The Duke Blue Devils 2016/17 NCAA college basketball season is over following a disappointing effort on Sunday night. The South Carolina Gamecocks defeated The Blue Devils in the East's subregionals by a score of 88-81. In doing so, South Carolina became one of two 7-seeds to advance to the Sweet 16 this year, the other being the Michigan Wolverines. For Duke, the loss follows a season full of unwanted drama.
Grayson Allen is a senior now
Grayson Allen played 33 minutes off of the bench for Duke during the loss, leading his team in scoring with 20 points in 33 minutes.
The former McDonald's All-American, a junior this recently-completed season for Duke, will be remembered for a series of tripping incidents that started last season and continued in the 2016/17 NCAA basketball season. Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski suspended Allen for one game and demoted the junior out of the captaincy role in a much-covered move. Allen, whose spirited play helped the Blue Devils win the 2015 national championship when he was a freshman, will play his next college game as a senior - if he doesn't enter the NBA Draft.
The Gamecocks will next play on Friday in what looks to be an open affair between them and the Baylor Bears. The Bears are a team that has spent some time ranked very highly in the AP Polls this season.
However, the last month of the regular season wasn't perfect for them. A three seed, they'll be looking to redeem themselves by making the Final Four. Following the exit of the Villanova Wildcats, Baylor are the top seed in the East.
UCLA, Kentucky to meet
In another section of the draw the UCLA Bruins and the Kentucky Wildcats each advanced.
The respective 3-seed and 2-seed in the South Region will meet in that region's semifinals on Friday night as well, each school looking for a chance to make it to the Elite Eight. North Carolina loom large in that quarter of the draw and they will face Butler on Friday night.
In the Midwest regional, the Kansas Jayhawks are looming large as potential finalists.
Bill Self's club posted early-round wins with 38 points and 20 points through the first two rounds. They have Purdue up next and a shared draw to the Final Four with both Oregon and Michigan. In the West Region, Gonzaga will face West Virginia on Thursday night while 11th-seeded Xavier will meet Arizona. The Musketeers are the lowest seed remaining in this year's Ncaa Tournament. They've not faced a close game yet, winning their first-round game by 11 and then blowing out the Florida State Seminoles by 35.
Looking ahead to a projected Final Four, most would expect the Kansas Jayhawks to face the North Carolina Tarheels. They are both one seeds, they are both long-term powerhouse programs, and they both have coaches that have won the national championship before. However, few would have seen either Duke or Villanova bounced out of the tournament before the Sweet 16, so there's all to play for in the 2017 version of March Madness.
