March Madness Duke Blue Devil Edition (Alex Birge)
March Madness and the road to the final four is the highlight for 64 collegiate teams. March madness is formatted in a bracket, where there are four regions with 16 teams in each region. For many dreams can turn into reality. With everything on the line, and a win or go home mindset many teams flourish under the pressure, while others play their last game of the season. The tournament is full of up upsets, and the teams that make a run can turn into cinderella teams. The NCAA tournament is truly a test of who is not the best team, but instead who is the hottest team at the time.
In this year’s March Madness, Duke is the favorite to win. 38% of all bracket entries in this years ESPN Tournament Challenge pickked the Blue Devils to win it all. Nearly 17.2 million basketball fans completed a bracket on ESPN’s app, and hoping that their bracket is perfect. However, the odds are not on their side. With a 1 in 9.2 quintillion change to pick the perfect bracket, some participants should stick to the lottery if they are feeling lucky.
Duke
The Duke Blue Devils arrived into March Madness as the number one overall seed in the East Region. Duke put up astonishing numbers in the regular season, going 29–5. Led by a strong class of four highly ranked freshman, Tre Jones- 9.4 Pts, 3.8 Reb, 5.3 Ast, Cam Reddish- 13.5 Pts, 3.7 Reb, 1.9 Ast, RJ Barrett- 22.6 Pts, 7.6 Reb, 4.3 Ast, and Zion Williamson- 22.6 Pts, 8.9 Reb, 2.1 Ast. RJ, Zion, and Cam were ranked as the number 1, 2, and 3 high school players going into college. Based off of their 29–5 record and their individual stats the three freshmen lived up to the hype. Zion, RJ, and Cam are all projected to be drafted in the first 5 picks of the upcoming 2019 NBA draft.
Round 1
Duke hosted the number 16 seed North Dakota State University Bison at the Colonial Life Arena in South Carolina. As expected the Blue Devils took care of business with a crushing 23 point win, 85–62. RJ led the way of all players with a total of 26 points and racked up 14 boards. Zion however couldn’t let him have all the fun, scoring 25 points on 12–16 shooting. With all the hype surrounding the strong freshmen core, it would have to take another game to bring them down. On to the round of 32 to face the winner of the 8 vs 9 seed, VCU vs UCF.
Round 2
On to round two for the Blue Devils. Duke will be facing the number 9 seed in the East, the UCF Knights. The Knights came off of a crushing victory against VCU, 73–58. This game was easily marketable to the public simply because of the individual matchups the game presented. Like normal the bright lights were surrounding the phenomenal freshman class from Duke, but a player from UCF drew just as much attention. Tacko Fall was UCF’s star play, gifted with unique abilities. The Knights center stands an astonishing 7’6”, weighing in at 310 lbs. Tacko is use to the bright lights because of his tall fram, and he sure did not disappoint when the two teams battled it out on March 24th. The game was neck and neck from the beginning, but Duke took the lead into their locker room for halftime. Zion was a key figure for determining the outcome of this game. Zion finished with 32 Pts, 11 Reb, and 4 Ast. His supporting cast also played extremely well, by having 3 out of the 4 other starters in double figures. Tacko also showed up to play, recording 15 Pts, 6 Reb, and 3 blocks. Tacko performed very well but got respectfully overshadowed by his teammate Aubrey Dawkins who also had 32 Points. As expected, with tremendous scorers and athletes this game went down to the wire. With a final score of 77- 76 Duke coming out as victorious. With Tacko’s 7’6” body the game could have turned out differently if he did not foul out earlier in the game. The UCF Knights lossed on a last second layup they missed at the buzzer. Next for the Blue Devils they advance to the sweet 16 to face the winner of the Liberty vs Virginia Tech game.
Round 3
The Blue Devils will be facing the Virginia Tech Hokies. The Hokies came off of an impressive win against a really hot team in Mississippi State who was the 5 seed in the east. Tech won by 9, 67–58. The Hokies were set to play Duke who was determined to win it all this year. Tip off was at 8:45 PM on March 29th. With nearly a sold out stadium Duke looked to knock off and advance to the elite 8, where they would face the winner of a good game in LSU (3 seed) and Michigan State (2 seed). The game began and the Hokies were off to a hot start, and eventually took a four point lead into halftime. The Blue Devils battled hard and eventually grabbed their 1st lead of the second half 13 ½ minutes into the second half. Zion had a eye grabbing dunk with 3:49 left that seemed to put the game away. However Tech continued to battle and eventually got within 2 of Duke, with a chance to win. For the second week straight Duke dodged another bullet, when Virginia Tech missed a layup at the buzzer. Duke was on to the elite 8, led by Zion’s 23 Pts, 6 Reb, and Tre Jones’s 22 Pts, along with 8 Ast. Cam Reddish was out with an injury, but is likely to play in the next game. With word that Michigan State beat LSU, it will be the 1 vs 2 seed to battle it out for the bid in the east to the Final 4.
Round 4
The Michigan State Spartans and the Duke Blue Devils will face off with each other for a shot at the Final 4. Both teams arguably the best teams in the nation, each led by 1 team all-americans, in Zion Williamson, RJ Barrett, and for State Cassius Winston. Michigan State play phenomenal all game, keeping Duke on their toes. With a strong 1st half the Spartans were up 34–30 at half. Looking to get the ball in the hands of their star player Cassius Winston in the 2nd half, the Spartans achieved this and it proved to be a recipe for success. Winston finished the game with 20 Pts and 10 Ast. Winston carried the Spartans all game and led them to a game in Minneapolis for the Final 4. With this being said Duke’s season was over, and the highly talented freshman core Duke had may had played their last game together. With a one point loss, 68–67 the Duke team was filled with many emotions. Even behind Zion’s 24 Pts, and RJ’s 21 Pts. Duke’s season came to an early ending, and many believe that Zion, RJ, Cam, and potentially Tre careers at Duke are over.
