This week marks the start of March Madness, the NCAA Tournament that is annually filled with major programs falling to mid-major universities that are unknown to the masses. While teams like Florida Gulf Coast running to the Elite Eight is exceedingly rare, there are typically double-digit seeds that make impressive progress.
Sports World News guide to March Madness Bracket games
At Sports World News, we will profile the potential bracket busters this year, so that you know what you're getting into when you plug in your Cinderellas. First up, the No. 14 seed in the Midwest region, the Mercer Bears.
Mercer (26-8, 14-4 Atlantic Sun) Key victories: Seton Hall, Ole Miss, Florida Gulf Coast (2x)
The Bears defeated last season's darlings at Florida Gulf Coast, but might make their own noise this season. They're matched up with the No. 3 Duke Blue Devils and star freshman Jabari Parker, but they bring a lot to the table that the average fan is unaware of.
For starters, this team is Top 25 in the nation in points per game, putting up 79.3 per contest, while nailing 47.5 percent of their shots (No. 29 in the nation). They score efficiently, and are not reliant on any single player to do it all.
Their leader is senior guard Langston Hall, who posted team highs in points per game (14.7) and assists (5.6); he was the only Bear to average double-figures in scoring. Four other players score either eight or nine points a game though, and Mercer is a squad full of veterans.
The Bears' top five players in terms of minutes per game are all seniors, none of whom shoot less than 36 percent from behind the three-point line. They also have a senior big man by the name of Daniel Coursey who stands at 6-foot-10 and pulls down a team-high 6.6 rebounds per game. Coursey could give the undersized Blue Devils fits inside. He shoots 57 percent from the field, and also patrols the paint effectively with 2.1 blocks a night.
The Atlantic Sun conference isn't a powerhouse, but they beat Florida Gulf Coast twice, knocked off Seton Hall in overtime and defeated Ole Miss. They have been tested against other elite teams in losses as well, dropping a nail-biter to Texas and falling to Oklahoma, a No. 5 seed.
Should Duke be worried?
Mercer has a ton of senior leadership and a balanced approach that can be a real problem if shots are falling early. The Blue Devils are susceptible to off nights from the outside because of their lack of interior scoring, so an upset would not be super surprising.
At the end of the day though, Parker seems to have figured out the value of attacking the rack as opposed to settling for jumpers. He is a 19-point, nearly nine-rebound per game player who is a lock lottery pick, so don't get too crazy. Mercer should put up a fight but expect Duke to advance.
Duke will face Mercer on Friday at 12:15 p.m. ET.
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