The first weekend of this NCAA tournament had generally been lacking in the upsets and nail-biters that we’ve grown accustomed to with March Madness.
Sunday’s second-round game between No. 1 Duke and No. 9 seed UCF delivered beyond any reasonable expectation.
The buildup to the game was all about Zion Williamson going up against the 7-foot-6 Tacko Fall, and for much of the game, Williamson couldn’t score directly on Fall. It wasn’t until Duke found itself down three points with 14 seconds remaining when Williamson got the better of the one-on-one matchup.
Williamson finished a layup through contact to bring Duke within a point and fouled out Fall in the process. With Zion at the line, the 64 percent free-throw shooter was bailed out by a put-back layup from R.J. Barrett after a miss to give Duke the lead.
That set up the wild, most nerve-wracking finish of this tournament. Both B.J. Taylor and Aubrey Dawkins, who had 32 points, had opportunities to win before the buzzer. The ball just wouldn’t go in.
"DUKE SURVIVES, JUST BARELY!" https://t.co/qRD5piOeGG—
CBS Sports (@CBSSports) March 24, 2019
Here’s another look. Dawkins’ tip-in attempt seemed to balance on the rim before dropping off. Duke was that close to having its promising season end in the first weekend. Instead, Duke won, 77-76.
That ending predictably had college basketball fans freaking out.
