March Madness Begins
Men’s and Women’s basketball teams both start the road to the Final Four today
Duke fans are ready!
Men
The No. 4 seed in the South region, Duke is 119-40 (.748) all-time in the NCAA Tournament, marking the best winning percentage in tournament history by a team with a minimum of 20 games played. Duke's 119 wins are also third-most in the event's history.
Friday marks the fourth all-time meeting between Duke and Vermont, but the first matchup in the NCAA Tournament. The Blue Devils hold a 3-0 edge in the series, most recently winning, 91-90, on Nov. 24, 2013. The Catamounts are coming off their third consecutive America East Tournament title and are making their 10th appearance in the NCAA Tournament, where they hold a 2-9 all-time record.
Women
Making its 26th all-time appearance and second straight under head coach Kara Lawson, the Duke women's basketball team earned the No. 7 seed in the Portland 3 Region. With a 59-25 (.702) all-time record in the NCAA Tournament, the Duke women enter with a 20-11 overall record this season that includes four wins over ranked opponents. The Blue Devils posted the ACC's top defense for the second consecutive season as they led the league in scoring defense (57.5), field goal percentage defense (.359) and blocks while also ranking in the top 5 nationally in the latter.
In their 25 previous appearances, the Blue Devils have won at least one tournament game en route to compiling a 59-25 (.702) record -- No. 8 on the NCAA list. Duke's 59 NCAA Tournament wins are also tied for sixth all-time.
Richmond comes into the game at the regions No. 10 seed. Champions of the Atlantic 10 Conference, Richmond captured the conference's automatic bid via a 65-51 victory over Rhode Island in the A-10 title game.
It’s not just basketball seeing big games. Fencing and swimming and diving teams are also in NCAA championship action this weekend. Spring sports are also in action, and baseball, ranked #9 in the country, travels to Raleigh to play a three-game series against N.C. State.