By Robert Lastella
Everything the Brotherhood is built upon was put to the test during Friday evening’s Sweet 16 matchup between Duke and St.John’s, and in the end, the Blue Devils overcame adversity and punched their ticket to the Elite Eight.
The Red Storm came out of the gates with great energy, cashing in on four triples within the first 10 minutes, and with 9:44 to play, it was St.John’s with an early 23-17 lead. Duke quickly responded, going on a 12-2 run of their own to take a 35-28 lead with 4:20 to play.
A back-and-forth battle developed from there, as St. John’s would close the half on a 12-4 run of their own, heading into the halftime break with a 40-39 advantage.
Early on, both sides hit each other with a surprise attack, as during the first half, SJU cashed in on one of their 18 triples attempted in the first half, while Duke outscored them in the paint 22-10.
Duke found a way to slow down the Saint John’s three-point barrage in the second half, holding them to 4-14, and without the added boost from beyond the arc, eventually Duke was able to pull away.
Down the stretch, Duke was able to bully their way to a victory, attacking the paint with success and getting to the line. According to Jon Scheyer, while they were able to slow the Red Storm's shooting down the stretch by focusing on specific matchups, they were never able to truly silence them.
“I'm not sure we did counteract that. The way they were shooting the first half, I think some of that we could have cleaned up and done a better job contesting. At the same time, guys that haven't necessarily done that -- not knocking them, but Prey hasn't hit four treys, Mitchell that's his first three-pointer on the year, Ejiofor, you know, is capable. But you have to adjust, Scheyer said.
I'm not going to go the whole game without adjusting. I think in the second half, you still want to protect the rim, but we had to do a better job of getting hands up and contesting. I thought our guys did that. We went to the matchup for a little bit, which helped us get back in the game, and that's kind of been a thing for us. But overall, I don't know if we did an amazing job.”
Duke was led on the night by Isaiah Evans, who finished with 25 points on 10-15 shooting, and right behind him was Cameron Boozer, who finished with 22 points and 10 rebounds. The difference maker on the night was Caleb Foster, who returned from a foot Injury for the first time this postseason and chipped in 11 points, with all 11 coming in the second half.
With 3:06 to play, Duke led by just 4, 73-69, and they required a closer to prevent St.John’s from regaining momentum and pulling off the comeback. They found that in Foster, who hit back-to-back shots for the Blue Devils, giving them a 77-72 lead with 1:27 to play, and from there, they never looked back.
The entire Duke roster played with poise, typical of most Duke teams. This one had a different feeling, one of true belief that their team could power through the storm. Could that have come from the return of Foster, who has been utilizing a walking scooter since the end of the regular season following his foot injury and ensuing surgery? It is possible.
Dame Sarr played a relatively quiet role in the Blue Devils’ win, chipping in 2 points, 6 rebounds, and three assists, but he put his head down, did his job, and played a role in the win, which was a similar story for the entire Duke team. According to Sarr, Foster’s return gave the Blue Devils a sense of energy that permeated throughout the entire team.
“How much he wanted it was how much I wanted it. What he did was unbelievable, and seeing that, it kind of gave me energy. I'm like, if he is doing this, I have to step up for him. He was suffering and did it for us, so I just have to do it for him too,” Sarr said.
Duke had their willpower tested in this matchup, but between feeding off Foster’s return and relying on what got them to this point, they were able to find a way to knock off a hungry St John’s team.
After a heartbreaking loss in the Final Four a season ago, Duke is one win away from returning to the big dance with a chance to right their wrongs. They are locked in on this moment, according to Sarr, who notes the team has utilized a collective goal to get to this point, and they have no plans of stopping now.
“All the guys on the team. They just care about winning. That is how we can win so much. Nobody cares about their egos. We care about the goal,” Sarr said.
Duke will look to keep the train rolling, as they will take on Dan Hurley and UConn on Sunday at 5:05 PM EST with a spot in the Final Four on the line.
