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Offense, defense, freshman, veterans – this Duke team has it all

Over the course of the next four days, I’ll take you inside each of the Final Four teams’ paths to San Antonio and what it will take for each of them to cut down the nets on Monday night. Starting off with the Duke Blue Devils, whose dominant run through the East Region finished with an average margin of victory of 23.5 per game.

It started with a 93-49 blowout of Mount St. Mary’s, the region’s #16 seed. Duke buried 14 three-pointers while shooting 37.8% from behind the arc as a team, headlined by Tyrese Proctor’s 19 points and six threes. Cooper Flagg (14), Caleb Foster (12), and Khaman Maluach (11) joined Proctor in double figures, as 12 Blue Devils scored in a game that was over before halftime.

Next up was Baylor, who showed resistance for at least the first ten minutes, but this Duke team was much too talented for Scott Drew’s squad, as the final score finished 89-66. Duke shot an outstanding 64.4% from the field in the second-round matchup and hit 12 of 22 shots from three-point range. Once again, Proctor led the offense, hitting seven of his eight three-pointers en route to a 25-point afternoon. Things started to click for Cooper Flagg in his second game back from an ankle injury that kept him out of the ACC Tournament, as the future #1 overall pick scored 18 points, grabbed nine rebounds, and dished out six assists.

After two blowouts in Raleigh, the Blue Devils headed up to Newark for the East regional, meeting Arizona in the Sweet 16. Headlined by Caleb Love, a former Duke killer in the Final Four when he played for North Carolina in 2022, the Wildcats pushed the Blue Devils for 40 minutes but could never quite get over the hump. Love finished his career on a high note individually with 35 points, but the final score went in favor of Duke, 100-93. This game was all about the offense for both teams, as Duke got 30 points from Flagg and 20 points from fellow freshman Kon Knueppel. Once again, Jon Scheyer’s squad was unreal from the floor, hitting 60% of its shots and going 11-of-19 from behind the arc.

An elite offensive performance like that set the stage for an Elite Eight showdown against one of the most explosive offenses in the country, Alabama. To clinch a trip to San Antonio however, the Blue Devils leaned in on their defense, holding Alabama to 35.4% from the field in an 85-65 blowout. Alabama star guard Mark Sears shot just 2-of-12 on the night, finishing with six points and five turnovers. The Blue Devils forced 11 turnovers as a team, as Knueppel led the charge on both sides of the floor. The Milwaukee native finished with 21 points, five rebounds, five assists, and three steals. Proctor (17), Flagg (16) and Maluach (14) rounded out the Blue Devils in double figures.

Shooting at least 50% in every game so far in the NCAA Tournament, this high-flying Duke offense will meet the nation’s top ranked defense, Houston, in the Final Four, with the Cougars fresh off a 69-50 demolition of Tennessee in the Elite Eight. After two disappointing exits in the eyes of Blue Devil fans, Jon Scheyer has proved that the third time is the charm, reaching a Final Four in his third season at the helm.

Considered the second-best team of the KenPom era (1997-2025) as we stand, this Duke team heads to San Antonio as the favorites of the bunch, but in Texas, Houston may have something to say about that. As far as where I stand leading into the weekend, it’s hard for me to pick against this dominant Duke squad to cut down the nets.

Other Things to Note:

• The Final Four tips off on Saturday, April 5 at 6:09 ET on CBS as Florida takes on Auburn followed by the matchup between Houston and Duke