Jon Scheyer shares initial reaction to Alabama's high-scoring Sweet 16 game

Two of the eight Sweet Sixteen teams competing in Thursday night’s NCAA Tournament action reached triple digits in scoring — Alabama and Duke — only for them to match up Saturday with a ticket to the Final Four on the line.

The live-and-die-by-the-3 Crimson Tide and senior guard Mark Sears went full NBA Jam en fuego Thursday night with a NCAA Tournament-record 25 made 3-pointers in a 113-88 rout of sixth-seeded BYU, shattering the previous record of 21 made by Loyola Marymount in 1990.

In the second game of the night, the top-seeded Blue Devils held off fourth-seeded Arizona, 100-93, thanks to a 30-point effort from superstar freshman Cooper Flagg, who drained a buzzer-beating logo 3-pointer to end the first half Thursday night.

Alabama and Duke will square off as the second of Saturday night’s two Elite Eight games at 8:49 pm ET (TBS/truTV) with a trip to the Final Four on the line.

Immediately after their game, third-year Blue Devils head coach Jon Scheyer complimented the Crimson Tide’s explosive offensive outburst earlier Thursday night, but wasn’t able to expand without first watching film of the performance.

“Well look, I’m not even going to get into that. I haven’t watched (any film), I haven’t seen … I see they scored 113 points, that’s a heck of a performance,” Scheyer said during Thursday’s postgame press conference. “We know it’s going to be a big-time challenge on Saturday. But we’ll be preparing all night, and obviously I can give you a more informed answer on that tomorrow (Friday).”

Top-seeded Duke is currently a 6.5-point favorite over Alabama, according to FanDuel, with the over-under score total set at 171.5, indicating Vegas oddsmakers aren’t as confident in either team hitting triple digits again Saturday night.

Cooper Flagg looks back on recruitment to Duke after advancing to Elite Eight

Cooper Flagg has fit like a glove at Duke. The 18-year-old assimilated into the Blue Devils culture over the course of his freshman season, and he seems to be on the precipice of a legendary finale.

Throughout the course of the 2024-25 season and his first NCAA Tournament run, Flagg has looked wise behind his years. He’s a bonafide star, and that was never more evident than after Duke’s victory over Arizona during the Sweet 16. Flagg’s fingerprints were all over the win, as he scored 30 points, grabbed six rebounds and dished seven assists. Additionally, he blocked three shots, proving he can get it done on both sides of the floor.

It’s easy to get lost in his transformative play. Still, Flagg is trying to keep the main thing the main thing throughout this run for the Blue Devils. After their win over the Wildcats in Newark, the 6’9” forward took some time to reminiscence about his recruitment, and how Jon Scheyer cultivated this vision for him from the beginning. There was never a doubt this was the right program for him to accomplish his dreams.

“I think it’s just a credit to Coach Scheyer, the vision that he laid out for me,” Flagg said, harkening back to the time before he decided to to take his talents to Duke. “It just really felt like the right place with the right people.”

As a recruit out of Montverde Academy (Newport, ME), Flagg has his pick of the litter. He was a five-star prospect, and the No. 1 overall recruit in the 2024 cycle, according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies. He chose Duke over programs like Connecticut, Kansas, Texas and Michigan.

— On3’s Steve Samra contributed to this report.