NCAA Basketball
2026-03-29 - Connecticut Huskies at Duke Blue Devils
A Sports Betting Pick by FirstDown
United States : NCAA Basketball Tournament Elite Eight
Sunday 29th March 2026 - Scheduled 5:05pm
10:05pm (British Time)
Preview
There was nothing in the Sweet 16 game between Connecticut Huskies and Michigan State Spartans with less than a minute left in the Second Half- the Huskies showed their experience to edge to a win with some big Free Throws made and they continue to be a very dangerous team that will not know when they are beaten.
They face the Duke Blue Devils in the Elite Eight after Duke came through the St John's Red Storm with a 5 point victory in the same Round. Both teams have big expectations entering any NCAA Tournament and that makes this a fascinating game between a couple of top two Seeds.
It feels like a game that may just come down to whether the Huskies have enough Offensively to stick with the Duke Blue Devils- they will be confident in being able to restrict the Number 1 Seed to some extent, but the Huskies have to find the Offensive power to test this Blue Devils Defensive unit that may be the best in the country alongside the Michigan Wolverines.
Encouragement can be taken from the fact that St John's were able to score 75 points against Duke on Friday and the Huskies may look at the blueprint and try and replicate it.
However, it may be the kind of game that just refocuses the Blue Devils and this is a team that have scored at least 80 points in consecutive Tournament games. Doing the same against the Huskies Defensive schemes will be difficult, but the Blue Devils are the stronger team and they may feel Connecticut have left something on the court after a much tougher victory on Friday night.
At this stage of the Tournament, games will be close and competitive, but you have to favour the Number 1 Seed.
Duke look to have the strength on the Defensive side of the court that can expose the Connecticut Huskies and that may ultimately be the difference between the teams on the day.
You can never dismiss the experience of the Huskies, but the quality edge is with the Duke Blue Devils and that can show up on the final scoreboard in this Elite Eight game.
Prediction
Lay the points with the Number 1 Seed in this one.
The Pick :
Duke Blue Devils 74-65 Connecticut Huskies
