After a wild day of buzzer-beaters, lead changes, and overtimes, the NCAA Tournament will resume today at 12:15 p.m. ET when No. 3 Duke takes on No. 14 Mercer on CBS, in a game that can be live streamed for free here. Duke fans can listen to the game on 620 The Buzz AM, while Mercer fans may do the same on Peach 96.5 FM.
The Duke Blue Devils enter play as a heavy favorite, featuring the best freshman in the country statistically in Jabari Parker, and a slew of guards that can all go off for 20 points at the drop of a hat. The Mercer Bears are no joke offensively either, though, especially star guard Langston Hall who averages 14.7 points, 5.6 assists and 3.1 rebounds a game.
The Bears are a senior-laden team, with threats on the outside like Hall, and on the inside like Daniel Coursey. At six feet, 10 inches and 220 lbs., Coursey's 9.9 points and 6.6 rebounds per game are scary for Duke, which is extremely thin on the interior. He's a 57 percent shooter down low, and Duke must find a way to handle him.
Duke guard Rodney Hood is keenly aware of this threat most are seeing, and said the Blue Devils are "treating it like our last game, because if we lose, it is." The star power is with Duke, but the Bears think their leadership and experience can help them make a similar run to their Atlantic Sun brothers Florida Gulf Coast.
"Obviously, most of the mid majors aren't going to get too many top-50 recruits that are just planning on going to the NBA after one year, so I think that's a big benefit to us," Mercer guard Bud Thomas said. They are the only team in the country to start five seniors at every position in every game.
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