Tag: NC State Wolfpack

ACC gets four teams in Sweet 16 of March Madness, most of any conference

The ACC makes up 25% of the Sweet 16 field after the conference went 8-0 in the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament.

Two months ago, to the exact week, ESPN bracketologist Joe Lunardi had the ACC as a three-bid conference.

Now, the ACC won all eight of its games in the first two rounds to send four teams to the Sweet 16. The only ACC team that lost was Virginia, which fell in the First Four of the NCAA Tournament.

The conference’s 8-0 record is tied for the best conference mark in the history of the NCAA Tournament, according to ESPN’s Bryan Ives. The last time a conference won its first eight games was in 2003 when the Big East went 8-0.

The 4-seed Duke Blue Devils took down Vermont in the First Round and then James Madison after Jared McCain hit eight 3-pointers to push and keep them dancing.

The 1-seed North Carolina Tar Heels faced a minor scare against Michigan State before pulling away to comfortably defeat them and advance to the next round.

The NC State Wolfpack kept its Cinderella run going as an 11-seed after taking down Texas Tech and Oakland, the latter of which they beat in overtime, to be the lowest remaining seed in March.

Finally, the Clemson Tigers roared to a massive win against New Mexico before upsetting Baylor in the second round to ensure the ACC made up 25% of the Sweet 16 field.

Even further, the three schools in the triangle —Duke, NC State, and UNC — all made the Sweet 16 for the fifth time ever and the first time since 2015.

Each year this trifecta has happened, one of the North Carolina schools made the Final Four. The last time it happened, Duke won the national championship.

NC State’s win over Texas Tech and Clemson’s win over Baylor also improved the ACC’s record against the Big 12 this season to 11-3.

Although the conference only managed to secure five bids into the NCAA Tournament, they’ve made the most of them in a strong reminder of where the conference stands among the nation’s best.

Duke baseball drops below North Carolina, Wake Forest in USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll

After two straight series losses in conference play, the Blue Devils slipped down to the fifth-highest ACC team in the coaches poll.

Duke baseball slipped out of the consensus top 10 after a weekend series loss to NC State, the Blue Devils’ second straight series dropped in conference play. The USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll dropped Duke farther than most, however.

The ranking, released on Monday, had Duke fall four spots to 13th after losing four out of its last seven games. The Wolfpack took the first two games from them on the road after Clemson stunned them with Saturday and Sunday victories on their home diamond the weekend before.

The Blue Devils even dropped below North Carolina, who rose to 11th at 21-4 on the season, and Wake Forest in 12th. The Blue Devils beat the Demon Deacons in a series just two weeks ago, and Wake Forest has a 16-7 record to Duke’s 17-7, but the Blue Devils are a spot behind them.

Just like the D1Baseball poll, also released on Monday, Arkansas remained in first with Oregon State and Clemson in the next two spots. Texas A&M, Tennessee, Florida, and LSU made a run of SEC teams in the next four spots before Virginia dropped in at eighth.

Vanderbilt and Dallas Baptist rounded out the top 10.

Duke drops from top 10 in D1Baseball rankings after second straight series loss

The Blue Devils have now lost four of their last seven after back-to-back series losses to Clemson and NC State.

After back-to-back series losses in conference play, the Duke Blue Devils are no longer within the top 10 of D1Baseball’s rankings.

The site released an updated top 25 on Monday morning, and Duke slipped two spots down to 11th.

The Blue Devils defeated NC State on Sunday, a 13-2 mercy-rule victory in just seven innings, but losses on Friday and Saturday still handed the Wolfpack the series. Duke lost both previous games by a single run, dropping a 4-3 game on Friday before a 9-8 loss on Saturday.

The loss comes after Clemson took two of three from the Blue Devils in Durham the weekend before, taking Saturday before an extra-inning victory on Sunday for the upset.

After a 14-3 start to the season that features a series win over then-No. 1 Wake Forest to start the conference slate, the Blue Devils have now lost four of their past seven games.

