If Duke makes it past the first round of the NCAA Tournament, it will face No. 8 Mississippi State or No. 9 Baylor in Raleigh on Sunday. The Blue Devils’ East Region contains Alabama as the No. 2 seed, Wisconsin as the No. 3 seed, and Arizona as the No. 4 seed, which ESPN college basketball analyst Jay Bilas called as a “fantastic” draw when compared to the other areas.
In the absence of fellow rookie Cooper Flagg, who suffered an ankle injury during Duke’s 78-70 ACC Tournament quarterfinals victory over Georgia Tech, Knueppel took over and led the team to the conference championship.
Knueppel averaged 21 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 4.6 assists per game throughout Duke’s three ACC Tournament games, shooting 48.6% from the field. The rookie also shot 22-of-24 from the free throw line in the three games.
And during Knueppel’s post-ACC Tournament MVP interview, the star freshman stirred up Duke supporters for the NCAA Tournament, reminding them that the job isn’t done for this Duke team, despite all of the program’s previous success.
“Two down, one to go,” Knueppel stated as the team celebrated its victory yesterday.
Knueppel is most likely alluding to Duke’s ACC regular-season and tournament titles. But there’s still the major dance, the NCAA Tournament, to come, and the Blue Devils hope to cut down another net in a few weeks.
Duke demonstrated outstanding depth while remaining dominant even without the team’s leader, Flagg, who leads the squad in all five key statistical categories. And with Flagg reportedly returning to Duke’s lineup for March Madness, it’s frightening to think how good this Blue Devil squad can be.
Other players, besides Flagg, have demonstrated their ability to step up in critical situations. Aside from Knueppel, senior guard Tyrese Proctor led Duke with 19 points in yesterday’s triumph over Louisville, while Sion James added 15.
The Blue Devils are deserving of the #1 overall seed in tonight’s Selection Show, but it’s uncertain who the tournament’s best team will be after Auburn lost to Tennessee 70-65 in the SEC Tournament quarterfinals yesterday.
