Bama Central

Live Blog: Alabama Basketball vs. Duke in Elite Eight

Score updates and analysis from the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey as the Crimson Tide and Blue Devils meet in the NCAA Tournament with a spot in the Final Four on the line.
Hunter De|
Alabama vs. Duke Elite Eight in the Prudential Center
Alabama vs. Duke Elite Eight in the Prudential Center | BamaCentral

In this story:

Alabama Crimson Tide

NEWARK, N.J. –– BamaCentral is in the Prudential Center for No. 2 Alabama's NCAA Tournament matchup in the Elite Eight against No. 1 Duke.

Tipoff is scheduled for 7:49 p.m. CT on TBS/TruTV. Alabama Crimson Tide on SI will provide updates throughout.

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Live Blog

(latest updates at the top)

Final: Duke 85, Alabama 65

Second Half

  • Less than minute remaining in Alabama's season.
  • 2:52: Fans of both Duke and Alabama are starting to hit the exits as the Blue Devils are dominating 78-58. Alabama hasn't scored in over five minutes.
  • Duke has reached its largest lead of the game with the score now at 72-58 with under five minutes remaining.
  • After shattering records against BYU with a 25-for-51 clip from behind the arc, Alabama is 8 of 31 against Duke with only a few minutes to go.
  • Jarin Stevenson calls Alabama's second timeout of the game just before stepping out of bounds following an offensive rebound off of Mark Sears' missed free throw.
  • 6:39: Duke leads 69-58; Duke's offense is starting to heat up a bit as its made 6 of its last 8 attempts from the field. Labaron Philon has done a really solid job of keeping Alabama still in this one but he can't do it alone.
  • 9:31: Duke leads 63-53; Labaron Philon keeps it at a 10-point deficit with a make from deep following an offensive rebound and an assist by Derrion Reid. The Crimson Tide hasn't let the Blue Devils pull away yet, but must string multiple productive possessions on both sides of the ball if it wants to complete the comeback.
  • 13:37: Big block under the basket by Alabama forward Mouhamed Dioubate on Flagg, which led to a Chris Youngblood conversion inside in transition.
  • 15:38: Duke leads 52-45; Not the best start for each team offensively, but Alabama's got a nice jolt of energy coming out of the halftime locker room as they trail by just seven. Mark Sears and Labaron Philon each have a 3 early in the second half. Grant Nelson also blocked Flagg on a dunk attempt, which could help create a momentum shift.

Halftime Notes:

  • After hitting 10 threes against BYU, Duke clearly has a defensive emphasis on Sears, who didn't score his first points until there were less than three minures left in the first half.
  • Alabama is struggling to stop Duke in defense as the Blue Devils are 56 percent from the field and also from deep.
  • All eyes were on Duke superstar forward Cooper Flagg coming into this one but his 10 points doesn't lead his team as Kon Knueppel has that title with 11.
  • The Crimson Tide's fast-paced offense has really been slowed down so far, but it is still very much in this one.
  • Both teams have had numerous runs but Alabama hasn't been able to make it a one-possession game while Duke's largest lead is 13.
  • Duke center Khaman Maluach has been a monster down low as he's up to two blocks and the Crimson Tide have 16 points in the paint compared to the Blue Devils' 24.
  • Alabama's bench has play a big role in keeping the Tide in this game.

Halftime: Alabama 46, Alabama 37

Elite Eight Alabama vs. Duke Halftime Stats
Elite Eight Alabama vs. Duke Halftime Stats | StatBroadcast

First Half

  • Alabama Consensus First Team All-American guard Mark Sears scored his first points of the game with 2:17 left in the first half via a mid-range jumper. Sears is 1 of 4 with three assists and three turnovers.
  • Duke's Caleb Foster ends Alabama's 7-0 run with a three following a Crimson Tide turnover on a rebound. UA looked like it had some momentum as it cut the deficit to within six before Foster's three.
  • 5:11: Aden Holloway just hit a three from the logo with 16 seconds left on the shot clock to put Alabama within 10 points of Duke. Grant Nelson followed it with an emphatic dunk which forced Scheyer to take a timeout.
  • Alabama made 7 of its first 14 threes vs. BYU; Alabama made 4 of its first 14 threes vs. Duke; The Crimson Tide trails 35-22 and hasn't scored in over two minutes.
  • 7:57: Duke leads 30-22; Duke has come out of the timeout really strongly on both ends. College basketball's fastest-paced team has been slowed down on a lot of possessions.
  • 11:17: Duke leads 23-17; Much better stuff from Alabama after a rough start. Aiden Sherrell cooled Duke down with two threes and the Crimson Tide seem to be playing more cohesively. Labaron Philon also played a big role in the movement of the needle as he's up to five points and a steal.
  • 15:53: Duke leads 13-5; The Crimson Tide is playing a bit too fast which has forced three turnovers. 9 of Duke's points came from the right wing (three 3s).
  • 17:08: Duke has hit three 3s from the right wing.
  • Duke superstar Cooper Flagg hit the game's first bucket with a make from downtown. Alabama center Clifford Omoruyi scores the Crimson Tide's first points of the night with a alley-oop tip-in.

