Re-ranking 2nd Round

[BFieldHusky]

10. UConn

(UCLA is ranked 24).

Men's March Madness 2026: Ranking the remaining 32 teams

And then there were just 32. How do these teams stack up against each other after surviving the first round?

www.espn.com

 

[UCFan1513]

Yeah I stopped reading after I saw Duke was number 2. Think the writer was gagging as he wrote that one?

 

[nelsonmuntz]

ESPN has given up any pretense of objectivity and now simply promotes the conferences it is affiliated with.

 

[Platt81]

“but they didn't get through the first round with the same excellence as the other contenders.” about UConn while #2 in their rankings had a 6 point game. Move along.

 

[RuffRuff]

Yeah I stopped reading after I saw Duke was number 2. Think the writer was gagging as he wrote that one?

What number should they be? I'd have them third. AZ, Mich, Duke, Houston, Florida - the rest

 

[UCFan1513]

What number should they be? I'd have them third. AZ, Mich, Duke, Houston, Florida - the rest

Article was written before the second round started. Should have at least been below Arizona, Michigan and Florida, Houston too

 

[Scottzer]

What number should they be? I'd have them third. AZ, Mich, Duke, Houston, Florida - the rest

When a 1 seed plays that bad - they don’t typically make a big run. This year’s Duke is a metrics darling. They are not what their Kenpom numbers reflect. If St. John’s gets past Kansas, I’d pick that upset.

 

[RuffRuff]

When a 1 seed plays that bad - they don’t typically make a big run. This year’s Duke is a metrics darling. They are not what their Kenpom numbers reflect. If St. John’s gets past Kansas, I’d pick that upset.

They were missing their 5. He’s back. Worth considering. Where would we be without Tarris? They beat what many see as the darling in Michigan.

 

[LStudfellow]

Duke getting Ngongba back was important for them, sure. But many of you on here are not including the fact that their starting point guard, Caleb Foster, is still out. Obviously it did not matter yesterday, but if they get St. John's in the Sweet 16 and Foster can't play, that will be a huge negative for them against St. John's pressure defense.

Look at us without Demary. Even with his recent stretch of up and down play, we all know we are better off with him in the lineup tonight against UCLA and going forward than without him.

If you don't realize the importance of Foster to the Dukies from this point forward, you are either not paying attention or just willfully ignorant.

 

[RuffRuff]

Duke getting Ngongba back was important for them, sure. But many of you on here are not including the fact that their starting point guard, Caleb Foster, is still out. Obviously it did not matter yesterday, but if they get St. John's in the Sweet 16 and Foster can't play, that will be a huge negative for them against St. John's pressure defense.

Look at us without Demary. Even with his recent stretch of up and down play, we all know we are better off with him in the lineup tonight against UCLA and going forward than without him.

If you don't realize the importance of Foster to the Dukies from this point forward, you are either not paying attention or just willfully ignorant.

He's definitely important, especially against StJ as there is no doubt Pitino will be salivating at applying the press. Not sure little Boozer is a huge drop off from Foster, but it does kill their depth.

 

[boog204]

When a 1 seed plays that bad - they don’t typically make a big run. This year’s Duke is a metrics darling. They are not what their Kenpom numbers reflect. If St. John’s gets past Kansas, I’d pick that upset.

If the refs do their job, I think St John’s will beat them. Duke is a soft team and TCU took them completely out of their game with physicality and defense. St. John’s is on another level with that.

 

[Scottzer]

Duke getting Ngongba back was important for them, sure. But many of you on here are not including the fact that their starting point guard, Caleb Foster, is still out. Obviously it did not matter yesterday, but if they get St. John's in the Sweet 16 and Foster can't play, that will be a huge negative for them against St. John's pressure defense.

Look at us without Demary. Even with his recent stretch of up and down play, we all know we are better off with him in the lineup tonight against UCLA and going forward than without him.

If you don't realize the importance of Foster to the Dukies from this point forward, you are either not paying attention or just willfully ignorant.

From a depth perspective, sure. But I don’t see the drop off of Foster to Cayden a loser like we have with Silas to Mali. And I love Mali.

Let me put it this way - Ngongba and Foster never look like Duke’s best player. A lot of games, Silas does for us.