DALLAS — To Jeremy Roach, simply making it out of the first round of the NCAA Tournament is an accomplishment.

The last remaining starter from Duke basketball's run to the 2022 Final Four has endured enough in his four-year career to understand the moment. Roach considers the Blue Devils making it out of Brooklyn with wins over Vermont and James Madison — the latter being a heavy upset favorite in March Madness' second round — achievements in their own right.

Winning in March is hard, and Roach knows that. It's something he's tried to instill in teammates like Kyle Filipowski and Tyrese Proctor, whose only experience in the tournament includes last year's second-round exit to Tennessee.

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"I think that's the hardest round," Roach said of the first round. "Now you have to kind of just ride momentum into the second. I think that's the biggest thing."

In his second consecutive year as a team captain under head coach Jon Scheyer, Roach has been leaned on for more than just knowledge and experience. He's posted career-bests in points (14.0 per game), 3-point shooting (43.8%), free throws (85.8%) and steals (1.1) this season while battling a litany of injuries.

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His latest came in the win over James Madison, where Scheyer said Roach "clearly dislocated his pinky." Getting hurt four minutes into Duke's 93-55 thumping of the Dukes, Roach still managed to come back and play 34 minutes, totaling 15 points and seven assists with no turnovers.

Roach has also missed games with knee and ankle injuries at different times this season. It hasn't been easy for the Leesburg, Virginia, native, and he doesn't expect Friday's South Region semifinal against Houston to be any different.

"Obviously it gets harder as the tournament goes on," Roach said. "I mean, the stakes are even higher now, so I think just — really, it's just kind of the same mentality as taking it one game at a time. Don't think who we can play on Sunday. We have to win Friday to get to Sunday."

Maturity comes with experience, something Roach's roommate of the last two years can attest to. Jaylen Blakes came in a year after Roach joined the Blue Devils. He, along with Roach, Stanley Borden and Spencer Hubbard, are the last Dukies still around from the 2022 Final Four team. Since then, Blakes has seen Roach's leadership qualities expand.

"My freshman year you had Wendell (Carter) and Joey (Baker) who had been here a while," Baker said, "but for him to kind of take on that leadership role last year and be able to help the younger guys as well set the tone for our team. I really think that's great, because obviously he's a really skilled player, really talented, but just being able to set the tone for all of us and follow his lead."

Blakes said he and Roach both have their days of being the messier roommate, though they look after each other either way. That's a trait the Blue Devils share with that 2022 squad.

"I think we just have a great camaraderie," Blakes said. "We're a very connected group, from the freshmen to the sixth-year guys with Ryan Young. I think we have a great group of guys that are really connected and really bought into making sure that we do all the proper things necessary to get us to the end goal, but our end goal is winning on Friday."

This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: How Jeremy Roach's leadership has set the tone for Duke basketball in March Madness