Duke features eighth-best five-man lineup in the Sweet 16 by Net Rating

Duke’s starting lineup rankings eighth in net rating among the Sweet 16 teams through the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament.

Of the teams in the Sweet 16, the Duke Blue Devils’ lineup of Jeremy Roach, Jared McCain, Tyrese Proctor, Mark Mitchell, and Kyle Filipowski has the eighth-best Net Rating through two rounds of the NCAA Tournament.

The lineup posted a net rating of +35.1 through the first and second rounds, which ranks in the 91st percentile.

The Blue Devils’ offensive (126.6) and defensive (91.5) ratings were 85th and 83rd percentile, respectively. Only five of the other 15 teams (Marquette, Connecticut, Houston, Purdue, and San Diego State) were in the 80th percentile or higher on both ends of the floor.

Duke also brings a lot of consistency, as it was one of only two five-man lineups with more than 40 minutes played together through the two games.

The Blue Devils rolled over Vermont and James Madison in the first two rounds, beating the latter by 38 points, but will have their hands full against the 1-seed Houston Cougars on Friday night.

The Cougars’ main lineup posted the third-best net rating through the first two rounds, which is good for the 99th percentile in the field. Their offensive and defensive ratings sit in the 93rd and 97th percentile, respectively.

Jared McCain has the highest NIL valuation of any player in the NCAA Men’s Tournament

Duke guard Jared McCain is one of only two men’s college basketball players in the tournament with an NIL value north of $1 million, per On3.

It shouldn’t come as a shock to hear that Jared McCain’s name, image, and likeness is worth quite a lot, but the actual amount is pretty staggering.

According to On3’s NILvaluations, the first-year Blue Devil is worth $1.1 million, the third-most of any men’s college basketball player and the highest among players in the NCAA Tournament.

McCain scored 30 points in the second round against James Madison, making a program tournament record eight 3-pointers in the process. He also tied a Duke freshman record with 35 points against Florida State in February.

On top of that, McCain’s social media presence, posting himself dancing and singing along to songs, has endeared him to Duke fans and others across the country. He has more than two million followers on TikTok and more than 750,000 followers on Instagram.

The only men’s college basketball players worth more than McCain in On3’s calculations are Bronny James of USC and Hansel Emmanuel from Austin Peay.

Kentucky freshman Rob Dillingham is the only other player in the men’s tournament with a seven-figure valuation, although three women’s players have also surpassed $1 million (Iowa’s Caitlin Clark and LSU’s Angel Reese and Flau’jae Johnson).

Where does Jay Bilas think Duke ranks among the Sweet 16 teams?

The former Blue Devil ranked the 16 teams left in the men’s tournament, but how does he think Duke stacks up against Houston? Or the field?

Jay Bilas might be a former Blue Devil, but he doesn’t let his alma mater drastically change what he expects in March.

In his bracket at the start of the tournament, he had Duke losing to Wisconsin in the second round. On Wednesday of this week, he ranked the Sweet 16 teams and slotted Duke in as the eighth-best team left on the board.

Bilas praised the second-round win over James Madison, calling it Duke’s best game of the season after the Blue Devils shot 52% from the floor and 50% from three.

The Blue Devils play Houston on Friday for a spot in the Elite Eight, and while Bilas had the Cougars third in his power rankings, he acknowledged Duke might have more skill on paper.

“The game will hinge upon Duke’s physical and mental toughness, and its ability to absorb the physical challenge presented by Houston,” Bilas wrote. “Can Duke operate under that kind of physical stress?”

Bilas ranked Connecticut, his pre-tournament pick and the defending national champions, as the best team left. Purdue was second, followed by the Cougars. Arizona snuck in at fourth over North Carolina despite the Tar Heels being the No. 1 seed in their region.

Caleb Foster seen stretching with the team during practice

Freshman guard Caleb Foster was ruled out for the year after a stress fracture in his ankle, but Blue Devils fans got a silent but promising update on Thursday.

Caleb Foster’s 2023-24 season may be over, but Duke fans got a promising update on Thursday, albeit a silent one.

The freshman guard was ruled out for the postseason one week ago after he suffered a stress fracture against Wake Forest in February. On Thursday, however, he was seen stretching with the team during a practice session ahead of Friday’s game against Houston.

Devils Illustrated’s Conor O’Neill shared a photo of the first-year Blue Devil on social media. Foster wasn’t sporting the walking boot he wore on the bench after the injury, either.

