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Duke Basketball: What Blue Devils fans should look for in the First Four

By Kevin Connelly

DAYTON, OH - MARCH 15: Rashaun Madison #3 of the North Carolina Central Eagles dribbles the ball in the first half against the UC Davis Aggies during the First Four game in the 2017 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at UD Arena on March 15, 2017 in Dayton, Ohio. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)
DAYTON, OH - MARCH 15: Rashaun Madison #3 of the North Carolina Central Eagles dribbles the ball in the first half against the UC Davis Aggies during the First Four game in the 2017 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at UD Arena on March 15, 2017 in Dayton, Ohio. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /
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The Duke Basketball team will face the winner of the First Four game between North Carolina Central and North Dakota State and fans should know a little bit about both teams before tipoff.

The Duke Blue Devils are the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament, but Duke is still waiting to find out who its first opponent will be.

Duke will play the winner of North Carolina Central and North Dakota State on Friday night at approximately 7:10pm ET in South Carolina, but N.C. Central and North Dakota State first will play tonight in the First Four around 6:40pm ET.

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The North Carolina Central Eagles won the MEAC Tournament as the No. 3 seed, defeating Delaware State, North Carolina A&T, and Norfolk State en route to the championship.

With a 18-15 overall record and 10-6 in conference play, not including the conference tournament, the Eagles were led by Raasean Davis and Jibri Blount.

Davis led the way with 14.6 points and 8.9 rebounds, while Blount averaged 10.5 points and 4.5 rebounds on the season.

North Dakota State was another No. 3 seed that made a run to the championship in its conference tournament.

Defeating Oral Roberts, Western Illinois, and Omaha, the NDSU Bison earned the automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

Like N.C. Central, the Bison also finished with a 18-15 overall record but a 9-7 conference record, not including the conference tournament.

Unlike the Eagles, the Bison are very guard oriented as Vinnie Shahid and Tyson Ward have led the way this season.

Shahid is averaging a team high 12.8 points and 2.7 assists, while also grabbing 3.0 rebounds per game. Tyson Ward is also averaging double figure on the season with 12.3 points, but is the teams leading rebounder at 6.3 rebounds per game and barley trials Shahid in assists, averaging 2.3 assist per game.

The Bison and the Eagles will tipoff at approximately 6:40pm ET from Dayton, Ohio in the First Four on truTV, with the winner going to play the Duke Blue Devils on Friday night in Columbia, South Carolina.

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