The mind-boggling stats from Duke's collapse are incredible pallette cleansers

Nothing fully soothes the pain from the final game in any Kentucky season, but Duke’s embarrassing Final Four loss certainly helps. When Duke was up 14 points with just over eight minutes left in the second half, ESPN analytics gave the Blue Devils a 98.5 percent chance of winning. Most of Big Blue Nation Twitter had already prepped the same post, “Kentucky beat both teams in the championship game!” But to the joy of everyone, those posts will remain in the drafts folder as Houston pulled off a miracle comeback.

In a strange plot twist by the basketball gods, Duke even fell victim to a questionable foul call on star player Cooper Flagg during a rebound that put Houston on the line to knock down the winning free throws.

America waited for Flagg to fall down on the final play but had to settle for a miss on a fadeaway jumper, as Duke made one field goal in the final 10:30, and that wasn’t it. Houston advanced with a 70-67 win.

The unbelievable stats keep rolling in

Houston’s dramatic win was the biggest comeback in Final Four history, but the fun doesn’t stop there. The numbers stemming from Duke’s masterful choke job are a delight to soak up.

Coming into the game, Duke was 79-0 under head coach Jon Scheyer in games where they led by at least 10 points at any time. That number is now 79-1. In Kentucky’s comeback win against Duke earlier in the Champions Classic, the Blue Devils’ largest lead was nine.

Duke outplayed Houston for most of the game, besting them in almost every statistical category. Duke is the only team to lose an NCAA Tournament game with a higher field goal percentage, more free throw attempts, more assists, fewer turnovers, and more steals than their opponent. Teams had been 335-0 prior to Houston’s win on Saturday.

One Duke hater (or crazy Houston fan) put his money where his disdain was, and it paid off. According to FanDuel Sportsbook, a bettor placed a $25 moneyline wager on Houston with just over a minute to play when the Cougars were down six. With odds of +10500, the ticket paid out a whopping $2,650.

Most Kentucky fans may not have a couple of extra grand in their bank account due to Houston’s win, but the value of happiness is priceless. If you are like me, you fell asleep disgrunted at the prospect of another Duke championship but woke up with the sun shining brighter than it normally does. I even visited my old favorite website, diddukewin.com.

If Kentucky can’t it all, at least Duke won’t either.