The ACC was top-heavy this year. Virginia and North Carolina hogged much of the spotlight and accolades. Duke did have their share of success, but the defending champs haven’t looked very ‘Duke-ish’ at points this season.
The Colonial Athletic Association is usually a single-bid conference in the NCAA Tournament. A few teams from the conference have played Cinderella in the past.
Could UNC-Wilmington wear the glass slipper?
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The Duke Blue Devils are the defending NCAA Tournament champions. There’s a few glaring differences between last year’s team and this year’s squad…Jahlil Okafor, Tyus Jones, Justice Winslow and Amile Jefferson. This year’s team are without four of their best players from the title-winning team. Grayson Allen and Brandon Ingram are really the only two reliable players on Duke. Don’t get me wrong, Duke is a good team, but last year’s team would smoke this team.
The UNC-Wilmington Seahawks are a dangerous double-digit seeded team. Junior wing player Chris Flemmings can shoot the lights out. He’s nearly automatic inside the three-point line and shoots 37% outside of it. The Seahawks do get in foul trouble, but when they are playing well, they smoked the Colonial Athletic Association opposition.
Duke is better than anything the Colonial Athletic Association could throw at UNC-Wilmington, but I smell any upset. Remember when Duke had Jabari Parker and Mercer upset them in the first round? Doesn’t this feel like the same kind of team?
Prediction: #13 UNC-Wilmington Seahawks
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About the Author…
Bobby Roberts (otherwise known as Sweetbob) is the creator of ‘America’s White Boy’ and contributor at Project Shanks. His writing has been featured on ESPN’s ‘SportsNation’, Sports Illustrated’s Hot Clicks, Guyspeed, and various other sites. You can follow him on Twitter at @Sweetbob.