NCAA March Madness Men’s Selection Show Takeaways: All eyes on Duke’s Flagg

The Duke Blue Devils managed to win the Atlantic Coast Conference title without an injured Cooper Flagg for the final 2 1/2 games of the conference tournament this weekend.

The big question is how healthy the expected No. 1-overall pick in this year’s NBA Draft will be when March Madness gets going.

As expected, Duke was given a No. 1 seed in the national championship tournament on Selection Sunday. The Blue Devils will face the winner of an American-Mount Saint Mary’s play-in game in their tourney opener on Friday in Raleigh, N.C.

No offence to the potential No. 16 seeds, but Duke shouldn’t have a problem winning in its home state against that kind of opposition.

A stiffer test could come Sunday when Duke would face the winner of a game between No. 8 seed Mississippi State and No. 9 seed Baylor. Overall, though, Duke seems to have a favourable path to the Final Four.

Flagg sprained his ankle in Friday’s ACC quarterfinal win over Georgia Tech before sitting out for victories against North Carolina and Louisville. Duke has said the Maine man will be available for the NCAA Tournament.

“From my perspective, it’s full steam ahead. I want to get Coop back as quickly as we can and he wants to do the same,” Duke coach Jon Scheyer told ESPN after the selection show.

“… Our goal is for Friday, no question about it. I know that’s his goal as well. We’re just going to progress in the right way and still be smart about not doing too much in the beginning of the week.”

Toronto Raptors fans probably would love to see a Duke-Baylor game as they get ready for the draft lottery — though the NBA team somehow keeps winning when many feel it would be better to lose. Baylor has a projected top-five pick in Bahamas native VJ Edgecombe.

While Flagg is the headliner, Duke certainly is not a one-man show. Fellow freshmen Kon Knueppel and Khaman Maluach are also often listed in the top-10 of mock drafts.

SEC bonanza

The Southeastern Conference wasn’t content just going into the record book.

The SEC obliterated the record for most teams in March Madness, getting 14 berths in the 68-team event. The previous record was 11 by the Big East in 2011.

Auburn leads the way after getting the No. 1 overall seed in the tournament despite losing to Tennessee in the conference tournament semifinals.

Led by senior forward Johni Broome, who is battling Flagg for player-of-the-year-honours, Auburn tops the South Region.

But the Tigers could play what would essentially be a true road game in their second contest in Lexington, Ky. No. 8 seed Louisville would be the home-state favourite in that clash if the Cardinal beat No. 9 Creighton.

Big-name coaches square off

The committee gave the good people of Providence, R.I. a treat.

The New England site hosts a juicy contest between Bill Self and No. 7 Kansas and John Calipari and No. 10 Arkansas in a West Region tourney opener.

The winner of that game could face Rick Pitino and No. 2 St. John’s if the Big East champs get by No. 15 Omaha.

Pitino, in his second year guiding a hometown school, and Calipari, in his first season at Arkansas after a long run at Kentucky, are both former coaches of the Wildcats. Pitino, of course, exited Louisville in 2017 after a scandal-filled tenure, and then had to build himself back up.

Can UConn rediscover tourney magic?

It would take several massive upsets for UConn to three-peat at March Madness.

Dan Hurley’s Huskies got a No. 8 seed in the East and will open against a No. 9 Oklahoma team featuring a top NBA prospect in point guard Jeremiah Fears.

A win there likely would pit UConn against top-seeded Florida, which won the SEC tourney on Sunday.

Just one team has won three national titles in a row — John Wooden and UCLA seven-peated from 1967-73.

UConn finished third in the Big East this season.

D2 to the show

Two of the more popular underdog teams will have a Division II flavour.

UC San Diego won the Big West tournament this year in its first year of March Madness eligibility. The Tritons earned a No. 12 seed in the South and have an intriguing matchup with Big Ten tourney champion Michigan to kick things off.

UC San Diego carries a national-active-best 15-game win streak into the contest.

Michigan is a good story, too, rising up in a big way under first-year coach Dusty May after the Juwan Howard era flamed out. May guided Florida Atlantic to a shocking Final Four appearance in 2023.

Meanwhile, the Drake Bulldogs (30-3) are a No. 11 seed in the West and open against No. 6 Missouri.

Drake coach Ben McCollum spent the past 15 years running a wildly successful Division II program at Northwest Missouri State. He brought four key rotation players with him to Drake. All told, seven of Drake’s top nine players were not in Division I last season.

Canadian corner

The Midwest Region is the most interesting from a Canadian perspective.

NCAA assist leader Ryan Nembhard of Aurora, Ont. will lead No. 8 Gonzaga against No. 9 Georgia in an all-Bulldog battle. The winner figures to face No. 1 Houston in the second game. Gonzaga is going to its 26th straight NCAA Tournament (second to Michigan State’s 27) and has made the Sweet 16 the past nine times.

Nembhard is the younger brother of Indiana Pacers guard and former Gonzaga star Andrew Nembhard.

Elsewhere, first-round NBA Draft prospect Will Riley of Kitchener, Ont., is a key member of No. 6 Illinois. That team’s first matchup will be a tough one against the winner of a play-in game between Texas and Xavier.

Illinois (Lithuanian point guard Kasparas Jakucionis) and Texas (guard Tre Johnson) both have draft lottery prospects.

After a slow start to the year, Riley has elevated his game in recent weeks. The six-foot-eight freshman has scored in double figures in 12 of the past 13 games.

Another interesting Canadian is Kyler Filewich. The Winnipeg-born centre started shooting underhanded free throws for Wofford during the season because of his struggles at the line.

While his free-throw percentage remains a work in progress, Filewich does plenty of good things on the court. He was named MVP of the Southern Conference tournament, sending Wofford to March Madness as a No. 15 seed. The Terriers face No. 2 Tennessee in their opener.

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