Belmont rides 22-game win streak into NCAA game vs. Duke (Mar 15, 2018)
Duke and Belmont don't have a lot in common in their NCAA Tournament histories, but their assignments this week bring about a notable matchup.
Two nationally ranked teams are slated to face off in the first round.
No. 20 Duke and No. 23 Belmont are slotted in the Albany Region. The meeting will take place Saturday morning at Georgia's Stegeman Coliseum in Athens, Ga.
"It's time to turn the corner and have a really fun game that celebrates our talents," Duke coach Joanne P. McCallie said.
Duke (22-8), which holds a No. 5 regional seed, hasn't won a game in more than two weeks, suffering a loss in the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament quarterfinal to North Carolina State in its lone game in that event.
Belmont (31-3), which is the Ohio Valley Conference champion, is the No. 12 seed, marking its highest seeding in program history for the NCAA Tournament in four all-time appearances. This is the third year in a row the Bruins have reached this stage of the season.
"I think it all starts with the toughness and resiliency of our team," first-year Belmont coach Bart Brooks said. "I still don't think this team has played (its) best ball this year and to me that's exciting."
The Bruins are riding a 22-game winning streak, marking a program record and the fourth-longest active string in the country. They haven't lost since suffering a 91-81 home loss to Wright State on Dec. 18, though they needed overtime to conquer Tennessee-Martin in the conference tournament final.
"We've talked about toughness -- toughness and grit has been what we as a team has really focused on," said Belmont senior guard Kylee Smith, a transfer from Vanderbilt.
The Bruins are led by Smith at 18.6 points per game and 3-point shooter Darby Maggard at 16.7.
Duke senior guard Lexie Brown, the ACC Defensive Player of the Year, will be playing in her home state.
"It's really cool to be back in my home state," Brown said. "Athens isn't very far from Atlanta so hopefully I'll be able to get a lot of friends and family there. ... If I'm not in my second home in Cameron (Indoor Stadium), it's nice to go home to Georgia."
Brown and Smith played together on the Amateur Athletic Union circuit.
"She has been one of my best friends since middle school," Brown said. "I don't know too much about Belmont, but I do know a lot about her so hopefully that will be an advantage."
Duke has reached the Sweet 16 in 16 of the past 20 years, though last March it stumbled in a second-round home loss to Oregon.
The next step for Belmont's program would be notching an NCAA Tournament victory.
"I think we can make some noise," Brooks said. "It's the best time of year. You get to play in March. To go play in the NCAA Tournament, there's nothing like it. Now we've got our chance, so see what we do with it."
This will be the first-ever Belmont-Duke matchup. Duke is 3-0 in NCAA Tournament play against members of the Ohio Valley Conference.
The winner of this game takes on the survivor between No. 4 seed Georgia and No. 13 seed Mercer on Monday.
