The Duke Blue Devils are a No. 1 seed in the 2025 NCAA Tournament and will face No. 16 Mount St. Mary’s at 2:50 p.m. ET in the first round on Friday. On Wednesday night, Mount St. Mary’s beat American University 83-73 in the First Four. Duke went 31-3 while winning the regular season and tournament ACC championship. Here is my pick for Friday’s round of 64 matchup between No. 1 Duke vs. No. 16 Mount St. Mary’s.
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Duke vs. Mount St. Mary’s (2:50 p.m. ET)
Although the future of star freshman Cooper Flagg is unknown, this Blue Devils team proved they can still dominate without their best player. Flagg was injured in Duke’s first game in the ACC tournament against Georgia Tech. Duke beat UNC and Louisville by 11 points in the ACC tournament championship.
Jon Scheyer has won four games in March Madness in his first two seasons in the tournament. But with a No. 1 seed for the first time, a deeper run in the field seems possible. There isn’t an official update on whether Flagg will play against Mount St. Mary’s. But Duke has a trio of Kon Knueppel, Tyrese Proctor, and Sion James, who have been very productive lately and have shown, if needed, they can step up in a more significant role on offense.
The Mountaineers’ forward duo of Jedy Cordilla and Dola Adebayo each scored 22 points against American in the First Four. Mount St. Mary’s shot well in that contest, over 57 percent from the field and 40 percent on three-pointers. Duke has won 22 of its last 23 games and 11 in a row. If Flagg plays in this game, Duke will wear down Mount St. Mary’s throughout this game. You can get Duke -32.5 on DraftKings Sportsbook in this matchup.
College Basketball Pick:
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