Duke Blue Devils take on the Alabama Crimson Tide in Elite 8

By Canadian Press on March 28, 2025.

Alabama Crimson Tide (28-8, 14-6 SEC) vs. Duke Blue Devils (34-3, 22-1 ACC)

Newark, New Jersey; Saturday, 8:49 p.m. EDT

BOTTOM LINE: No. 1 Duke and No. 7 Alabama square off in the NCAA Tournament Elite Eight.

The Blue Devils are 22-1 against ACC opponents and 12-2 in non-conference play. Duke is 25-3 against opponents with a winning record.

The Crimson Tide’s record in SEC action is 14-6. Alabama is second in college basketball with 39.1 rebounds per game led by Grant Nelson averaging 7.6.

Duke averages 83.6 points per game, 2.4 more points than the 81.2 Alabama gives up. Alabama has shot at a 48.7% rate from the field this season, 10.1 percentage points greater than the 38.6% shooting opponents of Duke have averaged.

TOP PERFORMERS: Tyrese Proctor averages 2.4 made 3-pointers per game for the Blue Devils, scoring 12.4 points while shooting 41.2% from beyond the arc. Cooper Flagg is averaging 19 points, 7.5 rebounds and 4.2 assists over the past 10 games.

Mark Sears averages 2.5 made 3-pointers per game for the Crimson Tide, scoring 19.0 points while shooting 34.8% from beyond the arc. Chris Youngblood is averaging 11.7 points over the past 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Blue Devils: 10-0, averaging 87.9 points, 34.8 rebounds, 16.6 assists, 6.4 steals and 5.2 blocks per game while shooting 50.8% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 66.5 points per game.

Crimson Tide: 7-3, averaging 93.4 points, 37.0 rebounds, 18.8 assists, 6.6 steals and 3.7 blocks per game while shooting 50.1% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 83.4 points.

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.

The Associated Press

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