Ashlon Jackson hits buzzer-beater as Duke survives LSU comeback to set up clash with UCLA
Duke choked away an 11-point lead. Ashlon Jackson had the Heimlich maneuver.
Duke’s revenge tour will extend into the Elite Eight, courtesy of a swirling buzzer-beater from Ashlon Jackson. After choking away an 11-point lead in the fourth quarter, the Blue Devils survived to reach their second straight Elite Eight, in a season that looked all but lost after a 3-6 start. They can reach their first Final Four since 2006 with a win over UCLA, which beat Minnesota earlier Friday .
DUKE BUZZER-BEATER VS. LSU TO ADVANCE TO THE ELITE EIGHT 🚨 WHAT AN ENDING 😱 pic. twitter.
com/gvqYaJ8gIe — SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) March 28, 2026 The loss keeps LSU out of the Final Four for a third straight year after winning it all in 2023. It’s the first time they haven’t reached the Elite Eight since 2022, Kim Mulkey’s first season in Baton Rouge. The game was close for the first three quarters, with Duke leading for much of the first half before an LSU run made for a back-and-forth third quarter.
The flood came early in the fourth quarter, when an 11-0 run gave the Blue Devils a double-digit lead. They appeared to have the win in hand when that lead was still nine points with three-and-a-half minutes remaining, but LSU responded with a 10-0 run to take the lead in the final minute. Jackson contributed to that collapse with two missed free throws, then more than made up for them.