Duke Basketball

Zion Williamson scored 32 points on 12-of-24 shooting as No. 1 Duke survived a scare from No. 9 UCF, 77-76, in the second round of the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament Sunday.

Williamson hit a layup as he was fouled with 14 seconds left to pull the Blue Devils within 76-75.

ZION AND-1 AND FOULS OUT TACKO FALL #MarchMadness https://t.co/L0bW6ksXq1

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) March 24, 2019

He missed the ensuing free throw, but RJ Barrett grabbed the offensive board and made his own layup to put Duke ahead 77-76.

RJ putback as Duke re-takes the lead! #MarchMadness https://t.co/c7IwBqFIb1

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) March 24, 2019

The Knights had two final chances down the stretch. B.J. Taylor attempted a jumper with three seconds left, but his shot did not connect. Aubrey Dawkins then flew in for a tip, but his shot rimmed out right before time expired:

Brutal...#MarchMadness https://t.co/ILdnsS8vIc

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) March 24, 2019

Dawkins scored 32 points on 12-of-18 shooting for the Knights.

The Knights-Blue Devils matchup stands alone as the tournament's best game and one of the greatest in recent March Madness history.

Not only was the quality of play exceptional and the game eventful from start to finish, but the matchup was also rich with storylines before the tip.

First, this was a classic David vs. Goliath contest. UCF entered the game as 13.5-point underdogs, per Vegas Insider, and the Blue Devils stood as the tournament-winning favorites.

The Knights, who joined Division I hoops in 1984, had also never advanced past the first round of the NCAA tournament until this season. Duke has won five national championships.

On the sidelines, UCF head coach Johnny Dawkins played under Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski from 1982-1986 and coached alongside him from 1998-2008. Aubrey Dawkins, the son of the Knights' leader, lived in Durham, North Carolina until he was 13, per Steve Wiseman of the News & Observer.

After the game, Krzyzewski got emotional when discussing Johnny and Aubrey Dawkins, praising the two for remarkable performances:

Elsewhere, the matchup between Williamson and 7'6" UCF center Tacko Fall received much press, with Fall telling Andy Katz of NCAA.com that he wasn't going to let the future top NBA draft pick dunk on him.

Williamson didn't dunk on Fall, but he basically did everything else he wanted on Sunday. He also carried his team offensively for much of the second half, as Jeff Borzello of ESPN noted:

Zion is the only Duke player to make more than one shot in the second half.

— Jeff Borzello (@jeffborzello) March 24, 2019

ESPN Stats and Info reported that Williamson's 32-point outing placed him in pretty good NCAA tournament company:

With 32 points tonight, Zion Williamson now has 57 points so far in the tournament.

He has tied Kevin Durant for the most points by a freshman across their first two NCAA Tournament games. pic.twitter.com/4OQ9IK7aki

— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) March 24, 2019

The freshman also pulled down 11 rebounds and dished four assists.

But Dawkins went blow for blow with Williamson, scoring 18 first-half points to keep UCF in the game. The Knights were down 44-36 at the half, but Dawkins went back to work in the second half thanks to 14 more points. He notably hit a jumper and then assisted on a Fall dunk to put UCF up 74-70.

A five-point swing occurred, however, when Dayon Griffin and Dawkins couldn't connect on an alley-oop with UCF on a two-on-one break. Duke then went down the floor and knocked down a three courtesy of Cam Reddish.

Dawkins then missed a jumper, but after Duke came up empty, B.J. Taylor made two free throws to increase the Knights' lead to 76-73.

The next possession ended with Duke scoring the game's final four points, during which Fall fouled out. That occurred on the Williamson shot and before Barrett swooped in for the offensive rebound and putback.

Although the end of the game didn't go Dawkins' way, UCF wouldn't have been in position to take the lead as time ran out without his sensational efforts, which clearly impressed many people.

Sam Vecenie of The Athletic thought he may have produced the game of the tournament.

https://twitter.com/Sam_Vecenie/status/1109961802899558400

Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports thinks Dawkins has a bright professional future:

Aubrey Dawkins proved today what everyone who saw him all year long already knew; kid a legitimate prospect at the NBA level. Was sensational in defeat.

— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) March 24, 2019

Dawkins also had four assists and three steals. Taylor and Fall each scored 15 for the Knights.

Barrett scored 16 points for Duke, and Reddish contributed 13.

