No. 4 seed Duke knocked off No. 1 seed Houston on Friday night to punch its ticket into the Elite Eight. There’s no question about it that Jamal Shead’s ankle injury in the first half played a huge factor.
Shead rolled his ankle with just over six minutes remaining in the first half. It’s hard to replace a player who averages 12.9 points and 6.3 assists per game.
Even though Houston had a chance to send last night’s game into overtime, Kelvin Sampson’s squad was unable to get a clean look at the rim on its final possession.
During his postgame press conference, Sampson addressed Shead’s heartbreaking injury.
“He’s the heart and soul of this team,” Sampson said, via ESPN. “We don’t have another Jamal. He was the best player on the floor tonight. He’s been the best player on the floor every game we played this year except a few.
“We got a 1-seed because of his leadership, his toughness, his ability to make everybody better.”
Even if Houston defeated Duke, Sampson said Shead would’ve missed the rest of the NCAA Tournament.
Shead told reporters that he was unable to put any pressure on his injured ankle.
“I couldn’t go back out there,” Shead said. “I hate that it ended like this. I wish I could have gotten back out there and at least been in the fight.”
There’s no way to sugarcoat this loss. It’s a devastating ending to Houston’s impressive season. Hopefully, Shead makes a speedy recovery this offseason.