BROOKLYN, N.Y. (Courtesy of JMU Athletics) – Jared McCain set a Duke program record with eight 3-pointers in an NCAA postseason game as James Madison fell 93-55 in the Second Round of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship on Sunday evening at Barclays Center.
No. 4 seed Duke improved to 26-8 and advances to Dallas for the South Region semifinal to face the winner of Sunday night’s game matching No. 1 Houston vs. No. 9 Texas A&M in Memphis. No. 12 seed JMU concludes its historic season with a school record for wins at 32-4, having reached the NCAA Second Round for the fourth time in program history.
McCain’s 30 points were the most against JMU in an NCAA game. He went 8-for-11 from the arc, including hitting his first six tries in the first half. His eight treys were second most by a freshman in NCAA history. As a team, Duke struck for a season high with 14 made threes on 52 percent shooting from outside.
JMU was led by Terrence Edwards Jr. with 13 points while TJ Bickerstaff added 11 and five rebounds.
Duke shot 52% for the game compared to 38% for JMU. The Blue Devils made 10 more 3-pointers than JMU (14-4) and cashed in on a 24-4 advantage on points off turnovers.
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Half
- Duke used long-range shooting and an advantage in rebounds and second-chance points to build a 47-25 halftime lead.
- Jared McCain was 6-for-6 from long range until his first miss with 14 seconds left in the period. He tallied 22 points in the half for the Blue Devils, the most in the first half by any player thus far in the NCAA Championship.
- TJ Bickerstaff had seven points to lead JMU in the first half.
- Overall, Duke was 8-for-18 on 3-pointers compared to 1-for-6 for JMU, a 21-point advantage.
- Duke led on the glass 21-13 in the opening period with seven offensive boards leading to a 13-3 advantage on second-chance points.
- Terrence Edwards, Jr. quickly drew two fouls in the first two minutes, and Duke grabbed the momentum to charge out to a 15-5 lead as McCain made three treys in the first five minutes.
- The Blue Devils continued building the lead, forcing a JMU timeout after hitting 6-of-10 treys to go up 24-9 at the 11:46 mark.
Second Half
- Edwards posted a quick eight points in the first five and a half minutes of the second half to try to get JMU going.
- JMU cut the deficit to 22 points on a few occasions but could never mount a significant run.
- The final margin of 38 points was Dukes’ largest lead of the game.
GAME NOTES
- JMU fell to 5-6 all-time in the NCAA Championship.
- JMU and Duke met for the first time in men’s basketball.
- It was JMU’s third NCAA game vs. an ACC opponent with losses to UNC in 1982 and 1983.
- JMU had the nation’s longest winning streak snapped at 14 games as the Dukes had not lost since January 27. It was the second 14-game streak of the season for the Dukes, matching the school record.
- It was the 1,600th game in JMU men’s basketball history.
- The 14 made 3-pointers by Duke were the most by a JMU opponent this season with a previous high of 11 in the second game of the season at Kent State.
- McCain’s 30 points were the most ever against JMU in an NCAA Tournament game, topping 22 by Eric Floyd for Georgetown in 1981. McCain tied that mark with 22 in the first half.
- JMU entered the game ranked No. 2 nationally in 3-point percentage defense before Duke hit 50% (14-for-28).
- Two days after turnovers were a key in the win over Wisconsin with 19 forced turnovers, Duke committed just six against JMU.
- Edwards climbed into a tie for 10th on JMU’s all-time scoring list with 1,414, matching Julius Wells (2008-12).
- Noah Freidel climbed into eighth in JMU season history with 81 made 3-pointers.
- With three made free throws, Edwards added to his JMU season record, finishing with 166.
- Bickerstaff became the first JMU player ever to surpass 300 rebounds in a season, finishing with 302.
- Edwards, Freidel, and Julien Wooden each matched the school record with 36 games started in a season, matching Pierre Curtis. Eight players also moved into a tie for games played in school history, matching Curtis and Wells.