Updated March Madness bracket after No. 11 Duquesne upsets No. 6 BYU
By Mark Powell
The Duquesne Dukes have moved on to the Round of 32 in the NCAA Tournament. March Madness is set to be head coach Keith Dambrot's last run with the Dukes, as he will retire to spend more time with his wife, who has cancer.
Duquesne made their first March Madness tournament since 1977 after defeating the VCU Rams. Dambrot also coached LeBron James in high school during his time in the Akron area, which should explain tweets like this shortly after Duquesne's first-round win.
James also gifted the Dukes pairs of sneakers for every player on the team. It was a nice gesture prior to their tournament run, and Duquesne used that inspiration to spur an upset on Thursday.
Dae Dae Grant led the Dukes in scoring with 19 points, while Jakub Necas and Kareem Rozier had 12 and 11 points respectively. Duquesne's crushing defense, which has been a focal point for them all season, came up huge, holding the BYU Cougars to just 67 points.
Updated March Madness bracket after Duquesne upsets BYU
Duquesne advances to the Round of 32 to face the winner of Illinois and Moorhead State. ESPN's matchup predictor gives Illinois a 90 percent chance of winning, but either team would present a significant threat to the Dukes. Duquesne is a defensively-focus team, but have struggled to score of late.
Illinois won their conference tournament against Wisconsin, scoring 98 points in the semifinals against Nebraska and 93 points in the final. In fact, Illinois hasn't scored less than 70 points since a Jan. 14 loss against Maryland in conference play.
Moorhead State, meanwhile, is a bit of the opposite, with a hectic style of defensive play that can throw even the most offensively-sound opponent into complete chaos. The Eagles are led by Riley Minix, who averaged 20.8 points per game and nearly 10 rebounds per game during the regular season.
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