Tyus Jones and Duke are the favorites to win the ACC Tournament. (Getty)
It’s been a milestone year for Duke. The Blue Devils have the No. 1 projected NBA Draft pick in their starting five and the most winningest coach in NCAA history at the helm. Duke earned a No. 1 seed in the bracket after being selected by the committee.
Looking to keep their success going and redeem their round of 64 tournament upset against Mercer last year, the Blue Devils will face-off with either North Florida or Robert Morris.
The University of North Florida Ospreys head into the NCAA Tournament for the first time in school history after winning the Atlantic Sun Conference tournament. The Ospreys, the conference’s regular season champions, defeated USC-Upstate 63-57. The Ospreys, coached by Matthew Driscoll, earned a big upset in December, a 73-70 victory at Purdue. The team also played competitively at another Big 10 foe in December, losing at Iowa 80-70, and in November, falling 69-67 at Northwestern. The A-Sun has been known for upsets in recent years. Florida Gulf Coast went on a magical run to the Sweet 16 two seasons ago, while Mercer upended Duke last season.
As for Robert Morris, after losing in the Northeast Conference Tournament title game a year ago, RMU took care of business in the 2015 contest to snatch the league’s automatic bid to March Madness. The Colonials made the tourney in back-to-back years in 2009 and 2010 and almost pulled off an upset as a 15-seed in their last appearance, but fell to No. 2 Villanova in overtime.
Here’s what you need to know about the game:
The Basics
Who:
No. 1 Duke vs. No. 16 North Florida or Robert Morris
What:
NCAA Tournament Second Round
When:
Friday, March 20
Where:
Time Warner Cable Arena in Charlotte, North Carolina
Bracket Region:
South
Time:
7:10 p.m. Eastern
Channel:
CBS
Line:
The opening line isn’t out yet. We’ll update this post when it moves. In the meantime, OddsShark has a betting-focused matchup preview for the North Florida-Robert Morris game.
Stats You Need to Know
Scouting Duke
Record: 28-3 overall, 15-3 ACC
Coach: Mike Krzyzewski, 34th season
Offensive Points Per Game: 81.3
Defensive Points Allowed Per Game: 65.7
Scoring Leaders: Jahlil Okafor, 17.6 ppg, Quinn Cook, 16.0 ppg
Rebounding Leader: Jahlil Okafor, 9.2 rpg
Assists Leader: Tyus Jones, 5.7 apg
Scouting North Florida
Record: 23-11 overall, 12-2 Atlantic Sun
Coach: Matthew Driscoll (6th year)
Offensive Points Per Game: 75.7
Defensive Points Allowed Per Game: 67.8
Scoring Leader: Dallas Moore, 15.9
Rebounding Leader: Chris Davenport, 6.5
Assists Leader: Dallas Moore, 3.6
Scouting Robert Morris
Record: 19-14 overall, 12-6 Northeast
Coach: Andrew Toole, 5th season
Offensive Points Per Game: 69.0
Defensive Points Allowed Per Game: 67.7
Scoring Leader: Rodney Pryor, 15.2
Rebounding Leader: Lucky Jones, 6.0
Assists Leader: Kavon Stewart, 4.5
Comments
Duke vs. North Florida or Robert Morris: Date, Time, Channel & Line