Duke fans won’t see Foster on the court again until next fall, but the sight of him with the team in March means he’ll almost assuredly be 100% once next season rolls around.

Foster averaged 7.7 points, 2.4 rebounds, and 2.1 assists in his first year with the team, and the North Carolina native made 40% of his 3-point attempts.

Alabama’s Mark Sears deserves to be in March Madness MVP conversation thus far

Alabama guard Mark Sears has been the Tide’s strongest player in March Madness and should enter the Sweet 16 in the Tournament MVP conversation.

Alabama basketball has made it to the Sweet 16, where they will face the top-seeded North Carolina Tar Heels. One player has led the team through two impressive tournament games and is being praised as a possible March Madness MVP candidate to this point.

Crimson Tide guard Mark Sears has been a team leader all season long and is now viewed as the team’s biggest impact player (subscription required), according to ESPN college basketball analyst John Gasaway.

“If you were picking a most valuable player of the tournament so far, Sears would definitely be in the conversation,” writes Gasaway. “Averaging 28 points over two games is partly a function of Alabama’s fast pace, but Sears has been valuable beyond scoring. When the Crimson Tide were in trouble against Grand Canyon, the senior responded with 12 rebounds, six assists and three steals.”

As a veteran, Sears’s performance on the court has been extremely valuable, but his leadership has also played a large role in the team’s success.

Heading into the 2023-2024 college basketball season, many fans were worried about Alabama’s ability to maintain the competitiveness that it held in recent seasons under Nate Oats. With high roster turnover and a completely new coaching staff, the odds were stacked against the Crimson Tide.

Led by Sears, the team was in contention to win the SEC up until the last few games and they have since been able to adapt to their opponents and be victorious through two rounds of the March Madness Tournament.

As the team prepares to take on North Carolina, it’s expected that the offense will, once again, run through Sears.

“Collectively, Alabama has attacked the paint often enough to post the healthiest tournament free throw rate of any Sweet 16 squad,” writes Gasaway. “The always formidable Crimson Tide offense is in full stride with Sears as the featured scorer.”

Roll Tide Wire will continue to follow Alabama basketball as the NCAA Tournament rolls on.

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Dawn Staley dubbed Paige Bueckers the most elite women’s basketball player ever and here’s why

Dawn Staley dubbed Paige Bueckers women’s basketball royalty, and her reasoning makes it hard to disagree.

Paige Buckers is one of the best shooters in the country, and South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley knows it. It’s why Staley thinks Bueckers is the most elite player women’s basketball has ever offered.

Dawn Staley is careful and intentional about her words. When she compliments a women’s basketball player, people listen. She has a deep appreciation for the sport and its athletes, so it’s not surprising that she dropped heavy praise for UConn superstar Paige Bueckers.

Bueckers has been a household name for years and has battled her way back from injuries to drop serious buckets this season, propelling UConn all the way to the Sweet 16. In a newly released clip, LSU’s Hailey Van Lith and Flau’jae Johnson, plus Staley, give Paige her flowers. But it’s Staley’s words that you need to hear.

Here’s what Dawn shared about Paige (See the clip below and the 8:09 mark of the YouTube video):

“Paige is great. I think Paige is probably the elitist basketball player to ever grace our game. You look at her efficiency — she doesn’t take bad shots.”

Playing Jae’Lyn Withers more in Sweet 16 is the right call

Could a big game from Jae’Lyn Withers be the X-factor UNC needs to win Thursday’s Sweet 16 rematch with Alabama?

There are few starting fives that produce more offensively than that of the North Carolina Tar Heels’ men’s basketball team.

UNC carries a veteran-heavy roster, led by the likes of all-time program greats in Armando Bacot and RJ Davis. While Elliot Cadeau is more known for his driving and passing ability, the Tar Heels also sport experienced transfers Harrison Ingram and Cormac Ryan in the starting lineup.

North Carolina is 20th in the country at 81.8 points per game, which also leads the ACC.

UNC head coach Hubert Davis has played his bench a lot more this year, much to the delight of Tar Heel Nation. He saw that decision pay off big-time against Wagner in the Round of 61, as key reserve Jae’Lyn Withers recorded his second double-double of the year (16 points, 10 rebounds) in the Tar Heels’ win.

I’m not saying that Hubert should mess around with his starting lineup, but he might want to play Withers more.

Withers produces when he plays at least 10 minutes, with each of his four, double-digit point outings coming while doing so. Withers is primarily a post player, but can occasionally stretch the floor with perimeter shot attempts.

