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Mike Krzyzewski might want to stop worrying about his team’s inexperience. The loaded if young Blue Devils hardly seemed intimidated by NCAA tournament’s bright lights. If anything, they’re thriving under them. Atlantic Coast Conference Player of the Year Marvin Bagley scored 22 points to go with nine rebounds, fellow freshman big man Wendell Carter Jr. added 13 points and second-seeded Duke rolled by seventh-seeded Rhode Island 87-62 in the second round on Saturday to earn the program’s 26th trip to the Sweet 16. Freshmen guards Gary Trent Jr. and Trevon Duval combined for 29 points and 11 assists for the Blue Devils. Duke (28-7) will play either Michigan State or Syracuse in the Midwest Regional semifinals in Omaha, Nebraska on Friday. The victory gave Krzyzewski 1,098 wins during his Hall of Fame career, breaking a tie with Tennessee women’s coach Pat Summitt for the most ever by an NCAA basketball coach. The Rams (26-8) and their senior-laden roster never threatened after the opening 10 minutes. E.C. Matthews led Rhode Island with 23 points but the Rams were never really in it after the Blue Devils revved it up midway through the first half. Krzyzewski’s relationship with Rhode Island head coach Dan Hurley dates back to when Krzyzewski recruited Dan’s older brother Bobby to Duke 30 years ago. Krzyzewski praised the Hurley family for their love of the “dignity of work,” an ethos that has helped Dan turn the Rams into a force in the Atlantic 10. Work ethic is one thing. Talent is another. The Rams have plenty of the former. When the young but rapidly maturing Blue Devils are as fully engaged as they were on Saturday, they have a staggering amount of both. The proof came in a clinically efficient opening half in which Duke picked the Rams a part. If Allen and Trent weren’t knocking down 3-pointers then they were getting the ball inside to Bagley or Carter, the program’s “other” potential lottery pick who is dealing with an achy Achilles. Though he winced at least once while trying to set up on the block, when Carter had the ball in his hands, the grimace disappeared. He scored nine of Duke’s first 11 points to establish the Blue Devils’ dominance in the paint and when the backcourt got going, the Rams simply couldn’t keep pace. A 23-5 surge midway through the first half put the Blue Devils firmly in command.
Mikal Bridges hit five 3s, scored 23 points and helped No. 1 seed Villanova put the field on notice that it’s the team to beat with an easy win over ninth-seeded Alabama. The Wildcats (32-4) are in the Sweet 16 for the first time since they won the 2016 national championship. Bridges, Jalen Brunson, Phil Booth — and yes, The Big Ragu — look every bit the favorite to make it two in three years. Villanova plays Friday in Boston against the Marshall-West Virginia winner. After a tense first half in a round that has given the program fits, the Wildcats hit their first six 3s in the second and put on a thrashing up there among the most dominant under coach Jay Wright. Bridges, who averaged 17.9 points and played his way into a likely NBA draft lottery pick, scored 1 point and missed all five shots in the first half. He found his groove once the second half tipped. Bridges scored the first 5 points of the half and then finished a thunderous alley-oop on a pass from Booth that made it 41-27 and sent the Wildcats wildly waving their arms in celebration headed into a timeout. Bridges hit his first three 3s in succession to cap an 18-1 run and a Sweet 16 berth was in sight.
Kentucky put an end to any upset talk on its watch, getting 27 points and a near-perfect shooting game from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in a pullaway win over 13th-seeded Buffalo. Gilgeous-Alexander went 10 for 12 and made both of his 3-point attempts to send fifth-seeded Kentucky (26-10) to the Sweet 16 for the second straight season. Buffalo (27-9), which got here with a 21-point blowout over Arizona, twice trimmed a double-digit lead to five midway through the second half. Gilgeous-Alexander answered both times — once with a 3-pointer to extend the lead to eight, then again a few minutes later with a three-point play that started a 12-2 run and put the game away. Hamidou Diallo also went off — going 9 for 12 and scoring all but four of his 22 points in the second half.
Malik Newman scored 28 points, Udoka Azubuike stood toe-to-toe with Seton Hall’s bruising Angel Delgado, and No. 1 seed Kansas held off the plucky Pirates to send the Jayhawks to their third consecutive Sweet 16. Svi Mykhailiuk added 16 points and Lagerald Vick had 13 for the Jayhawks (29-7), who converted on every crucial play down the stretch to advance to the semifinals of the Midwest Region. They’ll take on the winner of today’s game between Auburn and Clemson in Omaha, Nebraska.