Duke basketball routs Cinderella hopeful behind record breaking performance
The clock has struck midnight for hopeful Cinderella James Madison as the Duke basketball team emphatically sent the Dukes packing, 93-55.
Jared McCain hit a 3-pointer on the first possession of the game and the tone was immediately set. He would hit six 3-pointers in the first half, breaking the program record for most triples made in an NCAA Tournament game as a freshman.
He would surpass Quinn Cook’s record for most 3-pointers made in an NCAA Tournament game quickly in the second half, finishing with 30 points on 10-of-15 shooting, making 8-of-11 attempts from 3-point range.
The Blue Devils never trailed in the game and it wasn’t just McCain who was scorching for Duke. Three other players reached at least 14 points, including 18 points from Tyrese Proctor.
Duke shot 52.4-percent (33-of-63) from the field and 50-percent (14-of-28) from 3-point range.
There were some injury concerns for the Blue Devils throughout the game as Jeremy Roach appeared to dislocate his finger and be in a great amount of pain on the bench. He returned to the game and finished with 15 points and six assists.
Jaylen Blakes took a scary fall in the second half on a Flagrant 1 foul that sent him back to the locker room and, despite not coming back into the game, he returned to the bench.
Kyle Filipowski did not make a field goal in the Blue Devils’ Round of 64 matchup against Vermont but added 14 points, four rebounds, and five assists to the winning cause.
The Blue Devils advance to the Sweet 16 for the first time under head coach Jon Scheyer and will play either No. 1 seed Houston or No. 9 seed Texas A&M on Friday in Dallas, Texas.
A tipoff time will be released late Sunday night by the NCAA.