Duke’s New Wave Rolls into Sweet 16 Behind Boozer, Evans, Sarr

Greenville, S.C. — The Bon Secours Wellness Arena scoreboard had barely stopped flickering when Dame Sarr flashed the grin that said everything about this Duke reboot. With 14 points, four triples and a sequence of momentum-swinging defensive plays, the Italian freshman helped power No. 2 seed Duke to an 87-64 demolition of TCU on Saturday night, sending the Blue Devils to the Sweet 16 for the third straight season and stamping the program’s reload as an unqualified success.

One year after Cooper Flagg, Kon Knueppel, Khaman Maluach and Sion James exited as lottery picks, the torch has been passed to a new core. Cameron Boozer, the 6-foot-9, 250-pound freshman forward, looked every bit the projected top-three selection, carving up the Horned Frogs for 19 points on 7-of-10 shooting, 11 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals. After an uneven opener against Siena in which he committed five turnovers and missed seven shots, Boozer responded with poise, even if the giveaway bug bit him again (five more turnovers).

“He’s a problem,” TCU’s overmatched frontline could be overheard repeating during timeouts. Boozer’s combination of power and touch was evident in a second-half spin move that ended with a gentle push-shot off the glass, stretching the lead to 20 and igniting the pro-Duke crowd of 17,823.

Sophomore wing Isaiah Evans supplied the perimeter punch, scoring 17 points on 6-of-14 shooting and burying a pair of momentum triples when the Horned Frogs trimmed the deficit to nine midway through the second half. The former five-star recruit is now averaging 15.0 points while launching 7.4 threes per game at a 35.8-percent clip, the volume and efficiency combination that has scouts slotting him as a potential first-round pick in 2026.

Yet the evening’s emotional catalyst was Sarr. The 6-foot-8 Barcelona product came in shooting 31.8 percent from deep for the season but caught fire against TCU’s zone, knocking down 4-of-7 from beyond the arc and punctuating each make with a theatrical punch of the air that whipped the Cameron-in-Greenville crowd into a frenzy. Add eight rebounds, two steals and a block, and Sarr’s stat line quietly rivaled the headliners.

Duke’s 23-point margin was the largest in a Round-of-32 game under the current tournament format, a testament to a defense that held TCU to 38-percent shooting and forced 15 turnovers. The Blue Devils now await the winner of Sunday’s marquee matchup in the East Region, one win away from a fourth consecutive regional semifinal and yet another step toward the Final Four the program reached in 2025.

For a roster that boasts six freshmen and only two scholarship upperclassmen, the moment never looked too big. They celebrated at midcourt, arms interlocked, as the final horn sounded, a new era already living up to the standard set by the stars who left Durham behind.