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A decade has passed since Duke won its most recent of five national championships, the longest title drought for the program since claiming its first in 1991. All five of those titles came under the direction of legendary coach Mike Krzyzewski.

Duke has the firepower in 2025 to end an excruciating wait and for Coach K’s successor, Jon Scheyer, to truly launch a new era of Blue Devils basketball.

Before he is expected to go No. 1 overall in this summer’s NBA draft, sensational freshman forward Cooper Flagg is the linchpin of Duke’s national title aspirations. Flagg’s recovery from an ankle injury sustained in the ACC tournament looms over the Blue Devils as they begin the road to San Antonio against the winner of a First Four matchup on Wednesday between American University and Mount St. Mary’s.

East Region No. 1 seed Duke plays its opening weekend as close to home as possible while still requiring the Cameron Crazies to leave campus. Games on Friday and presumably March 23 are in Raleigh, N.C., practically within Kon Knueppel’s shooting range away from Cameron Indoor Stadium in Durham.

The virtual home game may be the only favor the selection committee gave Duke, however. The East is loaded with contenders — and not just among the top seeds. No. 2 Alabama, No. 3 Wisconsin and No. 4 Arizona are all intriguing picks to advance to the Alamodome.

Coach Dana Altman’s teams routinely exceed expectations in March, making fifth-seeded Oregon a team to watch. Sixth-seeded BYU was playing some of the best basketball in the country over the final weeks of the regular season, and NCAA Tournament fixture Saint Mary’s is a matchup nightmare with the seventh seed’s methodical offense and stifling defense.

Even double-digit seeds like Vanderbilt (No. 10), which made noise in the stacked Southeastern Conference, and Atlantic 10 champion VCU (No. 11) have qualities that make them intriguing Sweet 16 possibilities.

The East is also rife with star power, boasting explosive scorers in Alabama’s Mark Sears, Wisconsin’s John Tonje and Arizona’s Caleb Love. The region also comes with a clear A-1 star, though.

For the rest of the field, the East is an extended game of capture the Flagg — so long as the Duke phenom is at 100 percent health.

Top shot

ACC champion Duke (31-3) features a 2025 lineup remarkably similar to its 2015 national championship team, combining freshman standouts in Flagg, Knueppel and Khaman Maluach with veterans capable of taking over in a pinch. Tyrese Proctor has been a steady upperclassman leader and could be this Duke team’s version of Quinn Cook from the last Blue Devils championship.

Despite some late-season losses in the deep SEC, Alabama (25-8) deservedly hovered around the nation’s No. 1 ranking much of the season. The 2024 Final Four team returned the explosive Sears and versatile forward Grant Nelson, and at times has looked like the best team in the nation.

The trio of offensively proficient Wisconsin, Arizona and BYU can score with anyone in the East region. Defending at a level comparable to Duke — which already held Arizona to 55 points in a November win and led the ACC in both points scored (82.7 per game) and fewest allowed (61.9) — is another matter.

Games to watch

4 Arizona vs. 13 Akron

While not quite at the level of the 1990 UNLV-Loyola Marymount Elite Eight matchup, Arizona and Akron have the potential to deliver the highest-scoring contest of this year’s March Madness.

The Wildcats average 81.7 points per game, while the Zips put up 84.6 points per contest. What’s more, both have depth and no shortage of scorers capable of going off, with seven Zips posting between seven and 14 points per game, and seven Wildcats producing from 7.1 to 16.6 points per game.

Their similar offensive styles promise a high-tempo, exciting matchup.

6 BYU vs. 11 VCU

The first round does not feature more of a clash of styles than BYU’s potent offense against VCU’s stifling defense.

BYU broke out late in the Big 12 Conference season, scoring 85-plus points in six of eight games, including wins at Arizona (96-95), at Iowa State (88-85, double-overtime) and vs. Iowa State in the Big 12 tournament (96-92). With his 43.3 percent 3-point shooting, Richie Saunders is a threat to take over any game from beyond the arc.

However, VCU’s 62.4 points per game defensive yield — the ninth-lowest in all of Division I — includes holding opponents to 29.9 percent shooting from outside.

7 Saint Mary’s vs. 10 Vanderbilt

The East’s 7-10 matchup is not a contrast quite as stark as the 6-11 pairing, but Saint Mary’s and Vanderbilt are teams with much different profiles. First-year Commodores coach Mark Byington brought the same up-tempo approach that carried James Madison into the second round last season to his new post with similar success.

