What happens when an immovable object meets an unstoppable force? In the case of No. 1-seed Duke men’s basketball’s 85-65 win against No. 2 seed Alabama, the unstoppable force was stopped, stifled and ground to a halt. 

The Blue Devils just held the nation’s top-ranked scoring offense 26.1 points below its season average, forcing the Crimson Tide into an abysmal 35.4% shooting percentage. Duke held Alabama, who two days prior swished an NCAA Tournament record 25 3-pointers, to just 8-of-32 from beyond the arc. Coach Jon Scheyer’s squad just held Consensus first-team All-American Mark Sears, coming off a 34-point performance against BYU, to just six points on 16.7% shooting.

That’s not normal — but neither are the 2024-25 Blue Devils. After all, this team is heading to the Final Four. 

At the start of the season, defense defined Duke. As its young freshmen and transfer additions built chemistry on the offensive end, the Blue Devils capitalized on their natural athleticism and elite coaching to torment opposing attacks for 40 minutes a night. The team’s offense steadily caught up to its defense, and Duke became the No. 1 team in the country. Two days after validating its offensive growth by scoring 100 points in the Sweet 16, the Blue Devils reasserted their defensive dominance in the unit’s best performance yet. 

Duke set the tone on the Crimson Tide’s very first offensive possession, forcing Alabama into a shot-clock violation after 30 seconds of unrelenting on-ball defending. That intensity continued for the next two-and-a-half hours. Every time a Crimson Tide player received a pass, the Blue Devils were in their face; constant pressure is how Scheyer’s squad destroys its opponents. 

“First of all, it was by committee,” graduate guard Sion James said after the game. “We were switching a lot in the second half, so Khaman [Maluach] was on Sears just as much as me or Tyrese [Proctor] were. And the big thing for [Sears] was just showing him bodies — making sure that whoever was guarding him knew they weren’t on an island by themselves, and making sure Sears knew he wasn’t on an island with our big or someone else.”

Toughness, competitiveness, physicality — these are the tenets Scheyer has preached all season. In March, Duke embodies them. But perhaps just as important is the team’s schematic versatility on the defensive end, particularly when it comes to Maluach. The freshman center had arguably his best outing with the Blue Devils, not necessarily because of his raw statistical output, but more so due to his impact neutralizing Alabama’s attack. Whether by switching onto Sears and staying in front of the twitchy All-American, or dropping back into the paint to contest shots at the rim, Maluach showed his remarkable instincts and basketball IQ for an 18-year-old who’s played the game for just five years. 

“We have a luxury to have a guy like Khaman where he can really play different coverages,” Scheyer said. “We have a 7-foot-2 guy switching onto one of the best guards in the country, and he’s doing a pretty good job moving his feet.”

Duke also demonstrated its ability to adapt in real time to its opponents. After the Blue Devils jumped out to an early 15-5 lead, reserve forward Aiden Sherrell unexpectedly knocked down two 3-pointers for the Crimson Tide, forcing Scheyer and the coaching staff to reevaluate their defensive strategy. 

“Our game plan wasn’t to switch,” Maluach said. “Our game plan was to stay more in coverage. But when we realized they had a pick-and-pop big and he hit two threes, we had to adjust to them. Coach was like, ‘We gotta go switching,’ and I was like ‘No problem. I’ll do the switching and try to do my best.’”

With eight minutes left in the game and Duke leading 65-58, the Blue Devils invited Alabama and millions of fans around the world to a five-minute spectacle of defensive excellence. It started with Maluach contesting a second-chance attempt at the basket, continued as Duke forced a flurry of turnovers and missed shots and concluded with the Blue Devils building a commanding 20-point after holding the Crimson Tide scoreless for that entire stretch. 

“We were just taking it one play at a time,” Maluach said. “We were just getting one stop at a time. And the clock was on our side so we were using that to our advantage. Just finishing plays and getting rebounds was the big time thing.”

The 2024-25 Duke Blue Devils are two wins away from the program’s sixth national championship. The group has evolved into a potent force on both ends of the court, capable of outscoring the most prolific offenses while holding opposing attacks hostage “one play at a time.” With two games left, if Duke plays next weekend like it did against Alabama, its dreams of a sixth banner could become reality. 

Sign up for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.

Rodrigo Amare

Rodrigo Amare is a Trinity sophomore and assistant Blue Zone editor of The Chronicle’s 120th volume.