Arkansas remained atop the rankings, followed by Oregon State in second and Clemson in third. Five straight SEC teams took the next five spots (Texas A&M, Tennessee, Florida, Vanderbilt, and LSU, in order) before Virginia took the ninth spot and Dallas Baptist jumped above Duke into 10th.

The Blue Devils are the third of eight ACC teams in the ranking. Wake Forest comes in one spot behind them in 12th, followed immediately by Virginia Tech in 13th and North Carolina in 14th. Florida State finished 17th, and NC State vaulted up to 22nd after the upset.

How to buy Marquette vs. NC State NCAA March Madness Sweet 16 tickets

Want to watch Marquette vs. North Carolina State in person? Tickets are still available for this Sweet 16 matchup in Dallas, TX.

Take a breath, Golden Eagles and Wolfpack fans, your teams are moving onto the Sweet 16!

No. 2 Marquette held off No. 10 Colorado 81-77 behind 21 points and 11 assists from senior guard Tyler Kolek.

On Saturday, No. 11 North Carolina State outlasted tournament darlings No. 14 Oakland 79-73 in an overtime thriller.

Both teams advance to the Sweet 16 in the South Region, and will play in Dallas on Friday, March 29.

Marquette vs. NC State tickets are still available to the Sweet 16 matchup for as little as $236.

Tickets include access to both Sweet 16 games, the other game will feature No. 1 Houston vs. No. 4 Duke.

Weekend passes are also still available, and include both Sweet 16 games and the subsequent Elite 8 game in Dallas.

At the time of publication Dallas Regional weekend passes are still available for as little as $375.

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How to buy Marquette vs. NC State NCAA March Madness Sweet 16 tickets

Want to watch Marquette vs. North Carolina State in person? Tickets are still available for this Sweet 16 matchup in Dallas, TX.

Take a breath, Golden Eagles and Wolfpack fans, your teams are moving onto the Sweet 16!

No. 2 Marquette held off No. 10 Colorado 81-77 behind 21 points and 11 assists from senior guard Tyler Kolek.

On Saturday, No. 11 North Carolina State outlasted tournament darlings No. 14 Oakland 79-73 in an overtime thriller.

Both teams advance to the Sweet 16 in the South Region, and will play in Dallas on Friday, March 29.

Marquette vs. NC State tickets are still available to the Sweet 16 matchup for as little as $236.

Tickets include access to both Sweet 16 games, the other game will feature No. 1 Houston vs. No. 4 Duke.

Weekend passes are also still available, and include both Sweet 16 games and the subsequent Elite 8 game in Dallas.

At the time of publication Dallas Regional weekend passes are still available for as little as $375.

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Jack Gohlke set an NCAA tournament record for 3-pointers two games into March Madness

Jack Gohlke made March Madness history in just two games

The Jack Gohlke Experience will no longer just be remembered as a fun March Madness subplot. It will now officially go into the NCAA record books.

After his breakout performance with 10 3-pointers in No. 14 Oakland’s first-round upset of No. 3 Kentucky on Thursday — which earned the guard an NIL deal with TurboTax — Gohlke poured in another six 3-pointers on Saturday against in a 79-73 overtime loss to No. 11 NC State.

That gave Gohlke the most 3-pointers through two games in NCAA history with 16 — and some of them were just absolutely ridiculous. Even those who were betting on an Gohlke to hit an extremely unlikely 2-pointer had to be impressed.

The Oakland Golden Grizzlies run may be over, but we’ll remember them as another reason March is the best month in sports.

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NCAA removes ref from NC State-Chattanooga women’s game at halftime after discovering where she went to school

This is a really big no-no in the world of officiating

The NCAA women’s tournament created some bizarre drama on Saturday as a referee was removed from the first round game between No. 3 NC State and No. 14 Chattanooga at halftime.

The official in question, Tommi Paris, was officially swapped off the court due to a “background conflict”, but it doesn’t take much digging to see what the issue was.

Paris apparently went to school at Chattanooga, which makes it really curious how she even got assigned to the game in the first place with such an obvious conflict of interest.

