5 halftime observations from Duke men's basketball Elite Eight contest against Alabama

No. 1-seed Duke men’s basketball takes on No. 2-seed Alabama in the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament. As the teams head into the locker room for halftime, the Blue Devils lead the Crimson Tide 46-37:

Fiery start

Avid Duke fans will remember the Blue Devils’ struggles to open games strong just four months ago; in high-profile early-season matchups against Kansas and Auburn, Duke’s opponents accelerated out to double-digit leads early on. But against the Tigers’ in-state rivals, the Blue Devils began the game on an explosive run on both ends of the court. Cooper Flagg got the party started by nailing a three on the first possession, and then guards Tyrese Proctor and Kon Knueppel added five points each before the first TV timeout, giving Duke an early 13-5 lead. After two Sion James free throws, it was the Blue Devils who jumped out to an early double-digit lead.

Slowing the game down

Alabama plays at the fastest tempo in the country according to KenPom, blitzing opponents by attempting over 64 field goals per game. Head coach Jon Scheyer’s squad seemed determined to slow the Tide down, forcing a shot-clock violation on the Blue Devils’ first defensive possession. Duke’s trademark switch-everything defense seemed to trouble Alabama’s smaller guards in the opening minutes, running the Crimson Tide off the 3-point line and into tough contested looks.

While Alabama finished the half with 35 attempts, most of those looks weren’t particularly good ones, as the Tide converted only 40% of their shots, compared to 53% in the Sweet 16. While the Blue Devil game plan worked to near perfection in the opening half, the Crimson Tide’s electric play style means that even a significant lead is not safe heading into the locker room.

Excelling from 3-point land

The Crimson Tide broke the NCAA Tournament record for most 3-pointers in a game last time out against BYU with a staggering 25 triples. But it was the Blue Devils who converted the first two 3-pointers of the game courtesy of Flagg and Knueppel. Alabama only made one three in its first five possessions, but quickly got back to its trademark ways with a pair of made 3-pointers from forward Aiden Sherrell.

With Duke leading 27-19 at the 9-minute mark, Knueppel nailed his second three of the game to extend the Blue Devil lead to 12, but the Crimson Tide immediately responded with a downtown make from Chris Youngblood just as the shot clock expired. Duke finished 5-of-9 from deep in the period, while Alabama knocked down just 5-of-19 3-point attempts.

Superstars struggle

Flagg and Mark Sears are the two most high-profile stars in this Elite Eight matchup, but neither player really excelled in the opening 10 minutes. After swishing 10 threes against BYU, Sears did not score a single point in the opening 12 minutes, while Flagg only mustered five in that same period with two turnovers to his name. Duke seemed to particularly emphasize preventing Sears from finding his shot; the graduate student only attempted two threes and scored just two points as the Blue Devils regularly forced him to give up the basketball.

On the other hand, Flagg extended Duke’s lead to 13 with a layup at the rim before swatting away an Alabama floater on the next possession. Flagg’s offense wasn’t necessarily up to his lofty standards, with the star freshman missing several close looks he tends to convert with ease. However, in the dying seconds of the half, Flagg scored at the rim through contact for an and-one to head to the locker room with 10 points.

Player of the half: Kon Knueppel

Coming off an impressive 20-point performance against Arizona, the Milwaukee native continued to impress in the NCAA Tournament to the tune of 11 first-half points. After converting two early threes and with the Blue Devils up 30-22 at the seven-minute mark, Knueppel drove to the rim, glided around an Alabama defender and converted through contact for an and-one.

Knueppel’s defensive abilities were also on full display in the opening 20 minutes, with the freshman helping contain the Crimson Tide’s deadly scorers in addition to his offensive contributions. Look for the All-ACC second-team selection to continue to shine as Duke seeks to clinch a spot in the Final Four for the first time since 2022.