Duke will now play No. 4 Virginia Tech in the Sweet 16 on Friday. The Knights finish their season with a 24-9 record.

At just 18 years old, Duke freshman forward Zion Williamson plays grown-man basketball. 

With under four minutes to go in the first half against the No. 9 UCF Knights on Sunday, Williamson contorted his 6'7", 285-pound frame to catch a lob from fellow freshman RJ Barrett. Once he gained possession, he threw down a two-handed dunk. 

The dunk started a 10-0 Blue Devils run. With less than a minute remaining before halftime, Williamson displayed his versatility by stealing a Knights pass and then zipping a one-handed bounce pass to guard Tre Jones for a lay-in. 

At the half, Williamson had 15 points and four rebounds while Duke held a 44-36 lead. 

The No. 9 UCF Knights will face the No. 1 Duke Blue Devils in the second round of the East Region on Sunday at Colonial Life Arena in Columbia, South Carolina, and the hype train surrounding the matchup between Knights 7'6" senior center Tacko Fall and Duke freshman forward and probable No. 1 overall NBA draft pick Zion Williamson has started its engine.

Call it a heavyweight fight or a tall order. Both are accurate. 

Following UCF's first-round win over the No. 8 VCU Rams on Friday night, Fall discussed the matchup with Andy Katz of NCAA.com. When asked about stopping Williamson from dunking on him, he said, "I won't allow him to put me on one of his highlight tapes." 

“I won’t allow it. I won’t allow him to put me on one of his highlight tapes.”

After advancing past VCU, @UCF_MBB’s Tacko Fall tells @TheAndyKatz he won’t allow Zion to dunk on him! #MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/PIMxP5iKFJ

— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) March 23, 2019

Fall added that Williamson is a "great talent" and "someone pretty much we've never seen with his size, his athleticism."

Williamson has an extensive highlight reel. Most recently, the 6'7", 285-pound generational athlete put up 25 points, three rebounds and one block in Duke's win over the No. 16 North Dakota State Bison on Friday night. 

ZION INCOMING #MarchMadness https://t.co/rxDJfpS4oX

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) March 23, 2019

Meanwhile, Fall complied 13 points, 18 rebounds and five blocks against VCU. 

Even when Tacko Falls, he’s still tall. 👀#MarchMadness (via @cbssports) pic.twitter.com/0RV51TNFNE

— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) March 23, 2019

Sunday's game will certainly have a full highlight tape; it's just a matter of whether the blocks and dunks will be added to Fall's or Williamson's archive.                

COLUMBIA, S.C. — Only 95 minutes until Zion Williamson's first NCAA tournament game, and the anticipation is mounting.

Duke will eventually, predictably win 85-62 behind 25 points from its unstoppable star, but the throngs of fans aren't that concerned with the outcome. They're just dying to get into the building for a chance to see some high-flying, physics-defying dunks.

Each and every entrance to the Colonial Life Arena has a line at least 100 people deep, most of them clad in royal blue attire. The number of kids under the age of 12 rocking a "Duke 1" jersey might be greater than the count of those wearing anything else.

They are all desperate to get an in-person glimpse of the man who has taken the sports world by storm over the past four-plus months. They came from all over the country for this purpose.

Within five minutes of asking around, at least 20 different states were listed. Two guys flew in from Utah. One mother-daughter duo drove down from Maine. Ohio is well-represented, for some reason. Another woman from Jonesboro, Arkansas, gleefully recounts her interaction with Williamson at the team hotel. "He touched me right here with his pinkie," she shouts, pointing at the palm of her hand.

Why did she drive 10 hours to watch what Vegas expected to be a 28-point shellacking?

"I just wanted to see Zion play for Duke before he goes off to the NBA."

It's no wonder CBS debuted the "Zion Cam" to capture the sensation's every moment for as long as Duke's stay in the tournament lasts.

Everyone wants to watch the Zion Show.

(Curiously, though, the "just get me in the door" secondary ticket market is a bust. One scalper asks if I can do $20. Another says $25. So much for those $3,000 per-ticket prices for the first Duke-UNC showdown. It seems even Zion Mania isn't enough to make a No. 1 vs. No. 16 game the hottest ticket in town. Expect Sunday's game to be a much different story.)

