Houston Couldn’t Overcome Loss of ‘Heart and Soul’ Jamal Shead in Loss to Duke

The Houston Cougars’ bid for a national title came to an end Friday night. They lost to the Duke Blue Devils, 54-51, in the Sweet 16 of the 2024 NCAA Tournament. Cougars’ guard Emmanuel Sharp missed a game-tying three-pointer in the final seconds and that was it. Houston once again exited the tournament early after securing a No. 1 seed, following in the footsteps of last year’s team that lost in the same spot to the University of Miami.

This year’s loss may be even more frustrating because Houston only lost by three points despite losing their best player in the early going. Jamal Shead, the Cougars’ leading man and Big 12 Player of the Year, suffered a “badly sprained” right ankle in the first half. He underwent X-rays, and was taped up at halftime but never returned to the court. Shead finished with two points, three assists, and two steals in 13 minutes. He was forced to watch as Duke whittled his team’s season away.

Every team is going to struggle to win when their top guy goes down. But head coach Kelvin Sampson’s comments after the game really hammer home how much of a gut punch it was for the Cougars.

“He’s the heart and soul of this team,” Sampson said. “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 one-seed because of his leadership, his toughness, his ability to make everybody better.”

Shead averaged 12.9 points and 6.4 assists per game this season. His ability to orchestrate Houston’s offense and make plays out of nothing was irreplaceable in a game where points were difficult to come by. Duke and Houston both shot only 40.8 percent from the floor and combined for 24 turnovers on the evening. It was not a pretty game, and that is exactly the sort of game Shead would’ve shined in. It’s partly why Sampson said it didn’t really feel like a “fair fight” without Shead.

“We were in a position to win the game without Jamal,” Sampson said. “With Jamal, it’s a totally different story, but that’s neither here nor there, is it? It doesn’t feel like a fair fight. You would have to take maybe two of theirs to equal one of Jamal. That’s how good he was. He’s a first-team All American. You don’t have another one of those. You don’t have the best defensive player in the Big 12. You don’t have a guy that made all the big shots at the end.”

Shead’ s absence was glaring considering how much he elevated his game this tournament. The Cougars’ star averaged 16 points and 9.5 assists per game through the opening two rounds of the tournament. He came up huge against Texas A&M in the Second Round, as his overtime heroics in that matchup are why Houston was even playing Duke in the first place.

It’s always a bummer to see a great player go down in the middle of an exciting NCAA Tournament game. This was no different. Credit to the Blue Devils for taking advantage of the opportunity they had. But it makes for a painful loss for Sampson’s Cougars.

Liam McKeone is a staff writer for The Big Lead.