By Dylan Kelley
With the NCAA men’s basketball tournament starting tomorrow, here are some things that you should expect for the next two weeks.
A lot of Zion
If you want to know the consensus number one overall pick in June’s NBA draft, look no further than Duke’s Zion Williamson. The 6’7” forward can do it all. The 19 year-old averaged 27 points and 10 rebounds in the ACC tournament, joining Kevin Durant as the only players to average at least 25 and 10 in a conference tournament.
More Duke Phenoms
Williamson isn’t the only Duke freshman that will be at the top of the NBA draft. Duke guard R.J. Barrett averaged 23 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists this season. Barrett, out of Canada, will likely be drafted immediately behind Williamson this summer. If Duke wants to win the championship, they will need big play out of Williamson and Barrett.
Upsets!
Last March 16th ranked UMBC knocked out number 1 ranked Virginia, marking the first time in the tournaments 80 year history that a 16 seed has beat a 1 seed. Also last March, number 11 ranked Loyola-Chicago defeated number 3 Tennessee in one of the most exciting games of the tournament. This year, expect some more Cinderella stories and Big Dance magic to be made.
First Four Teams On A Roll
Wednesday, Arizona State defeated St. Johns for the right to play Buffalo in the first round. “They’re just so fun to coach,” Head Coach Bobby Hurley told USA Today Wednesday.“That just means I get to coach them again for a few more days and that’s what this tournament’s about. I loved our effort and how we played in the first half. We’ve got to take care of the ball better, so we’ll have to get to the drawing board on that and clean it up going into our next game.” Watch for Arizona State and the other 3 ‘First Four’ teams to ride a hot streak into the next round.
One Shining Moment
Look for the defining moment of the tournament. A big play? A big upset? A player that steals the show? All of this could happen in the next few weeks, so keep your televisions tuned in to the NCAA tournament.
