Rhode Island coach: Duke played 'like an NBA team'

Rhode Island coach Dan Hurley conceded Saturday his team had little chance of overcoming a Duke squad firing on all cylinders in their second-round NCAA tournament encounter.

"They played and looked like an NBA team out there today and there just wasn't much that we could do about it," Hurley told reporters after Duke's 87-62 bashing of his club, according to Adam Zagoria of Zagsblog.

After a competitive start to the game, the Blue Devils' starting unit pulled away from the Rams, with Marvin Bagley III and his 22 points and nine rebounds leading the way.

All five Duke starters finished the game in double digits in scoring. Hurley said the Blue Devils "probably started five first-round picks," according to CBS Sports' Matt Norlander.

"We would have needed a C-plus game from them just to have a chance today to be competitive," he noted, via Bill Koch of the Providence Journal. "That was the best display of basketball I've seen played against one of my Rhode Island teams in six years. They were locked in."

Duke's Mike Krzyzewski appeared to concur in his assessment of the Blue Devils versus the Atlantic 10 conference's regular-season champions.

"It was an honor to coach against them and play against them," he said. "They're an outstanding team, and we were an outstanding team today."

Duke will meet the winner of Syracuse versus Michigan State in the Sweet 16.