GREENVILLE, S.C. — Duke admits it wasn’t ready to take upset-minded Siena seriously in the first round of the East Region on Thursday.
After surviving that challenge, Blue Devils head coach Jon Scheyer are sporting a different attitude heading into Saturday.
Duke (33-2) escaped with a 71-65 win over the Saints, avoiding arguably the worst loss in program history. Now, No. 9 TCU (23-11) stands between the Blue Devils and the Sweet 16.
With the blue blood trailing by 11, Duke forward Maliq Brown volunteered during the halftime interview that the team “thought it was going to be a cakewalk going into this game.”
Even after freshman phenom Cameron Boozer’s 22 points and 13 rebounds helped stave off the upset bid, the unanimous first-team All-American questioned his group’s mentality.
“I think we really didn’t come out ready to play (on Thursday) and we’ve got to be a lot better moving forward,” Boozer said. “Coach says all the time, whether you win by 1 or 25, it doesn’t matter. So just onto the next.”
Scheyer’s team steamrolled through its campaign on the way to ACC regular-season and tournament championships. But the fourth-year head coach knows a great year can come to a screeching halt in March.
“You have to go into this thing as the aggressors. That’s why we’ve been really good and we’ve had the year that we’ve had,” Scheyer said. “It’s all about getting back to ourselves, nothing other than doing what we’ve done, defending, rebounding, the whole thing. Our talk and energy, I can tell you it will be back (Saturday). I know these guys, and it will be back the way it needs to be.”
Boozer leads Duke with 22.5 points, 10.3 rebounds and 4.2 assists per game, while Isaiah Evans adds 14.9 points per contest. The Blue Devils’ third-leading scorer Patrick Ngongba II (10.7 ppg) hasn’t played since March 2 with a foot injury, but Scheyer said that he’s “hopeful” Ngongba will be available Saturday.
TCU faced its fair share of adversity on Thursday, squandering a 15-point halftime lead before rallying for a 66-64 win over Ohio State. Xavier Edmonds’ basket with 4.3 seconds left propelled the confident Horned Frogs to their first all-time meeting with Duke.
A win for TCU on Saturday would mean the program is through to the Sweet 16 for the first time since the NCAA Tournament expanded to 64 teams. The Horned Frogs made the Elite Eight in 1968, when the tournament fielded just 23 teams.
“It’s time,” TCU head coach Jamie Dixon said of advancing past the second round. “Certainly with a No. 1 seed, it’s a challenge. This is where you want to be. This is what you work for, to be at this point. Now you’ve got to do the job. You’ve got to play well and play together. I think we’re ready to play together. We’ve just got to play well.”
TCU’s leader in scoring (14.4) and rebounding (6.9), David Punch posted a 16-point, 13-rebound double-double on Thursday. The sophomore, teaming up with fellow big man Edmonds, is eager to face a player of Boozer’s pedigree.
“I think he’s a lot like us, just how he creates his shots,” Punch said of Boozer. “I’m excited to see me and X go up against him. It’s a great opportunity for me and him to showcase how good we are on a stage like that.”
– Jack Batten, Field Level Media
