Alabama basketball’s next NCAA Tournament opponent is set. The Crimson Tide will face Duke in the Elite Eight, after the Blue Devils beat Arizona in the Elite Eight on Thursday.

The top-seeded Duke squad and Alabama will battle Saturday in Newark with a Final Four bid on the line. As Alabama preps for the matchup, here’s what to know about the Blue Devils.

The path

Duke earned the No. 1 seed in the East Region with a dominant season in the ACC. The Blue Devils are currently 34-3 on the season after the Arizona win.

Duke hasn’t lost since Feb. 8, when it fell to Clemson on the road. The Blue Devils are currently on a 14-game winning streak. The Blue Devils are 1-1 against SEC opponents this season, losing to Kentucky early on before beating Auburn in December.

In the ACC Tournament, it beat Georgia Tech and North Carolina before taking down Louisville in the championship game. Duke then began the NCAA Tournament with a blowout victory over Mount Saint Mary’s in the first round, beating the No. 16 seed 93-49.

After that, it was on to Baylor and another blowout. The Blue Devils won that game 89-66.

Finally, Duke clinched its Elite Eight bid by taking down No. 4-seeded Arizona 100-93 on Thursday, following Alabama’s win over BYU.

The superstar

It’s no surprise when a storied program like Duke has a player who could be on one of the top prospects in the upcoming NBA draft. 2025 is no exception.

Duke boasts forward Cooper Flagg this season, a freshman who could be the No. 1 pick once his college season is over. Flagg was the top-rated recruit in the 2024 class, choosing the Blue Devils over a host of suitors, after winning multiple high school player of the year awards.

The 6-foot-9, 205-pound Flagg has lived up to every bit of the lofty expectations. He earned the ACC’s player of the year award for the 2024-25 season, as well as the conference’s rookie of the year honor.

Flagg was a consensus All-American, and set an ACC record for rookie of the week selections. His scoring high for the year came against Notre Dame in January, putting up 42, and set his rebounding high against Virginia in February, with 14.

The freshman starred once again in Duke’s Sweet 16 win over Arizona. He finished with 30 points, seven rebounds and six assists, leading the Blue Devils in each category.

The coach

Jon Scheyer faced the unenviable situation of taking over for a legend. He was promoted to take over the Duke head coach job after the retirement of Mike Krzyzewski.

Scheyer first came to Duke as a player in 2006. He won a national championship as captain of the Blue Devils during the 2009-10 season, his senior year.

After a short overseas professional playing career, he returned to his alma mater. He became a full-time assistant in 2014, and helped Duke win another national title in 2015, working under Krzyzewski.

Scheyer took over for his old coach and boss to begin the 2022-23 season, a move announced before Krzyzewski retired. Scheyer led Duke to the NCAA Tournament’s second round in his first season.

The Blue Devils made the Elite Eight last season.