After Duke's season ended with a 73-67 loss to West Virginia Saturday, Jon Scheyer told the story of a small portion of the game:

"We were up by seven with about a minute and a half left (in the first half)," Scheyer said, "and we had the ball. And I missed a 3 and Greg (Paulus) missed a 3 on one possession.

"We really could have gotten something good off that possession, so instead of being up 10 or whatever it was, they come down and score and it's a five-point game.

"Then we come down, turn it over, then they almost hit a 3 to cut it to two at halftime.

"So that's a big swing. Instead of being up 10 to 12, we're up five — almost with them cutting it down to two — and even though that shot didn't go in, they felt like, 'We're right there, it could be a two-point game just like that.' "

Those missed opportunities were a microcosm of why the Devils lost five of their last 11 games after going 22-1 and earning a No. 2 national ranking.

When the Devils (28-6) were successful, they took advantage of the opportunities they created. If they got a steal, they turned it into a fast-break layup. If they missed a wide-open 3 but chased down the offensive rebound, they didn't miss the second open look.

They never argued that they were the most talented team in the country — and they definitely didn't deny that they lacked a true post presence on offense. But they rarely let loose balls slip between their fingers, and they didn't miss transition layups.

"For us to win with the team that we had, we need to outfight people," Scheyer said after Saturday's loss.

Scheyer said the Devils didn't do that in the loss to West Virginia.

"They wanted it, and we wanted it, too, but they really showed it on the glass, and that's a big part of the game," Scheyer said.

"They did — they outfought us."

And, yes, the Mountaineers' 47-27 rebounding edge was a big reason Duke's season ended the first week of the tournament for the second consecutive year. But it's not the only reason.

Go back to Jan. 19, when the red-hot Devils took on Clemson inside Cameron Indoor Stadium. In that game, the Tigers pounded Duke on the boards 42-26 but lost the game 93-80.

The reason? The Devils created possessions for themselves in other ways. They forced 21 turnovers that translated into 37 easy points. They scored 29 fast-break points. What the Devils lacked in size and brute force they more than made up for with quickness, hands-in-passing-lanes defense and the ability to score off the opportunities their defense created.

They didn't even need to shoot the 3-pointer well, making just seven of 22 from behind the arc.

"We were good because we really played together and believed in each other," Scheyer said.

"I don't know what happened, I don't know."

What happened on the court is pretty obvious. The Devils failed to continue creating easy baskets for each other. The breakneck, Phoenix Suns-like style of play that coach Mike Krzyzewski had them playing from November into February wasn't the same.

Against West Virginia, they didn't score a single point in transition and they scored just nine points off 17 Mountaineers miscues.

The Devils claimed to be in great shape throughout the final weeks of the season, but that didn't translate into fast-break points. They had to work for just about all their scores, scoring 12 transition points in their last three losses.

The shooting slumps that their two leading scorers fell into didn't help. Senior DeMarcus Nelson — Duke's top scorer — scored just eight points on 3-for-17 shooting in Duke's two NCAA Tournament games. He battled the sniffles the entire time Duke was in Washington, but he wouldn't use sickness as an excuse.

"I'm physically 100 percent," Nelson said after his college career had ended. "There's nothing wrong with me. I mean, I played and prepared and did everything the same (way) that I've done all year, and this week it wasn't good enough."

Coach Mike Krzyzewski said Nelson might have simply been "trying too hard" as the lone senior on the team.

The late-season struggles of Kyle Singler were a little easier to understand — the 6-foot-8, 220-pound freshman simply got worn down after having to guard bigger, stronger players throughout the ACC season. And after scoring in double figures for 12 straight games, Singler managed just 24 points in Duke's final four games, including six against WVU.

But despite the bad-shooting nights of their leading scorers, the Devils were in every game that they lost down the season's stretch.

In their regular-season finale against North Carolina, they took the lead with 5 minutes 42 seconds remaining. In their ACC Tournament semifinal loss to Clemson, they were within two points with just less than 1 minute to play. And they had plenty of chances in the second half Saturday.

But a team that had a penchant earlier in the season for closing out tight games couldn't get the job done when it mattered most.

The Devils said it wasn't a confidence issue. Even after the UNC and Clemson losses, Nelson said the players were as confident as they had been all season.

Scheyer had the same viewpoint, saying after the Clemson loss: "Moving forward, I think we're a deeper team and a better team than we have been all year."

And in a sense, he was right. Center Brian Zoubek, at 7-1, was recovered from a foot injury and playing as much as he had all season. And Krzyzewski said that little-used David McClure played his best game against the Tigers, giving Duke 10 players who could contribute during a game.

But the depth never really aided the Devils, and it certainly didn't help them score more. After averaging 85.7 points per game during their 22-1 start, Duke's scoring average dipped to 78.2 during the Devils' final 11 games.

The Devils' shooting touch from behind the arc also got worse, as they made 34.7 percent from deep as compared to close to 40 percent during their first 23 games.

When asked if he thought Duke's offense would ever be as off as it was Saturday, McClure said, "Not really this year, no.

"We really had things rolling pretty well this year. It got a little bit slow toward the last couple weeks, (but), you know, we were really confident coming into this tournament."

For about 25 minutes of Saturday's game, the Devils were in good position to win. But when West Virginia started making all the little plays — snaring the loose balls, scoring second-chance points — what had been one of the 2007-08 Devils' strengths all season suddenly was the cause of their demise.

"I think at some point we stopped fighting, and that is what's the most disappointing," McClure said afterward.

Now, all the Devils can think about is how a potentially great season turned into a disappointing one — and look ahead to next October.

"My main focus is winning the national championship, and that's why I came to Duke," Singler said after confirming that he'll return next season.

"This team was good enough to win it this year, and this team (will be) good enough to win it next year."