NCAAT Preview: #1-seed Duke Blue Devils (35-2, 17-1 ACC) vs #2-seed UConn Huskies (32-5, 17-3 Big East)

NCAAT Preview: #1-seed Duke Blue Devils (35-2, 17-1 ACC) vs #2-seed UConn Huskies (32-5, 17-3 Big East)

Sunday, March 29 • 5:05 p.m. ET

NCAA Tournament Regional Final • Capital One Arena (20,356) • Washington, DC

TV: CBS

Radio: Blue Devil Sports Network from LEARFIELD

The #1 seed Blue Devils face the #2 seed UConn Huskies in the Elite 8 in Washington, DC at Capital One Arena

TV CBS
Play-by-Play Ian Eagle
Analyst Grant Hill
Analyst Bill Raftery
Reporter Tracy Wolfson
Producer Ken Mack

Radio Blue Devil Sports Network
Play-by-Play David Shumate
Analyst John Roth
Engineer John Rose
In Durham 96.5 FM & 620 AM
SiriusXM SiriusXM app

Overall Duke leads, 6-4
In Durham, NC —
at Cameron Indoor Stadium ––
In Storrs, CT —
at Gampel Pavilion —
Neutral Sites Duke leads, 6-4
Last Meeting Duke 66, UConn 56 (Dec. 18, 2014 – East Rutherford, N.J.)
Last 10 Games in Series Duke leads, 6-4

UConn enters Sunday with a 32-5 record; they amassed a Big East record of 17-3 and entered the tournament as a 2-seed. The Huskies rank 10th in the nation in scoring defense, holding opponents to 65.0 points per game, and 19th in field goal percentage defense (.402). UConn is ninth nationally with 18.5 assists per contest. The Huskies earned their sixth-consecutive selection to the NCAA Tournament, spending the entire season inside the top-six of the AP Top 25. Dan Hurley makes his eighth NCAA Tournament appearance (UConn and Rhode Island) with an 18-5 record.

Five Huskies average double figures in scoring, led by Tarris Reed Jr. with 14.3 points per game, and followed closely by Alex Karaban (13.4 ppg) and Solo Ball (13.0 ppg). Reed also averages 8.8 rebounds and 2.0 blocks per game. Silas Demary Jr. has the 12th-most assists in the country (218), averaging 6.1 per game.

Last Time Out:

A hot start and clutch shooting late led the two-seed UConn men’s basketball team (32-5) to a 67-63 win over third-seeded Michigan State (27-8) on Friday night in the East Regional Semifinal late Friday night at Capital One Arena. With the win, the Huskies advance to their 14^th Elite Eight and third in four years where they will face Duke in the East Regional Final on Sunday evening.  The Huskies opened the game on a 25-6 rip buoyed by a 22-2 run over nearly nine minutes of game time and took an eight-point lead to the break. Michigan State pulled back ahead midway through the second but the lead was short-lived as UConn quickly stretched its edge back to seven with five to play. MSU got within one on three separate occasions in the final two minutes, and each time UConn came up with answer. Alex Karaban hit a massive 3-pointer with 1:39 to play, then combined with Tarris Reed Jr. to go 6-for-6 from the free throw line in the final minute to salt away with the win.

Reed Jr. led all scorers with 20 points for the Huskies, adding five rebounds, four assists and two blocks to continue his terrific March Madness run. Karaban scored 17 and snared a team-high seven rebounds along with three assists and two blocks. Solo Ball was the third Husky in double-figures with 12 points, including a pair of 3-pointers. Malachi Smith dished out a team-best seven assists and swiped four steals for Connecticut in 17 minutes off the bench. For MSU, Carson Cooper led four in double-figures with 14 points while Jeremy Fears scored 13 with seven assists.

Duke has secured 13 top-25 victories in the 2025-26 campaign, including the most in the regular season (11) in ACC history and tied for the most in a regular season in AP poll history. Duke is one of only three teams ranked in the top six nationally in both offensive efficiency (127.9, 6th) and defensive efficiency (90.2, 2nd) ratings. (KenPom) The Blue Devils are the national leaders in scoring margin (+18.5). Duke ranks fourth in the nation and first in the ACC in scoring defense (63.4 ppg). The Blue Devils are eighth nationally with a field goal percentage defense of 39.2%. Duke tops their conference and ranks fifth in the country in rebounding margin (+11.1).

Cameron Boozer is the nation’s ninth-leading scorer with 22.4 points per game, is tied for the national lead with 22 double-doubles, and ranks 11th in rebounding (10.3 rpg). Boozer is the first freshman or sophomore to average 20+ points, 10+ rebounds and 4+ assists in a season since Larry Bird at Indiana State in 1976-77. (CBS Sports) Isaiah Evans is averaging 19.3 points and 5.8 rebounds in six postseason games.

Last Time Out:

For the third straight season, the Duke men’s basketball team is in the Elite Eight as it held off St. John’s, 80-75, in the Sweet 16 on Friday evening inside Capital One Arena. The Blue Devils, who were down by one at the half and trailed by as many as 10 points after intermission, clawed back and took the lead for good with 3:54 to play. Duke outscored the Red Storm 22-15 over the final 10 minutes en route to the comeback.

Isaiah Evans poured in a team-high 25 points, while Cameron Boozer finished with 22 and 10 rebounds for his third consecutive double-double and 22nd of the season. Caleb Foster, who returned to the lineup for the first time in the postseason, added 11 points on five-of-eight shooting in 18 minutes of action. Duke (35-2) extended its current winning streak to a nation-best 14, while pushing its victory total in the last two seasons to 70, the most in a two-year span in program history.

Going against UConn is never an easy task; with Dan Hurley at the helm, this team can be very dangerous on the offensive end. One thing Dan Hurley and Jon Scheyer have in common is an unusually large bag when it comes to play-calling. UConn is extremely deep in that department, and obviously with one day of prep there’s no way Duke can be versed in every facet of what UConn does, so it makes sense to focus on being stout defensively and sticking to fundamental principles. Senior Alex Karaban is the head of the snake; as he goes, so goes this UConn team. Karaban’s off-the-ball movement is legendary, and he understands angles and how to come off screens, and he’s a marksman—shooting just under 40% from beyond the arc on the season. In the tournament Karaban has picked it up and is shooting 44% from 3, making 11 of his 25 shots. Job one is being aware and using length and athleticism to prevent open looks. Karaban is by no means the only weapon; in the paint, Tarris Reed has been a monster. He’s scored 61 points in his 3 tournament games and is averaging 15 rebounds per game. Offensively, Duke needs to be a lot cleaner. Live ball turnovers will be killers in this game; this is a game that Duke has a good chance to really own the paint in. Boozer and Ngongba can shine in this game if they are efficient and do not cough up the rock against UConn. Finishing at the rim and through contact will be important. Duke will also need another efficient game from Isaiah Evans, who has been the model of consistency in shot-making in the tournament for Duke.