With No. 1 seed Duke men's basketball kicking off its NCAA Tournament run Friday afternoon, the Blue Zone is here with a preview of the Blue Devils' first opponent:
13–19, 9-11 in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
23–12, 12–8 in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
Donny Lind
First Meeting
Duke has not lost a single game since Feb 8th, when it faced off against now-No. 12 Clemson at the Littlejohn Coliseum. Since then, the Blue Devils embarked on an incredible run in conference play to close out the regular season, which included a 110-67 thrashing of Illinois at Madison Square Garden on Feb 22nd, as well as another rivalry victory at North Carolina on March 8th. Duke then went on to win the ACC Tournament hosted in Charlotte, albeit it was not as smooth-sailing as before. In particular, the Blue Devils had to play without freshman phenom Cooper Flagg for the majority of the tournament, who suffered an ankle sprain during the opening clash with Georgia Tech. Although this setback has diminished Duke’s offensive outputs over the last three games, the resilient Blue Devils still managed to prevail and secure a well-deserved No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. Simply put, Duke seems unstoppable with its current momentum, especially as Flagg is confirmed to return to the team for the first round.
On a similar trajectory and hoping to upset the Blue Devils in Raleigh is Mount St Mary’s, who just pulled off a convincing win against American Wednesday night to secure a 16th seed in the NCAA Tournament. The Mountaineers were a sixth seed in their conference championship, but were able to achieve two close victories en route to the MAAC final where they comfortably beat Iona. During that four-game postseason stretch, Mount St Mary’s held its opponents to an average of only 58.5 points per game, showcasing its defensive prowess. Duke, on the other hand, conceded 67.7 points to its postseason opponents. The Blue Devils should also be wary of the Mountaineers’ three-point shooting ability, as seen in the MAAC championship game where coach Donny Lind’s team made 12 baskets from behind the arc. Nevertheless, at the rate that Duke is playing, coach Jon Scheyer’s squad looks poised to continue its win streak into the second round of the NCAA Tournament without too much trouble.
In the absence of Flagg, another freshman rose to take his place at the front of Duke’s offense. Kneuppel, the 6-foot-7 guard from Milwaukee, is currently in the form of his life. His ACC tournament heroics saw the freshman average 21 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 4.7 assists per game, a noticeable step up from his regular season stats. It was therefore no surprise that he was named ACC Tournament MVP. Look for him to continue his consistent performance over the course of the NCAA tournament.
Although Kneuppel is primarily known for his impressive 3-pointers, as he shoots 39.2% from behind the arc, he has found many other avenues to score points. In particular, the freshman guard leads Duke in free-throw accuracy at 91.4%, and he only missed 2-of-24 attempts over the course of the ACC Tournament. Indeed, Kneuppel’s strength in making free throws will be crucial in the Blue Devils' bid to make a deep run in the NCAA Tournament, starting with Mount St Mary’s Friday. The Mountaineers boasted a 82.4% free throw percentage across their squad in their First Four win Wednesday night, and that should put Knueppel up for a test from the charity stripe to match their accuracy.
In its first NCAA tournament game, Mount St Mary’s was led by one man: senior Jedy Cordilia. The 6-foot-9 forward from The Netherlands put up 22 points on the evening against the American Eagles, which saw him score 10-of-11 field goal attempts. Furthermore, Cordilia has proved himself to be an all-round player, as he leads the Mountaineers with 7.3 rebounds per game. This is on-par with Duke’s leader in that category, Cooper Flagg, who averages 7.5 boards per game. Hence, it would be very interesting to see the two face off against each other Friday afternoon.
Having established himself as a regular starter during his junior year at Mount St Mary’s, Cordilia has been an integral part of the Mountaineers' team in winning their first ever MAAC tournament title this year, as well as their first NCAA appearance since 2021. If Duke wants to avoid an embarrassing first round exit, the Blue Devils must be able to contain Cordilia’s explosive outputs, as well as finding a way past his defense to score.
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