Tre Jones Says 'Everyone Wanted to See Us Fail' After Duke's Loss to MSU

Duke's fantastic freshmen showed their emotions following Sunday's Elite Eight loss to Michigan State, and perhaps no one more than Tre Jones, who was seen nearly collapsing on the court as tears flowed.

Given a chance to compose himself after the game, Jones said the team felt an "us against the world" mentality.

"If you weren't a Duke fan, everyone wanted to see us fail," he told reporters. "All the adversity, it made us so close as a group. We all wanted to win so bad, and that's what hurts so much."

Jones was limited to four points and five assists in 40 minutes during the 68-67 loss, which effectively ended after RJ Barrett missed one of two free throws that would have tied the game with 5.2 seconds remaining. Duke had done an excellent job of avoiding foul calls throughout the second half but wound up not having enough time to force Michigan State to the line for a one-and-one.

Jones, Zion Williamson, Cam Reddish and Barrett are widely expected to enter the 2019 NBA draft and be first-round picks. The quartet comprised one of the top recruiting classes in college basketball history; Barrett, Reddish and Williamson were each top-five recruits, and Jones was the "worst" of the bunch at No. 15, per 247Sports.

"Only one team can be on top, and the odds are slim," Williamson said. "The only opinions we're worried about are in this locker room, and we battled. It's not the ending we wanted, but we played our hardest."

Williamson is the consensus No. 1 overall prospect in the 2019 class and will be the top pick, barring some unforeseen circumstance. He could be immediately followed by Barrett, which would be the first time teammates went one-two since Anthony Davis and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist in 2012.