At long last, the (flood)gates open and a blue wave comes pouring down into the lower bowl of the arena. The Blue Devils are simply lying on the baseline counting out their stretches, but cellphones are out in full force. Everyone wants photographic evidence to show the grandkids one day: Yes, kiddo, I did see Zion.

https://twitter.com/kerrancejames/status/1109223793854214146

Even the North Dakota State fans can't help but assume the cellphone-out, jaw-dropped position while Williamson throws down 360 dunks in pregame warmups like they're nothing.

Fast forward to game time, and it took all of 36 seconds for those long drives and lines to be validated. Williamson won the opening tip, scored on the initial possession and so viciously blocked NDSU's first shot attempt that the crowd erupted as if it had just witnessed a man's soul being removed from his body.

The Bison weren't shook, though. They rallied in a hurry to take a 12-5 lead and hung right with the big, bad Blue Devils for the entire first half. North Dakota State trailed by just four at the intermission and had some hope of becoming just the second team to ever pull off the 16-over-1 upset.

Early in the second half, Williamson extinguished that pipe dream with three impossibly athletic plays in the span of 58 seconds. NDSU's cheerleaders couldn't help but laugh in amazement when Zion poked the ball away from Tyson Ward, chased it down, dribbled behind his back and made the acrobatic layup to put the Blue Devils up by a baker's dozen.

Safe to say no one on North Dakota State's scout team would've been able to replicate that type of sequence no matter how many days of practice were available.

This Zion run and finish was just ridiculous #MarchMadness https://t.co/c51hQYegAc

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) March 23, 2019

From there, the No. 1 overall seed cruised to a 23-point victory, which made for a somber Bison locker room after the game. But even minutes removed from heartbreak, they were able to appreciate the greatness they just faced.

"Obviously in the Summit League and mid-major basketball, you don't get athletes like that," said North Dakota State sophomore Cameron Hunter. "It'll be really cool looking back and telling everyone that you played (against) an excellent college player like him."

"One of the best athletes I've ever seen with my own eyes," said junior Vinnie Shahid.

During the postgame press conference, a reporter asked head coach David Richman about trying to prepare to face 'a guy like Williamson.' Before the question was even finished, Richman cut him off:

"Is there any guy like him aside from him?"

North Dakota State wasn't the only No. 16 seed blown away by Zion's absurd athleticism. After losing to Virginia earlier in the day, Gardner-Webb stuck around to bask in his highlight-reel glory.

Runnin' Bulldogs freshman Jose Perez is from the Bronx, played on the prestigious Nike EYBL circuit and battled with the likes of De'Aaron Fox and Trae Young in international competition in high school. In other words, he has seen some studs up close and personal. Even he had to just shake his head and chuckle at the spectacle.

"He's different, man," said Perez. "I've played with some high-level players, but he's just got so much bounce."

If you've ever been to the Grand Canyon, you know that pictures don't do it justice. You need to see it in person to truly appreciate the magnitude of one of the most incredible things this planet has ever created.

Same goes for Zion, folks. Catch him while you can. It's a life-altering experience.

         

Kerry Miller covers men's college basketball and college football for Bleacher Report. You can follow him on Twitter: @kerrancejames.

The No. 1 Duke Blue Devils took a beat to get going in their first-round game against the No. 16 North Dakota State Bison on Friday, but once they did, they were rolling. 

The Blue Devils started off the 2019 NCAA men's tournament with an 85-62 win Friday at Colonial Life Arena in South Carolina.

Freshman forward Zion Williamson scored 25 points on 12-of-16 shooting in his tournament debut. The 6'7", 285-pound phenomenon wasted no time making his first impression, emphatically blocking a shot less than a minute into the action.

While dunking has already become a trademark for Williamson, a sequence at the start of the second half, including a steal, a behind-the-back dribble and a lay-in, displayed how dangerous he is athletically.

Duke will face the winner of Friday night's matchup between the No. 8 VCU Rams and No. 9 UCF Knights in the second round of the East Region on Sunday.          

The top-seeded Duke Blue Devils kicked off their quest for a national title with an 85-62 victory over the No. 16 North Dakota State Bison on Friday in the 2019 NCAA men's tournament.

After a late-season lull following Zion Williamson's knee injury, head coach Mike Krzyzewski has his team back on track. The Blue Devils have now won four straight tournament games, including their ACC title win last week.

