Boozer's Bounce-Back: Duke's Path to Deep Tournament Run

0:00On March 26, Duke Freshman Cameron Booser has been the top performer in college basketball this season, putting up averages of 22.4, points, 10.3 rebounds, 4.2 assists, and 1.5 steals per game while shooting over 56% from the field. But in the NCAA tournaments first two rounds, his stats have cooled a bit, with more turnovers creeping in. Duke scraped by 16 seed Sienna 71-65 in the first round, then blew out 9 seed TCU-081-58. Sweet 16 Booser still averaged 20.5 points and 12 rebounds across those games, but his three points shooting dropped, and turnovers hit 5 per, contests. Fans expected perfection from the national player of the year favorite, so this slight dip as sparked some concern among blue devil supporters. Though his overall impact remains huge on a team loaded with length and defensive versatility. Looking ahead to Friday's matchup against St. John's, Booser faces a favorable situation.

1:03The red storm ranked just 59th in team height, and lacked the size to match Duke's front court, especially with their big man, Zubi Etgeo 4, unlikely, to handle him alone. Booser's elite passing and rebounding should exploit any double teams or weak boards from St. John's, setting him up for a big bounce back that could carry Duke deep into the tournament.