Duke sophomore guard Isaiah Evans isn't short on confidence heading into Sunday's matchup with UConn in the Elite Eight. It's hard to blame him after the Blue Devils rallied from 10 points down to knock off St. John's in the Sweet 16, in large part because of Evans' scoring.
Evans scored 25 points on 10-of-15 shooting from the floor, providing a huge offensive boost for Duke against a physical and pesky St. John's defense.
Duke is just one win away from a second straight trip to the Final Four and three wins away from capturing the program's first national championship in 11 years.
Against UConn, Evans feels like Duke has the edge for one reason:
"It's our will versus their will... we're just the more connected group," Evans said.
Isaiah Evans says Duke is the 'more connected group' against UConn
The Duke Brotherhood is something special. This group is genuinely connected, and they care about one another. If that wasn't obvious before, it certainly was after Caleb Foster's heroic performance against St. John's in the Sweet 16, less than three full weeks since he fractured his foot in a win over North Carolina.
This team has been fueled by the doubt that crept in across the country when Duke avoided a near-miss against Siena in the first-round of the NCAA Tournament. Their status as championship contenders was questioned, but they've bounced back with back-to-back impressive performances to reach the Elite Eight for the third year in a row.
UConn will be the toughest challenge to date, however. Dan Hurley has been more successful than any coach in the country in March Madness in recent years, leading the Huskies to an absurd 16-1 record in the Big Dance over the last four seasons.
The UConn will is certainly strong. With two talented teams, that line in the sand will be drawn on the court in D.C.
It's hard to bet against Duke being the one that leaps across it.