USA TODAY Sports
The Duke Blue Devils will open their NCAA Tournament on Friday at 12:15 p.m. ET, when they take on the America East champion Albany Great Danes. The Blue Devils are coming off a disappointing ACC Tournament showing, where they lost their opener to Maryland.
Friday's NCAA Tournament action will kick-off with a big game in the Midwest Region, when the No. 2 seeded Duke Blue Devils take on the No. 15 seed Albany Great Danes at 12:15 p.m. ET in Philadelphia. It will be the Blue Devils' game since an opening round ACC Tournament loss last Friday.
For Duke to have better success in the NCAA's, they will need better production from forward Ryan Kelly than they got against the Terrapins. In their loss to Maryland Kelly shot just 3 for 11 from the field and finished with just eight points, after averaging over 14 a game during the regular season. Should Kelly's slump continue, look for fellow seniors Mason Plumlee and Seth Curry (who combined to score 34 points a game this season) to pick up the slack.
Meanwhile, for Albany (24-10, 9-7 in America East) to keep things close, they'll rely on guard Mike Black. The senior from Chicago averaged just under 15 points a game this season, and it was his game-high 14 points which helped lead the Great Danes to an America East Championship Game victory over Vermont.
The winner of this game will face the winner of the Midwest's No. 7 vs. No. 10 match-up between Creighton and Cincinnati on Sunday.
Game time, TV: 12:15 p.m. ET, CBS
Location: Well Fargo Center, Philadelphia, Pa.
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