2023 March Madness 1st round bracket breakdown: East Region
No. 5 Duke vs. No. 12 Oral Roberts
The No. 5 versus No. 12 matchup has historically produced upsets in the NCAA Tournament, and the East Region鈥檚 game in this spot should be a good one. A lot of fans will remember Oral Roberts for shocking the world as a No. 15 seed two years ago when they beat two-seeded Ohio State and later took down No. 7 seed Florida to reach the Sweet 16. That team was led by guard Max Abmas who has starred again this season, averaging 22.2 points as the Summit League Player of the Year. The 30-4 Golden Eagles have also gotten consistent production from senior guards Carlos Jurgens and Kareem Thompson, as well as transfer guard Issac McBride. Another reason the Golden Eagles have won 17 in a row is their 7-foot-5 center, Connor Vanover, who averages nearly 13 points, 7.2 rebounds and 3.3 blocks.
Oral Roberts would be a more popular upset pick in the tournament if they hadn鈥檛 drawn Duke, who has really come on late in the season. The Blue Devils didn鈥檛 get a ton of love early on, but they quietly were strong all year, going 26-8 and boasting a perfect record at Cameron Indoor. Duke has lost just two games since late January, both road contests against Miami and Virginia. The Blue Devils avenged those losses by beating both the Hurricanes and Cavaliers last weekend to win the ACC Tournament. As usual, Duke features plenty of talent headlined by 7-foot center Kyle Filipowski who averages 15.4 points and nine rebounds, as well as junior guard Jeremy Roach who scores over 13 points per contest. Oral Roberts will give Duke all it can handle and could pull off an upset here, but it鈥檚 tough to pick against a hot Blue Devils squad.
FLIP STEAL & SCORE鈥硷笍 TO 鈿旓笍.
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— Duke Men鈥檚 Basketball (@DukeMBB)