Arizona men's basketball: Scouting report for Thursday's Sweet 16 game vs. Duke

No. 4 seed Arizona (24-12) vs. No. 1 seed Duke (33-3) | NCAA Tournament East Regional Sweet 16 | Prudential Center, Newark, N.J. | 6:39 p.m. Thursday | CBS | 1290-AM, 107.5-FM

PROBABLE STARTERS

ARIZONA

G Jaden Bradley (6-3 junior)

G Caleb Love (6-4 senior)

F Anthony Dell’Orso (6-6 junior)

F Trey Townsend (6-8 senior)

C Tobe Awaka (6-8 junior)

DUKE

G Sion James (6-6 senior)

G Tyrese Proctor (6-6 junior)

F Kon Knueppel (6-7 freshman)

F Cooper Flagg (6-9 freshman)

C Khaman Maluach (7-2 senior)

HOW THEY MATCH UP

How they got here: Duke went 19-1 in Atlantic Coast Conference play to win the league a game ahead of both Clemson and Louisville, then beat Louisville in the ACC Tournament final. The Blue Devils received the second overall NCAA Tournament seed and beat Mount St. Mary’s 93-49 and Baylor 89-66 last weekend in Raleigh, N.C.

Arizona went 14-6 in the Big 12 to finish in a third-place tie, lost 72-64 to Houston in the Big 12 Tournament final, then beat Akron 93-65 and Oregon 87-83 last weekend in Seattle.

Series history: Arizona leads 6-5 after the teams split a two-year series they finished earlier this season, with the Wildcats beating Duke 78-73 in Durham, North Carolina, last season and the Blue Devils beating Arizona 69-55 on Nov. 22 at McKale Center. Duke and Arizona each won on their homecourts during the 1989-90 and 1990-91 seasons, while Duke beat the Wildcats in the 1997-98 Maui Invitational and then 82-72 in the 2001 national championship game. UA defeated Duke 93-77 in the 2011 Sweet 16 and 72-66 at New York in 2013-14.

What’s new with the Blue Devils: Despite having five freshmen among its top-10 players in the rotation, Duke had little trouble with the learning curve. That isn’t much of a surprise thanks to the fact that three of those freshmen are projected NBA lottery picks: Forwards Cooper Flagg and Kon Knueppel, plus 7-foot-2 Khaman Maluach. Duke’s young group lost two games in November, to Kentucky and Kansas, and then lost only at Clemson the rest of the way. Duke has since won 13 straight games, eight of which were decided by 20 points or more.

The Blue Devils not only have talent but size. They rank No. 1 in Kenpom’s average height calculation, which weighs players’ heights by minutes played, often having nobody smaller than 6-6 on the court — with the 7-2 Maluach inside.

With all that size and skill, it’s no surprise that Duke ranks fifth in two-point shooting percentage (58.5). The Blue Devils are also 17th in 3-point percentage (38.1), and 16th in free-throw percentage (78.5). Overall, Duke ranks first in offensive efficiency and turns the ball over only on 14.0% of its possessions, the 14th-best offensive turnover percentage in Division I.

On the other side of the ball, Duke makes it difficult for opponents to thrive inside. They rank third in two-point defensive percentage (43.1) and No. 1 in overall defensive shooting efficiency.

Flagg is dangerous all over the floor while also drawing 5.7 fouls per 40 minutes and converting free throws at an 82.8% rate. He also is nationally ranked in defensive rebounding percentage (21.8) and leads the Blue Devils in assists (4.1) while posting a 2-1 assist-turnover ratio. Big wing Knueppel shoots 39.3% from 3, 58.3% from two and 90.8% from the line, while point guard Tyrese Proctor ranks 114th nationally in 3-point percentage at 41.5%. He was on a tear last weekend, hitting 13 of 16 3s in Duke’s first- and second-round NCAA Tournament wins.

Inside, Maluach’s presence is unmistakable offensively and defensively. He ranks third in offensive rebounding percentage, collecting 17.3% of Duke’s missed shots when he’s on the floor, and is eighth in two-point shooting percentage (75.3) and 99th in block percentage (blocking 6.5% of opponents’ two-pointers when he’s in the game).

