The Duke Blue Devils participated in one of the greatest collapses in Final Four history. It will go down in a similar fashion to the Atlanta Falcons and New England Patriots Super Bowl, in which the Falcons blew a 28-3 lead. Which is a far better analogy than the one Jon Rothstein decided to use right after the Houston Cougars completed the comeback in the final minutes of the game.
CBS's Jon Rothstein instead decided to compare it to the time Wisconsin lost a nine-point lead in the 2015 national title game to the Duke Blue Devils, in which Duke won 68-63. It's not only a bad analogy for so many reasons; it reopens a wound that didn't need to be picked at.
Duke’s loss tonight reminds of when Wisconsin lost a nine-point lead in the 2nd half of the 2015 national title with the National Player of the Year - Frank Kaminsky - on its roster.
— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) April 6, 2025
The Blue Devils had this thing on ice and they had Cooper Flagg.
This one will last a lifetime. https://t.co/VKXVKgAM3V
Jon Rothstein compares the Duke collapse to the 2015 National Championship with Wisconsin
Wisconsin fans let Jon Rothstein hear it in the comments to that social media post on X. Wisconsin fans are sitting, enjoying the downfall of Duke, and catching strays from Rothstein. The problem is not just that it's PTSD, but it's not even a good comparison. Here's why:
First, Wisconsin and Duke were tied at the half in 2015 (31-31). In 2025, Duke had the lead over Houston 34-28 at the half. In fact, the 2015 game was a battle back and forth, while Duke dominated throughout the contest until the very end.
Second, the officiating stayed fairly even in the 2025 Houston vs. Duke game. That wasn't the case for Wisconsin vs. Duke in 2015. Wisconsin had 10 more fouls called on them in the second half than Duke did. It was brutal.
There are more reasons than this, but one more just for kicks. Wisconsin was the underdog in that National Championship game against Duke, even though they just took down the undefeated Kentucky Wildcats. In this 2025 Final Four, Duke was the six-point favorite.
The comparison isn't accurate or fair, and honestly felt relatively mean. It was a Will Smith moment: "Keep Wisconsin's name out of your mouth!" UW didn't need to catch that stray tonight; let Badger fans relish in the Duke loss.