Duke’s NCAA Tournament revenge tour continues. Up next: UCLA in the Elite Eight
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Ahead of their Sweet 16 matchup against LSU, Duke players were loath to put too much stock into their December loss to the Tigers in the ACC-SEC Challenge. The common refrain from players and coaches alike was, “We’re a better team now.
They’re a better team now. ” Duke has showcased its improvement from a 3-6 start to the season throughout the NCAA Tournament. The Blue Devils lost to Baylor on opening day, blowing a fourth-quarter lead, then blew them out in the tournament’s second round.
After losing by double digits to LSU in the ACC-SEC Challenge, Duke won in dramatic fashion in the Sweet 16, overcoming another blown fourth-quarter lead with an Ashlon Jackson buzzer-beating 3-pointer that whirled around the rim for two full revolutions before falling in. Now, the Blue Devils have a third consecutive opportunity for a get-back against the opponent who handed them their worst loss of the season: UCLA. The Bruins beat Duke by 30 points in the consolation game of the Players’ Era championship in November, the third of four straight defeats for the Blue Devils.
Even without Lauren Betts, UCLA obliterated Duke to start its 28-game winning streak leading into Sunday’s Elite Eight showdown. The Bruins coaches who were tasked with scouting the Blue Devils on Friday night quickly dispelled the notion that the Players’ Era game tape would mean much of anything, not after Duke gave everything it had to take down a veteran-laden Tigers squad in a matchup that included seven ties and nine lead changes, two in the final 10 seconds. Just as it was in the Sweet 16, both No.
1 seed UCLA and No. 3 seed Duke are better teams than they were the last time they met. But once again, the impetus is on the Blue Devils to prove their worth and flip the script from that 89-59 November loss — even if they won’t frame it that way.
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