Top overall seed Duke gets a tough NCAA East Region draw with UConn, Hall of Fame coaches

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Duke's Jon Scheyer rode a perimeter-driven lineup to last year's Final Four. He was willing to adjust when this year's team was hunting for its best form at midseason.

Yet the Blue Devils are back in March Madness with a No. 1 seed in the East Region for a second straight year, this time as the top overall seed in the NCAA Tournament.

The Blue Devils (32-2) headline a bracket stacked with big names, from Dan Hurley's UConn team as the 2-seed to a trio of Hall of Fame coaches in Tom Izzo from Michigan State, Bill Self from Kansas and Rick Pitino from Big East champion St. John's.

This is the 16th time Duke has claimed a No. 1 seed for the NCAAs, breaking a tie with Kansas for second behind rival North Carolina (18).

Scheyer's fourth team has relied on star freshman Cameron Boozer as the anchor to an inside-out approach that has routinely overwhelmed opponents in the paint and on the glass, while Scheyer has also ventured from his past preference of switching defensively.

The Blue Devils have won 11 straight since falling at UNC on a last-second 3-pointer. They led the country with 17 Quadrant 1 wins that top a postseason résumé, including a neutral-court win against fellow 1-seed Michigan, a home win against another 1-seed in reigning national champion Florida, and a road win against Michigan State.

Duke, now 67-6 over two seasons, won the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament for the third time under the 38-year-old Scheyer despite being down two starters, with point guard Caleb Foster (broken foot) and big man Patrick Ngongba II (foot soreness) sidelined. Foster is out for an extended period. The hope is for Ngongba to be ready this week.

“I was fortunate to be in a lot of these moments as a player and as an assistant coach,” Scheyer said after Saturday's win against Virginia. “But as a head coach, I want to instill the confidence in our guys to really handle these moments when you're taking grenades in the trenches and you're playing a really good team.”

UConn, which won back-to-back national titles in 2023 and 2024 under Hurley, sits at the opposite end of the 16-team East bracket. The Huskies (29-5) had been in contention for a No. 1 seed in preliminary rankings in February and this week leading into the Big East Tournament.

The Huskies lost by 20 to St. John's in the Big East final, falling to 7-4 since a 22-1 start.

Izzo, Self and Pitino are national-title winners roaming the sideline.

Izzo won the NCAA title in 2000 — the Big Ten's last — with the third-seeded Spartans (25-7). Self has guided the fourth-seeded Jayhawks (23-10) to titles in 2008 and 2022, though Kansas hasn't survived the opening weekend since.

Pitino won titles at Kentucky (1996) and Louisville (2013), though the latter title was later vacated due to NCAA sanctions. Fifth-seeded St. John's (28-6) has won 19 of 20 since early January.