What happened in the NCAA Men's Tournament second round

Upset chance: 21.1 percent

Spread: Duke favored by 7.5 points

James Madison entered its game against Wisconsin riding the nation’s longest winning streak. But questions remained, given the weakness of their schedule. As we wrote in our first-round preview, outside of their season-opening win at Michigan State, the Dukes played just two games against teams ranked in the top 100 at KenPom.com. Both were losses to Appalachian State.

But that’s less of a concern after watching James Madison control the game against the Badgers. Now, we can focus even more intently on their outstanding statistical profile. The Dukes own edges over their opponents in every key giant-killing category: offensive rebounds, turnovers and three-pointers.

That last category will be particularly important in this matchup. James Madison holds teams to 28.8 percent shooting from beyond the arc. But the Blue Devils knock down 37.6 percent of their 3s. Will James Madison double Kyle Filipowski in the post like Vermont did and try to close out on Duke’s shooters (and hope they miss)? Will they try to choke off the perimeter and live with Filipowski trying to finish inside? It will be an interesting strategic decision.

Losing Caleb Foster has hurt Duke more than many experts have acknowledged — they now have hardly any perimeter depth and barely any scoring off the bench. But Duke’s defense looked connected against Vermont, and if the Blue Devils can cut off James Madison’s transition offense and force them to score in the half court, they can author a repeat performance.

One other factor to watch: James Madison’s perimeter pressure. Duke is typically a low-turnover team. But so was Wisconsin, and the Badgers turned the ball over 19 times in their first-round loss. James Madison gets after it on defense and will challenge Duke’s ball-handlers, especially without Foster.

Team in 16 words: JMU has a veteran-laden squad with offensive weapons all over.

Record: 32-3 (15-3 Sun Belt)

Coach: Mark Byington (1-0 in NCAA Tournament)

Player to watch: Terrence Edwards Jr. (Sun Belt Player of the Year)

Strengths: Three players averaged double digits, led by Sun Belt Conference Player of the Year Terrence Edwards Jr., who scored a conference-high 17.4 points per game. They also have the Sun Belt Newcomer of the Year in T.J. Bickerstaff (Bernie’s grandson and J.B.’s nephew), who averaged 13.4 points and 8.5 rebounds a game. And there is a lot of green on their Bart Torvik profile. The Dukes are shooting 36.5 percent from behind the arc. They are deep and they pose a threat from anywhere on the floor.

Weaknesses: This season JMU played like Superman…and Appalachian State was the big block of kryptonite. The Mountaineers beat the Dukes twice. Luckily for JMU, App State was defeated before a potential third meeting in the conference tournament — and that opened up a relatively easy path to the automatic bid for the Dukes. It’s still a red flag on JMU’s resume because the NCAA Tournament is filled with teams better than App State, even if the Dukes have a win at Michigan State on their resume.

Purdue's 106-point outburst against Utah State is the second-highest scoring game of this year's NCAA Tournament. Alabama scored 109 in a 109-96 win over Charleston on Friday.

Both pale in comparison to the NCAA Tournament record of 149, scored by Loyola Marymount in a 149-115 win over Michigan in 1990.

Team in 16 words: Jon Scheyer has enough talent and experience in year two to make a Final Four run.

Record: 25-8 (15-5 ACC)

Coach: Jon Scheyer (2-1 in NCAA Tournament)

Player to watch: Kyle Filipowski (first-team All-ACC)

Strengths: Duke has weapons. Kyle Filipowski is one of the best frontcourt players in the country and is versatile in how he can score. Freshman Jared McCain can take over a game, Jeremy Roach is an experienced guard capable of going for 20 and even Tyrese Proctor — who has been disappointing — is more than capable. Then add Mark Mitchell as a glue guy who defends, rebounds and can score when necessary. There aren’t too many teams capable of matching this starting group, especially talent-wise.

