BROOKLYN, N.Y. - Duke basketball's first losing skid in nearly four months could not have come a worse time: Just when the calendar flipped to March Madness.

The Blue Devils fell to archival North Carolina in the regular-season finale at home and then exited the ACC tournament in a quarterfinal setback to North Carolina State. The troubling trend in both those defeats? Slow starts and lack of determination.

Fourth-seeded Duke (24-8) meets No. 13 Vermont (28-6) in first-round NCAA Tournament game Friday night at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.

MORE: Watch Duke basketball vs. Vermont in March Madness on Fubo (free trial)

Duke senior guard Jeremy Roach, a veteran of the NCAA Tournament who played in the 2022 Final Four, put the team's lack of energy on him specifically as well as on teammates Kyle Filipowski and Tyrese Proctor.

"I think it just starts with me. Really, it's us three, the returning guys," Roach said. "We've got to come out there and set the tone defensively. We know offense is going to come and we can score with the best of them. But if we come in and set the tone defensively, set the tone how physical the game is going to be, the paces that we're going to play at, I don't think it will be a slow start."

Filipowski agreed: "It really starts with us setting the tone, giving the energy for the rest of the team to feed off of."

March Madness links: Coverage of Duke vs Vermont basketball in the 2024 NCAA Tournament

Duke coach Jon Scheyer said practices have included simulating start of games.

"Yeah, well, it's really important. And I wish it's something you can really point to one specific thing or put your finger on," Scheyer said. But, you know, the slow start like last game against N.C. State, we played great defense. They didn't score for three and a half minutes. Our offense really hurt us last game. Other games, it's just been slower to the ball and the defense wasn't at the level."

Scheyer said he's "anxious to get off to a big start" vs. Vermont on Friday.

"Let's have our foot on the gas right away and good things will happen," Scheyer said.

What channel is Vermont vs Duke?

• TV channel: CBS

• Stream: Watch FUBO (free trial)

Vermont vs Duke start time in NCAA Tournament

• Date: Friday, March 22

• Time: 7:10 ET

Vermont will tip off vs. Duke on CBS at 7:10 p.m. at Barclays Center. Streaming options include NCAA March Madness Live app and Fubo, which offers a free trial. Announcers for the game are Ian Eagle, Bill Raftery and Grant Hill. Tracy Wolfson will serve as sideline reporter.

Contact Alex Abrami at aabrami@freepressmedia.com. Follow him on Twitter: @aabrami5.

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This article originally appeared on Burlington Free Press: Duke vs Vermont basketball: Slow starts have sunk Blue Devils