Elite Eight roundup: Florida rallies past Texas Tech; Duke shuts down Alabama
Chalk reigned supreme once again on Saturday as a pair of No. 1 seeds — Florida and Duke — punched their tickets to the Final Four in San Antonio.
Jon Scheyer Sport News
Duke strolls past Alabama, secures Final Four berth - ESPN
NEWARK, N.J. — In Duke's first meeting of the season, back in the summer, there was a picture of San Antonio up on the screen. The Blue Devils wanted to get to the Final Four for the first time since Mike Krzyzewski retired, the first Final Four of the new Duke era.
Duke relies on length, elite athleticism to beat Arizona and advance to Elite Eight
NEWARK, N.J. — Peeking out from beneath the back-to-back 3-pointers by Anthony Dell'Orso in the opening four minutes, sneaking a glance from behind the double-clutch floater by Jaden Bradley that extended Arizona's early lead shortly thereafter, were the intermittent glimpses of fragility and fool's gold that seemed destined — desperate, even — to undermine any bid for an upset at Prudential Center on Thursday night. To drain the life from three separate fan bases whose allegiances here at the Sweet 16 were temporarily aligned and fused by a shared disdain for Duke, the top seed in the East Regional and a perennial national championship contender. That the Blue Devils' boast three potential lottery picks, including presumptive No. 1 selection Cooper Flagg, the five-star freshman sensation and front-runner to be named Naismith College Player of the Year, has begun to bathe this season with an air of inevitability.
Cooper Flagg scores 30, leads Duke over Arizona and into Elite 8 - ESPN
NEWARK, N.J. — Duke's Cooper Flagg put on a skills clinic and overcame an onslaught from Arizona and Caleb Love, finishing with 30 points, six rebounds, seven assists and three blocks Thursday night in a 100-93 NCAA tournament victory that pulled the Blue Devils within one win of the Final Four.
Kevin Love says young 'unicorns' taking basketball to 'amazing place' - ESPN
As a freshman at UCLA nearly 20 years ago, Kevin Love was viewed as a unique talent because of his passing ability and offensive versatility, but the five-time NBA All-Star said there is a new crop of «unicorns» that are more advanced than players of his generation at this stage.
Duke's Maliq Brown (shoulder) could play in Sweet 16 vs. Arizona - ESPN
NEWARK, N.J. — Duke's Maliq Brown, out since the ACC tournament with a shoulder injury, is a «maybe» for the Blue Devils' Sweet 16 game against Arizona on Thursday.
Cooper Flagg -- Ankle held up well in Duke's opening NCAA win - ESPN
RALEIGH, N.C. — Cooper Flagg played a little more than 22 minutes in his return to action following an ankle injury last week, and No. 1 seed Duke cruised past No. 16 Mount St. Mary's 93-49 in a first-round NCAA tournament game Friday.
Duke's Cooper Flagg feeling good, confident after ankle injury - ESPN
RALEIGH, N.C. — Cooper Flagg says he is «pain free» after suffering an ankle injury that kept him out of the majority of Duke's ACC tournament championship run, and he expects to be fully healthy for the Blue Devils' NCAA tournament opener against Mount St. Mary's on Friday.