The Blue Devils sealed their 11-3 victory Sunday and took the 2-1 series win over Pittsburgh.
Francis Bogside, an Irish pub in San Antonio, brought generations of Duke graduates together on Final Four weekend.
In a Tobacco Road Rivalry meeting of epic proportions, No. 2 seed Duke will take on No. 3 seed North Carolina in the Sweet 16. Ahead of tipoff Friday afternoon, The Chronicle’s beats give their predictions for the matchup.
While the Blue Devils were missing one of their key underclassmen, it was the veterans, namely junior Ashlon Jackson and senior Reigan Richardson, who took Fournier’s absence in stride. Their combined efforts, culminating in 33 of Duke’s points in the 59-53 win, helped lead it to its first back-to-back Sweet 16 appearances since 2012-2013.
Coming into Friday night’s matchup, the Blue Devils had not played a game since their ACC championship win March 9, presumably a contributing factor to their initial struggle to find their defensive rhythm. But the team has also struggled with getting off to slow starts at several points thus far this season.
Relying on defense to win the day was key in both games of the midweek doubleheader as No. 13 Duke fought its way to two victories over No. 21 Liberty.
With No. 2-seed Duke women's basketball kicking off its NCAA Tournament run Friday evening, the Blue Zone is here with a preview of the Blue Devils' first opponent.
Almost exactly a year ago, the Blue Devils lost to the Wolfpack in the ACC quarterfinals. A month ago, they again lost to N.C. State behind 36 points from Aziaha James. This time though, not even James’ heroics could stop Duke from winning its first ACC championship under head coach Kara Lawson. Twenty-two points from both junior Ashlon Jackson and sophomore Oluchi Okananwa paved the way for the Blue Devils as they took down the top-seeded Wolfpack 76-62.
Duke never managed to catch up to the Gamecocks, losing 4-2. Saturday saw the second of Duke’s games against South Carolina and its second loss of the weekend, after the Gamecocks welcomed themselves to Durham with a hearty 14-7 victory Friday. That loss broke a 10-game win streak for the Blue Devils, who most recently defeated Michigan 2-1 Thursday afternoon. After Sunday’s matchup, the Blue Devils’ losing streak increased to three.
As spring sports are underway, The Chronicle is back with our breakdown of every sport, including key rules, terminology, tournament formats and more. Here is our softball edition.
