Mike Krzyzewski's farewell tour continues, and Hubert Davis' first March Madness dance has been extended.
The men’s basketball teams from Duke and UNC-Chapel Hill survived the first weekend and are advancing to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament.
Second-seeded Duke beat Cal State Fullerton and Michigan State in Greenville, South Carolina, while the No. 8 Tar Heels topped Marquette and top-seed Baylor in Fort Worth, Texas.
According to NCAA.com, there are no perfect fan-picked brackets left.
Should the Blue Devils and the Tar Heels win both of their next two games, they’ll face each other in the Final Four. The two bitter rivals have never met before in the NCAA Tournament. They split games this past regular season.
Here’s how Duke and UNC won this past weekend, and what lies ahead for them.
Duke
- First Win: The Blue Devils beat No. 15 Cal State Fullerton on Friday, 78-61. Five Duke players scored in double-digits, but Paolo Banchero – the ACC Rookie of the Year – led the way with 17 points, 10 rebounds, four assists and two blocks. Mark Williams had 15 points, seven rebounds, five assists and five blocks. As a team, Duke blocked 10 shots, its most in a first-round NCAA Tournament game.
- Second Win: Duke beat No. 7 Michigan State 85-76 on Sunday. Again, five Duke players scored in double figures, and again, Banchero powered the Blue Devils with 19 points, seven rebounds and four assists. Williams had 15 points, eight boards and five blocks. Duke is now 14-4 all-time vs. Michigan State.
- Fun Fact: Mike Krzyzewski will coach in the Sweet 16 for the 26th time. No other coach in the history of Division I men’s basketball has appeared in the second weekend of the tournament more than Coach K.
- They Said It: “Look, I'm 75. To have moments like that, you've got to be kidding me. Really, how damn lucky can you be to be in that? And I want to share it. I don't want to sit down and say, ‘You guys enjoy it.’ I want to be in the party a little bit. That's the enjoyment I've got; (that) I've had for 47 years. Today was one of the really good days.” – Krzyzewski on celebrating the win over Michigan State.
- Up Next: Duke will play No. 3 Texas Tech on Thursday at 9:30 p.m. EST in San Francisco.
North Carolina
- First Win: The Tar Heels topped No. 9 Marquette on Thursday, 95-63 for Hubert Davis’ first NCAA Tournament win as a head coach. North Carolina shared the ball and dished out a season-best 29 assists on 34 made-baskets in the victory. Brady Manek led the Tar Heels with 28 points and 11 rebounds, while Caleb Love added 23 points. Marquette had three technical fouls.
- Second Win: RJ Davis scored a career-high 30 points as North Carolina upset No. 1 seed Baylor – last year’s national champions – 93-86 in overtime. It was the ninth time North Carolina defeated a No. 1 seed in the tournament. Davis also had five rebounds and six assists, while Brady Manek scored 26 points and Armando Bacot tallied 15 points and 16 rebounds.
- Fun Fact: North Carolina made 13 three-pointers against Marquette, the most its ever made in an NCAA Tournament game. The Tar Heels’ previous high was 12 in 2005 vs. Oakland. Love’s six three-pointers against Marquette tied a UNC single-game NCAA Tournament record.
- They Said It: “I didn't want to go home. I mean, there was no time to be tired. When we were going to go to overtime, I knew what was at stake. And we all wanted to win.” – RJ Davis after beating Baylor.
- Up Next: The Tar Heels will face No. 4 UCLA on Friday at 9:40 p.m. EST om Philadelphia.
