March Madness tips off on Thursday with the 12th-seeded Oral Roberts University set to face the No. 5 seed Duke Blue Devils as part of the jam-packed schedule in the first round.
Duke makes its 45th appearance in the NCAA Tournament after winning the ACC championship under first-year head coach Jon Scheyer. The Blue Devils have won nine straight games, their third-longest streak entering the tournament (27, 16).
The Blue Devils were led by ACC Rookie of the Year Kyle Filipowski, who averaged 15.4 points and nine rebounds in 34 games. He was named MVP of the ACC Tournament after posting 19.7 points and seven rebounds in three games.
Related: Max Abmas looking to lead Oral Roberts to upset over Duke
Meanwhile, the Golden Eagles (30-4, 18-0) arrive as the champions of the Summit League after finishing the season with the longest winning streak in the country at 17 games. They were the only team to go undefeated in conference play.
Oral Roberts, who advanced to the Sweet 16 in 2021, was led by All-American honorable mention Max Abmas. He finished seventh in the country in scoring, averaging 22.2 points, 4.4 rebounds, four assists and 1.1 steals on 37.7% shooting from 3-point range.
Thursday will mark the first-ever meeting between the two teams.
Here is when you should tune in to watch the game:
- Date: March 16
- Location: Orlando, Florida
- Arena: Amway Center
- Time: 7:10 p.m. EDT
- TV Channel: CBS
Oral Roberts:
- F Connor Vanover (Senior)
- F Carlos Jurgens (Senior)
- G Max Abmas (Senior)
- G Isaac McBride (Junior)
- G Kareem Thompson (Senior)
Duke:
- F Kyle Filipowski (Freshman)
- F Mark Mitchell (Freshman)
- C Dereck Lively II (Freshman)
- G Jeremy Roach (Junior)
- G Tyrese Proctor (Freshman)
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