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Mar 27, 2025; Newark, NJ, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide forward Grant Nelson (4) celebrates during the second half against the Brigham Young Cougars during an East Regional semifinal of the 2025 NCAA tournament at Prudential Center. | Photo: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images
NEWARK, N.J. — Alabama basketball is one game away from matching its historical run in the 2024 NCAA Tournament. The Crimson Tide made it back to the Elite Eight for just the third time in school history after a win over No. 6 seed BYU, putting itself in a position to take this year’s run one step further.
Standing in the Tide’s way is No. 1 seed Duke, a team that has only been defeated three times all season. Alabama had a historic performance in its Sweet 16 win over BYU, drilling 25 3-pointers. That same feat likely won’t be repeated against an elite Blue Devils team, and Alabama coach Nate Oats has been focused on getting his squad regrouped for a quick turnaround.
“I thought our guys came ready to go last night,” Oats told reporters Friday. “Fun game. But I woke up this morning and reminded them the job is not done. So while it was fun last night, we've got to get locked into Duke, and Duke is obviously really talented. I think these guys have been good being able to get locked into a scouting report, getting themselves ready to go.”
Alabama has risen to national prominence under Oats. He understands that comes with raised expectations, including building off its first Final Four run a year ago. A win over one of college basketball’s traditional powerhouses would not only do just that but also serve as a symbolic victory for the continued upward trajectory Oats has Alabama on.
“We don't have a National Championship like some of these blue bloods have,” Oats said. “But we're in the last five years competing with a lot of the blue blood programs for wins, championships and all that stuff, and I like where the expectations are.”
Here’s what you need to know about Saturday’s game.
How to watch
Who: No. 2 seed Alabama (28-8) vs. No. 1 seed Duke (34-3)
When: 7:49 p.m. CT Saturday, March 29
Where: Prudential Center, Newark, New Jersey
Watch: TBS/TruTV (Play-By-Play: Brian Anderson, Analyst: Jim Jackson, Sideline: Allie LaForce)
Listen: Crimson Tide Sports Network | SIRIUS/XM 134/201 (Play-By-Play: Chris Stewart, Analyst: Bryan Passink)
Alabama’s projected starters
Mark Sears: 6-foot-1, 190 pounds, graduate
Stats: 19.0 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 5.1 apg, 40.9% FG, 34.8% 3-pt
Chris Youngblood: 6-foot-4, 223 pounds, freshman
Stats: 10.3 ppg, 2.3 rpg, 0.9 apg, 44.7% FG, 39.5% 3-pt
Labaron Philon: 6-foot-4, 177 pounds, freshman
Stats: 10.4 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 3.8 apg, 45.2% FG, 30.5% 3-pt
Grant Nelson: 6-foot-11, 230 pounds, graduate
Stats: 11.5 ppg, 7.6 rpg, 1.6 apg, 52.3% FG, 26.4% 3-pt
Clifford Omoruyi: 6-foot-11, 250 pounds, graduate
Stats: 8.0 ppg, 6.6 rpg, 0.9 apg, 74.2% FG
Duke's projected starters
Tyrese Proctor: 6-foot-6, 183 pounds, junior
Stats: 12.4 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 2.3 apg, 45.0% FG, 41.2% 3-pt
Sion James: 6-foot-6, 220 pounds, graduate
Stats: 8.6 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 3.1 apg, 52.2% FG, 41.7% 3-pt
Kon Knueppel: 6-foot-7, 217 pounds, freshman
Stats: 14.2 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 2.7 apg, 48.0% FG, 39.9% 3-pt
Cooper Flagg: 6-foot-9, 205 pounds, freshman
Stats: 19.0 ppg, 7.5 rpg, 4.3 apg, 48.7% FG, 37.2% 3-pot
Khaman Maluach: 7-foot-2, 250 pounds, freshman
Stats: 8.5 ppg, 6.7 rpg, 0.5 apg, 70.9% FG, 25.0% 3-pt
Flagg’s supporting cast
Duke is led by superstar freshman Cooper Flagg. The forward leads the Blue Devils on both ends, but they are far from a one-trick pony or overly reliant on the National Player of the Year candidate.
An elite supporting cast around Flagg has also lifted Duke to the heights it has reached this season, including a 14-game winning streak heading into Saturday. Most of that support has come from two more outstanding freshmen, including guard Kon Knueppel. The Wisconsin Lutheran High School product ranks second on the team in scoring (14.2 ppg). He is an outstanding 3-point shooter and also has the highest free throw percentage amongst Duke's starters at 90.7%.
“One of the best shooters in the country,” Oats said. “We tried to recruit him. We did a pretty good job, and it wasn't quite good enough. Because I'd like to have his shooting ability in our offense. But they have it.
“Now we've got to figure out how to guard it. He doesn't miss much. He gets his stuff off, actions, he gets his feet set, but he's also a strong physical driver. He's got good size, can get downhill, and he's a super high IQ guy. He's very good. There's a reason he's going to be a lottery pick this year.”
