And his former player, assistant coach and handpicked successor, Jon Scheyer, got the country's top recruit Cooper Flagg to come to Duke — then retooled the Blue Devils around him and got them back to the Final Four in just his third year in charge.

Alabama has chipped into Duke's lead over the first four minutes of the second half. Grant Nelson blocked a Cooper Flagg dunk and Mark Sears hit a 3-pointer. Duke leads 52-45 at the under-16 timeout with Alabama's Chris Youngblood looking to cap an and-one after the TV timeout.

Duke didn't leave much of a doubt, dominating Alabama from start to finish. Four of the five Blue Devils' starters scored 14 or more points, with Kon Knueppel leading the way with 21. Freshman Cooper Flagg ended with 16 points and nine rebounds. The Blue Devils earned their first Final Four berth in the Jon Scheyer era and their 18th of all time.

Cooper Flagg and the top-seeded Duke Blue Devils face the prolific offense of the second-seeded Alabama Crimson Tide in the Elite 8 today. Find out how to watch for free.

The nation's highest-scoring offense was no match for Duke's defense and size. The Blue Devils will be the favorites to cut down the nets in San Antonio.

How to watch Duke Blue Devils vs Houston Cougars Final Four March Madness game Saturday, including TV channel, time, schedule, streaming information.