Duke Defeats TCU, Advances to Sweet 16

GREENVILLE, S.C. – Cameron Boozer exploded for 17 second-half points, leading Duke to an 81-58 victory over TCU and securing a spot in the Sweet 16. The Blue Devils (34-2) outpaced the Horned Frogs (23-12) by 19 points after halftime, advancing to the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament for the third consecutive season under head coach Jon Scheyer.

Game Recap

Isaiah Evans helped Duke maintain pace early, leading the team with 13 points in the first half as the Blue Devils held a four-point lead at the break, 38-34. Dame Sarr contributed with nine points in the second half, sinking three three-pointers. Evans finished with 17 points, even as Sarr totaled 14 points with eight rebounds.

Duke similarly benefited from the return of Patrick Ngongba II, who hadn’t played since the NC State contest on March 2. Ngongba finished with four points, four rebounds, and four assists in his return.

How It Happened

Both defenses initially forced stops, with TCU scoring the first points. Maliq Brown quickly answered with an alley-oop dunk from Cameron Boozer. The teams traded three-pointers, with Dame Sarr connecting on a contested shot. Duke took its first lead with a layup by Cayden Boozer after three minutes of play.

Ngongba made his return to the floor at the 16:14 mark, scoring a layup through contact less than a minute later. Brown tied the game at 12-12 with a three-point play. An offensive rebound by Brown set up Isaiah Evans for a three-pointer, giving Duke a four-point lead, 19-15, with 11 minutes remaining in the first half.

Evans continued his strong performance, scoring 11 consecutive points and converting a four-point play to increase Duke’s lead to five, 27-22. A driving layup by Evans forced a TCU timeout at the 5:24 mark, with Duke leading by eight, 31-23.

TCU narrowed the gap to four points, 33-29, but Duke maintained a lead of at least three points for the remainder of the half, entering halftime ahead 38-34.

TCU opened the second half with a 6-0 run, prompting a Duke timeout. Cameron Boozer ended Duke’s scoring drought with a dunk and two free throws after a flagrant foul was called on TCU. Consecutive three-point plays by the Boozer brothers, Cayden and Cameron, put Duke back in front, 50-44, with 13 minutes remaining.

Nikolas Khamenia drained a three-pointer, forcing a TCU timeout with 11:49 on the clock and Duke leading 53-44. Sarr’s three-pointer pushed the lead to double digits, 57-47. The lead ballooned to 14, 64-50, with free throws from Cayden Boozer and another three-pointer from Sarr.

Duke extended its scoring run to 13 straight points, increasing the margin to 20 points, 70-50, at the five-minute mark. The Blue Devils finished strong, maintaining control and securing the 81-58 victory.

Key Stats

• Cameron Boozer: 19 points, 11 rebounds
• Isaiah Evans: 17 points
• Dame Sarr: 14 points, 8 rebounds
• Maliq Brown: 12 points, 9 rebounds
• Patrick Ngongba II: 4 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists

Notes

• Duke earned its 128th win in the NCAA Tournament, the third-most by any team in tournament history.
• The Blue Devils have a .753 winning percentage in the NCAA Tournament, the highest among teams with at least 20 games played.
• Duke advanced to the Sweet 16 for the 29th time since the tournament expanded to 64 teams in 1985, leading all teams nationally.
• Duke is 30-10 when playing as a No. 1 seed.
• Across the last two seasons, Duke owns the best record in Division I college basketball at 69-6 (.920).
• Duke’s current winning streak is 13 games, its longest of the season.
• This was the first meeting between Duke and TCU.
• Duke is 7-3 when playing a Large 12 opponent in the NCAA Tournament.
• TCU was held to 58 points, 19.9 points below their season average.
• Duke outrebounded TCU 42-25.
• Duke had advantages in points in the paint (38-28) and second-chance points (18-10).

Up Next

No. 1 Duke will advance to the Sweet 16 in the East Region, hosted in Washington, D.C. They will play the winner of the second-round game between No. 4-seed Kansas and No. 5-seed St. John’s. The regional semifinal is scheduled for March 27.