NEWARK, N.J. — Tyrese Proctor kept it short and simple. Asked for his take on Duke’s upcoming Elite Eight clash with Alabama, the 6-foot-6 junior guard thought for a moment, leaned forward into the microphone and said, “It’s going to be a war.”
Yeah, that about sums it up.
It’s the matchup fans have been eagerly anticipating. No. 1 vs. No. 2 in the East Region. Blue blood vs. new blood. ACC vs. SEC. A battle of juggernauts, both at the top of their games.
Alabama made history in its 113-88 win over BYU on Thursday, sinking an NCAA Tournament record 25 three-pointers. Duke also reached triple digits in its 100-93 victory over Arizona, shooting 60 percent from the field and 57.9 percent from deep. The All-Americans on both teams treated the sell-out crowd at the Prudential Center to a spectacular show. Alabama senior Mark Sears, a 6-foot-1 guard, buried 10 threes and finished with 34 points, 8 assists and 3 steals. Duke freshman Cooper Flagg, a 6-foot-9 forward and the frontrunner for the Wooden Award, registered 30 points, 7 assists, 6 rebounds and 3 blocks.
There wasn’t much — if any — time for either program to celebrate. Duke coach Jon Scheyer admitted he got very little sleep on Thursday night, as his staff immediately began prepping for the Tide. “It’s all about the preparation and it’s an honor,” Scheyer said. “That’s what you want to have. So I’m grateful not to get much rest.”
When Alabama coach Nate Oats spoke with his team on Friday morning, he reminded them that the job is far from finished. “While it was fun last night, we’ve got to get locked into Duke,” Oats said, “and Duke is obviously really talented.”
Indeed, the Blue Devils are a force to be reckoned with, the favorite to claim the national championship. Through three NCAA Tournament games, they have shot 57.1 from the field and averaged 19.7 assists compared to just 5.7 turnovers. Duke has the highest net rating on KenPom (+38.88) since 1999 and is the only program that ranks in the top five in both offensive efficiency and defensive efficiency. “We’ve got to be really locked in on both sides of the ball,” Oats said. “They’ve got multiple first-round picks, multiple lottery picks, so there are plenty of matchups we’ve got to be concerned with.”
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The biggest concern is the aforementioned Flagg, who leads the Blue Devils in every major statistical category (19.0 points, 7.5 rebounds, 4.3 assists, 1.4 steals and 1.3 blocks). Oats knows it is impossible to completely shut down the freshman sensation, but “what you can’t have is him scoring 25 and getting eight, nine, ten assists and picking up all these fouls,” he explained. “You’re going to have to decide what you want to do, and some of their guys you’d better not help very far off because they can really shoot it.” Freshman Kon Knueppel, a 6-foot-7 wing projected to be the 13th pick in Hoops HQ’s NBA mock draft, averages 14.2 points and shoots 39.9 percent from behind the arc. Proctor has been red-hot throughout March Madness, hitting 14 of his 20 three-point attempts.
Duke is the tallest team in the country and has an elite rim protector in 7-foot-2 freshman center Khaman Maluach, who averages 8.5 points, 6.7 rebounds and 1.3 blocks. Its defense has held opponents to just 62.5 points per game, which ranks seventh in Division I. “When we play together on the defensive end and stay connected, we’re the best defensive team in the country,” said Proctor.
The knock on Duke has been its weak strength of schedule compared to other top programs. The ACC was significantly worse this year than the SEC, Big Ten and Big 12, receiving just four bids to the Tournament, its lowest mark since 2014. During non-conference play, the Blue Devils toppled Auburn and Arizona, but they also lost to Kentucky and Kansas. Over the past four months, they have tasted defeat only once, falling at Clemson 77-71 in early February.
There is no doubt that Alabama is the more battle-tested team. The Tide played the toughest schedule in the country, according to KenPom’s strength of schedule rating, and still went 28-8. In fact, Alabama has played every school ranked above it on KenPom except for…Duke. “We’ve played in a lot of meaningful games against a lot of good teams,” said 6-foot-4 senior guard Chris Youngblood. “We understand what it takes to win it. We’ve lost some close games, too, so we understand the value of each possession in high-level games like this. So we’ll be ready.”
The Tide are an offensive powerhouse, ranking first nationally in points per game (91.4) and pace. As always, they will try to control the tempo (Duke prefers to slow it down and run more sets), put constant pressure on the rim and create open looks from three. Scheyer described Alabama’s style as “relentless” and emphasized that his guys can’t relax on the defensive end. “I don’t think a lot of teams play like Alabama does,” Knueppel added. “Obviously they have the fastest pace in the country so I don’t think I could point out one team that plays like them.”
Multiple Alabama players told Hoops HQ that the team’s confidence is at an all-time high following its brilliant performance in the Sweet Sixteen. Sears, who made the All-SEC First Team for a second consecutive year, has been inconsistent from deep this season, but he was unconscious against BYU. Sophomore Aden Holloway, a 6-foot-1 guard, and Youngblood also combined for 11 three-pointers and 42 points. “We’re in the right spot at the right time,” Holloway told Hoops HQ. “But none of it matters if we don’t get it tomorrow.”
Holloway shared several keys to the matchup with Duke, including getting back in transition, taking care of the ball, making good reads at the rim and playing tough one-on-one defense to limit the amount of help needed. “We’re not going to play their style of game — we’re going to play our style,” Holloway said. “We’re very confident in the way that we play as a team.”
Of course, the same could be said for Duke, which is why the stage is set for such an epic showdown. As far as what to expect, well, just listen to Proctor.
