Alabama basketball has a chance to make the Final Four for the second straight season. All the Crimson Tide has to do is beat the No. 1 seed in the region.
UA will face Duke Saturday in the Elite Eight, for the right to play in San Antonio. The Tide made it to the game by beating BYU in the Sweet 16, breaking the NCAA Tournament’s record for threes in a single game.
The Blue Devils have rolled through the tournament led by freshman phenom Cooper Flagg, the potential No. 1 pick in the upcoming NBA Draft. Duke beat Arizona in the Sweet 16.
The Elite Eight game is scheduled to tip off at 7:49 p.m. CT in Newark. Alabama and Duke’s matchup will be aired on TBS and TruTV.
Follow along here for live updates once the game begins.
1st half
4:33— Duke takes a timeout after Alabama cuts the deficit to single-digits. Blue Devils still lead 37-29. Tide has made its last three from the field.
6:46— Nate Oats takes a timeout with his Alabama squad trailing 35-22. UA has made just one of its last nine shots from the field.
7:57— Duke leads 30-22. Crimson Tide has started the game ice cold from the field, making just seven of 20 attempts. After his huge game against BYU, Mark Sears is 0-for-2, with three turnovers.
11:17— Alabama is down 23-17. Crimson Tide having trouble defending the Blue Devils, who are averaging 1.438 points per possession so far.
15:53— Duke takes the early lead, 13-5 at the first media timeout. Blue Devils are hitting 63% from the field, and Alabama has already turned the ball over three times.
20:00— Duke wins the tip and the game is underway.
Pregame
–Starters for Alabama: Labaron Philon, Mark Sears, Chris Youngblood, Grant Nelson, Cliff Omoruyi.
— Starters for Duke: Tyrese Proctor, Kon Knueppel, Sion James, Cooper Flagg, Khaman Maluach.