There Is A Storm Brewing Against Blue Devils

St. John's vs. Duke, 7:10 ET

We have half of the Elite Eight set, and after today, we will have the other half. I'm excited to see what happens today as we could have two one seeds punch their ticket, or maybe both are eliminated. This Tournament hasn't had a ton of surprises, but there have been enough so that you can at least be happy that it wasn't completely chalk. I also think that the games, for the most part, haven't all been blowouts either. We've had a lot of close games, and that's what really should be wanted. Tonight, we have a matchup between two teams that are reasonable title contenders as St. John's takes on Duke.

St. John's has been one of the more interesting teams this season. At various stretches of the year, they were highly ranked, then not ranked at all. Sometimes it is about hitting your stride at the right time. After 14 games, the team was just 9-5. That dropped them out of the top 25 ranking. Since that point, they have gone 21-1 with their lone loss coming against UConn. They won the Big East Tournament, dominating UConn, and winning by 20 points. Now they have a chance at a potential destiny with UConn again if they can win this game. In their first game, they destroyed Northern Iowa by 26. Then the second game was a bit tougher as they only won by two points. This was mostly about St. John's letting a lead slip away. They had a 14-point lead, but went just 55% from the free throw line. They were leading for over 90% of the game as well. A St. John's buzzer beating layup gave the Red Storm the win and a date with Duke.

The Duke Blue Devils are the No. 1 overall seed in the 2026 NCAA Tournament. (Photo credit: Bob Donnan-Imagn Images)

If you are looking for a team that doesn't pass the eye test, it is on this side of the court. Duke has one of the best players in the country in Cameron Boozer and he has been as good as expected. However, this hasn't been a start that the Blue Devils would like as a team. In the opening round against Siena, the team basically needed every ounce of energy to win by just six points. Then the second round, they faced TCU. They were still leading at halftime, but it wasn't by a very comfortable margin. They were up four points, but they came out in the second half and took care of business. The Blue Devils were able to win the points in the paint, and they shot 23 free throws. Those are two areas you can't expect Duke to just dominate against St. John's. However, if their shot from the outside is falling, it can neutralize it a bit.

St. John's is a very good team. They have been dominating most games. They are well coached, have a good offense, a strong defense, and they can beat you both inside and outside. Duke has been one of the best teams in the country all season long. Unlike the stretch where the Red Storm had to figure it out. The Blue Devils were good all year. After seeing them in the ACC Tournament, I lost a lot of confidence in Duke, and I think that St. John's is a team that can beat them or at least keep it close. I like the Red Storm to cover the -6.5. I also think this game goes over 141.5. 

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