NC State won the game, 64-45, and there is no indication that there was any bias in the officiating. In fact, Chattanooga was called for 18 fouls compared to NC State’s 10.

Yet the entire reason why refs do not get to work games involving their alma mater is specifically to avoid even the appearance of favoritism from the officials.

It’s a good sign that the NCAA took quick and transparent action once the mistake was discovered, but surely there will be questions about how the error occurred in the first place.

Once again, the NCAA has some explaining to do.

March Madness: How to win $2.5K in USA TODAY’s Women’s NCAA Tournament Survivor Pool

Let the March Madness begin. College hoops expert Kevin Erickson is here to help you win the $2.5K NCAA Women’s Tournament Survivor Pool.

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The 2024 Women’s NCAA Tournament is here, and the field of 64 will be cut in half with 1st-round games Friday and Saturday as the top 16 seeds will host games during opening weekend.

You might have already filled out your brackets, but USA TODAY has another unique NCAA Tournament contest in which you can win $2,500.

Can you survive? USA TODAY Sports’ Men and Women’s Basketball Tournament Survivor Pools are here with a $2,500 prize for each contest! Free to enter, 21+. Terms apply, void where prohibited by law. See Official Rules. Play now!

As an employee, I’m not eligible to win, but there’s no rule against me helping you win $2.5K.

Here is my strategy of how to win the Women’s NCAA Basketball Tournament Survivor Pool.

Each round, you’ll pick a set number of teams. For the 1st round, you have to pick 3 teams to simply win their games — no spread involved. If one of your teams loses, you’re eliminated. However, once you select a team, similar to an NFL survivor pool, you can’t use that team again.

In the 2nd round, you must pick 2 teams to win outright. After that, you have to pick 1 team per round — in the Sweet 16, the Elite 8, the Final Four and the championship game.

Another tricky rule is that you earn points based on the seed number of your winning team. Successfully pick a No. 12 seed to knock off a 5 seed, and you get 12 points. Pick a No. 1 seed and you only get 1 point if it wins.

Starting with the 1st round, I’m not going to worry about points. My goal is to survive and advance. There are often too many upsets and I’m not going to take that risk of getting knocked out on Day 1.

Let’s treat this as a short marathon, not a 60-yard dash. We’ll earn our points in the later rounds.

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First-round picks

PICK 1: VIRGINIA TECH HOKIES (24-7)

Who they play: Marshall Thundering Herd (26-6)

When: Friday, 3:30 p.m. ET (ESPN2)

Where: Cassell Coliseum, Blacksburg, Va.

The 4th-seeded Hokies are a strong play on their home court against the 13th-seeded Thundering Herd.

Virginia Tech, No. 12 in the USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll, won all 15 games on its home court this season, while Marshall posted a 12-5 road mark. The Sun Belt representative will be facing its 2nd ACC team this season. Back on Dec. 21, Marshall suffered a 66-59 loss at Wake Forest, and you can expect a double-digit loss in this one.

The Thundering Herd has a 3 tremendous offensive weapons with guards Abby Beeman (16.8 points per game), Breanna Campbell (15.0 PPG) and Aislynn Hayes (14.8 PPG). The trio can hang with most anybody. Plus, Marshall creates plenty of offensive boards to get 2nd and 3rd opportunities on offense. However, the Herd are pretty poor in the free-throw department — ranking 301st at 67.1%, per NCAA.com — and in close games, it can be their undoing.

Virginia Tech is an elite team led by C Elizabeth Kitley (22.8 PPG, 11.4 RPG) and G Georgia Amoore (19.2 PPG, 6.9 APG). They are one of the best one-two punches in the nation. Kitley missed the ACC Tournament due to a left knee injury, so that’s a bit of a concern heading into the Big Dance. But this team ranks 17th in assist-to-turnover rate (1.33) and 9th in blocks (5.5 per game) in playing suffocating defense. If it is down Kitley, the Hokies are still the play.

