1-seed Duke is set to take on 1-seed Houston tonight in the Final Four in San Antonio with a trip to the national championship game on the line. It's a battle of maybe the two best teams in college basketball, and this matchup bodes well to be an instant classic between two college hoops juggernauts.
The Blue Devils have cruised through the NCAA Tournament thus far, winning their four games by an average margin of over 23 points per game. But this Houston squad is a different monster, and Duke head coach Jon Scheyer, along with the rest of the players and staff, knows that.
Scheyer talked with FOX college basketball insider John Fanta ahead of Scheyer's first Final Four game as a head coach, and spoke about the biggest things that have allowed this Duke team to have continued success all season.
NEW: My 1-on-1 conversation with Jon Scheyer ahead of Duke’s showdown with Houston in the Final Four on Saturday night. pic.twitter.com/1n4tk24SZu
— John Fanta (@John_Fanta) April 4, 2025
Fanta asked Scheyer about the team's work ethic and how Scheyer wants his group to reflect it. The Blue Devils' third-year head coach said it's the most important thing.
"It's the number one thing, you know, we'll bring in talented guys, of course, but the separator is their ability to work through hard moments, and each of the guys that you just mentioned, and, really all the guys on our team, they have such an amazing professionalism about them. The way they work the long hours, the early mornings, the late nights. I've never once as a coach have had to convince them or teach them about, 'man, you need to work this way.' And, that's a credit to our staff, the job we've done to bring in, like, an incredible group of young men."
It's easy to see on the court just how bad this Blue Devils team wants it. There's never a dull moment or a moment where Duke isn't matching or bettering the opponent's fight. And tonight, more than ever against an extremely physical Houston team, that will need to show.
This contest also puts the #1 offensive team in the country in Duke against the #1 defensive team in the country in Houston, per KenPom analytics. With that storyline, many seem to forget that the Blue Devils are also a top five defensive team in the nation.
Scheyer said he wants his group to remember the defensive intensity and skillet they've displayed all season, and not just get caught up in scoring.
"We've taken a lot of pride in the defensive end all year. And, look, with complete respect for Houston and their defense that they have, we feel we can be right there with anybody. And so, we want to defend and not have our value get caught up in scoring. We feel scoring will come the right way as long as our mindset's in a fighting mindset, competitive mindset, to get stops and get rebounds."
Duke basketball is looking to ink its first trip to the national championship game since 2015 when the program won it over Wisconsin, and avenge the 2022 Final Four loss against North Carolina to end Coach K's career.