Weaknesses: The Blue Devils just don’t have a big-time defensive presence in the middle, as was the case a year ago with Dereck Lively II, and it makes them suspect when it comes to rim protection. Teams will go at Filipowski — who can be exposed on that end of the court. Proctor has also been ordinary for much of the season when the hope was he would turn into an All-American candidate.

Outlook: There aren’t many teams in the country that can match Duke’s overall talent and experience. Scheyer has a couple of likely first-round picks in Filipowski and Proctor, and McCain has shown he can carry the team if necessary from a scoring standpoint. Roach is a veteran capable of making big shots, and Mitchell has had his moments.

—Jeff Goodman

The Utah State season ends with an emphatic loss to a No. 1 seed and title contender, but losing to Purdue shouldn't and will not diminish what the Aggies achieved in their first year under head coach Danny Sprinkle. Remember: Sprinkle inherited zero players that scored a single point from last year's roster, brought in 13 newcomers from all over the country and world and led the Aggies to 28 wins and the program's first outright Mountain West Conference regular-season title since the university joined the conference in 2013.

Now comes the hard part. Logan has been a bit of a coaching carousel in the last five years. Utah State has made the NCAA Tournament three times in the last four years under three head coaches. Craig Smith was hired at Utah, his successor Ryan Odom was hired at VCU, and now with so many desirable major jobs open, you'd imagine Sprinkle will garner interest. Such is life as a traditionally good mid-major.

INDIANAPOLIS - As the Purdue bus followed its three motorcycle police escorts down South Street en route to Gainbridge Fieldhouse, it happened upon the intersection with Maryland Street. One policeman dashed ahead and gave two buses waiting to make the turn the stiff arm, putting his hand up to signal that the buses wait to allow the Boilermakers to continue ahead.

The first bus belonged to the Utah State band, the second to the basketball team. Never has there been a more apt metaphor. Purdue stopped the Aggies dead in their tracks, delivering a second-round humiliation that felt personal. Not, mind you, against Utah State. Despite Matt Painter’s end of pregame speech to “shove it down their throat," the intended receivers were not the overmatched team from Logan, Utah; it was against everyone and anyone who has considered the Boilermakers not worthy, not real, not good enough.

This was an exorcism and a statement, Purdue gifting its happy fans with a 106-67 parting gift as it heads to Detroit for a Sweet 16 date with Gonzaga.

The Boilermakers knew they had to win their first-round game; they also knew that once they did, the goalposts would move again. Now it’s about proving that Purdue isn’t somehow fatally flawed, that its style of play can survive this three-weekend tournament. The answer came at about the eight-minute mark of the first half, Purdue turning an uncomfortable 25-24 game into a rout that ended with the scrubs in the game, swishing threes like the starters, Lance Jones’ pointing to the scoreboard as he exited the game, and Zach Edey chilling on the bench with a towel around his neck. The box score read like a near work of art, the Boilermakers dishing 29 assists on 37 made field goals, mixing up 11 3-pointers with 44 points in the paint, following Painter’s constant harping to crash the boards to the tune of a 49-26 advantage. Four players finished in double figures, including, of course, Edey.

Much to the consternation of the Utah State fan who, from a safe zone of 30 feet and a table away, screamed over and over again that Edey is soft, the Big Maple finished with 23 points, 14 rebounds, three blocks and three assists. He sent Utah State’s two big men to the bench with two fouls early and treated the rest of the Aggies like Godzilla used to treat the airplanes in those old black-and-white movies.

This, of course, will not be enough either. The Boilers have reached the Sweet 16 six times under Painter and have but one Elite Eight to show for it (albeit an epic regional final loss to Virginia in 2019). There’s only one final destination for Purdue and that’s Phoenix, the site of the Final Four.

But perhaps this will question at least some who think if they’ve got the engine to get there.

INDIANAPOLIS — When Marquette’s players convened for their first prep meeting last Monday after the NCAA Tournament draw had been announced, it wasn’t a surprise to them that coach Shaka Smart immediately turned on some game film. Instead of scouting first-round opponent Western Kentucky, however, Smart had a different team in mind. Because to move forward, he figured Marquette first needed to look back.

