It could very well be a double heartbreak for one of Duke basketball’s brightest stars.

Duke freshman Khaman Maluach faces possible deportation days after the Blue Devils were knocked out of the NCAA men’s hoops tournament, according to an X post by Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

The 7-foot-2 center, a Duke freshman born in South Sudan but raised in Uganda, started for the Blue Devils in their Final Four matchup Saturday night against the University of Houston.

But hours before tip-off, Rubio fired off a curious X post, saying, “I am taking actions to revoke all visas held by South Sudanese passport holders and to restrict any further issuance to prevent entry into the United States, effective immediately, due to the failure of South Sudan’s transitional government to accept the return of its repatriated citizens in a timely manner.”

A State Department spokesperson told USA Today that the move would “impact all those who have a U.S. visa in a South Sudanese passport and anyone with a South Sudanese passport who is applying for a U.S. visa.

“We will provide further information and instructions to affected visa holders and applicants as it is available,” the spokesperson told the paper.

Duke is examining what the move means for Maluach.

“We are looking into the situation and working expeditiously to understand any implications for Duke students,” Duke spokesman Frank Tramble said in a statement.

No. 1 seed Duke all but had their ticket punched to Monday’s title game, but Houston had other ideas — scoring 8 points in the final 33 seconds of the game to hand the Blue Devils a crushing 70-67 loss. Maluach, who’s the subject of NBA draft chatter, played for 21 minutes and was held to just 6 points.

The championship between Houston and the University of Florida will take place on Monday night in San Antonio.

The post Duke Star May Be Deported From US After Crushing March Madness Defeat as Rubio Reveals Plans to Yank Visas first appeared on Mediaite.

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