Will Duke win it all? Blue Devils face stiff competition in Final Four
by Sharon Thorsland
This space is normally dedicated to previewing North Carolina’s opponents. But since my Tar Heels whiffed in the NCAA Tournament, let’s preview this weekend’s Final Four and a familiar opponent, Duke. The top-ranked Blue Devils (35-3) have been cruising through the tournament, dispatching with Mount Saint Mary’s, Baylor and Arizona en route to San Antonio. Up next is fellow number one seed Houston (34-4). The other side of the bracket has two more number one seeds, with Auburn facing Florida in another SEC showdown.
Duke continues to play outstanding basketball, led by star freshman Cooper Flagg. The Blue Devils feature two more prominent freshman in Kon Knueppel and Khaman Maluach, who are hoping to lead Duke to its first title since 2015. Houston is the opposite of Duke, with a veteran squad and an elite defense. The Cougars boast the nation’s top defense that is excellent at preventing teams from getting to the rim. They are physical and put a lot of pressure on the ball. And they’re one of the best 3-point shooting teams in the country, averaging nearly 40% from behind the arc. But the Cougars do have a weakness – they allow teams to shoot a lot of 3’s. And that’s something Duke does a good job of, starting with Tyrese Proctor. The junior is shooting over 41% from 3-point range and could be the x-factor in this one.
Florida (34-4) is favored to beat Auburn (32-5), but just barely, so this should be a great game. The Gators have won 10 straight games and are playing outstanding basketball right now. They’ve got some elite scorers in Walter Clayton Jr. and Alex Condon, who combine for nearly 30 points a game. Auburn faltered down the stretch, losing their last two regular season games and in the semi-finals of the SEC tournament. Star forward Johni Broome is dealing with an elbow injury, but the SEC player of the year says he’s good to go for this game. The Tigers have gotten back on track in the NCAA tourney with a pair of impressive wins over Michigan and Michigan State. These teams only played each other once this season, a 90-81 Florida win back on February 8th.
On paper these games look to be outstanding matchups. So who will advance to the championship game? I say Houston and Florida. Let’s see who gets it done.