Duke Basketball: Keys for Sweet 16 matchup with Virginia Tech Hokies

COLUMBIA, SOUTH CAROLINA - MARCH 24: Zion Williamson #1 2 and RJ Barrett #5 of the Duke Blue Devils celebrate after defeating the UCF Knights in the second round game of the 2019 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Colonial Life Arena on March 24, 2019 in Columbia, South Carolina. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) /

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COLUMBIA, SOUTH CAROLINA – MARCH 24: Cam Reddish #2 and RJ Barrett #5 of the Duke Blue Devils celebrate after defeating the UCF Knights in the second round game of the 2019 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at Colonial Life Arena on March 24, 2019 in Columbia, South Carolina. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) /

Duke Basketball narrowly escaped their Round of 32 matchup versus UCF. How do they stay focused and advance to the Elite Eight?

Duke Basketball came into the season with a lot of hype. College basketball had never seen one team with three potential top five picks in the upcoming NBA draft. Therefore, many experts and fans put the label on the Blue Devils as National Championship or bust.

With the title hopes, the Blue Devils excited the media, even more, when they blew out Kentucky to start the season. After blowing out Kentucky, the Blue Devils launched themselves into Fab Five, undefeated season, and beating an NBA team discussion. These discussions died down once the Blue Devils suffered their first loss of the season to Gonzaga in the Maui Invitational Championship game.

The Blue Devils were marching through the conference season before injuries plagued the team. Between Tre Jones and Zion Williamson, the team was never at full strength from the Syracuse game until now. The Blue Devils limped to the end of the season finishing 3-3 in their last six games. After getting Williamson back for the ACC tournament. The Blue Devils went on a great streak before winning the ACC tournament versus Florida State.

Williamson and R.J Barrett ran away with the show in the first round on the NCAA tournament. The Blue Devils advanced to the Round of 32 to play the UCF Knights. The Knights outplayed the Blue Devils for most of the game, but Duke found a way to squeak one out in the end. The Blue Devils now play a familiar foe from the ACC.

The Blue Devils will play the Virginia Tech Hokies in the Sweet 16 on Friday night. These teams played each other at the end of the regular season. The Blue Devils were without Williamson, and the Hokies were without Justin Robinson. The Hokies were able to defeat the Blue Devils in the regular season 77-72. With both teams getting their star players back, here are three keys for the Blue Devils to advance to the Elite Eight.

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