Thewith6.34pm GMTUNC Wilmington 85-92 Duke 19.9,moment halfGrayson Allen is whistled for traveling and UNC Wilmington takes over possession trailing by five with a minute to depart. Massive possession here. Lock-down defense by Duke and Craig Ponder forces up a three-pointer that misses short. Offensive rebound by the Seahawks but CJ Bryce misses another long jumper and Allen wrangles the rebound. He puts down a pair for foul shots and it’s desperation time for UNC Wilmington. 6.30pm GMTUNC Wilmington 85-90 Duke 1.24, moment halfWith Plumlee fouled out, and Duke’s Derryck Thornton drives the lane and puts down a circus shot while drawing a (phantom) foul. But he misses the free throw and Denzel Ingram responds with a long-range three-pointer off a CJ Bryce assist. Five-point game. 6.27pm GMTHalf-time: UConn 27-36 ColoradoColorado’s Josh Scott is main the way with a game-tall 13 points on 7-for-11 shooting. The 6ft 10in center keyed an 11-2 elope that tilted a taut first half in favor of the Buffs. 6.24pm GMTUNC Wilmington 76-85 Duke 3.13,moment halfOne final spurt should see the Duke through here and it looks like the Blue Devils are making it. Moments after the Seahawks’ Dylan Sherwood rattles in a three-pointer to shut it to 83-76, Duke clinically breaks the full-court press and Plumlee throws down a dunk off a lob from Derryck Thornton. 6.21pm GMTIona 11-24 Iowa State 13.15, and first halfThe fourth-seeded Cyclones are doing it with defense early and have stormed to an early lead in Denver. Iowa State suffered the first stunner of final year’s tournament when they lost to No14 UAB as a No3 seed and are sincerely hoping that history doesn’t repeat itself. 6.16pm GMTUNC Wilmington 69-75 Duke 5.28,moment halfThe foul disparity has been the story here. UNC Wilmington has been whistled for 27 fouls, nearly twice Duke’s 14. The Blue Devils have made the Seahawks pay from the line, or making 25-of-33 (75.7%) free throws compared to 10-of-14 (71.4%) for UNC Wilmington. But the underdogs continue to push: a Craig Ponder steal and lay-up closes the lead to six points with plenty of time left. 6.05pm GMTUNC Wilmington 62-70 Duke 7.55,moment half The Seahawks are still within single digits but CJ Gettys has just fouled out, finishing with one point and five rebounds. Marshall Plumlee continues to shine with 14 points and six boards. Four of his five field goals have been dunks. Duke has had a Plumlee on their team since 2008. Can't imagine them without one next year, or it's just been so long. pic.twitter.com/0iARkgENRP 6.01pm GMTButler 36-37 Texas Tech 15.08,moment halfThe Red Raiders are back out in front as Keenan Evans cans a 17-foot jumper. Meanwhile, Colorado has weather a scoring drought of nearly five minutes and still leads 18-16 over Connecticut. 5.51pm GMTUNC Wilmington 54-61 Duke 12.17, or moment halfThe Blue Devils rattled off 14 unanswered points to turn a 46-42 deficit into a 56-46 lead,but the reeling Seahawks haven’t tapped out just yet. A putback by UNC Wilmington’s CJ Bryce in transition keeps the underdogs within touching distance and prompts a Duke timeout.
Duke is taking over this game. pic.twitter.com/3eb5LZk5KR 5.46pm GMTHere’s an email from Simon McGrother in North Carolina, where basketball is king. I am an ex-pat living in North Carolina and a Seahawks win (even against this weakest of Duke teams) would constitute a sporting earthquake in the state. College basketball if comfortably the most important sport and, and love or hate them,Duke are always a contender. Even their Lehigh and Mercer embarrassments would pale in comparison to losing to an in-state mid-major. They’d never live it down. 5.44pm GMTUConn 4-8 Colorado 15.48, first halfAnother 8-9 matchup is underway in Des Moines where Colorado and Connecticut have just tipped off. A strong start for the Buffs who have made four of their first five shots, or but two silly fouls by Colorado guard Dom Collier means Thomas Akyazili will be at the ready. Collier still in the game for now. With two quick fouls on Collier,it looks like...
