2022 NCAA Tournament: How Duke and Arkansas got to Elite 8 matchup

With a trip to the final four on the line, will Coach K return to the NCAA Tournament Final Four in his final season or will Arkansas continue their journey after beating overall 1 seed Gonzaga in the sweet sixteen?

The Duke Blue Devils were 26-5 in the regular season. Their six losses came against Ohio State, Miami, North Carolina, Virginia, and Florida State. In the ACC tournament, the Blue Devils lost in the ACC championship game to Virginia Tech.

This season is a very notable season for college basketball because this is Coach K’s farewell season. One of the best basketball coaches of all time is retiring after 5 national championships in 41 seasons at Duke. In Coach K’s last season, Duke is led by Pablo Banchero. Banchero averages 17 points per game on 48 percent shooting.

Duke is a 2 seed in the NCAA tournament. They dominated CSU Fullerton in the round of 64. The game against Michigan State was much closer. Although Duke led most of the game, the Spartans came back with less than six minutes to go.  After Michigan State took a five-point lead, Duke went on a 20-6 run for the rest of the game. Banchero led Duke with 19 points on 57 percent shooting.

Duke faced Texas Tech in the Sweet Sixteen. In the first half, the game was very close until the red raiders took a 5 point lead with 4 minutes to go in the first half. Duke cut the lead to 4 points at half behind a Banchero old-fashioned three-point play. In the second half, Duke tied the game with 13 minutes left. The game was close the rest of the way.

With around 90 seconds left, Jeremy Roach hit two jumpers to take a five-point lead. Duke controlled the game down the stretch by switching to a 2-3 zone. After the Red Raiders missed on the other end, the game turned into a free throw contest. Despite Texas Tech cutting it to three with 29 seconds left, Duke won the game. Duke was led by Banchero who had 22 points on 58 percent shooting.

The path for Arkansas

The Arkansas Razorbacks were 24-7 in the regular season. Their seven losses came against Tennessee, Alabama, Oklahoma, Mississippi St, Texas A&M, Vanderbilt, and Hofstra. In the SEC tournament, the Razorbacks lost in the semifinals to Texas A&M.

The Razorbacks are led by JD Notae. Notae averages 18 points per game on 39 percent shooting. Despite the fact that he scores a lot, Notae is a very bad shooter. He shoots 39 percent from the field and 29 percent from three. While he is a bad shooter, he leads the Razorbacks in rebounds with 9.

Arkansas is a 4 seed in the NCAA tournament. The Razorbacks survived a second comeback from Vermont in the first round. Arkansas faced New Mexico State in the Round of 32. The Round of 32 was a very similar story to the Round of 64 for Arkansas. The Razorbacks blew a first-half lead, and the game went down to the wire.

With eight minutes left, Johnny McCants made a layup to tie the game.  Arkansas went on a 14-6 run and the Razorbacks led by eight with five minutes to go. Arkansas struggled to score over the next two minutes and it was a four-point game with three minutes to go.

New Mexico State made this game a one-possession game multiple times in the last 180 seconds but Arkansas drew crucial fouls on the offensive end each time on the ensuing possession. After Chris Lykes made two key free throws, Arkansas moved on to face Gonzaga in the Sweet Sixteen.

This was a close game throughout until Chet fouled out of the game with three minutes left. Arkansas had a six-point lead and controlled the rest of the game 12 points to 8 points. Despite the fact that Andrew Nembhard made a three to make it a one-possession game with 19 seconds left, Chris Lykes made two free throws and the game was over.

This game will be an offensive battle.  Both of these teams are one of the best offensive teams in the country. Banchero will make another case why he should be the top overall pick in the NBA draft, with his performance.

JD Notae will not be able to keep pace with Banchero due to his poor shooting. While this will be a very close game, Coach K will advance to the final four in his last season because of JD Notae’s poor shooting.

Prediction: Duke 82, Arkansas 75