One thing to keep an eye on will be the health of Duke junior wing Wendell Moore Jr., who slipped on the floor and did a full split in Duke’s win over Cal State Fullerton on Friday.
Dive Deeper Into the N.C.A.A. Tournaments
- A Catalyst for Change: A viral video by Oregon’s Sedona Prince led to a gender equity review in college basketball. Did the fixes go far enough?
- Throwback Big Men: In an era that prioritizes 3-pointers, Kentucky’s Oscar Tshiebwe and Illinois’s Kofi Cockburn are reminders of what the game used to be.
- Returning to the Big Stage: After years away from the tournament, these women’s teams made history before taking the floor.
- A Scout at Heart: Omar Minaya, a former Mets general manager, is a proud dad at Providence games. But he’s also watching for pro talent.
“Wendell’s hurt, I hope he’s going to be OK for Sunday,” Krzyzewski said in a television interview. “That floor. It seems like a floor where they play hockey in here. Everybody was slipping. We got to be careful, he may have pinched his hip.”
Purdue vs. Texas | 8:40 p.m. | TNT
Matt Painter against Chris Beard is the coaching undercard to watch.
Purdue’s Painter is regarded as one of the best coaches in the business. But for all his success — four appearances in the final 16 and one in the final eight — he’s never been to a Final Four.
To have a chance this season, he will have to overcome a coach who has had his number in the postseason. Texas’ Beard is 2-0 against Purdue in the tournament. In 2016, Beard led No. 12-seeded Arkansas Little Rock over No. 5-seeded Purdue, 85-83, in double overtime. As the coach of Texas Tech two years later, Beard led the Red Raiders over Purdue, 78-65, to advance to the round of 8.
Beard is 10-3 in the N.C.A.A. tournament, 5-0 in the first round. But now he has to deal with Purdue’s vaunted frontcourt of 7-foot-4 Zach Edey and 6-10 Trevion Williams. Texas will also have to find a way to stay in front of the Boilermakers’ 6-4 star sophomore guard Jaden Ivey, a projected N.B.A. lottery pick who averages 17.6 points, 4.9 rebounds and 3.1 assists.
The Big 12 and Big Ten are off to strong starts.
The Big 12 was a perfect 6-0 through the first two days of the tournament while the Big Ten went 6-3.