What the Golden Eagles watched were the final three minutes and 36 seconds of their second-round NCAA Tournament game a year ago, when they were a No. 2 seed against No. 7 seed Michigan State and trailed by a point. Rather than meeting the moment, Marquette wilted. Players relived it all, some pointing out on film just how antsy everyone on the team looked in what would become a nine-point loss. The message was clear.

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Purdue has 98 points (and a 38-point lead at 98-60), and it feels like it could score 120 in this game if it wanted to. The Boilermakers’ offense has been tremendous in this win over Utah State.

Purdue is shooting 57.4 percent from the floor 52.4 percent on 3-pointers (with 11 makes) and 81 percent from the free-throw line (17-of-21). It has 27 assists (Utah State has eight) and 40 points in the paint and has led by as many as 41 points.

INDIANAPOLIS - Back before Villanova won two national titles and its coach waltzed into the Hall of Fame, Villanova carried the tag around as the overrated regular-season team that couldn’t get out of the first round. It was true. The Wildcats went five consecutive years stuck in the first weekend.

And then in 2016, they went out and smoked UNC-Asheville by 30 in the first round and Iowa by 19 in the second. This feels like that, except meaner. Purdue is up 79-46. There’s still 10 minutes to play.

Utah State might want to ask for a running clock.

Purdue looks exactly like what a No. 1 seed should look like in the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament. The Boilermakers have a 64-39 lead over Utah State with 15:24 left, and it’s going to take a miracle (or an epic collapse) for the Aggies to get back in this game.

And Zach Edey hasn’t even scored this half (he’s stuck on 21 points). Trey Kaufman-Renn is up to 16 points on 7-of-10 shooting.

Zach Edey is usually the show for No. 1 seed Purdue, and that certainly has been the case in the first half against Utah State. Purdue’s big man already has a double-double with 21 points and 11 rebounds as Purdue leads 49-33 at the half.

Purdue is shooting 51.5 percent from the floor, while Utah State is just 36.4 percent (12-of-33). The Boilermakers are 12-of-14 from the free-throw line, while the Aggies are just 4-of-7.

Purdue has the advantage in rebounds (24-14), points in the paint (24-8) and second-chance points (12-3).

INDIANAPOLIS - It got chaotic. It got physical, and it quickly got away from Utah State. Purdue did what Purdue does best: turned Zach Edey into an unsolvable problem. Down two of their biggest players, both Isaac Johnson and Kalifa Sakho saddled with foul trouble, the Aggies tried to triple-team Edey, so he kicked it out; they left him single covered, he scored or got fouled.

Edey went to the locker room with 21 points, 11 rebounds, seven free throws made, 10 free throws attempted, three assists and, thanks to a dagger banked 3-piinter from Lance Jones at the buzzer, a 49-33 lead.

Utah State looked up for the challenge early, down just 25-24 when Purdue point guard Braden Smith got whistled for his second foul. What seemed like a trouble spot for Purdue instead turned into the (potentially) end of the Aggies. Utah State missed its next 12 shots, a six-minute scoring drought that included a lot of bad ideas. Like, for example, trying to drive at Edey or shoot threes when he wasn’t in the game.

With its history, Purdue isn’t likely to get comfortable with any lead, but it would seem the Boilermakers are in control.

INDIANAPOLIS - Smart timeout there by Danny Sprinkle. The game is threatening to get off the rails here in a hurry for Utah State. The Aggies haven’t scored in more than four minutes, and are playing wildly out of control. Along with thinking that driving at Zach Edey is a good idea (it’s not), Great Osobor apparently thinks you can make like a running back and just start running with the ball.

Between the crowd and the Boilers’ physicality, it’s easy to get caught up in the mayhem. Utah State can’t if it wants to stay in this.

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