Vermont gets the regional location they want in Brooklyn, NY and will face off against Duke on Friday. A thirteen seed is a good seed for Vermont and it is always fun to get a game where the fans can travel. Matchups are always tough when you are the huge underdog and this one is no different. Duke is a elite offensive team who does not beat themselves. They are one of the best shooting teams in the country, particularly from three where they finished at close to 38% (15th in the country). They don't put their opponents on the line and are very good at taking care of the basketball. I will say, this is a fun one for me because the very first month of writing this blog I traveled down to Cameron indoor stadium to watch the last Duke/Vermont matchup and had the greatest live college basketball watching experience of my life in the Cats thrilling 91-90 loss. So maybe the magic will repeat itself? Will it be a tall task to pull the upset? Absolutely! Will that make it any less fun? No way! How can they do it? Making shots and flexing their muscle on the defensive side of the ball. I can't wait to watch them let it fly on Friday!
I will dig into the nitty gritty and post a more in depth preview before the game on Friday. Man this is going to be fun.
Link to the write up from the last Duke matchup here: Duke/Vermont 2013
P.S. As far as bracket predictions go this is ideal for me becasue as a Duke hater I have a rule that I never advance the Blue Devils out of the second round on principle, so this makes it easy for me this year to pick them to lose in the first round! Let's go Cats!!