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PICK 2: COLORADO BUFFALOES (22-9)

Who they play: Drake Bulldogs (29-5)

When: Friday, 7 p.m. ET (ESPNews)

Where: Bramlage Coliseum, Manhattan, Kan.

This is a dangerous matchup for the Buffaloes as this might seem like a road game as the Bulldogs faithful should travel well since it’s a short jaunt from Des Moines to Kansas.

Drake can score at a feverish pace, with G Katie Dinnebier (17.9 PPG), F Grace Berg (17.0 PPG) and F Anna Miller (13.6 PPG, 10.1 RPG) serving as a talented 3-headed offensive monster. The Bulldogs feature one of the best field-goal percentages at 48.7%, ranking 7th in the nation. Plus, they are good free-throw shooting team (77.4% to rank 24th), which is good news in close games.

Colorado is ranked No. 17 in the Coaches Poll, yet scored just a No. 5 seed, which seems criminally low. The Buffaloes roared into the season with an opening 92-78 win over defending national champ LSU on a neutral floor in Las Vegas, announcing to everyone their arrival. They also scored wins over ranked teams Stanford, No. 1 seed USC and Utah.

The Buffs can score, especially C Aaronette Vonleh (14.1 PPG) — the younger sister of former NBA player and Indiana Hoosiers standout Noah Vonleh. CU struggles on free throws (72.8%, ranking 123rd), but it’s a good team taking care of the ball, while ranking highly in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.36, ranking 13th).

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PICK 3: NC STATE WOLFPACK (27-6)

Who they play: Chattanooga Mocs (28-4)

When: Saturday, 2:30 p.m. ET (ESPNU)

Where: Reynolds Coliseum, Raleigh, N.C.

The 14th-seed Mocs of the SoCon have to play this one on the home court of the 3rd-seeded Wolfpack, who are No. 11 in the Coaches Poll.

Chattanooga announced its arrival with a win over a ranked Mississippi State team back in early December, bolstering the team’s NCAA Tournament resume early. The Mocs ended up winning the SoCon regular season and the conference tournament to earn their Big Dance ticket.

The Mocs are led by G Jada Guinn (19.7 PPG) and F Raven Thompson (14.3 PPG) and this squad can be a dangerous shooting team, particularly behind the 3-point line where they converted 37.5% of their attempts to rank 9th in the country. However, expect a lack of size to be their undoing.

NC State is outstanding all around with G Aziaha James (15.8 PPG), G Saniya Rivers (12.4 PPG), F Mimi Collins (11.2 PPG) and G Madison Hayes (11.1 PPG) giving the Pack a very balanced attack. NC State doesn’t make a lot of silly miscues — only 13.3 turnovers per game — and will have a tremendous advantage with its size, particularly in the rebounding department. NC State also has a lockdown defense — holding opponents to 59.9 PPG — which will make it awfully tough for Chattanooga to get good looks offensively.

All right. Let’s get these 3 wins, rack up a few points and then make sure to check back before Round 2 for our next winning picks. Play now!

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For more sports betting picks and tips, check out SportsbookWire.com and BetFTW.

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March Madness Thursday’s best first-round upsets picks and predictions

Beat the Sportsbook: Here’s Thursday’s 3 best underdog bets for the 2024 NCAA Tournament.

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If you’re old enough to remember, you know where you were when Bryce Drew’s shot led 13th-seeded Valparaiso over 4-seed Ole Miss. Every few years, we have big-time moments like that where Cinderella finds perfectly fitting slippers.

As recently as last season, 16-seed Farleigh Dickinson busted many brackets with a win over top-seeded Purdue. It was just the 2nd time in NCAA Tournament history that a 16-seed won a game.

These upset picks are the crucial ingredient to winning parlays, and they make great profit points as standalone bets as well.

After looking at the BetMGM Sportsbook’s NCAA Tournament odds and lines, here are the best 1st-round upsets for Thursday among our expert college basketball picks and predictions.

