Paolo Banchero, No. 2 Duke Beat No. 4 Arkansas to Advance to 2022 Men's Final Four

For the first time since 2015, Mike Krzyzewski and the Duke Blue Devils are in the Final Four.

The second-seeded Devils advanced with a 78-69 win over the fourth-seeded Arkansas Razorbacks at the Chase Center in San Francisco on Saturday.

Duke is among the most successful programs in NCAA history and has reached 13 Final Fours under Coach K, who is in his final season.

The Blue Devils have been clutch in this year's tournament, also defeating Cal State Fullerton, Michigan State and Texas Tech behind solid performances by Paolo Banchero, Jeremy Roach and Wendell Moore Jr.

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Notable Performers

AJ Griffin, Duke: 18 PTS, 3 REB

JD Notae, Arkansas: 14 PTS, 4 REB, 4 AST

Paolo Banchero, Duke: 16 PTS, 7 REB, 3 AST

Jaylin Williams, Arkansas: 19 PTS, 10 REB, 3 AST

Wendell Moore Jr., Duke: 14 PTS, 2 REB, 2 AST

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Blue Devils Spread the Wealth on Offense

The Blue Devils offense rolled past the Razorbacks with ease as four different players finished with double-digit points, including projected 2022 top NBA draft pick Paolo Banchero.

AJ Griffin player led the way with 18 points and three rebounds in a dominant victory. 

This is nothing new for Krzyzewski's squad, especially in the NCAA tournament. The team had five players reach double digits in scoring in each of its three previous tournament games, which is quite impressive.

Banchero, Wendell Moore Jr., Trevor Keels, Mark Williams and AJ Griffin entered Saturday's contest averaging at least 10.3 points per game this season. 

In addition, Duke entered the game shooting 49.2 percent from the field and 37.0 percent from deep this season. The team shot 54.7 percent from the field against Arkansas and 40.0 percent from beyond the arc. 

With the Blue Devils offense firing on all cylinders so far in this tournament, they're arguably the best offensive team remaining. If they continue to produce similarly and step up the defense slightly, they'll be the team to beat in the Final Four. 

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Razorbacks Have No Answer for Duke's Elite Offense

The Razorbacks are a good basketball team, but their offense wasn't able to keep pace with Duke's offense, which put together one of its more impressive games of the NCAA tournament.

Arkansas had three players finish with double digits in scoring, but two of its starters—Trey Wade and Au'Diese Toney—failed to make much of an impact offensively, finishing with seven points and four points, respectively.

Toney entered Saturday's game as the Razorbacks' fourth-leading scorer, averaging 10.7 points per game. Wade, meanwhile, entered having averaged just 3.6 points per game.

In addition, JD Notae, the team's leading point-getter, fouled out late in the second half, which effectively put an end to Arkansas' hopes of reaching the Final Four.

Even if the Razorbacks played better defense, it's hard to imagine they would have done enough to hold off Duke's top-notch offense, which is on a mission to win Coach K another title before he retires.

Despite the loss, Arkansas should feel good about how it performed this year. It has now reached the Elite Eight in back-to-back seasons after not making it to the regional semifinal since 1994-95 prior to last year.

Now that the program has more experience under its belt, it can head into the offseason focusing on ways to improve—and possibly go the distance—in the 2022-23 campaign. 

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What's Next?

The No. 2 Duke Blue Devils will move on to face either No. 8 North Carolina or No. 15 Saint Peters.