The Duke Blue Devils emerged victorious in a hard-fought game against Arizona in the Sweet Sixteen last night, setting up a titanic showdown against Alabama in the Elite Eight. The Crimson Tide got a big win of their own over BYU, and put up the most impressive performance of the NCAA Tournament thus far by hitting a March Madness record 25 threes on their way to putting up 113 points. Duke is the favorite to cut down the nets in San Antonio next week, but first, they’ll have to find a way to slow down Bama, and ESPN analyst and former Blue Devil All-American Jay Williams is extremely worried.
Advertisement
Williams appeared on Get Up this morning to talk about the matchup, and though he said that Duke had the edge in terms of size and length, Alabama’s ability to space the floor with Mark Sears and Grant Nelson, combined with the way they execute on the fast break, makes them Duke’s toughest test yet.
“I’m really worried about this game, because the way Alabama plays is just unorthodox… They space the floor, they shoot a ton of threes,” Williams said.
Sears scored 34 points by himself last night, knocking down a ridiculous 10 of 16 threes. He was joined by Chris Youngblood and Aden Holloway in the outside shooting barrage, as they combined for 11 triples of their own.
Alabama will be a problem, but Duke is still the favorite
Williams is right to be worried about Nate Oats’ team, but Duke does still have the likely National Player of the Year and No. 1 pick in the NBA Draft, Cooper Flagg. The freshman put on a masterclass last night, becoming just the second player in NCAA Tournament history to put up a line of at least 30 points, five rebounds, five assists, and three blocks. The other was UCLA’s Ed O’Bannon way back in 1994.
Duke also has arguably the No. 1 defense in the country, but it will be interesting to see if they’re equipped to handle Bama on the perimeter. A huge part of the Blue Devils’ defensive success is 7-foot-2 freshman Khaman Maluach, one of the nation’s best rim protectors. If Bama is able to get open looks from outside, that could neutralize Maluach’s ability to affect the game.
Seth Greenberg sees Duke’s ability to force Alabama off the three-point line as the key to the game, saying, “If you let them get up 40 threes, odds are you aren’t winning that game… Force them to drive it into your help, and make Maluach a factor, because if you don’t, they are going to score it at a high clip.”
Duke was tested last night by longtime tormentor Caleb Love, who played all 40 minutes and scored 35 points. If Sears is able to replicate Love’s success, his superior supporting cast could do what Arizona’s couldn’t and help the Tide pull the upset.
According to FanDuel, Duke is favored by 6.5 points, with the over/under set at 173.5. That high total is justified, as this is just the fifth time in NCAA Tournament history that two teams that each scored at least 100 points in their previous game will face each other.
A trip to the Final Four is on the line, and whether Williams’ fears were justified.
