No. 11 Duke’s NCAA Tournament opener proved far from easy, but the Blue Devils made enough shots late to turn back stubborn Vermont.
With senior guard Jeremy Roach scoring 10 of his 14 points in the game’s final 10 minutes, No 4 seed Duke finally extended its lead into double digits to defeat No. 13 seed Vermont, 64-47, in a South Region first-round game at Barclays Center.
The Blue Devils (25-8) advance to Sunday’s second round to play No. 12 seed James Madison (32-3), which eliminated No. 5 seed Wisconsin, 72-61, Friday night.
“We stayed poised down the stretch,” Duke freshman guard Jared McCain said. “They hit tough shots and we stayed poised. And we worked on it all week, get defensive stops, defense is going to win these games. We have the talent for offense. It’s going to be defense.”
Vermont (28-7), the America East champion, saw its season end after it shot just 28% in the second half to finish at 38.5% for the game. Shamir Bogues scored a game-high 18 points for the Catamounts, whose 47 points were 25 points below their season scoring average of 72.3.
McCain and Mark Mitchell each scored 15 points for Duke while Tyrese Proctor added 13.
“I just thought it was a terrific job by these guys and showing a lot of toughness, a lot of heart and really proud of this win,” Duke coach Jon Scheyer said.
After Duke took a 34-29 halftime lead, neither team could find its shooting range over the first eight minutes of the second half. The Blue Devils scored on just one of their first five possessions. Vermont cut the Blue Devils’ lead to 36-34 and had possession only to see Nick Fiorillo miss a 3-pointer that would have put his team in front.
McCain answered with a 3-pointer for Duke and when Proctor added a 3-pointer with 14:46 to play, Duke led 42-35.
The Blue Devils continued to slowly expand their lead as, on back-to-back possessions, McCain scored on a driving bank shot and Mitchell added a basket in the lane for a 46-37 advantage.
Roach scored after a drive through the lane at 9:25 and added two free throws with 8:51 remaining giving Duke its largest lead, to that point, at 50-39.
Bogues scored five Vermont points in a row to put pressure on the Blue Devils by slicing their lead to 50-44.
But Proctor drilled a 3-pointer at the top of the key and, with 4:53 remaining, Roach drove the lane to score while drawing a foul. His free throw gave Duke its largest lead, at that point, at 56-44. Vermont never drew closer than nine points again.
“I just wanted to keep trying to be aggressive,” Roach said. “The last 10 minutes, I knew it was big time.”
Duke led by as many as 10 points twice in the first half, making six of its first seven shots and eight of the first 12 overall. But after building a 28-18 lead on a Jaylen Blakes steal and layup, Duke’s offense fell silent. The Blue Devils went four minutes, 23 seconds between made field goals, scoring only on a Kyle Filipowski free throw while turning the ball over three times during that stretch.
That allowed the Catamounts get back into the game and energize the upset-wishing crowd. Bogues’ basket with two minutes left in the half trimmed Duke’s lead to 29-27.
But McCain halted Duke’s shooting drought with a 3-pointer before adding two free throws after he recorded a steal as Duke took a 34-29 halftime lead.
Duke’s win allowed it to avoid the program’s first three-game losing streak since the 2020-21 season — the pandemic-altered campaign when the Blue Devils endured three three-game losing streaks while going 13-11 and missing the NCAA Tournament.
The last time Duke lost its final three games of a season was in 2006-07, when it ended on a four-game skid that included a 79-77 NCAA Tournament loss to Virginia Commonwealth.
This story was originally published March 22, 2024, 9:21 PM.
Steve Wiseman
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