Duke vs Arkansas: Observations from NCAA tournament Elite Eight game
Mike Krzyzewski is in the Elite Eight for the 17th time as Duke’s head coach.
Saturday night at the Chase Center, the Blue Devils’ coach of 42 years will try to lead Duke to a win in the West Regional final and to his 13th and final Final Four. The No. 2 seed in the region, the Blue Devils face No. 4 seed Arkansas with the winner of Sunday’s game between North Carolina and Saint Peter’s potentially looming in New Orleans.
The News & Observer’s Steve Wiseman, Luke DeCock and Andrew Carter are on site for the game and will have live observations from the scene at the arena.
Duke puts three on all-tournament team
Duke’s Jeremy Roach, Mark Williams and Paolo Banchero were named to the West Regional all-tournament team, joining Arkansas’ JD Notae and Jaylin Williams. Banchero was recognized as the Most Outstanding Player.
Four Blue Devils reach double digits
A.J. Griffin paced Duke with 18 points, with 12 coming in the second half when Duke pulled away and cruised to the win. Fellow freshman Paolo Banchero added 16 points as the Blue Devils shot 54.7%. Sophomore center Mark Williams added 12 points, 12 rebounds and three blocked shots for the Blue Devils. Wendell Moore finished with 14 points.
One last Final Four
Duke beat Arkansas, 78-69, in the NCAA tournament’s West Regional final Saturday night at the Chase Center, sending the Blue Devils and their retiring coach to the Final Four in New Orleans. Coaching in his 17th Elite Eight game with Duke, the 75-year-old Krzyzewski has led the Blue Devils (32-6) to the Final Four for the 13th time. That’s more Final Four appearances than any other men’s college basketball coach as he broke a tie with UCLA’s John Wooden (12).
Mark Williams in the record books
With 11:53 remaining in the game and the Blue Devils leading, 57-48, Mark Williams tied the Duke record for blocks in an NCAA tournament with 16. His third block of the night tied the record set by Shane Battier in 2001. Shelden Williams’ 15 blocks in the 2006 NCAA tournament now ranks third.
Duke leads 45-33 at half
The Blue Devils never trailed by more than three points in the first half and that deficit was only because they turned the ball over on four of their first eight possessions.
After Trey Wade’s 3-pointer cut Duke’s lead to 35-31 at 3:14, the Razorbacks didn’t make a shot the rest of the half.
The Blue Devils shot 54.8% from the field, dominating play inside on offense. Duke had 30 points in the paint in the first 20 minutes. Arkansas shot just 40.6%.
Jaylin Williams draws another charge
Arkansas forward Jaylin Williams, who leads the nation in charges drawn, kept the Razorbacks in the game by following an easy bucket in the lane by drawing offensive fouls on Trevor Keels and Wendell Moore on consecutive possessions. That almost single-handedly kept Duke from extending a 22-14 lead at that point.
Two is better than 3?
With 8:28 remaining in the first half, the Blue Devils attempted their first 3 of the game. With Duke leading 24-21, Duke guard Jeremy Roach missed the shot from behind the arc.
The Blue Devils have made 55% (12 of 22) from the field. Arkansas has made 44% of its shots from the field (11 of 25), including 3 of 9 fro m deep.
Same starters for Duke
For the fourth time in the NCAA tournament, Duke went with its post-Brooklyn starting lineup of Jeremy Roach, Wendell Moore Jr., AJ Griffin, Paolo Banchero and Mark Williams, with Trevor Keels coming off the bench.
Saturday’s officials
Ron Groover (ACC), Joe Lindsey (SEC) and Larry Scirotto (Big Ten) were selected to officiate Saturday’s game. Groover has seen Duke seven times during the season and Lindsey has seen Arkansas four times.
This story was originally published March 26, 2022 at 8:46 PM.
