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TEXAS VS DUKE

2ND ROUND NCAA TOURNEY - 2009

Bet Jamaica Line Duke -7.5 O/U 139

The first round of the most popular basketball tournament in the country is over and there were a couple of surprises, but the majority teams that were favored to win advanced to the next round. 

No team in the ACC in the NCAA tournament had a better opening game then the North Carolina Tar Heels. Not like the Tar Heels weren’t expected to destroy the 16 seed Radford team, but with superstar guard Ty Lawson missing in action most people weren’t sure what kind of team we would see on the floor. Despite not having their floor general running the show against Radford, the Tar Heels dominated as usual and have coasted into the second round of the tournament. 

As for the second seed out of ACC, the Duke Blue Devils didn’t exactly destroy their opponent like the Tar Heels did, but it was a pretty convincing 24 point victory over the lowly Binghamton Bearcats. Duke is obvious no longer in the league of North Carolina or any of the number seeds in the tournament, but with Coach K calling the shots the Blue Devils are always a dangerous team in the tournament. 

It may have been a fairly easy first round victory for Coach K and company, but they will face their first real challenge in the Big Dance against the seven seed Texas Longhorns out of the Big 12 in round two. The Big 12 conference may have not been as competitive as say the ACC or the Big East, but with Oklahoma, Kansas and Missouri constantly testing the Texas the Longhorns will be ready for this battle with Duke. 

The season looked pretty promising for the Longhorns earlier in the year, but they kind of struggled as the season progressed with a few good wins and few bad losses which cost them a legit chance of winning the Big 12 down the stretch. 

Although the Longhorns aren’t the team they were in the beginning of the season they still came out and played well against Minnesota in the first round which resulted in a 14 point win.  

Duke will without a doubt be favored to advance to the Sweet 16, but don’t count the Longhorns out as they could definitely pull off the upset and send the Blue Devils home early for the second season in a row. Texas will put up a good fight in this game with the upset possibility being pretty strong here, but with Coach K possibly on the hot seat with another early exit in the Big Dance expect the Blue Devils to be on top of their game. 

Anything can happen in the NCAA tournament, that is why the call it March Madness, because the upsets and Cinderella stories aren’t uncommon, but Coach K will not want his name floating around in the offseason for being on his way out. That fact alone is enough to make me think that Duke will be extremely motivated to reach the Sweet 16 this time around. 

The Sweet 16 is another story altogether because I think Duke will not be able to UCLA or Villanova, but I fully expect to at least reach the Sweet 16.