Delaware St (19-13) at Duke (25-5) 7:25 pm EST
| Gameday Matchup |
|
W-L |
PF |
PA |
HOME |
ROAD |
STK |
| DSU |
19-13 |
62.4 |
61.8 |
13-2 |
6-11 |
W8 |
| DUKE |
25-5 |
79.8 |
65.8 |
19-1 |
6-4 |
W3 |
| School Info |
|
DELAWARE STATE |
DUKE |
| Conference |
MEAC |
ACC |
| Nickname |
Hornets |
Blue Devils |
| Type |
Public |
Private |
CHARLOTTE, North Carolina (Ticker) -- A 25-win season and
another Atlantic Coast Conference tournament crown are in the
books for Duke. The Blue Devils can now turn their attention
toward a run for a fourth national title.
Duke opens the NCAA Tournament in a familiar spot, taking the
top seed in the Austin Region and matching up with Mid-Eastern
Athletic Conference champion Delaware State on Friday.
The Blue Devils capped a wild weekend with a 69-64 win over
Georgia Tech on Sunday in the conference tournament final. The
victory gave Mike Krzyzewski's club the ACC tourney crown for
the sixth time in seven seasons and was enough to hand Duke a
top seed for the seventh time in eight years.
The last two national titles under Krzyzewski in 1992 and 2001
both began with the Blue Devils taking the top seed.
J.J. Redick carried Duke through their ACC tournament run,
scoring 35 points in a semifinal win over North Carolina State
on Saturday and 26 in the title game.
Shelden Williams added 16
points, 13 rebounds and six blocked shots against the Yellow
Jackets, helping the Blue Devils showcase what is one of the
tournament's top inside-outside combinations.
Duke, which is not known for its depth, may have the services of
guard
Sean Dockery, who has missed the last six games with an
injured knee. A junior, Dockery has started 19 games and is
fifth on the team in scoring with a 6.5 average.
Since the tournament expanded to 64 teams in 1985, a No. 1 seed
has never lost an opening-round game. Duke will look to
continue that streak against Delaware State, a tournament
newcomer who needed a last-second shot to earn its first bid.
Aaron Williams' follow shot with 1.6 seconds remaining lifted
the Hornets to a dramatic 55-53 win over Hampton in the MEAC
tournament finals. It was a fitting end to a regular season
that saw the club set a school record with 19 wins.
Delaware State coach Craig Jackson lost his wife two years ago
and has a son currently battling a serious illness, making the
Hornets a sentimental choice. But their chances are slim
against a Blue Devils team that is 17-0 against MEAC opponents.
These two schools have never met. The winner advances to the
second round where it will face either Stanford or Mississippi
State on Sunday.
(16) Delaware State 46, 
(1) Duke 57