Vanderbilt averages 79.6 points per game with an offense ranked No. 30 nationally in adjusted efficiency per KenPom.com metrics. Saint Mary’s counters with the nation’s eighth-ranked adjusted defensive efficiency, continuing the longstanding tradition of tough-nosed Randy Bennett-coached teams.

Six-foot-10 Mitchell Saxen is a defensive presence on the glass, posing a potential mismatch problem for an undersized Commodores lineup.

Get to know …

Cooper Flagg, Duke

Much depends on the outlook for his return from an ankle injury sustained in the ACC tournament, but Flagg has the game to join the exclusive company of freshmen to win the NCAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player — a club that includes Tyus Jones from Duke’s last title run.

Mark Sears, Alabama

The star of Alabama’s 2024 Final Four run is back, looking to finish the job in 2025. Sears is streaky, evident in his late-season performance with 31 points combined over the Crimson Tide’s final three contests. When he’s on, however — evident in a 30-point game on March 5 against SEC tournament champion Florida — Sears is as dangerous as any scorer in the country.

John Tonje, Wisconsin

An uncharacteristically high-scoring Wisconsin offense (80.5 points per game) starts with the dynamic John Tonje. He followed up a 6-of-6 3-point shooting performance in the Big Ten tournament vs. UCLA with a 32-point outing in the semifinal win over Michigan State. His 41-point performance against fellow East region team Arizona on Nov. 15 ranks among the best individual efforts of the entire 2024-25 season.

Caleb Love, Arizona

An All-American in 2023-24, Love opted for another season at Arizona after a disappointing Sweet 16 exit last year to Clemson. The Wildcats thrive through their balance but still very much go as Love goes.

Nate Bittle, Oregon

Seven-footer Nate Bittle returned from an injury that held him out much of the 2023-24 season to lead Oregon in scoring and rebounding in 2024-25. His versatility, able to score both with his back-to-the-basket down low and step out beyond the arc, makes Bittle especially difficult to game-plan for, helping open the floor for perimeter scorers Jackson Shelstad and Keeshawn Barthelemy. Bittle has played some of his best games against Oregon’s toughest opponents — like East region counterpart Alabama, which the Ducks beat during the Players Era Festival over Thanksgiving weekend.

Augustas Marciulionis, Saint Mary’s

It once seemed impossible to note Augustas Marciulionis without adding that he is the son of Lithuanian National Team legend and longtime Golden State Warrior Sarunas Marciulionis. As the engine driving Saint Mary’s, Augustas Marciulionis is making his own name — and can take it further with a big NCAA Tournament. He is an outstanding combo guard, averaging a team-high 14.3 points per game and is among the best passers in the field with 6.1 assists per game.

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6 BYU (-2.5) vs. 11 VCU

After opening at BYU -3.5 across most major sportsbooks, VCU moved to a +2.5-point underdog by the deadline of this column. Early bettors were obviously bullish on the Rams, opting to support their defensive approach over the free-flowing Cougars. If the line continues moving in VCU’s favor, there could be significant value in BYU.

5 Oregon (-6.5) vs. 12 Liberty

Every March Madness features seismic 12-over-5 upsets. With Altman-coached teams being undefeated in the first round, and this Oregon team causing size matchup problems for Conference USA champion Liberty, don’t expect it to be this one.

4 Arizona-13 Akron over/under 166.5

With nine 100-point games between them, Arizona vs. Akron figures to be a track meet. Given the winner could reasonably be pegged to reach the mid-90s, this one should clear the 166.5-point over/under with room to spare.

Out of the East

Duke faithful held their breath when Flagg went down in the ACC tournament. The response of the rest of the Blue Devils to finish the dual regular-season and postseason conference championship should inspire confidence, though, that this team is not a one-man show.

Certainly, Duke needs Flagg near 100 percent to navigate the toughest of the four regions. Alabama matches up well with the Blue Devils, and a potential Flagg-Grant Nelson showdown in the Elite Eight could be a blast. Yet the Tide need to lock down defensively to overcome a potentially deadly 3-point shooting barrage from Wisconsin to have a shot at a return Final Four trip.

–Field Level Media