Duke Basketball: 3 keys for Blue Devils versus UCF in Round of 32

COLUMBIA, SOUTH CAROLINA - MARCH 22: Zion Williamson #1 of the Duke Blue Devils dunks the ball against the North Dakota State Bison in the first half during the first round of the 2019 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Colonial Life Arena on March 22, 2019 in Columbia, South Carolina. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images) /

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COLUMBIA, SOUTH CAROLINA – MARCH 22: The Duke Blue Devils bench celebrates their teams lead against the North Dakota State Bison in the second half during the first round of the 2019 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at Colonial Life Arena on March 22, 2019 in Columbia, South Carolina. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images) /

Duke Basketball will matchup versus the UCF Knights on Sunday afternoon in the round of 32. Here are three keys for the Blue Devils to advance to the Sweet Sixteen.

The Blue Devils knocked off No. 16 seed North Dakota State Bison on Friday night to advance to the round of 32. Duke Basketball had a slow start versus the Bison, before Zion Williamson and R.J. Barrett got things rolling.

Williamson finished with twenty-five points and three rebounds. Barrett finished with a double-double, scoring twenty-six points and grabbing fourteen rebounds. The Blue Devils ended up beating the Bison 85-62.

The Blue Devils have moved on to face the UCF Knights in the round of 32. The Knights are coached by former Duke player and assistant coach Johnny Dawkins. Dawkins played at Duke for four years and was apart of the Blue Devils first great recruiting classes. He was one of the players to help set the culture for the Blue Devils program moving forward. He also as mentored by Mike Krzyzewski when he came back to Duke to be an assistant coach from 1998 to 2008.

The Knights are a nine seed in the NCAA tournament. They defeated VCU 73-58, in the round of 64. This impressive win game from the help of B.J. Taylor, Aubrey Dawkins, and Tacko Fall. The three players combined for forty-two of the Knights seventy-three points. The Knights would love to upset the No. 1 overall Blue Devils and Dawkins former school in the round of 32.

Sunday afternoon’s game could be a trap game for the Blue Devils. The Knights are a great defensive team, who also have a methodical and efficient offense. Here are three keys for the Blue Devils to avoid an upset versus the Knights in the round od 32.

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