In the frontcourt, freshman center Khaman Maluach anchors the interior on both ends and will be the best big man the Tide has faced in the NCAA Tournament so far. The South Sudan native averages 8.5 points per game but also grabs 6.7 rebounds per contest, which is second only to Flagg.
“He's a lob target,” Oats said. “Cooper likes to find him in ball screens going to the rim when he's kind of down in that dunkers area, if you will, behind the backboard. Guys help up, they find him on lobs. He's done that well for them on offense."
The Tide has got some of the best basketball of the season from center Clifford Omoruyi during the NCAA Tournament. The Rutgers transfer will be challenged as a rim protector, while Alabama’s ability to get through and communicate on ball screens will be key in preventing easy lobs for Maluach.
Maluach is equally as capable in the paint on the defensive end. He averages 1.3 blocks per game, meaning paint points will be at a premium for Alabama. Omoruyi is averaging 12.3 points in the Big Dance. The Tide will also need Grant Nelson to put in a similar performance to his 24-point, 12-rebounding outing against North Carolina in last year’s tournament. Nelson challenged an elite big in the Tar Heels' Armando Bacot in that game and will play a key role in Alabama getting the best of another in Maluach on Saturday.
"I think the biggest thing he does for them is protect the rim," Oats said of Maluach. "He makes it impossible to score at the rim when he's in there,” Oats said. “They've got a top 5 offense and defense, and he kind of anchors that defense. So he's been elite for them on that end all year.”
Don’t let the pace fool you
Alabama played one of the slowest teams in the country in its second-round game against Saint Mary’s. The Tide and Gaels engaged in a clash of styles and Alabama managed to overcome Saint Mary’s deliberately slow offense.
On paper, Duke shares some of Saint Mary’s tempo tendencies. The Blue Devils rank No. 264 in the country in tempo, averaging 65.9 possessions per 40 minutes, according to KenPom.com.
However, Oats didn't see many similarities to Saint Mary’s slow tempo offense when he turned on Duke's film. Instead of a deliberate attack, Duke's pace is largely dictated by its elite play on the defensive end.
“Teams take a while to score on them,” Oats said. So the better your defense is, the longer those possessions go. Offensively, they're a little bit more deliberate at times. They want to make sure that they get in the same actions. We're a little bit more free flowing. They probably run a few more sets and we probably play a little bit more in a flow.”
Alabama getting more in flow and opening up the game should do the Tide some favors as it attempts to penetrate a Blue Devils defense that ranks No. 1 in the country in opponent effective field goal percentage. Oats wants Alabama to keep running in transition and off makes to get easier looks before Duke sets its defense.
After Alabama makes shots, Oats is expecting Duke to be more opportunistic and allow Alabama to set its defense, trusting its athletes and shooters to generate offense in the halfcourt. Duke has the balance and personnel to match Alabama's tempo, and Oats is hoping the Tide has the answers defensively when the Blue Devils do choose to run.
“They're good in transition, though,” Oats said. “Like just because their tempo is not top 100 or whatever... Just because it's down in the low 200s doesn't mean they don't get out and run in transition when they get opportunities to. They're still scoring plenty of transition points. Our transition D has to be elite.”
Game notes
— Alabama is looking to advance to back-to-back Final Four appearances for the first time in program history
— Alabama became the second team in the NBA, WNBA or Division I history (men or women) to have a player make 10 three-pointers and two other players make five three-pointers in the same game (excluding games vs. Non-Division I teams), joining the Golden State Warriors on Nov. 20, 2022
— Head coach Nate Oats won his 11th NCAA Tournament game at UA, becoming the program's leader for most NCAA Tournament wins as a head coach, surpassing Wimp Sanderson (10 wins)
— The Crimson Tide's 13 AP Top 25 wins ties Duke (1991-92 & 2000-01) and UCLA (1994-95) for the most in a single season
— Sears joins Duke's Cooper Flagg, Mississippi State's Josh Hubbard and Marquette's Kam Jones as the only Power Five (including Big East) players with at least 600 points and 100 assists this season
— Duke leads the nation in scoring margin (+21.1) and ranks third in the country in assist-to-turnover ratio (+1.83), third in effective field goal percentage (.582), sixth in field goal percentage (.494), sixth in field goal percentage defense (.385), seventh in scoring defense (62.5), ninth in turnovers per game (9.3), 11th in rebound margin (+7.6), 11th in three-point percentage (.385), 12th in scoring offense (83.6), 17th in assists per game (17.0) and 19th in three-pointers per game (10.3)
— Duke is the only Division I team to score 80 points or more per game (83.2) and hold its opponents to fewer than 63 points per game (62.5)
— Duke owns the second-highest net rating (38.88) in the history of KenPom (since 1996- 97 season). Only the 1998-99 Duke Blue Devils have achieved a higher net rating (43.01).
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