The top overall seed in the tournament and one of the most dominant teams in college basketball this season, the Blue Devils face a TCU squad that already knocked off Ohio State in the first round
No. 1 Duke has been the most complete team in college basketball all season. No. 9 TCU just proved it can win the kind of close, grinding game that upsets are made of. this evening in the NCAA Tournament’s Round of 32, those two realities are about to meet.
Duke and TCU tip off at 5:15 p.m. ET today, March 21, on CBS, with streaming available through Paramount Plus Premium and DirecTV. The winner advances to the Sweet 16 of the East Region, where a place among the sport’s final eight teams will be within reach.
Duke: the most dominant team in the field
There is a reason Duke entered the tournament as the top overall seed, not just the top seed in its region. The Blue Devils finished the regular season 32 and 2, won the ACC Tournament, and carried an 11-game winning streak into March Madness. Their only two losses came against Texas Tech and rival North Carolina, and they have won 21 of their last 22 games overall.
What makes Duke genuinely difficult to game-plan for is the balance. The Blue Devils rank seventh nationally in offensive rating and third in both points allowed per game and defensive rating. Their average margin of victory this season is plus-19.1 points, and nine of their 32 wins have come by 30 points or more. Duke handled No. 16-seed Siena 71-65 in the first round, a game that was tighter than expected but never truly in doubt.
Cameron Boozer is the engine of everything. The forward and top-three NBA Draft prospect is averaging a double-double this season, posting 22.5 points, 10.2 rebounds, and 4.2 assists per game while shooting 56.5% from the field. He leads the Blue Devils in all three major categories and is the kind of player who can take over a game before the opponent fully realizes it is happening. Sophomore guard Isaiah Evans has made the most of the attention Boozer draws, averaging 14.9 points on 42.5% shooting, while sophomore center Patrick Ngongba II contributes 10.7 points and 6.0 rebounds per game while shooting 60.2% from the floor.
TCU: a team that knows how to win ugly
TCU is in this game because it refused to let Ohio State breathe in the first round, holding on for a 66-64 victory in one of the tighter finishes of the tournament’s opening weekend. That kind of performance does not guarantee anything against Duke, but it does confirm that the Horned Frogs are capable of executing when the margin for error disappears.
TCU has not been able to match Duke statistically over the course of the season, and no realistic preview of this game pretends otherwise. What the Horned Frogs have is tournament experience, a first-round victory already in their back pocket, and the psychological freedom that comes with being the underdog in a game almost nobody expects them to win.
What to watch for
The central question of today’s game is whether TCU can slow the pace enough to make this competitive deep into the second half. Duke’s offense operates most efficiently when the Blue Devils can push tempo, get out in transition, and create mismatches for Boozer before opposing defenses are set. A deliberate, physical game that keeps the score in range late gives TCU its best chance at pulling off what would be one of the weekend’s defining moments.
For Duke, the floor is simply to be what it has been all season: disciplined, deep, and capable of putting games away before they become events. Coach Jon Scheyer’s program has the talent and the depth to do exactly that.
The Sweet 16 spot at stake this evening is one of the most coveted in the East Region bracket, and both teams understand it fully. Tip-off is at 5:15 p.m. ET on CBS.
Story credit: yahoosports