Men’s Elite 8, Duke vs. Alabama: Breaking down matchup

[ad_1]

1 seeds Florida & Duke prep for Elite 8 against Texas Tech & Alabama

Mackenzie Salmon breaks down Elite 8 matchups, as No. 1 Florida will take on No. 3 Texas Tech and No. 1 Duke will verse No. 2 Alabama.

Sports Seriously

NEWARK, N.J. — Before Cooper Flagg takes his skills to pro basketball, most likely in the next few months, he showed the college world once again what he has in his tool chest.

Drives to the basket with ease and fluidity, a mid-range game beyond his years, and for good measure, a buzzer-beating three-pointer to end the first half. The freshman and his Duke teammates are off to the Elite Eight after a 100-93 win over Arizona in the East Regional semifinal on Thursday.

Flagg, the ACC Player of the Year, finished with an efficient 30 points, adding seven assists and six rebounds, and Kon Knueppel added 20 for Duke, which will play Alabama, a 113-88 winner over BYU, on Saturday for a spot in the Final Four in San Antonio.

The Crimson Tide used a three-point barrage to bury BYU, hitting an NCAA-record 25 shots on 51 attempts from downtown. Against the Blue Devils, don’t expect that repeat performance, but they will need to play a complete game to advance to their second straight Final Four.

What made Alabama so difficult to handle for parts of the year was its ability to get to the rim and finish. When they aren’t hitting layups or dunking, the Crimson Tide guards, mainly Mark Sears, can stretch the defense and hit open teammates. If they aren’t open, they will shoot it anyway.

Against BYU, those shots went down, but against Duke’s length and ability to pressure the ball, if the buckets aren’t falling, it could be a long and painful night.

Alabama didn’t have to do much when the ball was low on the block, scoring only 16 paint points, but will need to be diligent working it inside, especially if the Tide starts cold from the field. Bottom line, Alabama’s guards will have to do the heavy lifting for the majority of the game.

Duke finds multiple ways to beat…

[ad_2]
Source link : https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ncaab/2025/03/28/mens-elite-8-duke-alabama-matchup/82701451007/

Author :

Publish date : 2025-03-28 11:04:00

Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.