Tony’s Take | Final 4 | Scheyer | Memories

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By Tony Duckworth, Sr., [email protected]

Final 4. 68 teams have been reduced to four. The Final 4 is a culmination of what many argue is the greatest tournament in sports. I agree.  The 2025 version of the semifinals will feature the four #1 seeds.  2008 is the only other time this has occurred.

Auburn (32 – 5) | Duke (35 – 3) | Florida (34 – 4) | Houston (34 – 4) have won a combined 135 games (.894).  These teams are the last four standing, while Duke is playing the best basketball coming out of the Sweet 16. Vegas has Duke favored to win the championship, followed by Florida, Houston, and Auburn.

I don’t recall ever picking all four teams correctly on my bracket even though I have selected every #1 seed before. As referenced in last week’s column, I picked Florida to defeat Houston for the naty. Now that the dust has settled, I predict Duke to beat Florida to claim their sixth National Championship.

Scheyer. You don’t want to be the coach to follow a legend. You want to be the coach who follows the coach who follows the legend. At least, that is what the talking heads say. A case can be made that Duke head coach John Scheyer has been the best ever at following a legend. Many place Mike Krzyzewski as the greatest basketball coach to ever prowl a sideline. Coach K led the Blue Devils to 13 Final Fours and 5 National Championships. This included the rare feat of winning back-to-back titles in 1991 and 1992.

The heir apparent Scheyer, former Duke player and long-time assistant, bleeds Blue Devil blue. As Coach K’s hand-picked successor, he has his 35 – 3 squad as the favorite heading into this weekend. What makes this year’s team unique is that they are led by three freshmen. Going into the season, teams utilizing the transfer portal, NIL, and COVID seniors were the clear favorites to cut down the nets. Analysts claim this is the best Duke team in a decade.

The 37-year-old Scheyer has led his team to…

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Publish date : 2025-04-03 03:59:00

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