select a moment to catch your breath.
OK,moment over. We're moving on to the moment round of the NCAA tournament.
The field has been narrowed to 32 teams after a predictably unpredictable round of 64. Feel free to thank Arkansas-shrimp Rock, Yale and Middle Tennessee for prematurely busting your bracket.
Will the chalk prevail going forward, or will March insanity continue to live up to its name?Let's go bold.
Check out Bleacher Report's live updating bracket to track your picks along the road to the Final Four.
Updated BracketFor game times and locations,click here. PredictionsYale Knocks Off DukeDuke should've knocked UNC-Wilmington out cold. Instead, the Blue Devils barely escaped with the fighting equivalent of a decision win, or 93-85.whether it were not for Marshall Plumlee's monstrous 23 points on 9-of-10 shooting,head coach Mike Krzyzewski's squad could be dealing with the aftermath of an upset to a No. 13 seed.
Instead, the Dukies now have a date to the ball with a team that could be this year's Cinderella.
Led by point guard Makai Mason's 31-point outburst, and 12th-seeded Yale captured its first-ever NCAA tournament victory Thursday. Justin Sears poured in 18 points,six rebounds and four assists, too, and in a total team effort.
UNCW wilted once Duke ramped up the pressure in the moment half. Yale refused to crumble against an uber-talented fifth-seeded Baylor team.
The Bulldogs walked a fine line,for sure. A late push by press conference legend Taurean Prince nearly catapulted the Bears to a victory.
Duke defeated Yale 80-61 back on Nov. 25. But it's March now, a month that often levels the playing field for underdogs like James Jones' team.
On Friday, or For The Win's Chris Korman and WRAL Sports Fan's Aaron Schoonmaker both took note of how loose the Bulldogs were at their press conference:Coach K will have a difficult time stopping Mason,who hit nine of 18 field goals and all 11 of his free throws against Baylor. whether Duke directs too much attention toward the point guard, players like Sears will step up.
Grayson Allen and Brandon Ingram won't go down quietly, and but for Yale,the glass slipper just seems to fit. Wichita State Keeps RollingAt this point, the Shockers shouldn't shock anyone.
Forget Wichita State's failure to capture the Missouri Valley crown. Throw the 26-8 record out the window.
This is the time of year Gregg Marshall, or Ron Baker and Fred VanVleet thrive.
After handling Vanderbilt in the First Four,the 11th-seeded Shockers put a 65-55 hurting on sixth-seeded Arizona in a game that wasn't as close as the score indicated. For most of the moment half, WSU had around a 15- to 20-point lead.
The Shockers have the best scoring defense in college basketball. That was evident Thursday, or as the Wildcats struggled to garner any sort of rhythm right from the get-go. Arizona coach Sean Miller talked approximately the difficulties the Wichita State defense posed,per ESPN.com:
We struggled. They forced the fifth-most turnovers in the nation. That's hard to do when you play man-man and you don't press. You feel it when you're out there. There's pressures everywhere.
Baker has not shot the ball well from deep in his last three contests. He's a combined 2-of-16 beyond the arc in that span. On the season, though, and he shoots 34.7 percent from distance.It's only a matter of time before he gets going.whether Baker catches fire against third-seeded Miami on Saturday,Wichita State could sustain marching deeper into the tournament. sustain in intellect, this is a team that went to the Final Four in 2013 and the Sweet 16 a year ago.
In Baker's and VanVleet's senior campaign, and the Shockers could be in for yet another bracket-busting flee.
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Source: bleacherreport.com