Duke 70, Purdue 57: Singler Leads Way To Elite Eight With 24 Points

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Houston, TX (Sports Network) - Kyle Singler recorded 24 points and eight rebounds, and Jon Scheyer and Nolan Smith recovered from a rough first half to help Duke defeat upset-minded Purdue, 70-57, in the South Regional semifinals of the NCAA Tournament.

Scheyer and Smith, who combined to shoot 2-for-16 in the first half, finished with 18 and 15 points, respectively, for the top-seeded Blue Devils (32-5), who shot 57.7 percent from the field in the second half to advance to the Elite Eight for the first time since 2004.

Brian Zoubek pulled down a game-high 14 rebounds to pace a 48-27 rebounding edge for Duke, which will now face Baylor with a Final Four berth on the line on Sunday. The Bears blew out Saint Mary’s, 72-49, in Friday’s opener at Reliant Stadium.

JaJuan Johnson and E’Twaun Moore registered 23 and 18 points, respectively, as the Boilermakers (29-6) fell in the Sweet 16 for the second straight year.

Though seeded fourth, Purdue surprised most with wins over 13th-seeded Siena and fifth-seeded Texas A&M in the first two rounds of the tourney after an embarrassing exit in the semifinals of the Big Ten Tournament to Minnesota.

The Boilermakers held their own against the ACC champions, though Duke never trailed in the final 20 minutes to come away with its 15th win in 16 games.