Duke Advances to Sweet 16 after defeating URI 87-62
The Duke Blue Devils are Sweet 16 bound for the 30th time in school history, and although they’ve ‘been there and done that’, this is a team that continues to invent themselves along the way. This team looks like they are positioned to win their first NCAA Tournament since 2015.
Updated Coach K big facts:
?93 #MarchMadness wins (most all-time)
?24 #Sweet16 bids (most all-time)
?23 consecutive trips to The Dance (longest active streak)
? 1,099 wins (most all-time)
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— Duke Basketball (@DukeMBB) March 17, 2018
Blue Devil head coach Mike Krzyewski had his Blue focused with the look of a team on a mission in their first 2 victories (89-67 over Iona in the First Round and 87-62 over Rhode Island Saturday). The sell-out PPG Paints Arena crowd of 19,015 watched Duke get it done against an upstart Rhode Island team that defeated Oklahoma and NCAA leading scorer Trae Young in the First Round. But the Blue Devils were simply too much for the 7th-seeded Rams.
Squad’s still dancin’#SI6HTS#DukeWins???pic.twitter.com/smva70UEIN
— Duke Basketball (@DukeMBB) March 17, 2018
Duke Freshman sensation Marvin Bagley III continued to make possibly his only season with the Blue Devils one to remember. The 6’11” Freshman dominated the Rams with 22 points and 9 rebounds. He even found his range beyond the arc punching them in the mouth with a 3-pointer. It wouldn’t be a surprise if Bagley declared for the NBA, but Bagley certainly isn’t thinking about his future with work still to be done this season.
4 other Duke players scored in double-figures: Gary Trent Jr (18), Wendell Carter Jr (13), Trayvon Duvall (11) and Grayson Allen (10). The team from Durham dominated with distance connecting 10 times on 21 shots from three-point land.
“Everybody was on, so I wasn’t really focused on getting my shot. Everybody was clicking on all cylinders, and was scoring in different positions. And as long as it says two points with Duke — that’s all that matters. That’s all that I was worried about.”
–@MB3FIVE pic.twitter.com/oc7Hajawq5— Duke Basketball (@DukeMBB) March 17, 2018
But it was the Rams who made a strong impression at the beginning as they stormed out to a 9-5 advantage led by EC Matthews who led all scorers with 23 points. The 6’5″ Red-Shirt senior even added 4 three-pointers including the first one that gave the Rams a 3-0 lead. But it was just a matter of time before the Blue Devils would come back, and that they did as they quickly snatched away the lead from the Rams. Duke took the lead at 12-11 and never looked back.
With 5 minutes left in the first half, the Blue Devils led 35-18 and went into the locker room with a 45-28 lead. In the second half, Rhode Island tried to chip away at Duke’s lead, but it was too much to overcome as Duke heated up and ran away finishing with a 87-62 final score and a trip to Omaha, Nebraska for the Sweet 16.
“I know we’re not the same color but this man’s my father. I love this guy.” – EC Matthews, when asked about his relationship with head coach Dan Hurley pic.twitter.com/a9oO0weu5r
— Rhody MBB (@RhodyMBB) March 17, 2018
For the Atlantic 10 Champion Rams, their season ends in disappointment, but it certainly wasn’t a disappointing season for Head Coach Danny Hurley and his crew.
“For us, I guess, in a game like that, for a group that’s done so much, historic season, done so much for this University, so much for this program, so much for each other in their careers, not to mention myself. But credit Duke, they played an A-plus game. They looked like an NBA team out there with their size and length, and our guys fought.”
Now Hurley must endure countless media questions about him being a name in the University of Pittsburgh basketball team’s search for a head coach.
With Saturday’s win, Krzyzewski passed legendary Tennessee Women’s Basketball HC Pat Summit by recording his 1,099th win, the most Division I basketball wins.
When asked if he was aware, Coach K replied
“Yeah, you know what? I wasn’t aware of it until yesterday when somebody told me we tied that…. Pat would’ve won hundreds of more games if health had not taken her from us…”
In the earlier NCAA Tournament game: The Villanova Wildcats advanced to their 17th Sweet 16 in school history after defeating Alabama 81-58. Mikal Bridges led the Wildcats with 23 points and Collin Sexton led the Crimson Tide with 17 points. Coach Jay Wright and his cats will now head to Boston, Massachusetts for their third round battle.
“Oh, by the way, I would like to thank all of the volunteers. Pittsburgh was a great site. People were great.”
Said Krzyzewski.
In Pittsburgh, we #StayCrazie. Thanks to all our fans who came out to support us! #SI6HTS ??? pic.twitter.com/Jx5jXiZkiI
— Duke Basketball (@DukeMBB) March 18, 2018
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