Duke trailed St. John's by 10 points in the second half Friday before rallying to win 80-75 in the Sweet 16 and reach the Elite Eight for the first time under coach Jon Scheyer. The No. 1 overall seed Blue Devils play No. 2 UConn on Sunday at 5:05 p.m. in Washington, D.C., with a Final Four berth on the line.
The comeback turned on Caleb Foster, who had fractured his right foot on March 7 and underwent surgery the next day. He returned to the lineup after 20 days, scored on four consecutive possessions to ignite the second half, and finished with 11 points on 5-of-8 shooting in 18 minutes. Scheyer had expected him to play eight to ten minutes. "He had no business playing," Scheyer said. "Ninety-nine percent of guys do not come back to play under those circumstances."
- Isaiah Evans led all scorers with 25 points on 10-of-15 shooting. Cameron Boozer added 22 points and 10 rebounds. The three combined for 38 of Duke's 41 second-half points.
- St. John's, the Big East regular season champions, shot 9-of-18 from three in the first half before going cold, finishing 4-of-14 from beyond the arc after the break.
- Duke enters Sunday at 35-2. UConn is 32-5.
A win Sunday would send Duke to its first Final Four since 2022, when the Blue Devils lost to eventual champion Kansas in Jon Scheyer's first season as coach-in-waiting.