The best NCAA Tournament teams tend to have deeper benches. Withers has proven, time and time again, that he’s North Carolina’s best bench scorer.

Oh – did we mention that the more Withers plays, the more Hubert can rest up Bacot and Ingram for the big, late-game moments?

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Focus could be an issue for LSU-UCLA amid Kim Mulkey rumors

LSU might be a bit distracted with the rumors involving Kim Mulkey.

The UCLA Bruins and LSU Tigers face off in a loaded Sweet 16 matchup in the 2024 NCAA Tournament.

There is a lot to examine with this game, and the winner faces the winner of Colorado vs. Iowa.

Will Rosenblatt of LSU Wire mentioned how the Kim Mulkey rumors could be a tough thing for the Tigers to overcome:

We saw it last weekend, with LSU lacking focus at crucial points in tournament games.

There’s some noise hovering around the program with talk of a story about Kim Mulkey set to appear in The Washington Post. The contents of that story remain unclear at the moment.

On top of that, LSU can’t get caught looking ahead to Iowa in the Elite Eight or a potential Final Four trip. Winning back-to-back titles is hard. Even if you have the talent, keeping that sharp focus over the span of two seasons can be a struggle. LSU needs to be locked in here.

There have been plenty of rumblings about the article in the works regarding Kim Mulkey, and that could be a tough thing to ignore for this LSU team. Then again, they have had some time to cope with this drama.

Hubert Davis compliments the job done by Nate Oats at Alabama

Hubert Davis compliments Nate Oats, Alabama!

When Alabama and North Carolina tipoff on Thursday night in Los Angeles in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament, it will be the second meeting between [autotag]Nate Oats[/autotag] and Hubert Davis in as many seasons.

Last season, Coach Oats and the Tide got the best of Davis and the Tar Heels with a 103-101 win in quadruple overtime on Nov. 27, 2022, in the Phil Knight Invitational.

The stakes will be higher on Thursday night with a spot in the Elite Eight up for grabs as each team sets its aim for the Final Four in Glendale.

On Wednesday, Coach Davis spoke with the media ahead of the matchup and would offer up a tremendous compliment for the job done by Coach Oats in Tuscaloosa.

Coach Oats has done a terrific job at Alabama. He’s a great coach. His teams have been consistent every year, from a defensive standpoint, tremendous athleticism. They can get steals and deflections, great rebounding team. They pressure you. They try to dictate and decide how you play on the offensive end.

Then from an offensive standpoint, it’s straightforward and clear. They’re trying to get 3s, layups, and dunks and free throws. And they’ve got the personnel to be able to do it. Great guard play, size at the 4 and the 5 positions that can shoot 3s and can finish around the basket.

They propose a lot of problems and challenges for you, but we’re really excited about the challenge of playing them tomorrow night.

Coach Davis is more than familiar with what it takes to make a deep run in the tournament having made the national championship game in his first season as the Tar Heels’ head coach in 2021-22.

Tipoff between the Tide and Tar Heels is scheduled for 8:39 p.m. CT and will be televised on CBS.

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This stat shows just how dominant South Carolina was against UNC

There’s not many women’s college basketball teams who can challenge South Carolina. UNC tried – and failed – during NCAA Tournament action last weekend.

Given how closely the UNC women’s basketball team played South Carolina back in late November, last weekend’s NCAA Tournament result came as a bit of a shocker.

The Gamecocks dominated the Tar Heels, 88-41, in a game which was pretty much over by halftime. North Carolina shot a horrendous 23.8 percent from the field, with star forward Alyssa Ustby the only UNC player scoring in double-digits.

The Tar Heels only scored 34 points through the first three quarters, while South Carolina scored 28 in the opening quarter along.

Want a crazy number?

If the Gamecocks had gone scoreless in the second half, they still would’ve won the NCAA Tournament matchup – assuming UNC’s scoring played out how it did.

https://www.instagram.com/p/C4_iqu8v4YG/

You have to give South Carolina some credit for this, as it’s clearly the nation’s best team, but this was an embarrassing loss for North Carolina. The Tar Heels faced some bad injury lucky – Paulina Paris, Kayla McPherson,  but still were tied for first in the ACC at one point.

Stars Deja Kelly and Alyssa Ustby could still come back for a COVID year, but they could also declare for the WNBA Draft. Paris is in the transfer portal, but North Carolina has plenty of guards.

Will Dawn Staley lead the Gamecocks to a third NCAA Championship?

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