NCAA Tournament West Region: #4 Arkansas v. #2 Duke

Who will WIN this matchup?

#4 Arkansas Razorbacks (25-8)

#2 Duke Blue Devils (28-6)

Current odds:

Arkansas Razorbacks: (+154)

Duke Blue Devils: (-189)

• The line for this game is Duke by 4 points.

• Arkansas just took down the No. 1 overall seed of the NCAA Tournament in style and now faces a more daunting assignment. End the coaching career of Duke legend Mike Krzyzewski.

• Coach K is three wins away from retiring as a six-time national champion, and the fourth-seeded Razorbacks will look to again be spoilers when they battle the second-seeded Blue Devils in the West Region final on Saturday night in San Francisco.

• Arkansas (28-8) is in the Elite Eight for the second straight season after toppling high-powered Gonzaga 74-68 in Thursday’s Sweet 16. Another upset will elevate the Hogs to their first Final Four since 1995.

• The Blue Devils (31-6) advanced with a 78-73 win over third-seeded Texas Tech to send Krzyzewski to the Elite Eight for the 17th time. The victory was the 100th in NCAA Tournament competition for Krzyzewski, and was achieved despite his team trailing for more than 26 minutes.

• A win over Arkansas would send Coach K to his 13th Final Four in his 42 seasons at Duke. But he downplayed the personal milestones in play after the win over Texas Tech and deflected the praise toward his players.

• The Blue Devils stepped up their play in the second half against the Red Raiders by shooting a torrid 70.8 percent from the field and making their final eight shots. Freshman star Paolo Banchero scored 22 points and nailed the go-ahead 3-pointer with 2:55 remaining to lead the late-game charge that netted Duke its 12th win in the past 14 games.

• After Thursday’s victory, Arkansas coach Eric Musselman thanked everyone who said the Razorbacks had no chance to defeat Gonzaga. The tide won’t be as stern this time, but Arkansas is again an underdog despite winning 18 of its past 21 games.

• The Razorbacks will need a more efficient shooting performance from star guard JD Notae against Duke. He had a stellar stat line against Gonzaga with 21 points, six rebounds, six assists and three steals but was just 9-of-29 shooting from the field. Notae is shooting just 30.2 percent (19 of 63) while averaging 18.7 points during Arkansas’ three NCAA Tournament wins.

• The Razorbacks and Blue Devils have met twice previously in NCAA Tournament play. The 1994 clash is memorable for Arkansas as it defeated Duke 76-72 in the title game for its lone national championship. Scotty Thurman buried the memorable go-ahead 3-pointer with 50.7 seconds left for Arkansas.

• Duke defeated the Razorbacks 97-83 in the 1990 Final Four before losing to UNLV 103-73 in the title game two nights later.