But the Duke players had an answer for every Texas Tech punch, and their coach was certainly proud of them after his 100th career NCAA Tournament victory went final. Texas Tech opened up a 10-2 lead in the opening minutes, and it seemed fair to wonder if the moment might be too big for a Duke squad playing in the shadow of coach Mike Krzyzewski's lingering retirement. Freshman wing AJ Griffin and sophomore guard Jeremy Roach were key to the team's offensive surge as well. Sophomore big man Mark Williams made key plays throughout the night and finished with 16 points and 8 rebounds. Inexperience is typically only magnified in March, but Duke's young squad handled the big stage like pros on Thursday.įreshman phenom Paolo Banchero led the team with 22 points on 7 of 12 shooting and flashed his outside shot by hitting 3 of 4 shots from 3-point range. With three freshman starters and no players with significant NCAA Tournament playing experience in a Duke uniform, the Blue Devils have been one of the least-experienced teams in the country all season. Here are some takeaways from the night's action. 3 seed Texas Tech 78-73 in West Region action. 2 seed Duke shot 70.8% in the second half to defeat No. 11 seed Michigan in South Region actionīut the night wasn't a total loss for offense in the sport.

The high-powered offenses of Gonzaga and Arizona both struggled to find their optimum gear against gritty defensive-oriented opponents on Thursday. 4 seed Providence on Friday, and if they can't survive this weekend, it will mark the first time since 2011 that no No. 1 seed, Baylor, failed to escape the tournament's first weekend. 1 seed Kansas from the Midwest Regional as the lone remaining top seed in the bracket after the fourth No.

Then came Arizona, which lost 72-60 against No. 1 overall seed Gonzaga, which fell 74-68 to No. Mountain West: 3: San Diego State (auto), Nevada, Boise Stateģ: Virginia, Tennessee, Marquette*, UConnĤ: Xavier, Gonzaga, Iowa State, Miami (Fla.There were just four Sweet 16 games on Thursday's NCAA Tournament docket, but those four contests packed quite a punch as two of the three renaming No. SEC: 7: Alabama (auto), Tennessee, Missouri, Auburn, Arkansas, Texas A&M, Mississippi State, KentuckyĪCC: 5: Pittsburgh (auto), Virginia, Miami, Duke, NC Stateīig East: 5: Marquette (auto), UConn, Xavier, Creighton, Providence Next Four Out: North Texas, Seton Hall, Penn State, Arizona State Bids By Conferenceīig Ten: 9: Purdue (auto), Indiana, Illinois, Maryland, Northwestern, Iowa, Rutgers, Michigan State, Wisconsinīig 12: 8: Kansas (auto), Baylor, Texas, Iowa State, Kansas State, TCU, West Virginia, Oklahoma State Last 4 In: Mississippi State, Kentucky, USC Wisconsinįirst Four Out: Oregon, New Mexico, North Carolina, Clemson Last 4 Byes: Arkansas, Memphis, Texas A&M, Boise State West: To Albany (Wednesday): 11 Mississippi State vs. Midwest: To Columbus (Wednesday): 16 Howard (MEAC) vs. South: To Des Moines (Tuesday): 11 Kentucky vs. South: To Birmingham (Tuesday): 16 Alcorn State (SWAC) vs. 15 Eastern Washington (Big Sky) First Four 16 UNC Asheville (Big South)Ģ UCLA (Pac-12) vs. 11 Mississippi State or WisconsinĢ Arizona vs. 9 Florida Atlantic (C-USA)Ĥ Iowa State vs. 16 Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (Southland)Ĩ Pittsburgh (ACC) vs. 16 Howard (MEAC) or Morehead State (OVC)ĥ Kansas State vs. Midwest (Kansas City)ġ Purdue (Big Ten) vs. 13 UC Santa Barbara (Big West)ģ Marquette (Big East) vs. 16 Alcorn State (SWAC) or Fairleigh Dickinson (NEC)Ĥ Gonzaga vs.

Updated ncaa brackets