It doesn’t get more new bluebood than Duke vs UConn.
Seven Final Fours, six national championships, and pushing for a third national title in four seasons – UConn keeps on winning.
This hasn’t been the easiest of seasons compared to what Dan Hurley’s two national title teams went through, even with the gaudy record, but it’s here, and none of the ups and downs matter.
The Huskies were great early against Michigan State, strong down the stretch, and they proved worthy of the two seed.
Let’s be honest, Duke gacked away the national title last season with a Final Four loss to Houston, despite having the best team in the country.
It reloaded, put together the program’s best regular season since 1999, and now it’s going for its 19th Final Four and sixth national title.
Duke vs UConn Game Preview: Which Blueblood Powerhouse Will Pul Through?
Duke vs UConn How To Watch
Date: Sunday, March 29
Venue: Capital One Arena, Washington, DC
Time: 5:05 pm ET
TV: CBS
Streaming: March Madness Live App, Paramount+, HBO Max
Teams: (1) Duke 35-2, (2) UConn 32-5
Football Series History: UConn leads 3-2
– 2025 UConn 37, Duke 34
– 2024 Duke 26, UConn 21 ?
– 2023 Duke 41, UConn 7
– 2007 UConn 45, Duke 14
– 2004 UConn 22, Duke 20
NCAA Tournament Results
Duke: 1st Round | 2nd Round | Sweet 16 St. John’s 80-75
UConn: 1st Round | 2nd Round | Sweet 16 Michigan State 67-63
– CFN NCAA Tournament Schedule, Previews
Key Stats
– Duke hit 15 of 24 free throws in the ten-point win over St. John’s. The Red Storm made four of eight.
– UConn made 43% of its threes in the win over Michigan State, knocking down nine. The Spartans made just four, hitting 25%.
Why UConn Will Win: Tarris Reed Has Been a Force
UConn legend Alex Karaban knocked down a monster three as part of the 17 points put up in the win over Michigan State, and the team’s early run of threes mattered, but big body Tarris Reed has been the team’s biggest factor in the tournament.
Against an active, tough, NBA-caliber Duke front court, you need that one guy who can beat them up.
If you’re beating up a team like MSU with 20 points, five rebounds, four assists, and you overcame your free throw liabilities to hit four big ones with the game on the line, something is going right.
He came up with 31 points and 27 rebounds in the NCAA opener against Furman, scored ten points and grabbed 13 boards against UCLA, and then he had his monster performance against the Spartans.
UConn will literally play big against the Blue Devils.
Why Duke Will Win: UConn’s Bubble Is Overdue to Burst
You don’t get to the Elite Eight without doing something right – there’s nothing cheap about UConn’s run to the East Regional Final. But it should’ve blown out Michigan State.
It got up 19 early after hitting everything possible, and then held on for dear life as the Spartans kept chipping away, only to come up just short.
Beating Furman? Whatever, and UCLA was missing star big man Tyler Bilodeau inside, and it showed on the boards and interior defense.
The Blue Devils haven’t been perfect, but they adjust, lock down when needed, and pull away late.
That’s what all that size up front does on the boards and at the rim, and making things even harder, injured star guard Caleb Foster was able to put in close to 20 minutes against St. John’s.
How do you beat this UConn team? You beat it on the boards. Michigan State was +9 and almost did it. Duke will win the rebounding margin, too, and …
Duke vs UConn Prediction, Betting Lines
There’s an interesting mix of talents at Duke this year.
Last year, it was all about Cooper Flagg taking over, and Kon Knueppel doing all the dirty work.
This season, Cameron Boozer might be the signature star, and no, there’s not a deep scoring bench, but this bunch has a way to turn on the greatness when it has to.
The Blue Devil late game scoring will be a bit more consistent, and the defense will be too tough on the Husky midrange to deep shooters after a rocky first half.
The last five minutes will be all Duke.
Prediction: Duke 74, UConn 67
Consensus Line: Duke -5.5, o/u: 134.5
ATS Confidence out of 5: 3
Consensus Line from BetMGM, Caesars, DraftKings, and FanDuel. Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem and wants help, call 1-800-GAMBLER.
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This story was originally published by College Football News on Mar 28, 2026, where it first appeared in the College Basketball section. Add College Football News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.