NCAA tournament watch: Duke to Columbia seems like a lock. What about North Carolina?
The state of South Carolina knows what it’s like to have two of America’s most popular college basketball teams playing at the same site for the NCAA Tournament.
Duke and North Carolina, on different sides of the bracket, were in Greenville for opening rounds in 2017. While the Tar Heels won both their games, the Blue Devills, of course, were upset by South Carolina.
Two years later, it’s possible Columbia could be hosting the blue-blood programs when the Big Dance hits Colonial Life Arena on March 22-24.
Selection Sunday is March 17.
Below are the latest bracket projections from ESPN’s Joe Lunardi and CBS Sports’ Jerry Palm.
The latest from Joe Lunardi
ESPN’s top bracketologist last updated his bracket Tuesday morning. He has the following games happening in Columbia:
East region
(1) Duke-(16) Sam Houston State
(8) Baylor-(9) Florida
West region
(7) Iowa-(10) Oklahoma
(2) North Carolina-(15) Wright State
Observations: For the first time in at least a month, Lunardi doesn’t have two No. 1 seeds coming to CLA.
Duke’s been solid here all season, but Tennessee, which has lost two of three games, is off the No. 1 line and in Jacksonville as a No. 2. Enter UNC, which had a monster week, knocking off Duke and Florida State by a combined 34 points in a four-day span.
Blue Devil and Tar Heel fans in Columbia for the weekend would be a boon to the local economy.
The latest from Jerry Palm
The top bracketologist from CBS Sports last updated his bracket Monday morning. He has the following matchups happening in Columbia:
East region
(1) Duke vs. (16) St. Francis (PA)-Norfolk State winner
(8) Ole Miss vs. (9) VCU
South region
(1) Virginia vs. (16) Bucknell
(8) TCU vs. (9) Wofford
Observations: Lunardi sent first-seeded Virginia to Columbus, Ohio, for the first two rounds, but Palm has the Cavaliers in CLA for the second time this season.
More momentum for Wofford here. The Terriers made their Top 25 debut Monday and appear likely to stay there through the end of the regular season. They’ll be a dangerous out for any team, particularly a Virginia bunch that famously didn’t make it past last year’s first round.
