Beats' picks: Will Duke ladies' basketball advance past Iona in home NCAA tournament matchup?
On Saturday night, Duke makes its re-visitation to the NCAA tournament with a Series of 64 matchups at home against No. 14-seed Iona. Before hinting at 9:30 p.m.,
The Narrative's beat authors foresee whether the Blue Demons' season will stretch to Monday.
Leah Boyd: 60-42 Duke
Lona didn't play a best-25 group the entire season, so its profoundly promoted scoring guard and 3-point rates aren't persuading enough for me to allow it an opportunity here.
Join that with the way that this is the Gaels' most memorable NCAA tournament appearance starting around 2016,
and I don't think they are ready for a matchup with Duke in such a high-stakes climate. On the opposite end,
I'm hopeful that Duke has been tidying up in all-out attack mode end throughout recent weeks, as Mia Heide said Sunday.
Franck Djidjeu: 64-51 Duke
Lona is perhaps of the most sweltering group in the nation, winning 20 of 21 in the wake of going 6-5 to begin the season.
What makes the Gaels risky is their capacity to shoot lights out with amazing productivity.
They are second in the country in the 3-point rate at 40.1% and top-10 in field objective rate at 47.4%.
On the off chance that Duke comes in without energy, Iona could really make the host group pay. Be that as it may, the Gaels have not seen a group with Duke's degree of force.
I accept that the Blue Villains will remove Iona's shooting and feed off the home group for success.
Dom Fenoglio: 61-48 Duke
The Blue Demons, who are falling off a fourteen-day rest, are needing hostile achievement. In its last 10 games, Duke has scored in excess of 60 focuses just two times.
Lona might come in areas of strength for out, the absence of involvement among the Blue Villains might mean something bad on offense.
Be that as it may, eventually, Duke will ride a home group to its best hostile presentation since a
77-62 triumph against N.C. State Feb. 23 and get comfortable heading into the subsequent round.
Martin Heintzelman: 53-43 Duke
Lona has not confronted a Power Five group this year, and this will probably be a severe shock for the Gaels.
Significantly other ACC groups have on occasion attempted to adapt to what has been a smothering Blue Demon safeguard,
so an Iona crew that has not seen a lot of in that frame of mind of positioned rivalry will battle massively in all-out attack mode end of the floor.
Lona's scoring protection has fared generally well this season, so search for this to be a low-scoring game with Duke coming out easily on top.
Ranjan Jindal: 61-47 Duke
This is an interesting first-round matchup as a result of the guarded capacities present. Both Iona and Duke are top-15 broadly in scoring guard,
and this is prepared to be a low-scoring fight. In spite of not positioning exceptionally obnoxiously, the Gaels have the second-best 3-point rate in the nation,
so it will be fundamental for the Blue Demons to restrict these valuable open doors. All things considered,
Iona's degree of rivalry has been substandard compared to Duke's, and I accept that Lawson will have the offense prepared after a shoddy ACC tournament.
This might be close at first, however, the Blue Demons ought to pull away in the final quarter.
Garrett Spooner: 68-46 Duke
In what is Lawson's most memorable NCAA tournament game as a lead trainer,
the Blue Demons will probably be started up before what ought to be a noisy Cameron Indoor Arena swarm.
Lona surrenders simply 54.4 focuses per game, yet Duke's scoring skill is not normal for whatever other group that Iona has looked at in the MAAC.
On the opposite side, Duke has been world-class protectively throughout the year. In any case,
26 successes isn't a mishap and assuming the Blue Demons ignore this Gaels' group, they will get scorched.
Maybe Iona keeps the game close going into the subsequent quarter, however, Lawson's crew will have enough to progress.
Mackenzie Sheehy: 57-51 Duke
Lawson's NCAA tournament debut as a mentor is ready to be a full-scale cautious matchup. Positioned thirteenth in the country for scoring guard,
the Gaels have held their adversaries to a normal of 54.4 focuses per game while likewise procuring the second-best 3-point rate in Division I.
That being said, Iona has not run over a rival of Duke's type this season. The Blue Villains' full-court pressure has placed even the best offenses in a dilemma,
and the Gaels will probably battle to assemble any genuine dangers. With the thunder of the Cameron Insane people on their side,
Duke ought to exploit the advantage of home to take out the triumph.