NCAA Tournament West Region Third Round
#1 Duke Blue Devils vs #8 Michigan Wolverines
Time Warner Cable Arena, Charlotte, NC
Sunday, March 20, 2011, 2:45 pm Eastern, TV: CBS
Opening Line: Duke -11 1/2
Current Line: Duke -11 1/2
Opening Total: 135
Current Total 136
Money Line: Duke -800 / Michigan +600
On Friday, Duke destroyed Hampton 87-45. Not really a surprise as Duke is supposed to beat Hampton easily. however, the big news out of that game was the return of freshman point guard Kyrie Irving for the Blue Devils. Irving had been out since early December with what is basically turf toe. Duke Coach Mike Krzyzewski said he would play limited minutes off the bench. He played 20 minutes and scored 14 points to lead the Blue Devils in scoring. If Duke can get that kind of production from Irving then they will be a prohibitive favorite to repeat as national champions. Next up for the #1 seed Duke Blue Devils is #8 Michigan. The Wolverines routed Tennessee 75-45 Friday. Michigan was only up by 4 points at halftime, but out scored Tennessee 42-16 in the second half. Duke is 31-4 overall and came in second in the ACC a game behind North Carolina. Duke has won 4 in a row since losing at Carolina the last night of the season, including winning the ACC championship game also against North Carolina. Michigan is 21-13 and finished in a four way tie for fourth in the Big Ten with a 9-9 record.
Duke leads the overall series against Michigan 19-8, including 2-0 in the NCAA Tournament. The two teams played twice in the 2008 season, and split the two games. Duke won a neutral site game at Madison Square Garden and Michigan won in Ann Arbor. Michigan was 7-8 against teams that qualified for the tournament this year. Duke was 10-3 versus tournament teams. Michigan is 23-6 ATS in their last 29 as an underdog. They are also 19-7 ATS in their last 26 against teams with winning records.
The Wolverines are healthy right now and have no significant injuries listed. Michigan is outscoring opponents 66-62 on the season. The Wolverines are very young as they have 3 freshmen in their starting line-up and only one senior on the entire roster. The Wolverines are shooting 44.7% from the field and 35.2% from 3-point range. Michigan opponents are shooting 42.7% from the field. Michigan makes 69.5% of their free throws. The Wolverines average 32.1 rebounds a game and have a rebounding margin of -1.5. They average 13.7 assists and 10.1 turnovers a game. Michigan forces 11.7 turnovers a game on defense. Michigan averages 4.7 steals and 2 blocks a game. Sophomore guard Darius Morris leads the team in scoring with 15 points, assists with 6.7 a game and steals with 1 a game. He also averages 4 rebounds a game. Freshman guard Tim Hardaway Jr. is reminding people of his famous father with his play this year. Hardaway is averaging 13.8 points, 3.8 rebounds, 1.7 assists a game and 0.9 steals a game. Jordan Morgan averages 9.2 points and 5.5 rebounds a game. Zach Novak is scoring 8.9 points and leads the team in rebounding with 5.8 a game and 1.6 assists a game.
Duke has no significant injuries right now. Duke has two other players besides Irving who are averaging double digit scoring. Senior guard Nolan Smith is averaging 20.9 points to lead the team, 4.5 rebounds, 5.3 assists to lead the team, and 1.3 steals a game. Smith is the ACC player of the year. Guard Kyrie Irving averages 17 points, 3.8 rebounds, 4.7 assists, and 1.6 steals a game to lead the team. Forward Kyle Singler is averaging 17 points, 6.8 rebounds, 1.6 assists, and 0.9 steals a game. Guard Seth Curry averages 9.5 points, 1.9 rebounds, 2 assists, and 1.5 steals a game. He also shoot 44.8% from 3 point range. Guard Andre Dawkins averages 8.1 points and 1.9 rebounds a game. Mason Plumlee leads the team in rebounds with 8.4 a game and blocks with 1.6 a game. Duke is outscoring opponents 81-64 on the season. The Blue Devils are shooting 47.5% from the field and 38.1% from 3-point range. Duke opponents are shooting 39.8% from the field. Duke makes 75.2% of their free throws. The Blue Devils average 37.2 rebounds a game and have a rebounding margin of +2.9. The Devils average 14.1 assists and 11.7 turnovers a game. Duke forces 14.7 turnovers a game on defense. Duke averages 4.2 blocks and 7.3 steals a game.
Michigan has really over achieved this year. They were supposed to be at least a year away from being a great team. However, they got hot down the stretch and won 9 of their last 12 games to qualify for this game. Irving is getting back into game shape and Duke will keep getting better as he improves.
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