The No. 2 Duke Blue Devils will take on the No. 7 South Carolina Gamecocks in East Region action on Sunday in Greenville, South Carolina.
Heading into the 2017 NCAA Tournament, the Duke Blue Devils were labeled the team to beat. Last year, that title was held by the Michigan State Spartans, who would go on to lose in the first round to Middle Tennessee State. Well, the Blue Devils survived their first round matchup against Troy, and will now head to the Round of 32 to take on the No. 7 South Carolina Gamecocks.
The Gamecocks come into Sunday’s game flying high, winning the first NCAA Tournament game in the last 44 years for the program. The Gamecocks made easy work of No. 10 Marquette, beating them by 20 points. Sunday’s game against Duke will be played inside the Bon Secours Wellness Arena in Greenville, South Carolina, so there should be plenty of Gamecocks’ fans in attendance.
Duke is going to be a tall order for the Gamecocks, as they come into this game fresh off a win in the ACC Tournament title game. Jayson Tatum was a man amongst boys against Troy in the first round, pulling down 12 rebounds to go along with 18 points. He should fair just as well against South Carolina, who are just not talented enough to stay in the gym with Duke for 40 minutes.
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South Carolina is pretty good at covering the perimeter, which could make life hard for the likes of Grayson Allen and Luke Kennard. Still, outside of Sindarius Thornwell, the Gamecocks do not have the kind of scorer who will be able to consistently beat the Blue Devils defense.
Here is how to watch all of the action online.
Date: Sunday, March 19
Time: 8:40 p.m. ET
Location: Greenville, South Carolina
Venue: Bon Secours Wellness Arena
TV Info: TNT
Live Stream: March Madness Live, FuboTV
Next: All live stream info in one place
Duke looks like a team to beat in this tournament, and they should be able to take care of the Gamecocks despite playing in their home state. Luke Kennard should be able to get it going in the second round, and Grayson Allen will be tough to guard in this one. Look for South Carolina to hang in early, but Duke to pull away in the second half.