Dick Vitale Pats Himself On The Back After Correctly Predicting Saturday's Elite Eight
The No. 1 seeds Florida Gators and Duke Blue Devils passed their respective tests in the Elite Eight round of the 2025 NCAA Tournament on Saturday -- just as what the legendary ESPN broadcaster Dick Vitale predicted.
Before the games on Saturday, Vitale predicted that Florida would outlast the No. 3 seed Texas Tech Red Raiders because of the Gators' offense. He also said that he expected to see the Blue Devils advance to the Final Four, believing that Duke's defense will be the difference versus the No. 2 seed Alabama Crimson Tide.
Following Duke's 85-65 victory over the Crimson Tide, Vitale circled back to his predictions, especially pointing out to Duke's dominant performance.
"In earlier tweets I said the @DukeMBB defense would be the difference -held @AlabamaMBB to 65 is special. Duke wins 85-65 led by the combo of super Diaper Dandies & veterans that r winners. Tip hat to @JonScheyer & staff for a fantastic job of getting them to play as a TEAM," the 85-year-old Vitale wrote in a post on X.
Duke is one of the most balanced teams in the nation, as it has proven over and over again in the 2024-25 college basketball season that it can win games either with its lethal offense or suffocating defense.
Per KenPom, the Blue Devils are No. 1 in the nation with a 130.1 adjusted offensive rating and fourth with a 90.5 defensive rating. Against Alabama, the Blue Devils were excellent on both ends of the floor, as they posted a 58.9 effective field goal percentage while limiting the Crimson Tide to just a 41.5 effective field goal percentage.
As for Florida, the Gators battled back from a nine-point deficit late in regulation to overcome Texas Tech via a score of 84-79. Todd Golden's team shot just 43.9 percent from the floor but Florida made big stops down the stretch and drained huge buckets when it needed them the most.
Duke will next face the winner of Sunday's game between the No. 1 seed Houston Cougars and the No. 2 seed Tennessee Volunteers. Florida, on the other hand, will take on the victor of the other Elite Eight matchup between the No. seed Auburn Tigers and No. 2 seed Michigan State Spartans.
