Final Four Bound! Duke Defeats Alabama, 85-65, in Elite Eight
from www.goduke.com
NEWARK, N.J. – No. 1-seed Duke advanced to the 2025 Final Four, defeating No. 2-seed Alabama, 85-65, in the East Region Final on Saturday, March 29. The Blue Devils (35-3) earned their 18th Final Four berth and the first under head coach Jon Scheyer.
Duke used a late 13-0 scoring run, while holding Alabama (28-9) to a scoring drought of over five minutes, to help secure the 20-point victory.
Kon Knueppel led the team with 21 points and added a squad-high five assists. Khaman Maluach and Cooper Flagg paced Duke on the glass with nine rebounds each.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Cooper Flagg swished home a three-pointer in the opening seconds and Duke’s defense forced a shot-clock violation on Alabama’s first possession. Kon Knueppel and Tyrese Proctor each connected on their first attempts from beyond the arc to put Duke in front early, 11-5.
Two free throws by Sion James, out of the first media timeout, gave the Blue Devils an early 10-point edge, 15-5. Back-to-back triples by the Crimson Tide narrowed the margin to four after five minutes of action.
An alley-oop slam by Khaman Maluach, a layup by James and a corner three-pointer by Knueppel extended Duke’s lead to 11, 30-19, halfway through the first half. Duke’s defense held Alabama to a stretch of 1-of-12 from the field and built its lead to 35-22 before an Alabama layup with 5:45 on the clock. Duke’s lead was narrowed to eight, 37-29, leading to a timeout by the Blue Devils at the 4:33 mark.
The two teams traded blows as the half drew to a close, with Duke capping its first 20 minutes with a three-point-play from Flagg, taking a 46-37 lead into intermission.
In the second half, the lead was trimmed to six, 52-46, following an Alabama three-point-play with 15:38 on the clock. Maluach slammed home his fourth dunk of the evening on Duke’s ensuing possession, giving the freshman 10 points and Duke its fourth double-digit scorer.
A Knueppel layup moved Duke’s lead back into double-digits, 59-48, shortly before the under-12 timeout. Back-to-back buckets by Proctor set the Blue Devils up with a 13-point advantage, 63-50, at the halfway mark of the second stanza.
The Blue Devils held onto their double-digit margin, 69-58, with six minutes left to play. Knueppel drained two free throws with 5:06 on the clock to expand the lead to 14, 72-58. The margin remained the same at the final media timeout, as Duke entered the break on a 7-0 scoring run, while holding Alabama to a scoring drought of over four minutes.
The scoring burst reached 13 unanswered as Duke grabbed control of a 20-point lead, 78-58, with under three minutes to play. Alabama responded with five points to inch within 15, 78-63, with 1:55 on the clock.
The Blue Devils closed it out with a 7-2 spurt over the final 1:50, aided by four free throws, to ice the victory and advance to the Final Four.
UP NEXT
Top-seeded Duke advances to the Final Four, held in San Antonio, Texas. The Blue Devils will face the winner of Houston versus Tennessee in one of the two national semifinals, played on Saturday, April 5.