Picture courtesy of JMU Athletics Communications
By Bennett Conlin
JMU males's basketball dominated Wisconsin on Friday evening, edging the Badgers 71-62. The Dukes' win strikes them into the spherical of 16 within the NCAA Match for the primary time since 1983.
Mark Byington's staff will enter Sunday's matchup with Duke — kicking off at 5:15 pm ET in Brooklyn — with a 32-Three document. The Dukes now have an ideal 2-Zero document towards Massive Ten groups, beating each Michigan State and Wisconsin this season.
Friday's win was arguably JMU's greatest displaying of the season and was definitely the Dukes' greatest defensive effort of the season. JMU shut down one of many nation's best offenses, forcing Wisconsin to a game-high 19 turnovers. The Badgers averaged simply Zero.84 factors per possession, turning the ball over on 26 p.c of their possessions.
Terrence Edwards led JMU with 14 factors, whereas Julien Wood and TJ Bickerstaff every had 12. Michael Inexperienced III added 11 and Noah Freidel chipped in with eight factors.
It wasn't an ideal offensive displaying — JMU drained 29 p.c from Three — however the Dukes did lots defensively to overwhelm a very good staff. A boisterous group of JMU followers in attendance helped propel the Dukes to victory as they clearly fed off their environment.
Showdown with Duke
Now, JMU is one win away from the Candy 16.
Duke is a greater staff than Wisconsin, however the Blue Devils are not any world beaters. The Blue Devils are Four-Three of their final seven video games, going 2-Three towards KenPom's high 100 groups. The Dukes are ranked 57th within the newest KenPom rankings.
The Blue Devils outlasted Vermont within the first spherical of the match, successful 64-47 after main by simply 5 factors at halftime.
Kyle Filipowski scored simply three factors within the recreation however added 12 rebounds. The seven-footer is a gifted Three-point shooter and a beast on the low block. He's an NBA participant and maybe Duke's largest mismatch.
The Blue Devils are very gifted at guard, with Jeremy Roach, Tyrese Proctor and Jared McCain among the many high guards. Duke has NBA-level expertise all through its roster, one thing the Dukes lack.
Duke is wholesome on each ends, however the Blue Devils are additionally very younger outdoors of Roach. KenPom says Duke's D1 expertise ranks 205th nationally, whereas JMU is 12th within the nation for D1 recreation expertise on its record.
The Blue Devils don't have a ton of depth both, as JMU is older and deeper. If the Dukes shoot the ball higher from past the arc – 20% gained't lower it – JMU can completely win this recreation.
JMU might not have the identical degree of particular person expertise as Duke, however the Dukes play exceptionally effectively as a staff. They’ve items that work effectively collectively, and guys like Edwards, Freidel and others have the power to play professionally in some capability, whether or not it's within the NBA or abroad.
Sunday's recreation must be a aggressive battle between two superb groups. Shut up.
Editor's Word: Because of Christopher William Jewelers for his or her promoting assist this season.