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Jim Boeheim makes his NCAA Tournament title prediction

Originally posted on NCAA Basketball on ClutchPoints
By Richard Pereira | Last updated Mar 19, 2025 2:22 PM ET

Legendary Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim goes with his former ACC rival, the Duke Blue Devils, to win the 2025 NCAA Tournament.

Boeheim appeared as a special guest on the Dan Patrick Show on Wednesday. He points out that the core stars of the team in Khaman Maluach protecting the rim, Kon Knueppel on the wing and the best player in the country in Cooper Flagg are too much to overcome.

“Their defense, (Khaman) Maluach is one of the best big defensive Centers I’ve seen in a long time. He goes back like Patrick Ewing type defensive Centers. People probably don’t remember him, I’ve got to give someone more modern. Kon Knueppel is a tremendous Shooting Guard, the kid from Tulane who transferred in is really good, a physical man,” Boeheim said at the 5:03 mark.

“Proctor is really good, and they got the best player in the country. You can argue whatever, he’s the best player. He’s the best all around player that I’ve seen since Grant Hill. Grant Hill is the only guy that blocked shots, played defense, made shots, rebounded, and passed, and he won a couple National Championship I think.”

Why Jim Boeheim picking Duke is significant

The Duke Blue Devils celebrate after winning the 2025 ACC Conference Championship game against the Louisville Cardinals at Spectrum Center. Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images

Plenty of teams will have targets on Duke, one of the top favorites to win the NCAA Tournament. Despite that, Jim Boeheim explaining why they are his favorite is reasonable. The team is the favorite to win the title at +320, according to Draft Kings.

At full strength, the Blue Devils are a tough team to beat. Only the elite contenders for the national championship stand a chance at beating them. However, that would only happen in the deeper rounds of the tourney.

Duke awaits the status of star freshman Cooper Flagg, who is recovering from the ankle sprain he suffered in the ACC Tournament. Having him maintain his high-level performances will be crucial to the team’s title hopes. If he is off his game, Kon Knueppel, Khaman Maluach and Tyrese Proctor among others will need to come through for Flagg.

As the No. 1 seed, they will find out after tonight who they face in the first round. This involves the First Four matchup between Mt. St. Mary’s and American.

This article first appeared on NCAA Basketball on ClutchPoints and was syndicated with permission.

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