The #1 seed Blue Devils face the #5 seed St. John’s Red Storm in the Sweet 16 in Washington, DC at Capital One Arena
St. John's Red Storm
Rick Pitino makes his 25th NCAA Tournament appearance at his sixth different school, with a 57-22 (.722) all-time record and three Final Fours at three different schools. The Red Storm have won 21 of their last 22 games. St. John’s ranks 17th in the nation in free throw attempts per game (25.3), 19th in scoring margin (+11.7), 20th in blocks per game (4.9), and 20th in turnover margin (+3.3).
Zuby Ejiofor averages 16.3 points, 7.3 rebounds, 3.5 assists, and 2.2 blocks per game—all team highs. Bryce Hopkins scored the ball at a 13.6 point per game clip for the Red Storm. He also pulls down 6.2 rebounds per game for Rick Pitino. Oziyah Sellers rounds out the double-figure scorers for St. John’s at 10.5 per game.
Last Time Out:
Dylan Darling drained the game-winner as time expired to lift fifth-seeded St. John’s (30-6) to the Sweet 16 and past fourth-seeded Kansas, 67-65, in NCAA Tournament Second Round on Sunday in San Diego. After the Red Storm led by as many as 14 in the second half, the Jayhawks (24-11) rallied to tie the score with 13 seconds remaining. Darling prevailed as the hero kissing a lay-up off the glass as the horn sounded, to send the Red Storm into the second weekend for the first time in 27 years.
Duke Blue Devils
Duke is one of only three teams ranked in the top-seven nationally in both offensive efficiency (127.3, 7th) and defensive efficiency (89.5, 1st) ratings. (KenPom) The Blue Devils are the national leaders in scoring margin (+18.9). Duke ranks third in the nation and first in the ACC in scoring defense (63.1 ppg). The Blue Devils are ninth nationally with an ACC-best field goal percentage defense of 39.0%. Duke tops the conference and ranks fifth in the country in rebounding margin (+11.1).
Cameron Boozer is the nation’s ninth-leading scorer with 22.4 points per game and is third in the nation with 21 double-doubles and 11th in rebounding (10.3 rpg). Boozer has recorded at least 13 points, five rebounds and two assists in all 36 games this season, the longest such streak by any player (men’s or women’s) at any point in a Division I career this century. Isaiah Evans has been the scoring Robin to Cam Boozer’s Batman adding 15 points per game. Patrick Ngongba, coming back from injury has been huge for the Blue Devils – on the season he’s scoring 10.5 points per game.
Last Time Out:
Cameron Boozer exploded for 17 second-half points, leading Duke to the Sweet 16 with an 81-58 victory over TCU. The Blue Devils (34-2) outpaced the Horned Frogs (23-12) by 19 points following intermission to advance to the second weekend for the third consecutive season under head coach Jon Scheyer. Isaiah Evans helped Duke keep pace early with a team-high 13 points in the opening half as the Blue Devils led by just four at the break, 38-34. In addition to Boozer’s push in the second half, Dame Sarr poured in nine with a trio of three pointers after the half. Evans finished with 17 points, while Sarr totaled 14 with eight rebounds. Duke was also aided by the return of Patrick Ngongba II, who had not played since the NC State contest on March 2. Ngongba finished with four points, four rebounds and four assists in his return.
Final Thoughts
There could be a very strong urge to look at St. John’s stats and say, “Well, they don’t shoot it well as a team, so pack the paint. ” I get that urge, but there’s an inherent danger in doing that, especially the way Bryce Hopkins has been shooting the basketball. On the season Hopkins is just 34.8% from 3, but in the month of March he’s shooting 50% from beyond the arc (11-22), and in the NCAA Tournament he’s shooting 66.7% from 3 (8-12). Depending on who ends up guarding the 6’7 forward, they have to be sure to account for how he’s been shooting the ball. He is by no means the only dangerous player for the Red Storm; they also have a 6’9 bruiser in Ejiofor who is a monster in the paint. Defensively, Duke cannot allow him to feast in the paint, and offensively, the Blue Devils have to put him in ball screen actions to force him to defend in uncomfortable situations.
There are plenty of basics Duke has to adhere to. Duke has to play a much better floor game than they did against the Horned Frogs; giving up 17+ turnovers against St. John’s would be the equivalent to signing your own exit papers from this tournament. The pressure defense will be ratcheted up even further in this game; inbounding, pressing, and trapping, Duke has to be ready. If Duke can get into a good offensive rhythm, then the game becomes that much easier for them. Patrick Ngongba being healthy could be huge in this game, but he has to guard against picking up cheap fouls.
