In order to secure a spot in the Final Four for the second consecutive year, Duke must defeat a formidable UConn squad led by Dan Hurley, a coach with considerable NCAA Tournament experience.
Hurley has an absurd 16-1 record in the last four March Madness tournaments and guided the Huskies to consecutive national titles in 2023 and 2024. He is aware of what it takes to win these kinds of games, and Duke will have a difficult time defeating UConn in order to go to Indianapolis.
Although Jon Scheyer has not yet guided Duke to a National Championship, the Blue Devils are in the Elite Eight for the third straight season. When Scheyer ends Duke’s current 11-year title drought seems to be more important than if.
ESPN analysts Myron Medcalf and Jeff Borzello had drastically different predictions for Sunday’s Elite 8 clash.
Jeff Borzello picks UConn to upset Duke in the Elite 8
The upset is anticipated by Borzello. He predicted that UConn would defeat Duke 71-70 in a thrilling game, returning the Huskies to the Final Four for the third time in four years.
According to Borzello, UConn must outplay Duke in the paint in order to get to the Final Four. Good luck with that. Although Tarris Reed has been a formidable competitor, facing Patrick Ngongba and Cameron Boozer will be his greatest obstacle to date. Boozer is one of the best big men in the nation at forcing fouls, and Hurley’s team may have a difficult night if Reed falls into foul trouble.
Borzello is particularly concerned about Duke’s backcourt’s ability to withstand the defensive pressure from UConn, since the majority of ball-handling duties are handled by a freshman named Cayden Boozer and a less than 100% Caleb Foster.
On the other end of the scale is Medcalf. He believes that Duke will win by double digits and that the Blue Devils will advance to the Final Four with a score of 76-64.
With the disclaimer that Reed might present some issues, Medcalf attributes this to Duke’s domination in the paint. Medcalf points out that Duke has hit 57% from two-point range and grabbed 45% of its own misses, so the cold shooting hasn’t really hurt, despite the Blue Devils’ recent struggles from three-point range (30% since the start of the ACC Tournament).
Medcalf predicts a double-digit victory if Duke can resume making threes on a regular basis. If not, another dogfight is probably in store for the Blue Devils.
