Blue Devils’ great D sends Duke to Final Four with win over Alabama

Duke forward Cooper Flagg (2) puts up a shot against Alabama guard Aden Holloway (2) during the first half of an Elite Eight round NCAA college basketball tournament game, Saturday, March 29, 2025, in Newark, N.J. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

Alabama’s Grant Nelson (4) dunks the ball in front of Duke’s Cooper Flagg (2) in the first half of an Elite Eight round NCAA college basketball tournament game Saturday, March 29, 2025, in Buffalo, N.Y. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

Duke’s stream of long, tall NBA-ready standouts smothered Alabama and papered over Cooper Flagg’s rough shooting night to lift the Blue Devils to the program’s 18th Final Four with an 85-65 victory Saturday night in the NCAA Tournament’s East Region final.

Flagg made only 6 of 16 shots, including a brick that got stuck in the flange of the rim, but still finished with 16 points. Kon Knueppel, another potential lottery pick, led the Blue Devils with 21 points.

But the most important stat: Alabama’s nation-leading offense, one coming off a record-setting night from 3 in the Sweet 16, shot 8 for 32 from behind the arc, 35.4% overall and failed to crack 70 for only the second time this season.

Mark Sears, who came one short of a tournament record with 10 3s two nights earlier, finished with one and only six points against the Blue Devils (35-3), who won their 15th straight.

At the Final Four in San Antonio, top-seeded Duke will play the winner of Sunday’s game between Houston and Tennessee. Its win erased any chance of an all-Southeastern Conference show at the Final Four, but with No. 1 Florida winning earlier, it kept alive the prospect of all four top seeds playing on the sport’s biggest stage for only the second time.

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