Rankings: USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll

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NCAA Tournament best Thursday first-round upsets

Odds provided by BetMGM Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated Wednesday at 3:04 p.m. ET. All game times ET; ML = moneyline.

OREGON (+100) vs. South Carolina – 4 p.m.

The Ducks won the final installment of the Pac-12 Tournament with a 75-68 W over Colorado. They’ve won 4 straight and have a tournament-tested coach with Dana Altman. In his 14 years in Eugene, he has guided the Ducks to the tournament 8 times. He took them to the Final Four in 2017, when they took North Carolina to the brink in a 77-76 loss. The major cog the Ducks have going for them is C N’Faly Dante. He’s averaging 17.7 points, 9.2 boards, 1.9 steals and 1.9 blocks over his last 10 games. The Gamecocks are undersized, and their top rebounder is averaging a whopping 4.8 boards per game. Dante is going to eat them up.

Potential payout: Bet $100 to profit $100 (payout = $200).

Can you survive? USA TODAY Sports’ Men and Women’s Basketball Tournament Survivor Pools are here with a $2,500 prize for each contest! Free to enter, 21+. Terms apply, void where prohibited by law. See Official Rules. Play now!

SAMFORD (+260) vs. Kansas – 10:55 p.m.

This line opened at +280 and has come down, in large part, because KU is without its leading scorer. G Kevin McCullar (knee) will miss the entire tournament, and it’s not going to be easy to replace his 18.3 PPG. Samford had a pretty good chance before that news because they’re the 5th-ranked offense in the country at 86 PPG. They play at a blistering pace, 11th in the nation at 72.8, which could wear down KU’s 7-foot-2 center Hunter Dickinson. The Bulldogs were blown out by Purdue 98-45 early in the season in their only game against a ranked team. They went 29-4 the rest of the way.

Potential payout: Bet $100 to profit $260 (payout = $360).

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NC STATE (+180) vs. Texas Tech – 10:55 p.m.

The 11-seeded Wolfpack take on the 6-seeded Red Raiders in Pittsburgh. The Pack stunned the UNC Tar Heels 84-76 to take the ACC crown. They won 5 games in 5 consecutive days, and they have the size underneath to strike an advantage on anyone. F D.J. Burns Jr., 6-foot-9 and 275 pounds, averaged 16 PPG over the last 7 games, and he was in double figures in 6 of them. F Mohamed Diarra averaged 14 PPG, 14 RPG and 2.3 BPG over his last 4 games. They’re hot, battle-tested, and they could make a run.

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March Madness: Best NCAA Tournament first-round upset picks and predictions

Beat the Sportsbook: Here’s 4 best underdog picks and predictions for the first round of the 2024 NCAA Tournament.

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The best part about the NCAA Tournament is upsets, unless, of course, you’re betting the favorites. We’ll take a look at several underdogs who are a good bet to play straight up.

Below, we break down BetMGM Sportsbook’s NCAA Tournament odds and lines and list the best 1st-round upset bets to cash in on among SportbookWire’s expert college basketball picks and predictions.

It’s always interesting when a lower seed is favored. That’s not what we mean by upsets. We’ll pick several teams who are underdogs by more than a few points, who are good plays to cover a big number or just win straight up.

Rankings: USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll

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NCAA Tournament first-round upset picks

Odds provided by BetMGM Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated Tuesday at 9:41 p.m. ET. All game times ET; ML = moneyline.

NC STATE ML (+190) vs. Texas Tech – Thursday, 9:40 p.m.

The Wolfpack are the only team to win 5 games in 5 days to claim the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament championship. It’s an impressive feat, but the Wolfpack isn’t likely done.

NC State enters the NCAA Tournament with a lot of confidence after that amazing run, and it is actually the longest winning streak for the Wolfpack this season. And it’s the 1st time NC State has won more than 2 games in a row against Power 6 teams.

Texas Tech has sunk like a stone since the end of January. The Red Raiders lost at TCU on Jan. 30, and they’re actually 6-7 straight up (SU) in the past 13 games. While only 1 of those losses came against a non-NCAA Tournament team, it’s a rather frequent occurrence.

