This was ridiculous.

Social media is clowning the Duke Blue Devils’ radio announcers for their outrageous call during the team’s heartbreaking loss to the UConn Huskies in Sunday’s epic Elite Eight showdown.

The Duke Blue Devils endured a gut-wrenching meltdown in the waning seconds of the highly anticipated game, just when it looked like they had a victory in the bag. With his team trailing 72-69 and only 10 seconds on the clock, UConn Huskies star Silas Demary Jr. drew a foul.

He missed the first free throw, but made the second to cut the lead to two. On the ensuing inbound, Duke star Cayden Boozer turned the ball over. Braylon Mullins then drilled a long-range three-pointer with 0.3 seconds remaining to send his team to the Final Four:

Duke radio announcer David Shumate was so angry and unhappy with the result that he called for the referees to issue a technical foul on Malachi Smith of UConn for running on the court during the celebration:

News alert: The refs did not issue a technical flag on Smith.

Fans Call Out David Shumate After Duke Blue Devils’ Brutal Loss

Duke players (Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images)
Basketball fans wasted no time clowning Shumate over his call on the game-winning three-pointer:

“The Duke radio guy going through all 5 stages of grief in 30 seconds is peak March M@dness content 😂,” a fan wrote.

“Here’s your technical, Losers!” another posted.

“Imagine being so used to getting bailed out by the refs that you expect a technical foul to be called on someone for leaving the bench after that play. 🤣,” a user added.

“They didn’t know Malachi Smith was in the game 😂😂😂 they’re always looking for something,” a fan said.

“Wanting a tech on a guy who was actively in the game is a new low even for Duke 🤣🤣🤣,” quipped a user.

“Woulda been hilarious if they actually did call a technical and then Duke missed the free-throws to lose,” another wrote.

The resilient UConn Huskies will now take on the Illinois Fighting Illini in their Final Four matchup. In the other semifinal game, the Michigan Wolverines will take on the Arizona Wildcats.

As for Duke, they’ll spend another lengthy offseason wondering what went wrong. For a team with consistent regular-season success, there’s never any solace in constantly bowing out before the championship game. Next season will mark 12 years since their last triumph.