O basquete Duke precisa da embreagem Jeremy Roach em March Madness

Jeremy Roach found himself, and his team, in a precarious March position once again Friday night.

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Though underdog Vermont never overtook a lead No. 11 Duke grabbed in the first half, the Catamounts made life uncomfortable in their NCAA Tournament first-round game.

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A senior guard with seven previous tournament games on his record, Roach made sure Vermont never caught up in what became a 64-47 Blue Devils win at Barclays Center.

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The Blue Devils (25-8), the South Region’s No. 4 seed, led by five points at halftime and just 36-34 with 16:30 to play. Roach had scored just four points at that point.

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A Tyrese Proctor 3-pointer gave Duke a little more breathing room and its lead was nine points when Roach finally scored his first points of the second half. They came on one of his drives down the lane that resulted in a banked-in layup with 9:25 to play that gave Duke its first double-digit lead since the first half.

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Vermont scored in response, but Roach drove into the lane again to draw a foul. His two free throws with 8:51 to play gave Duke a comfortable 50-39 lead.

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Those plays were a big part of the Blue Devils holding off the America East Conference champion Catamounts to advance to Sunday’s second round.

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By scoring 10 points over the game’s final 10 minutes, Roach once again delivered to secure an NCAA Tournament win.

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He did the same two years ago when he scored 15 points, including a late 3-pointer, as Duke rallied from five points down in the final five minutes to beat Michigan State, 85-76, in an NCAA Tournament second-round game.

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Four nights later, Roach again scored 15 points, with 13 coming in the second half and eight in the final 10 minutes, as Duke beat Texas Tech, 78-73, in the Sweet 16 on the way to a Final Four appearance.

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Now in what could be his final NCAA Tournament, Roach has the right mindset and experience to keep his team’s run going.

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That’s why when Vermont once again cut into Duke’s lead to trail 50-44 with 7:26 to play, Roach was right in the middle of his team’s ability to pull away for good.

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Proctor nailed a 3-pointer to extend Duke’s lead to nine points, then Roach’s drive resulted in a basket while he was fouled. His free throw pushed the Blue Devils’ lead to 56-44 and they weren’t threatened the rest of the game.

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“I think they got it to, what was it 5, 6, 7? Something like that,” Roach said. “Just kind of wanted to extend the lead out a little bit, get some stops, another score and we did that.”

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That’s how to survive and advance to the next round in March. Duke earned the right to play No. 12 seed James Madison (32-3) in Sunday’s second round.

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That’s amid the tournament’s usual flurry of upsets, like No. 14 seed Oakland taking down No. 3 seed Kentucky on Thursday night, or No. 11 seed Duquesne knocking off No. 6 seed BYU on Thursday.

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The Blue Devils couldn’t avoid the madness even in the final minutes of their preparation for Vermont on Friday night. The scoreboard above the Barclays Center playing court showed the final minutes of No. 13 seed Yale’s 78-76 win over No. 4 seed Auburn from Spokane, Washington, as Duke and Vermont completed their warmup shots just before the starting lineups were introduced.

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“I mean, that always gives you a little bit more of an edge that it could happen to you,” Roach said. “So I’m just gonna stay locked in.”

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While scoring 14 points against Vermont, Roach had plenty of help, of course. Jared McCain and Mark Mitchell each scored 15 points. Proctor finished with 13, including those two clutch 3-pointers in the second half.

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For a team entering the NCAA Tournament on a two-game losing streak, the Blue Devils accomplished exactly what they wanted Friday night. They regained the confidence they had before the back-to-back losses to North Carolina and N.C. State, the kind they gained with their 73-48 win over Virginia on March 2.

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“For sure,” McCain said. “I feel like a lot of people count us out, obviously the past two losses we had, but I feel we’re playing our best basketball versus Virginia. So, you know, like Jeremy said, stay on that side. But I think we have some momentum and when we get stops and we play defense, we can win a lot of games.”

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They’ll win if Roach keeps producing clutch points late. He’s done it before and he reminded all that he’s capable of doing so again in what figures to be his final NCAA Tournament.

Esta história foi publicada originalmente 23 de março de 2024, 5h30.