Tournament’s Final Four is just two wins away

Zion Williamson leads top-seeded Duke in the Sweet Sixteen. Matchups, game times, analysis and more.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – For the most captivating college basketball player from a storied program who is expected to lead Duke to the Final Four and projected as the No. 1 pick in June’s NBA draft, Zion Williamson doesn’t act like there’s pressure.

If there is, he’s hiding it behind the million-dollar smile and easygoing personality.

“I don’t really feel the pressure,” he said Thursday ahead of East Region 1-seed Duke’s regional semifinal game against 4-seed Virginia Tech.

On a team with two other projected NBA lottery picks — freshmen R.J. Barrett and Cam Reddish — it just seems like he needs a monster game for Duke to win: 32 points and 11 rebounds against Central Florida in the second round; 31 points and 11 rebounds against North Carolina in the ACC tournament.

“And (as) for the monster game, I don’t feel the pressure to have that every game because we have a lot of talented players on this team,” he said. “So we just move the ball and attack. And whoever has the hot hand, that’s who is going to have the monster night.”

But of Duke’s four losses this season, three came when Williamson was out with an injured foot. Yes, the Blue Devils won games without Williamson, but for Duke to win an NCAA championship for the first time since 2015, all signs point to dominant performances by Williamson.

The Blue Devils don’t have a great 3-point shooting team, but when they really needed threes against UCF, Williamson made two. When they really need points, Williamson is the best option. More often than not, he delivers.

He averages 22.5 points and 8.8 rebounds and shoots 68.4 percent from the field, including 75 percent inside the 3point line. Get him the ball in the paint, and he’s almost impossible to stop without fouling.

Coach Mike Krzyzewski gushes about his likely oneand-done star who jokes with teammates just as easily as he creates highlight dunks that go viral. “This kid is just one of a kind,” he said. “He’s certainly a special basketball player. But as a youngster, he has a maturity. It’s uncommon.”

If there is pressure on Williamson, Duke has tried minimize it.

“You have to make sure that you’re adapting to coaching a young group at this time in civilization, and not four years ago or five years ago,” Krzyzewski said. “And these guys have been really good to adapt to. Our program has incredibly high expectations from within and from without. And that’s good. And so if we succeed, we succeed famously. And if we do not succeed, we have tried to succeed famously. And I like that aspect of our program immensely.”

He also acknowledged, “Look, there’s pressure on us all the time.”