Zion Williamson's first exposure to March Madness was a success. The star freshman finished with 25 points on 12-of-16 shooting. RJ Barrett overcame a slow start to contribute 26 points and 14 rebounds.

Zion Williamson and RJ Barrett are the first pair of freshmen teammates to each score at least 25 points in the same NCAA Tournament game. pic.twitter.com/gUzRGDTQhw

— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) March 23, 2019

The Blue Devils looked sluggish out of the gate, trailing 12-5 after five minutes. Williamson was doing most of the heavy lifting early, making four of their seven field goals 14 minutes into the game.

Points were hard to come by for Duke throughout the first half. Williamson and Barrett combined to score 20 of the team's 31 points.

Even Barrett was held in check until scoring three baskets in the final four minutes before intermission. He was 1-of-6 from the field prior to that outburst.

https://twitter.com/SportsTalkBarry/status/1109235526933139465

https://twitter.com/GeraldBourguet/status/1109235256375164933

Cam Reddish was a non-factor early with just four points and no field goals. It continued his string of bad performances after averaging 8.0 points in three ACC tournament games.

https://twitter.com/SportsTalkBarry/status/1109236357170454531

Fortunately for the Blue Devils, their defense was on point. They forced eight turnovers in the first half and held the Bison to 2-of-15 from three-point range.

The ACC champions turned things on at the start of the second half, scoring more points in the first nine minutes of the second half (32) than in the first 20 minutes.

This is what makes Duke so dangerous. Even when there is a lull early in the game, Coach K is great at making adjustments during halftime that immediately produce results.

North Dakota State did everything in its power to give Duke a challenge. The Summit League champions landed a couple of solid jabs that stunned Duke.

Eventually, though, the Blue Devils' talent overwhelmed them, and a lot of the shots that Duke missed early started falling. It's why it earned the No. 1 overall seed in this tournament and is favored to cut down the nets in Minneapolis.

         

What's Next?

Duke will take on the winner of VCU-Central Florida in the second round Sunday.

Zion Williamson will be channeling another Duke playmaker during the Blue Devils' first-round NCAA men's basketball tournament Friday.

As Brant Wilkerson-New of the News and Record shared, he wore the "Airplane Mode Engaged" Kyrie Irving 4s against the 16th-seeded North Dakota State Bison:

Zion Williamson breaking out another pair of the custom Kyrie 4 tonight. “Airplane Mode Engaged” on the side, Zion on the midsole. pic.twitter.com/t6SBCtX0AY

— Barnt (@barntwn) March 22, 2019

Any shoe choice from Williamson is sure to make headlines after he suffered a knee injury during a Feb. 20 loss to the North Carolina Tar Heels when his foot burst through the bottom of his Nike Paul George kicks.

He also wore the Kyrie 4s during the ACC tournament:

.@ZionW32 wearing the Nike Kyrie 4 PE tonight in his return. pic.twitter.com/CDrvJxkmcC

— B/R Kicks (@brkicks) March 15, 2019

The Blue Devils are the top seed in the East Region and are looking for the program's first Final Four appearance since 2015.

The first round of the 2019 NCAA tournament is set to get underway on Thursday afternoon, and there is plenty to know as tip-off approaches.

Sixty-four teams will be in action over the course of the first two days, with 32 squads taking the court on both Thursday and Friday. A win in the first round will give teams the opportunity to play for a spot in the Sweet 16 over the weekend.

Below is everything you need to know for the official start of March Madness.

           

Round-of-64 Schedule (all times Eastern)

Thursday, March 21

No. 7 Louisville vs. No. 10 Minnesota, 12:15 p.m. (CBS)

No. 3 LSU vs. No. 14 Yale, 12:40 p.m. (truTV)

No. 5 Auburn vs. No. 12 New Mexico State, 1:30 p.m. (TNT)

No. 4 Florida State vs. No. 13 Vermont, 2 p.m. (TBS)

No. 2 Michigan State vs. No. 15 Bradley, 2:45 p.m. (CBS)

No. 6 Maryland vs. No. 11 Belmont, 3:10 p.m. (truTV)

No. 4 Kansas vs. No. 13 Northeastern, 4 p.m. (TNT)

No. 5 Marquette vs. No. 12 Murray State, 4:30 p.m. (TBS)

No. 7 Nevada vs. No. 10 Florida, 6:50 p.m. (TNT)

