At the top of Duke’s region, that’s an eerie 1 Wichita State (Van Vleet, Baker, Early) vs. 8 Kentucky (Randle, Cauley-Stein, Harrisons) matchup looming.
If we can rationalize giving Duke a non-zero chance of making it to the Elite Eight, then I think Memphis is the team we root for to get a shot at Gonzaga. Memphis is 8th in adjusted overall efficiency over their last 14 games, which is definitely cherry picking their best stretch of the season, but is also very relevant because it’s their latest stretch of the season. They have a player who should decimate Timme based on raw talent and might even embarrass Holmgren with physicality. They’ve stopped playing Bates when he’s hurting them, which is something K has never been able to do consistently with a star freshman. They have viable high volume 3pt threats.
They will lose to Boise State.