Duke basketball: Keys to victory against Arkansas in Elite Eight
The Duke basketball team will be looking to punch its ticket to the Final Four.
Elite Eight games have not been kind to Duke basketball over the last two seasons.
The Blue Devils fell in heartbreaking fashion to both Kansas and Michigan State in 2018 and 2019, respectively, the last two times the program advanced this far in the NCAA Tournament.
Duke will be looking to get back to the Final Four for the first time since it won the National Championship in 2015 on Saturday night against the Arkansas Razorbacks in San Francisco.
The Blue Devils completed the late comeback against Texas Tech in the Sweet 16 while Arkansas pulled off the massive upset against No. 1 overall seed Gonzaga, 74-68.
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Duke and Arkansas have played three times in the history of the two programs, and the Razorbacks have a 2-1 edge in the series over the Blue Devils.
The last time the two teams met was in the 1994 National Championship, in which the Razorbacks defeated the Blue Devils, 76-72.
The only win Duke has over Arkansas was in the 1990 Final Four, 97-83, when the Blue Devils eventually lost to UNLV in the National Championship.
Duke basketball looking to keep Mike Krzyzewski’s career alive
Each time the Blue Devils take the floor, it could be the final game in the career of Mike Krzyzewski.
Duke was on the ropes against Michigan State in the Round of 32 and against Texas Tech in the Sweet 16 but found ways to come back and win in both efforts to put the program on the brink of the Final Four once again.
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The program will not be looking ahead, but the first-ever meeting between Duke and North Carolina in the NCAA Tournament could be coming next week in the Final Four if the Blue Devils defeat Arkansas and the Tar Heels defeat St. Peter’s.
Storylines have dominated the season around this team, and those will only get bigger as the days pass.