After a boring first round and an exciting round of 32, we’re through the first weekend of March Madness. Here’s a rundown of four major storylines that jumped out at me and the numbers behind them:
Happy trails, Duke
That Duke’s run as the No. 2-seed in the East would ultimately end against No. 7 South Carolina, was undoubtedly surprising. But the way it lost wasn’t. Duke struggled this season to pressure opposing guards into turnovers and is not a strong rebounding team. Against the Gamecocks, Duke lost the turnover battle 18-11, and the Blue Devils were outrebounded 37-34, grabbing a measly 62 percent of the rebounds available on defense.