Duke basketball dominated its way back to the Final Four on Saturday night, defeating No. 2 seed Alabama 85-65.
Coach Jon Scheyer and the Blue Devils are back in the Final Four for the first time since 2022, and only the second time since 2015. Duke has looked every bit of the dominant program we’ve come to know in college basketball history.
Projected No. 1 pick Cooper Flagg, a national player of the year candidate, scored 16 points with nine rebounds and three assists against the Crimson Tide, but it was fellow true freshman Kon Knueppel who led the way in the Elite Eight. Knueppel dropped 21 points on 6-of-15 shooting with five rebounds, five assists and three steals on Saturday night, also making two 3-pointers.Duke was the lone ACC team to make it past the first round, as No. 5 seed Clemson and No. 8 seed Louisville were upset by McNeese and Creighton, respectively. Its lack of conference competition hasn’t mattered in the men’s NCAA Tournament, however, as the Blue Devils have dominated its opponents in all but one win, when it beat Arizona 100-93 in the Sweet 16.
The five-time national champions are two wins away from adding another trophy to their cabinet. Here’s a look at how many Final Fours Duke has been to in its program’s history:How many Final Fours does Duke have?
Duke has made 18 Final Fours in its history, although its first four appearances came at a significantly easier time to reach that stage, from 1939-85. The men’s NCAA Tournament was only eight teams until 1951, when the field expanded to 16 teams. The field expanded to 32 teams in 1975 and 64 teams in 1985, which is the same format as it is now, without the First Four.
Duke Final Four appearances
1963
1964
1966
1978
1986
1988
1989
1990
1991
1992
1994
1999
2001
2004
2010
2015
2022
2025
Legendary coach Mike Krzyzewski led the Blue Devils to 13 of their 18 appearances, as he coached Duke from 1980-2022. Krzyzewski, who was the head coach for all five of Duke’s national championship wins, was succeeded in 2022 by Scheyer, his former player who started on Duke’s 2010 national championship team.
The 2025 Final Four berth is Duke’s first since Krzyzewski’s retirement.
Duke basketball national championships
1991
1992
2001
2010
2015
Duke is looking for its sixth national championship in 2025, and first as a program under a different coach than Krzyzewski. The Blue Devils also finished as runners-up in multiple seasons, including 1964, 1978, 1986, 1990, 1994 and 1999.
The Blue Devils are likely to be the favorites in the Final Four, with three projected NBA draft lottery picks in their starting lineup in Flagg, Knueppel and Khaman Maluach, though winning two games won’t be easy.
