Duke's Shocking Win, Top Teams Vulnerable

0:00On March 20, Duke, the number one overall seed in the NCAA tournament, scraped by 16th-seated Sianna 71-65 in the first round. Nobody saw that coming as a nail-biter, especially with a 29-and-a-half-point spread they never touched. Other top teams showed cracks, too. Michigan won by 21, but missed covering against a weaker foe, while St. Louis impressed everyone with a 25-point route of Georgia. It's a buzzing about these vulnerabilities, pointing to injuries hitting Duke hard and exposing some favorites early. Fans expected blowouts from the big names, but the underdogs hung tough. Looking ahead to Saturday's second round, sharp picks include TCU covering a big 11-and-a-half point spread against Duke Houston, rolling Texas A, and M, by 10-and-a-half, and underdogs like VCU and Highpoint keeping gains close. As the bracket shakes out, these matchups promise more surprises from teams refusing to fade away.