The Red Raiders are just 6-9 in Quad 1 games, while the Wolfpack was just 3-8 in Q1 contests.

If you’re a little more on the conservative side, NC STATE +5.5 (-115) still isn’t a bad play, if you can’t go all the way on the moneyline.

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SAINT PETER’S +21.5 (-110) vs. Tennessee – Thursday, 9:20 p.m.

The Peacocks made a miraculous run to the Elite Eight in the 2022 NCAA Tournament. That team, led by the mustachioed Doug Edert, coach Shaheen Holloway, etc. broke up prior to the 2023 season. Edert transferred to Bryant, Holloway took the Seton Hall job, taking KC Ndefo with him, and Daryl Banks III went to St. Bonaventure.

In other words, those casual fans who see Saint Peter’s, they should know this is a completely different group.

The Volunteers are a No. 2 seed, and they’re fully expected to advance. However, this is an awfully big number for a team coming off 2 consecutive losses. The Vols lost a marquee battle to Kentucky in the regular-season finale on March 9 at Thompson-Boling Arena in Knoxville, 85-81 as an 8.5-point favorite, and then it was throttled 73-56 by Mississippi State in its 1st game in the SEC Tournament.

Tennessee has sharp-shooter Dalton Knecht, who was just 4-of-17 from the field for 14 points in the loss to Hail State. He’ll be looking to dent a Peacocks defense which ranked just 161st in the country, according to covers.com, in 3-pointer defense.

Saint Peter’s allowed teams to shoot 33.3% from behind the arc, and the Peacocks really had a difficult time scoring, going for just 65.9 PPG, one of the lowest totals in the country, while hitting just 39.7% from the field. Still, this is an awfully big number.

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WESTERN KENTUCKY +14.5 (-110) vs. Marquette – Friday, 2 p.m.

The Hilltoppers caught fire in the Conference USA Tournament, roughing up New Mexico State by 20, and belting Middle Tennessee by 31, before easing by UTEP 78-71 in the championship game. Western Kentucky covered all 3 games in the C-USA tourney, it has covered 4 in a row, and the ‘Toppers are 9-3 ATS across the past 12 outings.

The Golden Eagles are a No. 2 seed, but they’re a team which is playing .500 ball across the past 6 games, going 3-3 SU and ATS. Of course, the losses are against Creighton, a No. 3 seed in this tournament, and twice to top overall seed UConn.

The big concern with Marquette is the health of F Oso Ighodaro, who carries a questionable tag due to a knee injury, as well as G Tyler Kolek. The latter suffered an oblique injury Feb. 28 against Providence, and he has been sidelined for the past 6 games. He is listed as probable, so he is expected to face Western Kentucky, but will there be some rust? It’s likely.

As far as Ighodaro is concerned, he banged up his left knee, and missed the final 7 games of the Big East title game loss. And G Stevie Mitchell is also nursing a tender left shoulder injury, so Marquette enters this game banged up. That’s good news for Western Kentucky, and its backers.

JAMES MADISON +5.5 (-110) vs. Wisconsin – Friday, 9:40 p.m.

The Dukes got their season off to a great start with an upset over another Big Ten team, Michigan State. James Madison won 79-76 in overtime in East Lansing on Nov. 6, and it was the first of 28 victories against just 3 losses.

Wisconsin tasted defeat 13 times, and it was really in danger of missing this NCAA Tournament all together before stringing together 3 straight wins in the Big Ten Tournament, including a victory over No. 1 seed Purdue, to get its resume in order. The Badgers went all the way to the title game, falling to Illinois 93-87 on Sunday in a thriller.

This is a tough draw for Wisconsin, though. JMU averages 84.6 PPG, and it shoots at a blistering 47.6% from the field. If there is an Achilles’ heel, it’s free-throw shooting, as the Dukes are a dismal 71.1% from the stripe, leaving some points on the floor. And defensively, James Madison allows teams to hit just 28.8% from behind the arc, and that was 5th in the nation defensively.

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