WASHINGTON, DC — Dan Hurley was working on three-and-a-half hours of sleep Saturday when he arrived at Capital One Arena for practice and media obligations.
It was hard for the UConn coach to get any shut-eye coming off an exhilarating Sweet Sixteen win over Michigan State and knowing that his team would be back on the court in less than 48 hours to take on the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament.
On Sunday evening, No. 1 seed Duke and No. 2 seed UConn will square off in a highly anticipated Elite Eight matchup with a trip to Indianapolis on the line. The winner will take on Illinois next Saturday at Lucas Oil Stadium.
It is a battle of two of college basketball’s most storied programs, which have combined to win 11 national championships. The dominance of each has been on full display over the last several years. Duke reached the Final Four in 2022 — coach Mike Krzyzewski’s last season — and again in 2025. UConn won back-to-back national titles in between. Since the 2024-25 campaign, Duke owns the best overall record in Division I (70-6), registering its highest win total over a two-year stretch in program history.
Both schools have made three of the past four Elite Eights. UConn has won a staggering 17 straight games in the Sweet Sixteen or later, while Duke has gone 11-3 in March Madness since coach Jon Scheyer succeeded Krzyzewski. This season, Duke ranks third in the country in adjusted efficiency margin and UConn ranks 10th, per KenPom.
“Everyone’s always excited when you’re able to play the best, and March Madness is that time,” UConn senior forward Alex Karaban said Saturday. “I think having two blue bloods play against each other, and just the history that Duke has and the history that UConn has, it’s special. It’s two of the biggest brands in college basketball. When you see the Husky logo and you see the Duke logo, everyone knows what programs those are and how much they mean to college basketball. So it’s an amazing opportunity for us.”
Both teams earned dramatic Sweet Sixteen wins on Friday to set up the marquee matchup. Boosted by the return of junior point guard Caleb Foster, who suffered a fracture in his right foot just three weeks ago, the Blue Devils erased a 10-point second-half deficit to topple St. John’s 80-75. UConn saw an early 19-point lead evaporate against Michigan State but regained its composure to secure the 67-63 victory.
By the time the Huskies got back to their hotel, it was after 2 a.m. They had a short meeting to run through the schedule for Saturday and go over some of Duke’s top personnel. It wasn’t until past 3 a.m. that everyone went their separate ways, but Hurley knew he wouldn’t be falling asleep anytime soon. So he grabbed a tablet and started breaking down film, getting through two Duke games before finally drifting off.
Duke had the benefit of playing earlier on Friday, so the team enjoyed a late dinner of wings, potato wedges and salad before being dismissed around 11:30 p.m., while the UConn game was still ongoing. But Scheyer had a similar night to Hurley, cramming to get ready for Sunday’s duel. “The first thing is you remind yourself it’s a blessing not to get sleep,” Scheyer said. “It’s a blessing to be going through that process of watching film all night.”
With such quick turnarounds in March, teams don’t get bogged down in the nitty-gritty details. The challenge is striking the right balance between preparing players but not overwhelming them with an avalanche of information. “We can’t go over every action or every play, it’s impossible in a one-day prep,” Scheyer added. “So for us, it’s been about concepts, it’s been about personnel, and then still doing what we feel we do best, and that’s the activity we have on the defensive end and the ability to protect our paint.”
For Duke, one of the keys is ensuring UConn doesn’t get hot from behind the arc. The Huskies knocked down six threes in the first half against the Spartans, jumping out to a double-digit advantage. Karaban has been sensational throughout the tournament, averaging 22 points, 5 rebounds and 2.3 assists. His outside shooting and senior center Tarris Reed Jr.’s control of the paint have carried UConn to this point. Reed had 31 points and 27 rebounds in the Huskies’ 81-72 Round of 64 win over Furman, becoming the first player to record 30-plus points and 25-plus rebounds in an NCAA Tournament game since Elvin Hayes in 1968.
Duke has defended the three-point line exceptionally well this season and has the nation’s second tallest roster, but containing UConn is — as Scheyer stressed — a unique task.
“They have as good shooting as there is in the country, and obviously Reed down low is a handful,” said Scheyer. “I credit their staff, what they do offensively is terrific. It’s unique. You have to have a different mentality going against them.”
On the other side, UConn is focused on slowing down the dynamic trio of freshman forward Cameron Boozer, sophomore wing Isaiah Evans and Foster. Those three accounted for 38 of Duke’s 41 points in the second half against St. John’s. The sharpshooting Evans notched a game-high 25 points, including four threes. Foster, who was getting his first taste of five-on-five action since sustaining his injury on March 7, looked like his old self in the final 15 minutes.
Boozer, the USBWA National Player of the Year, is Duke’s centerpiece. The big man currently leads the Blue Devils in scoring, rebounding and assists. The Huskies have the personnel to match Boozer’s physicality and toughness, but his true superpower is his versatility. He can devastate teams in the paint and on the perimeter, as a scorer and as a passer.
“Boozer is a unique challenge, just because he’s a threat pretty much from everywhere,” Hurley said. “Obviously with him and with Evans and the depth of all of their talent, you’ve just got to figure out the things you want to take away from him, the things that you’re not going to allow him to do in the game. You can’t take everything away, so we’ve got to pick and choose.”
Hurley and his staff were still working through how their defense, which ranks 10th nationally, will guard Boozer when they addressed the media on Saturday. They have a little bit of time to figure it out and still get some much-needed rest. At least that’s the plan.
“I’ll try to get to sleep tonight,” Hurley said. “I’m banking that I’m going to be able to get to bed around 10, 10:30, tonight and hopefully get a good eight-and-a-half, nine hours. Hopefully my Oura Ring gives me something in the high 80s.”
With an opponent like Duke looming and a Final Four berth at stake, that is hard to imagine.
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