The top two seeds in the East region met to determine a Final Four berth. With Alabama scoring 111 points in its Sweet 16 win and Duke putting up 100, a high-scoring affair seemed likely. While it wasn't that, for Duke, an 85-65 win was enough to return to the school's 18th Final Four.
Alabama vs. Duke Box Score
Alabama
Duke
Alabama vs. Duke Game Summary
Duke opened the game red-hot, taking an 8-2 lead on a Kon Knueppel 3-pointer with 17:38 remaining in the first half. The Blue Devils pushed their lead to 15-5. Alabama pulled within four points on several occasions in the first half, but Duke stretched its advantage to 35-22 on a Cooper Flagg layup with 6:47 left in the half. Alabama pulled within 46-37 at halftime.
Alabama pulled within six points on a couple occasions early in the second half, but Duke seemed to always have an answer. The Blue Devils weren;t seriously challenged down the stretch.
Duke was led by a balanced attack that generated 21 points from Kon Knueppel. Tyrese Proctor scored 17 points, while Cooper Flagg added 16 points and nine rebounds but shot just 6-for-16. Khaman Maluach also chipped in 14 points for the win.
Alabama was led by Labaron Philon, who had 16 points and five rebounds. Chris Youngblood and Grant Nelson each added 10 points for the Tide. All-American Mark Sears shot just 2-for-12 and finished with six points and five turnovers.
As a team, Alabama shot just 35% and 8-for-32 (25%) from 3-point range. Duke shot 54% and won the rebounding battle 41-30.
Duke will face the winner of No. 1 seed Houston and No. 2 seed Tennessee in the Final Four. This will be Duke's 18th appearance in the Final Four and the first under coach Jon Scheyer. The Blue Devils are now two wins from a sixth NCAA Tournament title.
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