March Madness – (5) Utah vs. (1) Duke

(5) Utah Utes vs. (1) Duke Blue Devils (-5.5, 133.5)

The ACC and Pac-12 regular season runners-up will go head to head tomorrow in the Sweet 16 as the No. 1 Duke Blue Devils (31-4, 15-3 ACC) face the No. 5 Utah Utes (26-8, 13-5 Pac-12) at NRG Stadium in Houston (9:45 PM Eastern).

Utah was dominant in the Pac-12 early in the season, but stumbled down the stretch, losing three of their last five regular season games and finishing second to Arizona. After getting bounced in the semi-finals of the Pac-12 tournament by Oregon, the Utes have rebounded with two straight wins in the tourney to reach the Sweet 16.

In the Round of 64, they avoided the upset by downing No. 12 Stephen F. Austin (57-50). The team then played one of its best games in ages in the Round of 32, downing No. 4 Georgetown (75-64). Guard Brandon Taylor led Utah with 14 points (including 4/8 from three) and five assists.

Reaching the second week of the tournament brought elation to the Utes’ locker room.

“I knew we were due at beginning of the season; I just didn’t know how the feeling would be. I saw it: We have the personnel. We put the work in during the summer,” said Taylor after beating Georgetown. “But I just didn’t imagine what the feeling would be like. To experience it now, I’m lost for words.”

The No. 1 Blue Devils have also looked excellent early in the tournament, cruising past No. 16 Robert Morris 85-56, and then dominating No. 8 San Diego State from start to finish and emerging with a 68-49 win.

Duke’s freshman phenom Jahlil Okafor was sensational against the Aztecs, pouring in 26 points, snagging six boards, and adding three blocks.

Okafor is all but guaranteed to be a one-and-done player for the Blue Devils, and is likely to be the top pick in the 2015 NBA Draft. But that doesn’t mean his desire for a championship is any less than a four-year starter.

“It would mean the world to me … I’ve always wanted to win a national title. … That’s [why the freshmen] came to Duke to have an opportunity to win a national title. That is where all of my focus has been this season, and that is what it still is.”

Duke is listed as a 5.5-point favorite at the moment. This is the first time these two programs have met. Both teams have been good against the number this year; the Blue Devils are 20-14-1 ATS on the season, while Utah is 22-11. Both also covered in their first two tournament games.

Utah has had trouble with top teams this year, losing twice to Arizona (including an 18-point setback at home) and also falling to Kansas. Taking the Blue Devils and laying the points looks like the stronger play.

(Photo credit: Luis Blanco (flickr) [https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/legalcode]. Photo has been cropped.)