Pregame

  • NEW TIPOFF TIME: Alabama vs. Duke will now begin at 7:59 p.m. CT.
  • Probably 90 percent of the crowd is in favor of Duke. Blue Devils superfan and actor Ken Jeong is sitting right behind the media section.
  • Alabama head coach Nate Oats is wearing a crimson suit. Alabama assistants are wearing gray polos. Duke head coach Jon Scheyer and his assistants are all wearing Duke quarter-zips.
  • Both teams stood for the National Anthem with 12 minutes until tipoff and then shook hands. Alabama guard Aden Holloway hugged a couple of Duke players as the Crimson Tide sixth-man is from Charlotte, North Carolina –– which is only a couple hours away from Duke University.
  • The Blue Devils came out for another round of warmups with 23 minutes until tipoff. This time, their trot was to the tune of their fight song. Alabama did the same with 15 minutes until tipoff as Yea Alabama was blasting from the Million Dollar Band.
  • Alabama heads back to the locker room with 34 minutes until tipoff. Duke did the same shortly after.
  • Concurrent drill comparison: Alabama did some driving and spot-up shots while Duke did a passing circuit.
  • Concurrent drill comparison: Alabama is shooting threes while Duke is driving inside with a staffer holding a contact pad under the basket. The Blue Devils proceeded to go around the world with catch-and-shoot threes.

Starting Lineups

Alabama

Duke

G Mark Sears

G Tyrese Proctor

G Labaron Philon

G Sion James

G Chris Youngblood

G/F Kon Knueppel

F Grant Nelson

G/F Cooper Flagg

C Clifford Omoruyi

C Khaman Maluach

  • Referees: Terry Oglesby, Roger Ayers, Greg Nixon
  • All of Alabama migrated to one side of the floor at around 7 p.m. as Duke came out for initial warmups.
  • The Crimson Tide came out for initial stretches and warmups at around 6:40 p.m. Alabama's entire backcourt is on one side of the floor while the frontcourt is on the other half.
  • Alabama will be wearing crimson uniforms against Duke.

How to Watch: No. 2 Alabama vs. No. 1 Duke

Who: 2-seed Alabama (28-8) vs. 1-seed Duke (34-3)

When: Saturday, March 29, 7:49 p.m. CT

Where: Prudential Center, Newark, New Jersey

TV: TBS/TruTV (Brian Anderson, Jim Jackson and Allie LaForce on the call)

Radio: Crimson Tide Sports Network (Play-By-Play: Chris Stewart, Color: Bryan Passink)

Last meeting: The last time Alabama and Duke met on the hardwood was in Madison Square Garden in November 2013 with the Blue Devils winning, 74-64.

Last time out, Alabama: The Crimson Tide set a new NCAA record for most 3-pointers made in a tournament game with 25 in a dominating 113-88 win over BYU in the Sweet 16. Mark Sears led the way with 10 made 3s and 34 points.

Last time out, Duke: Duke handled business against 4-seed Arizona with a 100-93 victory Thursday night. Cooper Flagg had 30 points, six rebounds and seven assists for the Blue Devils.

Alabama stat leaders:

  • Points: Mark Sears (18.6)
  • Rebounds: Grant Nelson (7.5)
  • Assists: Mark Sears (5.0)

Duke stat leaders:

  • Points: Cooper Flagg (18.7)
  • Rebounds: Cooper Flagg (7.5)
  • Assists: Cooper Flagg (4.2)

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Hunter De Siver
HUNTER DE

Hunter De Siver is the lead basketball writer for BamaCentral and has covered Crimson Tide football since 2024. He previously distributed stories about the NFL and NBA for On SI and was a staff writer for Missouri Tigers On SI and Cowbell Corner. Before that, Hunter generated articles highlighting Crimson Tide products in the NFL and NBA for BamaCentral as an intern in 2022 and 2023. Hunter is a graduate from the University of Alabama, earning a degree in sports media in 2023.

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