but super grateful for this team and everything we have accomplished this year.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n The freshman guard had been solid for the majority of the game. In 28 minutes, Cayden Boozer posted 15 points, five rebounds, six assists, and two steals, while shooting 4-5 from the field. Unfortunately, an ill-timed error in the final moments of the game changed everything.<\/p>\n Duke found itself enjoying a 72-70 lead with ten seconds left on the clock. Instead of attempting to extend the lead, the Blue Devils opted to run the clock down by retaining possession.<\/p>\n UConn played some stellar defense at this juncture. Although Duke was prepared for a trap coming out of the timeout, an errant lob pass by Boozer to split the double-team at halfcourt was intercepted by Huskies guard Silas Demary Jr. The tipped possession unfortunately landed in Braylon Mullins\u2019 hands, and the rest is history.<\/p>\n With this loss, the top-seeded Blue Devils (35-3) see their dreams of winning the NCAA tournament come up short yet again. Having fallen out of contention every year since 2015, it appears that Duke fans will have to remain patient.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, Cayden Boozer finds himself in a complicated position as well. Unlike his brother,\u00a0Cameron Boozer, who is\u00a0viewed as a lottery pick heading into this year\u2019s NBA Draft, Cayden may not receive the same attention.<\/p>\n Given his averages of 7.7 points, 2.3 rebounds, and 3.0 assists per game this season, many expect the guard to return to Duke for his sophomore season instead of declaring for the draft.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Cayden Boozer Blames Himself After UConn Ends Duke\u2019s NCAA Run Despite emerging as favorites to win it all this year, Duke came up short against UConn and guard Cayden Boozer … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":79309,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[1633],"class_list":["post-79308","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-football","tag-cayden-boozer"],"yoast_head":"\n