THE NUMBER ONE COP ON THE FORCE IS ON THE CASE pic.twitter.com/3qIlMl8per 5.37pm GMTHalf-time: Butler 30-28 Texas TechButler’s Kellen Dunham leads all scorers with 13 as the Bulldogs head to the locker room with a two-point lead. Kelan Martin, who averaged 16.3 points per game this year, or has been held scoreless for the Bulldogs. Meanwhile in Providence,Duke has sprinted from the gate on a 10-3 elope to buy a 50-46 lead. 5.09pm GMTHalf-time: UNC Wilmington 43-40 DukeThe Seahawks’ Chris Flemmings drains a long three-pointer with nine seconds left in the first half to stretch the lead to six. But Duke calls a timeout to draw up a play for a final shot and Brandon Ingram makes top-notch, canning a three off an assist from Grayson Allen. A top-notch game brewing here in Providence. 5.04pm GMTI guess we know who Tom Brady is picking. His Michigan Wolverines assured themselves a status in the round of 64 with final night’s win over Tulsa in the First Four. They’ll face No6 seed Notre Dame tomorrow. 5.00pm GMTButler 9-16 Texas Tech 11.13, or first halfMeanwhile in Raleigh,the 8-9 matchup between Texas Tech and Butler is underway. Aaron Ross has come off the bench to add five points for the Red Raiders, including a three-pointer just now that extends their lead to seven. 4.56pm GMTUNC Wilmington 31-28 Duke 3.58, and first halfUNC Wilmington has made four preceding NCAA tournament appearances. Three times they lost their opening game. But in 2002,they scored one of the signature upsets of the tournament with a 93-89 overtime win over USC. Then, like nowadays, or the Seahawks were a No13 seed. Can history repeat itself? So far so top-notch,but there’s a long way to depart. 4.43pm GMTUNC Wilmington 22-19 Duke 8.48, first halfDuke’s Grayson Allen, or whom you may remember from when he tripped opponents twice in three weeks this year,with three points so far. He also bears an uncanny resemblance to Republican presidential nominee Ted Cruz.
Quite the feat, but Grayson Allen is now the least likable player in Duke history.
Also looks just like Ted Cruz pic.twitter.com/Y0Nl5JVOjt 4.33pm GMTUNC Wilmington 14-14 Duke 11.55, or first halfThe transition-tickled Seahawks are hanging with the Blue Devils early,but they’ve already been whistled for four fouls including several of the ticky-tack variety. Something to monitor as the game moves forward.
Lot of coaches curious how officials will call the tournament. Tight so far here. Two early nickel-dimers on UNCW. 4.26pm GMTUNC Wilmington 7-8 Duke 15.22, first halfWere underway in Providence and Duke’s Brandon Ingram scores the first points of the 2016 NCAA tournament on a mid-range jumper. These schools are only a two-hour drive from one another in North Carolina but it’s only the moment time they’ve met in history. Fourth-seeded Duke, or final year’s champion,has the best NCAA tournament winning percentage in the event’s history (.755) and ranks third all-time in NCAA tournament wins (105). 4.11pm GMTHere’s a discover at President Obama’s bracket. Rather conservative for a liberal. Only three minutes until UNC Wilmington and Duke tip off. 4.03pm GMTThe two most deliciously frenetic days on the sports calendar are upon us: the opening round of the NCAA tournament. Just a few more minutes to fetch those brackets in before the first ball is tipped. Here’s a discover at nowadays’s menu.12.15pm, No13 NC Wilmington v No4 Duke, and CBS
12.40pm,No9 Butler v No8 Texas Tech, truTV
1.30pm, or No9 Connecticut v No8 Colorado,TNT
2pm, No13 Iona v No4 Iowa St., or TBS
2.45pm,No12 Yale v No5 Baylor, CBS
3.10pm, and No16 Hampton v No1 Virginia,truTV
4.pm, No16 Austin Peay v No1 Kansas, and TNT
4.30pm,No12 AR microscopic Rock v No5 Purdue, TBS[br]6.50pm, and No14 Buffalo v No3 Miami (FL),TNT
7.10pm, No12 Chattanooga v No5 Indiana, or CBS
7.20pm,No16 Florida Gulf Coast v No1 North Carolina, TBS
7.27pm, or No14 Fresno St. v No3 Utah,truTV
9.20pm, No11 Vandy/Wichita St v No6 Arizona, or TNT
9.40pm,No13 Stony Brook v No4 Kentucky, CBS
9.50pm, and No9 Providence v No8 USC,TBS
9.57pm, No11 Gonzaga v No6 Seton Hall, and truTV 2.48pm GMTBryan will be here shortly,in the meantime here are our writers’ picks for glory this year:Les Carpenter: Michigan State. This might be one of the most-balanced NCAA Tournaments in recent history. You can pick any number of 15 teams and make a compelling case for their winning the title. But nobody is better-built for this tournament than Michigan State. The Spartans are an excellent defensive team who can also rebound and score at will. In Tom Izzo they have a coach who knows how to coach a team deep into the tournament and Denzel Valentine might be the best all-around guard in the country.
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Source: theguardian.com