2017 March Madness: Duke Blue Devils Advance to second round
By Stuart Gill
The Duke Blue Devils advance to the Round of 32 to take on either South Carolina or Marquette after handling the Troy Trojans.
Duke got rolling from the start, jumping out to a 20-6 lead, as Luke Kennard drained a 3-pointer just over six minutes into the game.
While he didn’t get the start, Grayson Allen was a huge part of what got the Blue Devils going early. He started out 5-5 from the field, hitting four 3’s and picking up a few assists. Allen led all scorers with 21 points on 60 percent shooting, while Jayson Tatum dropped 18 and Frank Jackson and Matt Jones each had 14.
Troy kept things mildly interesting throughout the evening, bringing the deficit back to single digits at several points in the game. Wesley Person made several next-level plays, including one NBA-range three-pointer and a vicious slam in the second half, but was never able to take over in the way that a No. 15 seed needs their star to step up in order to win in the first round. Sophomore forward Jordan Varnado had a nice game as well, scoring 18 and grabbing 10 rebounds in the loss.
The Blue Devils have picked up right where they left off in Brooklyn after winning the ACC Tournament. They shot 46.8 percent from the floor and 46.4 percent from beyond the arc. They also hit 16-of-23 free throw attempts and forced 13 of Troy’s 17 turnovers.
While it was a game against a No. 15 seed, they did themselves a huge favor by maintaining a large enough lead to get some of their role players valuable experience. Antonio Vrankovic saw action in both the first and second halves, while Freshmen Javin DeLaurier and Jack White checked into their first postseason ballgames in the final minutes. Duke has heavily relied on just seven players, so getting some of the younger role players active early in the tournament bodes well for the Blue Devils should they need someone to step up late in the tournament.
Next: Final Four staff predictions
No. 10 Marquette (19-12) has tipped off against No. 7 South Carolina (22-10), with the winner advancing to take on Duke in the Round of 32 on March 19th. The winner of that matchup will face the winner of USC-Baylor in the Sweet 16.