No. 2 Kentucky vs. No. 15 Abilene Christian, 7:10 p.m. (CBS)

No. 6 Villanova vs. No. 11 St. Mary's, 7:20 p.m. (TBS)

No. 1 Gonzaga vs. No. 16 Fairleigh Dickinson, 7:27 p.m. (truTV)

No. 2 Michigan vs. No. 15 Montana, 9:20 p.m. (TNT)

No. 7 Wofford vs. No. 10 Seton Hall, 9:40 p.m. (CBS)

No. 3 Purdue vs. No. 14 Old Dominion, 9:50 p.m. (TBS)

No. 8 Syracuse vs. No. 9 Baylor, 9:57 p.m. (truTV)

            

Friday, March 22

No. 7 Cincinnati vs. No. 10 Iowa, 12:15 p.m. (CBS)

No. 8 Ole Miss vs. No. 9 Oklahoma, 12:40 p.m. (truTV)

No. 3 Texas Tech vs. No. 14 Northern Kentucky, 1:30 p.m. (TNT)

No. 4 Kansas State vs. No. 13 UC Irvine, 2 p.m. (TBS)

No. 2 Tennessee vs. No. 15 Colgate, 2:45 p.m. ET (CBS)

No. 1 Virginia vs. No. 16 Gardner-Webb, 3:10 p.m., (truTV)

No. 6 Buffalo vs. No. 11 Arizona State, 4 p.m. (TNT)

No. 5 Wisconsin vs. No. 12 Oregon, 4:30 p.m. (TBS)

No. 8 Utah State vs. No. 9 Washington, 6:50 p.m. (TNT)

No. 1 Duke vs. No. 16 North Dakota State, 7:10 p.m. (CBS)

No. 3 Houston vs. No. 14 Georgia State, 7:20 p.m. (TBS)

No. 5 Mississippi State vs. No. 12 Liberty, 7:27 p.m. (truTV)

No. 1 North Carolina vs. No. 16 Iona, 9:20 p.m. (TNT)

No. 8 VCU vs. No. 9 UCF, 9:40 p.m. (CBS)

No. 6 Iowa State vs. No. 11 Ohio State, 9:50 p.m. (TBS)

No. 4 Virginia Tech vs. No. 13 Saint Louis, 9:57 p.m. (truTV)

            

Odds

🚨 March Madness Title odds are out 🚨 pic.twitter.com/8Pu3xXRS1N

— br_betting (@br_betting) March 17, 2019

The entire field's odds. What longshots do you like? 💰 pic.twitter.com/xWK3iXh6MX

— br_betting (@br_betting) March 18, 2019

It should come as no surprise that the Duke Blue Devils (+190) are the favorite to cut down the nets in Minnesota next month. After all, the No. 1 overall seed went 26-2 (not including the Feb. 20 game against North Carolina) with Zion Williamson.

While Mike Krzyzewski's squad went 3-3 with its star player sidelined by a knee sprain, it won three games in three days upon his return. Williamson was named the 2019 ACC Tournament MVP while averaging 27 points, 10 rebounds and 2.3 steals in Charlotte last weekend.

With a healthy Williamson, the Blue Devils look as dangerous as anyone.

The second-ranked Virginia Cavaliers (+600) enter the tournament with the second-best odds after going 29-3 while earning a share of the ACC regular-season title. Prior to the ACC tournament, their only two losses came to Duke, by a combined 12 points.

Although the Cavaliers have enjoyed plenty of regular-season success under Tony Bennett, they have made it past the Sweet 16 just once since he took over in 2009. They made it to the Elite Eight in 2016, with their last Final Four appearance coming back in 1984.

Of course, it was just last year that Virginia became the first No. 1 seed to lose to a 16th seed.

Fellow top seeds Gonzaga (+650) and North Carolina (+1000) round out the top four favorites. The Bulldogs won the West Coast Conference regular-season title while going 30-3, and the Tar Heels (27-6) were co-ACC regular-season champs, claiming a pair of wins over the archrival Blue Devils.

The first two rounds of the tournament will be played this weekend, with the Sweet 16 (March 28-29) and the Elite Eight (March 30-31) being held the following week.

The 2019 Final Four will take place at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis on April 6. The title game will be played on April 8.

Steve Nash sits down for a 1-1 with his godson to talk Duke ‘brotherhood,’ hatred of losing and his pregame ritual with Zion.