A Quick Look At Duke And Troy In The NCAA Tournament
GREENVILLE, S.C. (AP) — No. 2 Duke (27-8) vs. No. 15 Troy (22-10)
First round, East region; Greenville, South Carolina; 7:20 p.m.
BOTTOM LINE: Duke is loaded with experience — four players were part of the national championship team two years ago — while Troy had six straight losing seasons before winning the Sun Belt Tournament title and qualifying for its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2003.
QUITE A PERSON: Wesley Person Jr. was the Sun Belt Conference Tournament's most outstanding player, making 12 of 14 3-pointers in his team's first two games. His father, Wesley, was an All-American and former NBA first-round pick out of Auburn. The younger Person's uncle, Chuck Person, is a former two-time all-American at Auburn who is an assistant coach at his alma mater.
STRONG FRESHMAN: Duke's Jayson Tatum has averaged 16.9 points and 7.3 rebounds this season. He could become just the third freshman to average at least 15 points and seven boards in a season for coach Mike Krzyzewski. The other two are Jalil Okafor and Jabari Parker.
DID YOU KNOW: The Blue Devils have had their up and downs in the past few NCAA Tournament openers. Duke lost to Lehigh in the first round in 2012, then to Mercer in an opening round two years later. Of course, in 2015, it blew out Robert Morris on the way to its fifth national title.
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