Duke basketball's X-factor in 2025 Final Four vs. Houston, and it's not Cooper Flagg

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The Duke Blue Devils are in the men’s basketball Final Four for the first time in the Jon Scheyer era, and they’re betting favorites to cut down the nets in San Antonio.

Duke reached the national semifinal by blowing through the East Region, defeating teams by an average of 23.5 points per game. The Blue Devils have lost just once since Thanksgiving and are ranked No. 1 in KenPom by a healthy margin.

That doesn’t happen if freshman superstar Cooper Flagg is the only player capable of dominating. Yes, Flagg has been exceptional in the tournament, which included a 30-point performance in the Sweet 16 against Arizona. But this entire Duke team has been dominant, and Khaman Maluach has been a major part of the team’s success.

Though less ballyhooed than his fellow freshmen Flagg, Kon Knueppel and Isaiah Evans, the 7’2 Maluach has grown as the year progressed, culminating in a 14-point, nine-rebound performance against Alabama in the Elite Eight on Saturday.

He’s loving every minute of the experience.

“To me, it’s a blessing, and it’s great to be in this position, doing it with such a special group of guys,” he said of advancing to the Final Four. “I believe all of us it’s our first time in the Final Four, and we’re ready for this, and we’re excited for the next step.”

And as Duke’s run has extended, his draft stock has only increased. NBA mock drafts have him going mid-lottery as a mobile rim protector who can also guard on the perimeter. The only real knocks against him right now are his lack of perimeter shooting — which Duke has not needed from him one bit — and the fact that he didn’t start playing basketball until he was a teenager.

Khaman Maluach has been a factor for Duke men’s basketball all tournament

Maluach was a difference-maker on both ends against Alabama, with Scheyer praising his role in the effort to stop 6’1 Alabama star Mark Sears.

“We have a luxury to have a guy with Khaman where he can really play different coverages,” Scheyer explained. “We have a 7’2″ guy switching onto one of the best guards in the country, and he’s doing a pretty good job moving his feet. Same thing, we had him in a deep drop, as well, because just trying to protect our paint more and have our guards really fight over.”

On the other end, Maluach is having a historic tournament. Through four games he is 20-23 from the field (87%), a best in the 64-team era for any player with minimum of 20 attempts. That’s partly because his teammates have been so effective in finding him for lobs, and also partly because he can clean up the offensive glass and bank some easy second-chance points.

Houston will present an intriguing challenge for Maluach on Saturday. On one hand, the Cougars are a small team, not playing anybody who is above 6’8 significant minutes. Maluach, who is undaunted by versatile post players, could feast against them. But the Cougars have found success both on the offensive glass and in rim protection, ranking top 11 in the country in both offensive rebounding and block percentages per KenPom.

Maluach may be able to discourage Houston guards from getting downhill — or he may struggle to keep up with a team full of players with such skillsets. Keep in mind the Cougars are also one of the best three-point shooting teams in the country.

Houston is the most complete basketball team Duke has faced all year. It will require the entire team to take down the Cougars, and that includes Maluach.

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