Who? The Blue Devils of Duke.
What? They're named for hardcore French soldiers.
Where? Durham, North Carolina, one of the vertices of the Research Triangle.
When? March 18th, in Nashville, Tennessee.
How? They were an at-large selection.
Partner: Samford, of the Southern Conference.
Surprise? No; the regular-season champions of the ACC do tend to make the field.
RPI: 6
SOS: 10
Record: 24-5 (15-1 ACC)
Good wins: Maryland
Bad wins: North Carolina State in Greensboro.
Who's running this show? Joanne P. McCallie, since 2007. Coach P for short. Duke likes letters, don't they?
If this team could have kept its roster together, they might have had a better chance. But injuries and suspensions have left them at partial strength. Powerful freshman center Elizabeth Williams leads the way with 14.3 points, 8.3 rebounds, and 3.8 blocks per game. Something tells me, though, that all eyes will end up on sophomore point guard Chelsea Gray, who averages just over six assists per game and has Duke fans raving about her ability to find the open player.