NCAA Tournament Preview: Duke vs. Arizona Score Predictions

Written by Jake Thompson
Thursday, 24 March 2011 20:45

It’s time for our NCAA Tournament preview with final score predictions on the college basketball game between Duke and Arizona.

Tonight’s game between the #1 seeded Duke Blue Devils (32-4) and the #5 seeded Arizona Wildcats (29-7) will be shown live on CBS, and our final score predictions in this NCAA Tournament preview should help our readers figure out which team will come out ahead.  Start time of the Duke vs. Arizona game is set for 9:45 PM ET and you won’t want to miss a second of the college basketball action in this rematch of the 2001 NCAA Tournament championship game.

Arizona has been a bit rocky at times this season but they’ve put it together when it counts the most.  The Wildcats have advanced in the 2011 NCAA Tournament with wins over Memphis (77-75) and Texas (70-69) while Duke has gotten to this point with victories against Hampton (87-45) and Michigan (73-71).  The Arizona vs. Duke game is set to be played at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California, and the Blue Devils’ 15-4 mark away from home has them as the favorites against the Wildcats (12-7 away from home this season).

The Wildcats scored 76.4 points per game on the year but their shooting percentage takes a bit of a hit when they have to go on the road.  Arizona is shooting a respectable 44.9% from the field over their last 5 games and that lines up with the 45.0% they’ve shot in away or neutral court games this year.  Duke’s defense has been phenomenal this year and the Blue Devils’ ability to lock down the perimeter (allowing just 28.4% from 3-point range over their last 5 games) might give Arizona some problems since the Wildcats are very dependent on their long shots.

There isn’t a college basketball team in the nation that has the dangerous scorers of Duke, and the Blue Devils come into the Arizona game averaging 81.0 points per game on 47.2% shooting this year.  This team can beat you from long range and in the paint.  The Blue Devils should have a rebounding edge tonight and they also lead Arizona in terms of veteran leadership, experience, and protecting the ball from turnovers.  The Wildcats have been only marginal on defense this year and the fact that they are coming into the Duke game allowing 47.9% shooting over their last 5 games could likely spell trouble for Arizona.

The Wildcats have been a nice surprise this year but their recent streak of narrow wins against good teams is going to come to an end tonight against a Duke team that is simply too good to lose here.  Look for the Blue Devils to frustrate Arizona’s offense with constant pressure and for Duke to use their numerous weapons to score on many high percentage shots close to the hoop.  The Blue Devils are just too talented and I expect them to win in a bit of a route against an overhyped Wildcats squad.

Arizona 66

Duke 80