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Duke Basketball: With sights set on Sweet 16, Blue Devils face UCF

By Kevin Connelly

COLUMBIA, SOUTH CAROLINA - MARCH 22: Head coach Mike Krzyzewski and RJ Barrett #5 of the Duke Blue Devils shake hands 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)
COLUMBIA, SOUTH CAROLINA - MARCH 22: Head coach Mike Krzyzewski and RJ Barrett #5 of the Duke Blue Devils shake hands 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) /
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The Sweet 16 is in the sights of the Duke Basketball team, but the UCF Knights stand in the way of the mighty Blue Devils.

After a sloppy first half, the Duke Blue Devils responded with an emphatic second half to defeat the North Dakota State Bison.

The UCF Knights practically were in control for the entire game against the VCU Rams immediately after the Blue Devils win, setting up a date with the No. 1 overall seed.

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UCF is led by former Duke player and assist coach, Johnny Dawkins, are looking for the major upset and 7-foot-6-inch sensation Tacko Fall knows what is awaiting him in Zion Williamson.

Fall said he is going to try to avoid being dunked on by Williamson, which is no small task.

It was Zion and R.J. Barrett who dominated in the second half against, with Barrett finishing with 26 points and 14 rebounds, while Williamson finished with 25 points but just three rebounds.

While Barrett and Williamson will almost certainty dominate in every game they play, Duke’s X-Factor still remains the very talented, yet streaky shooter in Cam Reddish.

Reddish is still in a slump shooting the ball from the outside, but is continuing to affect the game in other ways, gathering four rebounds, three assists, two steals, and a block in the win on Friday night.

If Cam Reddish starts to get hot as the NCAA Tournament continues, Duke will be very tough to beat with his shooting paired with the explosiveness of Barrett and Williamson.

Jack White missed Friday’s game with a hamstring injury and is likely to once again miss Sunday’s game, despite practicing on Saturday afternoon.

While it will be tough to miss Tacko Fall when he is on the court, the Blue Devils are going to have to lock in on Aubrey Dawkins, Johnny Dawkins son, who averages 15.1 points, 5.1 rebounds, 1.3 steals, and 1.0 assists per game.

Aubrey Dawkins also shoots 45.3% from the field and 39.1% from the 3-point line.

Duke will have to come out with an intensity, purpose, and attention to detail in the first half as the Blue Devils cannot afford to have any more slow starts in the NCAA Tournament.

Tipoff between Duke and UCF will be at approximately 5:15pm ET on Sunday evening from Colonial Life Arena in Columbia, South Carolina and the game can be seen on CBS.

PREDICTION: Duke 81, UCF 67

Stay tuned to Ball Durham on Twitter, @Ball_Durham, and here at our website, balldurham.com, for complete coverage of the Duke Blue Devils vs. the University of Central Florida Knights.

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