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Blue Devil Country

Social Media Reacts to Duke's Thrilling Sweet 16 Victory

Duke moves onto the Elite Eight with a huge win over St. John's.
Luke Joseph|
Mar 26, 2026; Washington, DC, USA; Duke Blue Devils head coach Jon Scheyer stands on the court during a practice session ahead of the east regional of the men's 2026 NCAA Tournament at Capital One Arena. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images
Mar 26, 2026; Washington, DC, USA; Duke Blue Devils head coach Jon Scheyer stands on the court during a practice session ahead of the east regional of the men's 2026 NCAA Tournament at Capital One Arena. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images | Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

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Duke Blue Devils

Duke advanced to its third straight Elite Eight under head coach Jon Scheyer with a thrilling 80-75 victory over 5-seed St. John's in the Sweet 16.

Lets see how Duke fans reacted to the game.

First Half

Duke gets off to a great start through the first five minutes, then goes on a 7-0 run to take a 11-4 lead.

St. John's would then hit its first three, then after a steal off the inbound, to make it a two-point lead for Duke.

Both Patrick Ngongba and Caleb Foster check into the game after the first TV timeout. Foster would set up a nice play to throw Ngongba the lob.

St. John's goes on a 14-4 run and take a 19-15 lead heading into the second tv timeout.

They are having a hard time dealing with the physicality of the St. John's defense out of the timeout.

Duke is making a little run to cut the six-point deficit down to two, then get a key turnover, forcing St. John's into a shot-clock violation. Dame Sarr would have an emphatic dunk to then tie the game at 23.

Duke then takes back the lead 27-26 after a tough Cayden Boozer layup.

Defense turns into offense with a Maliq Brown block turning into an Isaiah Evans three for a four-point lead.

At the final TV timeout, Duke takes a 35-28 lead. Isaiah Evans is the leading scorer with 11 points, while the Boozer twins both have seven.

St. Johns would then start to get hot on offense and retake the lead at the end of the first half 40-39.

Second Half

St. John's opens the second half aggressively, taking back the lead 48-44. Duke would have four team fouls, and Jon Scheyer would call a timeout early to calm his team down.

Ruben Prey has been killing the Blue Devils on the perimeter, going 4-4. All season, Prey has averaged 0.6 three-point attempts per game. With Prey's latest three, St. John's had added to its lead, going up 53-44.

Caleb Foster has been much more aggressive in the second half, now scoring Duke's last seven points.

Duke is now clawing back into the game, cutting the deficit down to three with under 12 minutes remaining.

Isaiah Evans has been the go-to scorer for the Blue Devils, giving them the lead. After a St. John's three, Evans would make the tough layup to tie the game at 65.

Isaiah Evans hits a great step-back three, then Cam Boozer with the big man shot plus the fouled to potentially give Duke a two-possession lead with three minutes remaining.

Caleb Foster hits back to back clutch shots with under two minutes to go, Duke leads by five.

Isaiah Evans would go 1-of-2 from the free-throw line, and Duke would force a tough shot from St. John's that would be way off. Duke inbounds with 2.1 left up by three.

Cameron Boozer ices the game by making both free throws. Duke advances to the Elite Eight for the third straight season, beating St. John's 80-75.

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Luke Joseph
LUKE JOSEPH

Luke Joseph is a graduate of Michigan State University with a degree in journalism. Drawing on his extensive knowledge of sports and commitment to storytelling, he serves as a general sports reporter On SI, covering the NFL and college athletics with insight and expertise.