Jon Scheyer cuts down the nets after leading Duke to Final Four

Jon Scheyer cut down the nets in the NCAA Tournament for the first time as a head coach Saturday evening after Duke defeated Alabama to reach the Final Four. The Blue Devils cruised to an 85-65 win against the Crimson Tide behind a balanced attack as they led from start to finish.

As is tradition, he climbed the ladder to cut down the final loop connecting the net to the rim to take home as a keepsake to remember the moment. He then triumphantly waved it over his head as the crowd cheered in approval. You can view the moment below.

Jon Scheyer cuts down the net as him and his Duke squad is heading to the Final Four 🔥

This is his first time making it to the Final Four as a head coach!

Can Duke go all the way? 🤔

(via @Russ_Steinberg) pic.twitter.com/Ks8rOPHDaj

— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) March 30, 2025

Scheyer is in just his third season as the Blue Devils’ coach after taking over following the retirement of the legendary coach Mike Krzyzewski. Although this is his first Final Four appearance as head coach, he had previously been a part of two Final Fours as an assistant on Krzyzewski’s staff.

That included Duke’s most recent national title in the 2015 season when it had stars such as Jahlil Okafor and Justise Winslow. This year’s Blue Devils team has a couple of other star freshmen in Cooper Flagg and Kon Knueppel and will hope for similar results.

Knueppel finished with a team-high 21 points while Flagg chipped in 16 points, nine rebounds and three assists. Duke also managed to lock up Alabama star Mark Sears, who finished with six points on 2-of-12 shooting and committed five turnovers.

It is the 18th time in program history that Duke has reached the Final Four, going on to win on five of those previous trips. The most recent title win came in 2015 when Scheyer was an assistant.

Scheyer was also a player at Duke from 2006-10 and won a national championship during his senior season. He’ll now aim to take his alma mater to the promised land once more and carry on the legacy that Krzyzewski left behind. Duke most recently made the Final Four during Krzyzewski’s final season in 2022, but lost against rival North Carolina.

Now he’ll look to add a title as a head coach as well after already experiencing two with the program. The Blue Devils move on to face the winner between Houston and Tennessee, which play on Sunday. The Final Four is set to tip off on April 5 in at the Alamodome San Antonio.