Potential Sweet 16 matchup vs. Houston part of Duke's path to Final Four
Posted March 19, 2024 12:00 p.m. EDT
Updated March 20, 2024 2:10 p.m. EDT
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Duke enters the 2024 NCAA Tournament having lost its last two games: The home loss at Cameron Indoor Stadium to rival North Carolina in the regular-season finale and in the ACC quarterfinals against eventual conference tournament champion NC State.
On Monday afternoon, Duke (24-8, 15-5 ACC) earned a No. 13 ranking in the final AP Top 25 poll released. All five of Duke's five national title teams (1991, 1992, 2001, 2010 and 2015) finished ranked in the top six.
The Blue Devils have lost three of their last six games.
After the loss to NC State, senior guard Jeremy Roach said the team would have a players-led meeting when they got back to Durham. Roach said the team was gearing up for a Final Four run.
Roach only had 5 points in the loss to NC State. Expect him to bounce back this week.
The good news for Duke is sophomore big man Kyle Filipowski is playing at a high level. He's scored more than 20 points in the team's last two games.
Filipowski was named among the 10 semifinalists for the Naismith trophy, which is given to college basketball player of the year.
Filipowski is expected to be a first-round selection in the 2024 NBA Draft.
Freshman guard Jared McCain is also projected by some experts to a first-round pick. He is a prolific shooter when he's hot.
Duke struggled against elite big men. ACC opponents connected on 50% of their attempts inside the arc, according to KenPom.
The Blue Devils need to get Mark Mitchell going downhill, attacking the basket. He averages 12.3 points per game and 6.2 rebounds per game.
Reserve guard Caleb Foster could miss time with a lower leg injury. Foster missed the last four regular season games.
Can the Blue Devils put it together?
Duke has NCAA Tournament experience edge over Vermont
The Blue Devils will face No. 13 seed Vermont (28-6) at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn on Friday, March 22 at 7:10 p.m. on CBS.
Vermont (28-6, 15-1 American East) has won 10 straight games entering the NCAA Tournament, including the American East conference championship game – the Catamounts’ third straight – in a 66-61 win over UMass Lowell.
Friday’s game will mark the Catamounts’ third consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance. Under head coach John Becker, Vermont has made the NCAA Tournament in 2012, 2017, 2019, 2022 and 2023. However, the Catamounts have yet to make it out of the first round in Becker’s tenure.
Becker has been the head coach at Vermont since 2011. He worked as an assistant coach at the school from 2006 to 2011.
Vermont made it past the first round of the NCAA Tournament once in program history. In 2005, Vermont beat Syracuse in overtime to advance to the second round of the tournament under then-head coach Tom Brennan.
This season’s Vermont team has three players average double-digit scoring: Junior guard TJ Long (12.2 points per game), junior guard Shamir Bogues (11 points per game) and senior guard Aaron Deloney (10.9 points ger game).
Bogues, a transfer guard from Tarleton State, is also the team’s leading rebounder at 5.2 rebounds per game. He was named the American East Tournament’s most outstanding player.
Vermont has an 0-2 record this season against Quad 1 teams.
Duke's second-round opponent: A tricky 5-12 matchup
Wisconsin, the 5 seed in the South, beat six top-50 KenPom teams with a 16-4 overall record and an 8-1 start in Big Ten play. The Badgers went 3-8 in their final 11 games of the regular season.
Transfer wing AJ Storr leads Wisconsin in scoring at 16.7 points per game.
Some people have picked 12 seed James Madison to upset Wisconsin in the first round. Terrence Edwards Jr. leads James Madison in scoring at 17.4 points per game.
In Sweet 16, top seed Houston awaits Duke
It’s a pretty safe bet Houston will win its first-round game against 16-seed Longwood.
If Houston beats either No. 8 seed Nebraska or No. 9 seed Texas A&M, it would set up a potential Sweet 16 matchup.
Houston is loaded with talent: Former Baylor transfer L.J. Cryer (15.3 points per game), Big 12 Player of the Year Jamal Shead (13.1 points per game and 6.2 assists per game), Emmanuel Sharp (12.2 points per game) and J’Wan Roberts (9.4 points per game and 6.8 rebounds per game).
Can Houston head coach Kelvin Sampson finally win a championship?
Nebraska features Japanese basketball star Keisei Tominaga, who will represent his home country in the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. Tominaga leads the Cornhuskers in scoring (14.8 points per game) and is a good shooter (38% from beyond the arc in Big Ten play).
Texas A&M boasts wins over Iowa State, Kentucky and Tennessee. However, the Aggies had two losses to Arkansas and a road loss at Vanderbilt.
If Duke makes Elite Eight, guard play could be key
Marquette senior guard Tyler Kolek is dealing with an injury. However, head coach Shaka Smart said Kolek will play in Friday's game against Western Kentucky.
Entering the Big East tournament, Kolek missed the previous three games with an oblique injury. Kolek recorded 34 assists in his final three games before the injury.
Florida boasts wins over Kentucky, Alabama and Auburn. The Gators won 11 of their last 15 games entering the SEC tournament quarterfinals against Alabama.
Like pretty much every season, John Calipari’s squad features some of the best individual talent among the teams in the NCAA Tournament.
Freshmen Rob Dillingham and Reed Sheppard are considered by some experts as top-five picks in the 2024 NBA Draft.
Senior guard Antonio Reeves (20.0 points per game, 44.1% from 3) should be an All-American.
Texas Tech has talented guards. Sophomore guard Pop Isaacs is the Red Raiders’ leading scorer at 15.9 points per game. Senior guard Joe Toussaint is the team’s second-leading scorer (12.1 points per game). Toussaint is the team’s assists (4.3 assists per game) and steals leader (1.4 steals per game). Sophomore guard Darrion Williams averages 11.4 points per game and 7.5 rebounds per game.
