James Madison had their way in the opening round against Wisconsin. The Badgers failed to challenge the Dukes at the onset, and never got into a flow offensively. That will change today against a Duke team that is going to make James Madison work for their shots. Take Duke as they played two strong halves of basketball defensively.

I think the Dukes are live to win outright and certainly a strong play on a three-possession spread. JMU may be undersized, but they overcame those weaknesses against Wisconsin and can do it again against Duke. This is a group that’s playing with a ton of confidence as they dispel the notion that a schedule strength rating should downgrade a team that has won 32 games this season.

My simulations make JMU just +4 in this matchup with Duke. JMU is strong enough on the offensive glass and scoring in transition with their tempo. With the crowd definitely leaning towards the Duke's I think this number is a little short here. Take the +7.5

I'm banking on another hot start from JMU, coming out with entergy and tempo and strutting their athleticism against Duke. They out a lethargic Wisconsin team on its heels early; Dukes were 63rd in nation in KenPom (5th highest of all remaining tourney teams as I type this) tempo and Duke 236th. JMU knows how to finish games, the crowd will be with them again and I see them relishing this challenge and trying to make the Dukies play their game rather than cowering or panicking. They can keep this close and I will be sprinkling just a lil on the ML.