A year ago, the Duke basketball team was in the same situation, an Elite 8 matchup with a Final Four berth on the line and Tyrese Proctor had the worst game of his career. He missed all nine shots he took as the Blue Devils collapsed in the second half against North Carolina State.
Saturday night in Newark, New Jersey could not have been more different for the junior captain. It was redemption for the junior captain.
He shined with 17 points on 7-of-10 shooting as Duke defeated Alabama 85-65 to advance to its first Final Four since 2022.
Proctor didn’t need to be the starting pitcher or the closer for the Blue Devils, but he was the rock that kept everything steady. His layup with 10:47 to play matched Duke’s largest lead at that point in the game, 63-50.
The Blue Devils used a 13-1 run in a 5:14 period of the second half to seal its victory.
His freshmen teammates who have never been in the moment before shined. The trio of Cooper Flagg, Kon Knueppel, and Khaman Maluach combined for 51 points.
Knueppel’s points were the most impactful after being able to respond each time Alabama tried to make a push into Duke’s advantage and added five rebounds and five assists to the winning cause.
Flagg didn’t have as potent of an encore for his 30-point showing in the Sweet 16, making just 6-of-16 shots but still found a way to score 16 points and log nine rebounds.
While Duke had plenty of offense in the victory, its defense was the most impressive holding Alabama to just 35.4-percent from the floor and 8-of-32 from 3-point range one game removed from breaking an NCAA Tournament record with 25 made 3-pointers.
Crimson Tide standout Mark Sears, who made ten triples in its win over BYU, had no answer for the size and length of the Blue Devils, finishing with just six points on 2-of-12 shooting.
The Blue Devils will play either No. 1 Houston or No. 2 Tennessee in the Final Four on Saturday evening in San Antonio, Texas.