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Golden Lions await in NCAA tip-off

Joe Drews
March 19, 2010
Michael Naclerio

Since the NCAA Tournament expanded to 64 teams in 1985, No. 1 seeds are a perfect 102-0 in the first round.

Don’t tell that to Duke.

Two years after the Blue Devils were a Gerald Henderson layup away from losing to No. 15 Belmont in the first round, Duke is not about to overlook No. 16 Arkansas-Pine Bluff in Friday night’s opening contest, which tips at 7:25 p.m. in Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena.

Blue Devils look to step up defense against Penn State

Chris Cusack
March 19, 2010
Samantha Sheft

Duke looks to take another step towards correcting a disappointing start to its season Saturday afternoon against Penn State (0-5) at Koskinen Stadium. With difficult home losses to No. 3 Notre Dame and No. 4 North Carolina, the No. 10 Blue Devils (3-3) have yet to put the pieces together that earned them the preseason No. 2 ranking.

Defense, role players drive Duke rout in 1st Round

Scott Rich
March 19, 2010

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Duke wasn't the home team in Jacksonville Friday night, but if more Cameron Crazies had ventured to Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena for the first round of the NCAA Tournament, a chorus of "Airball!" would have likely serenaded No. 16 seed Arkansas-Pine Bluff (18-16) for most of the contest.

Indeed, a stifling Blue Devil defense, along with timely contributions from role players, facilitated a 73-44 blowout victory by the No. 1 seed Blue Devils (30-5) in their opening game as a part of March Madness.

Expansion in sports not always a bright idea

Two Chronicle columnists debate the merits of expanding the Tournament to 96 teams
Will Flaherty
March 18, 2010
Will Flaherty

Just as Bud Selig, David Stern and Gary Bettman would gladly attest, expansion in sports is not always a bright idea.

Expansion could soon come to yet another one of America’s most cherished sports entities—the NCAA Tournament. Proposals to expand its current field of 65 teams to 96 entrants have garnered significant praise from those in the basketball world, including Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski.

Expanding NCAA Tournament not a bad idea

Two Chronicle columnists debate the merits of expanding the Tournament to 96 teams
Andy Moore
March 18, 2010
Andy Moore

Expanding the NCAA Tournament to 96 teams is not a bad idea.   

This is not a very popular opinion. The tournament, as it is, is an institution, as American as fast food, Chevrolet and Vegas. Millions of people, from the west coast to the east, fill out their brackets every March, while billions of dollars are lost from the economy due to the subsequent decrease in worker productivity.

Cunha seals upset of USC

Stuart Price
March 18, 2010
Special

It all came down to No. 1 singles. With the team score tied at 3-3, Duke freshman Henrique Cunha calmly disposed of the top-ranked singles player in the country, Southern California’s Steve Johnson, 6-4, 7-6 (7-4) to propel the Blue Devils (6-5) to a crucial 4-3 victory over the third-ranked Trojans (13-2). Cunha’s gritty performance allowed him to overcome a 3-2 second-set deficit and finish off Johnson in front of a large crowd at Ambler Tennis Stadium, which included his own personal cheering section.    

Forget the “eye test”: Duke’s got a shot at NCAA glory

Alex Fanaroff
March 18, 2010
Ian Soileau

While in the line to get into the Duke-Carolina game, I had a conversation with a group of grad students about Duke’s chances to win the NCAA Tournament. Since I’m a sports columnist for The Chronicle (and Coach K had just called me out in front the entire student body), they asked me how I thought Duke would do in the postseason. When I told them that I’d give Duke a 40 percent chance to reach the Final Four and a 10 percent chance to win the entire thing, they told me I was crazy.  

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  1. Golden Lions await in NCAA tip-off

  2. Defense, role players drive Duke rout in 1st Round

  3. Blue Devils look to step up defense against Penn State

  4. Q & A with Jamal Boykin

  5. Expansion in sports not always a bright idea