NEWARK, N.J. — With No. 1 Florida already booked for San Antonio, Texas, and another two schools set to play in Sunday’s regional finals, there’s no doubt the SEC is the best conference in college basketball.
The league went 185-23 in non-conference play, including a combined 42-6 against the Big 12 and the ACC. Fourteen teams from the SEC made the NCAA men’s tournament, shattering the previous record by three. The conference was the third in tournament history to send four teams to the Elite Eight, joining the ACC in 2016 and the Big East in 2009. Florida’s comeback to beat Texas Tech on Saturday was the league’s 20th win in the tournament, breaking the record set by the ACC nine years ago.
The conference could make up three-fourths of the Final Four should No. 2 Tennessee beat No. 1 Houston in the Midwest region and No. 1 Auburn top No. 2 Michigan State in the South. That’s been done only once before, by the Big East in 2013.
But it won’t be a four-by-four sweep. No. 1 Duke made sure of that in the East, clamping down on No. 2 Alabama’s top-ranked offense to win 85-65 despite landing an uncharacteristically off night from freshman Cooper Flagg, who scored 16 points on 6 of 16 shooting with nine rebounds.
The upshot from the Prudential Center is that the SEC might be the best conference in the country, but Duke is the best team. Even if the SEC places three teams in the Final Four, the Blue Devils should be the favorite to win the program’s first national championship under coach Jon Scheyer and sixth overall.
There’s no better support for this argument than the way Duke erased the Crimson Tide. The Blue Devils didn’t play close to their best game offensively — and still pulled out a fairly breezy, wire-to-wire win.
“I think it’s kind of something that I’ve said a lot through this whole year,” Flagg said, “is we just have such a talented team. Each night could be somebody else’s night.”
Behind a methodical offense and the most impressive defensive performance from any team in this tournament, Duke painted the picture of a virtually indestructible force buoyed by a supporting cast that has gone largely underrecognized amid the deserved focus on Flagg’s freshman-year brilliance.
Nothing came easy for the nation’s highest-scoring team. Only an uncontested dunk by senior forward Grant Nelson with under a minute to play allowed the Tide to sneak past their previous season-low scoring total of 64 points against Mississippi. This was just the second time in more than two years the program had been held below 70 points. Only four times this season had the Crimson Tide been held below 80 points.
“We just play our defense and it frustrates teams,” Duke sophomore guard Caleb Foster said.
Alabama scored 113 points two nights ago in beating No. 6 Brigham Young, setting a tournament record with 25 makes from deep. But the Tide went just 8 of 32 from behind the arc against the Blue Devils and 23 of 65 overall. The team’s leading scorer in Thursday night’s win against the Cougars, senior guard Mark Sears scored just 6 points on 2 of 12 shooting from the field and committed five turnovers.
Duke put on a defensive masterclass over the game’s final eight minutes. After a pair of free throws by freshman Alabama guard LeBaron Philon cut the lead to 65-58, Duke held the Crimson Tide without a field goal for the next 5:45 to push the advantage to 78-61 with 2:16 to play. That came after the Blue Devils held the Tide without a bucket from the 13:42 mark until 9:45 remained in regulation.
“They were just building out,” or closing out on shooters, Sears said. “When we would drive, they would build out, and they had a great rim protector at the rim making it hard on us, and they just did a really good job of doing that.”
As expected, the Tide struggled to combat Duke’s length. The nation’s tallest team with an average height of nearly 6-foot-7, the Blue Devils were able to switch primary defenders in their man-to-man defense and contest nearly every shot on the perimeter. Closer to the basket, center Khaman Maluach’s 9-foot-8 standing reach influenced action on both ends; Duke was plus-22 across the freshman’s 31 minutes on the court.
“We made the point to our guys we’re not going to go in and score on him, and we had a few guys still try to challenge him,” said Alabama coach Nate Oats. “We ended up having more blocks than them, but the way he challenges, it’s a problem.”
But the greatest example of the Blue Devils’ virtuosity is the way they dominated Alabama despite Flagg putting together his least productive game in months on the offensive end.
The 16 points are his fewest in a game when playing at least 30 minutes since scoring 13 points in a non-conference loss to Kansas in November. Not since making 6 of 17 attempts in a loss to Clemson in early February had he shot worse from the field, not counting an abbreviated appearance against Georgia Tech in the ACC tournament that ended after he suffered an ankle injury.
He had his shot blocked twice at the rim, including a vicious return by Alabama forward Grant Nelson on a dunk attempt in the second half. His handle was sloppier than usual, contributing to a four-turnover performance that matched his combined turnover output in Duke’s three previous tournament wins. He lacked the same burst that drove his 30-point game against No. 4 Arizona.
Teammates who have spent the regular season and most of the postseason in Flagg’s immense shadow stepped up to shoulder the load.
“Having so many talented guys on the team, it’s not going to be your night every night,” Flagg said. “Just don’t hang your head, just keep playing hard.”
Maluach had 14 points and 9 rebounds. Junior guard Tyrese Proctor, one of two holdovers from last season’s rotation, had 17 points on 7 of 10 shooting. Freshman guard Kon Knueppel — like Flagg, a five-star recruit — was able to get to the basket with ease and finished with a game-high 21 points.
“We’re an 11-deep team,” said Foster, who had 5 points and 3 assists. “All of us are dogs, man. It’s not just one of us. I think we’ve showed that time and time again.”
Flagg struggled. The offense can clearly be better. The Blue Devils still beat an SEC powerhouse by 20 points. Take note, SEC — and everyone else, for that matter: This is Duke’s Final Four to lose.
“We focused a lot of what we do on being ready to be at your best when your best is required,” said Scheyer. ‘And this isn’t a best out of seven. It’s a one-game shot you have at this. So a lot of our focus this preseason, summer, during the year has been about winning the mental game, winning the preparation, winning the energy you put into these moments.’
