Duke Will Beat Arizona Once Again In Sweet 16

Arizona vs. Duke, 9:39 ET

We are living the Sweet Life, friends as we have now reached the Sweet Sixteen. There were a lot of complaints about the first round of the NCAA Tournament because the games weren't overly interesting. There weren't a ton of upsets, there weren't really any buzzer beaters to speak of, but there were some good games. I'm not sure what people are looking for in the games. I thought they have been fun and I've only had one losing day of the tournament. Now we put that run at risk as we play this one between Arizona and Duke.

Arizona comes into this one with a 24-12 record. They ended up finishing their regular season at third in the Big 12 which is probably an appropriate ranking for the team. Their biggest issue was they had to deal with Houston, and like most teams they lost to them when they played them. What they can say that most can't is that they played better against the juggernaut of Houston than other teams. They lost by a total of 12 points in the two games to Houston. In the first two games of the tournament, Arizona faced Akron in the first game. They blew them out. They scored 93 points and won by almost 30. In the second game it was much more of a difficult matchup. They ended up playing Oregon in the second round and they were able to escape with a win, beating the Ducks by four points. They were down big to start the game, and ended up leading at halftime. Then they were in control for most of the second half. They never trailed in the second half, but they did have moments where they were only up one score. It was certainly a more pressurized game. 

Feb 1, 2025; Tempe, Ariz., U.S.; Arizona Wildcats guard Caleb Love (1) reacts after sinking a 3-point shot during a Big 12 menÕs basketball game against the Arizona State Sun Devils at Desert Financial Arena.

The Duke Blue Devils are the current favorite to win the NCAA Championship and there are a lot of reasons to believe they can pull it off. They have the best player in college basketball in Cooper Flagg, they have a lot of talented players in multiple positions. Tyrese Proctor is shooting lights out at the moment, and Jon Scheyer is proving he is a very good young coach. If there is any knock on the Duke team, it is that they don't play in a ton of close games. They've basically blown everyone out all season long, and when they have been in close games like the one against Clemson, Kentucky, and Kansas which just so happen to be losses. That isn't to say the team hasn't won any close games, they beat North Carolina in the ACC Tournament by three (without Flagg), and they beat Auburn by six earlier in the year. It is just that they have very little resistance because they are so talented. The first round they destroyed Mount St. Mary's, racking up 93 points and holding them to under 50. Against Baylor a lot of the first half looked like it was going to be a close game. It was not. They won by 23, pulling away and never looking back.

We've actually had the benefit of seeing this matchup once before. The game was in Arizona early in the season and I got it wrong. I thought Arizona would be able to beat the young Dukies. The reality was that the defense prevailed for Duke. They ended up holding Arizona to just 55 points and they scored 69. Now we are in New Jersey, a significantly more Duke crowd will be on hand than the last time the two played. Duke is going to win by double-digits again. Take the Blue Devils -8.5. I think this game goes over the 153.5 total as well, but I'm not as confident in that. 

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