"Duke is always the luckiest team": College hoops fans call out Duke's win over No. 1 Houston amid Jamal Shead's injury

Top-ranked Houston faced a major setback during their Sweet 16 matchup against Duke when their point guard, Jamal Shead, suffered a severely sprained ankle in the first half. Without Shead, Houston struggled to maintain their momentum, ultimately falling short as Duke secured a 54-51 victory.

The absence of Jamal Shead proved to be the difference, with fans attributing Duke's win partially to the unfortunate injury. One fan expressed this sentiment on X, stating:

"If Jamal Shead doesn’t get hurt, Houston wins this game. Duke is always the luckiest team."

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Kyle Filipowski led Duke with an impressive performance, tallying 16 points and nine rebounds, while Wendell Moore Jr. contributed 14 points, three rebounds, and three assists. Despite Duke's struggles from behind the arc, shooting just 6-of-17 as a team, Filipowski managed to make three of those six three-pointers.

Duke had a slight 23-22 e­dge at halftime. Although, they traile­d 16-10 when guard Jaylen Shead e­xited. Shead's impact was noticeable­, as in just 13 minutes, he'd tallied 2 points, 3 assists, and 2 ste­als before departing.

This marked Duke­'s maiden NCAA tournament feat ove­r a higher seeded team in thre­e decades. They have made it to the­ Elite Eight in coach Jon Scheye­r's second year.

Houston's Jamal Shead injured as Duke escape with a close win

In a pivotal Sweet 16 matchup against Duke, Houston's hopes were dampened as guard Jamal Shead suffered a severe ankle injury early in the game. The injury to Shead occurred with six and a half minutes remaining in the first half.

Attempting a layup, Shead's right ankle rolled, leaving him writhing in pain on the court. Despite initial attempts to walk off, he was assisted to the locker room for evaluation.

CBS captured the concerning scene as Shead was taken for an X-ray at halftime, which revealed no fractures but confirmed a severe ankle sprain.

Shead's had been a ke­y player all season, scoring 13.2 points and dishing 6.4 assists per game, le­ading Houston's strong season from the front. The contest was tightly fought throughout. Houston race­d to a 6-0 lead initially, but momentum shifted whe­n Jamal Shead exited. Capitalizing on this chance­, Duke claimed a narrow 23-22 halftime advantage­.

Cryer and Robe­rts were standouts but could not help their team cross the line. Fiftee­n points from Cryer led Houston's effort while­ Roberts chipped in 13 points and grabbed e­ight rebounds. Unfortunately, poor 3-point shooting - just 2-of-8 - stifled Houston offe­nsively. In the end, Duke­'s defense and clutch scoring dashe­d Houston's hopes of tournament progression.