He said it: “Both teams have improved overall so you expect it to be still a hard-fought battle. They have more precision. I think they’ve gotten better as a team in how they play and their execution, and everything else that’s involved with it.

“(On Nov. 22) their defense was good and we didn’t shoot the ball well. They get a lot of unscripted points, second chance points, points off turnovers, and they outrebounded us. Those are some areas that are usually a strength for us that we have to do better job of.” — UA assistant coach Steve Robinson, who scouted the Blue Devils

KEY PLAYERS

DUKE

Cooper Flagg

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As a native New Englander, Flagg grew up watching videos of Larry Bird. Now, while exceeding even the lofty expectations he had entering this season, Flagg is being compared to the Celtics legend for his all-around skills, instincts and ability to make his teammates even better.

ARIZONA

Caleb Love

While the Wildcats have proven they can win games without Love shooting well, this isn’t any other game. Beating Duke will likely require at least a decent shooting performance from Love, who was 3 for 10 with six turnovers at Duke last season — but hit a 35-foot first-half buzzer-beater and four game-clinching free throws — and was 1 of 9 from 3-point range on Nov. 22 at McKale against Duke.

SIDELINES

Duke’s Brown could play

When Duke forward Maliq Brown went out with a shoulder injury after playing nine minutes in Duke’s ACC quarterfinal game, that still left the Blue Devils with a nine-player rotation that flattened Louisville in the ACC Tournament final, then crushed Mount St. Mary’s and Baylor last weekend.

Now he might be back, potentially adding length and defensive ability against the Wildcats on Thursday.

“It’s day-to-day with Maliq,” Duke coach Jon Scheyer said Wednesday. “There’s a chance he could be available tomorrow night.”

A junior transfer from Syracuse, Brown is averaging only 2.6 points and 3.9 rebounds but is valued for his length and mobility on both sides of the court.

Game face

After helping Arizona beat Duke 78-73 at Cameron Indoor Stadium early last season, Love playfully waved goodbye to its famed student section.

Maybe he didn’t know he still would face Duke twice more since then.

After Love returned from the NBA Draft pool late last spring, he struggled against the Blue Devils on Nov. 22 at McKale, and asked on TV about playing them in the immediate moments of Arizona’s win over Oregon on Sunday, Love paused for some thought before issuing a careful answer.

“I didn’t want to give them no fuel or bulletin board material,” Love said. “I just wanted to focus on what this group got to do and not give them anything that they can feed off of.”

During his podium interview Wednesday at the Prudential Center, Love spoke respectfully of Duke’s physicality, length and athleticism but also made it clear he was not afraid of the moment.

Thursday’s game will be the 10th time Love has faced Duke, and the third with Arizona after he transferred from North Carolina.

It’s “trying to impose my will, kind of St. Louis swagger to the game,” Love said. “Me being from St. Louis, I’m not afraid of anything, anybody.”

Northeastern connections

While Duke’s Cooper Flagg said he expects a “pretty big Maine population” of fans from his native state at Thursday’s game, UA guard Jaden Bradley and center Tobe Awaka will also have their supporters.

Awaka’s hometown of Hyde Park is just a two-hour drive north of Newark, and Bradley said he also expects a crowd making the six-hour trek southeast from his native Rochester, New York.

“Definitely have some family members out here,” Bradley said. “Gonna see them when I can, but they know it’s a business trip.”

Numbers game

3: Arizona wins in nine games against teams ranked No. 1 in the Associated Press Top 25, as Duke was entering the NCAA Tournament, with the last win coming at Stanford in 2000-01.

6: Duke players on ESPN’s updated “Big Board” of 100 top NBA Draft prospects.

15: Points Arizona came back from to beat Oregon in the second round Sunday, the biggest comeback in UA’s NCAA Tournament history and the biggest second-round comeback in NCAA Tournament history.

— Bruce Pascoe