Duke basketball gets past St. John's in March Madness, advances to Elite 8
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Duke basketball earned itself a spot in the Elite 8 of the 2026 Men's NCAA Tournament.
The East's top-seeded Blue Devils (35-2) defeated No. 5 seed Saint John's (30-7) 80-75 on Friday night from Capital One Arena in the Sweet 16.
Isaiah Evans led Duke with 25 points, 14 coming in the second half, while Cameron Boozer logged another double-double of 22 points and 10 rebounds. Caleb Foster, who made his return after not playing since March 7, rounded out Duke's double-digit scorers with 11.
St. John's took the 40-39 lead into the break, holding Duke without a field goal for the final four minutes of the half after Duke jumped out to a seven-point lead, its largest of the night. The second half saw as many as six lead changes, but it was Duke that outscored St. John's 41-35.
The Blue Devils now await the winner between No. 2 UConn and No. 3 Michigan State in the Elite 8 on Sunday, March 29 from Capital One Arena.
Caleb Foster makes return for Duke basketball
After being out since Duke's regular-season finale against UNC on March 7, Caleb Foster made his return Friday night. The junior played 18 minutes and finished with 11 points on 5-of-8 shotoing. He added three rebounds and two assists.
Foster was huge for the Blue Devils, scoring seven straight points in the second half after Duke went down double digits.
St. John's pressure causes issues for Duke basketball
The Blue Devils handled the Red Storm's pressure fairly well in the first half, turning the ball over five times for three St. John's points. To open the second half, three out of Duke's first four possessions ended in turnovers in the half court. Zuby Ejiofor finished two on dunks and another off a layup.
Duke finished the night with nine turnovers that resulted in nine points for St. John's.
St. John's 3-point shooting
The Red Storm entered the contest with 10 and 11 made 3's in its first two games of the tournament. It shot 50% from beyond the arc in the first half with nine made triples. Duke, meanwhile, was 2-of-7 (28.6%) from 3 across the first 20 minutes.
The Red Storm finished the night shooting 40.6% from 3 with 13 made triples.
Anna Snyder covers Duke for The Fayetteville Observer as part of the USA TODAY Network. Reach her at asnyder@usatodayco.com or follow her @annaesnydr on X, formerly known as Twitter.
This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: Duke basketball gets past St. John's in March Madness, advances to Elite 8
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