No. 3 Seed Duke Opens NCAA Tournament Action Saturday Versus No. 14 Seed Iona

THE OPENING TIP

Following a four-year hiatus, No. 13 Duke returns to the NCAA Tournament, making its 25th overall appearance when the Blue Devils square off against Iona Saturday in a first-round tilt at Cameron Indoor Stadium in Durham, N.C.
Duke enters the NCAA Tournament as the No. 3-seed in the Seattle 4 Region -- it marks the Blue Devils' 19th time overall and first since 2017 as a top-three seed in the tournament.
In their 24 previous appearances, the Blue Devils won at least one game en route to compiling a 58-24 (.707) record. They have advanced to the regional semifinal 17 times, including four trips to the Final Four (1999, 2002, '03, '06).
Duke and Iona meet on the hardwood for just the second time overall, with the first matchup occurring back in 2012 -- a 100-31 victory by Duke. The Blue Devils are 16-1 all-time against current members of the MAAC, including a 3-0 record in the NCAA Tournament.
With the release of the final polls earlier this week, Duke concluded the regular season ranked No. 13 in both the Associated Press (AP) and USA Today Coaches Poll. In the latest NCAA Evaluation Tool (NET) rankings, Duke is slotted 10th (as of March 15).
Celeste Taylor, the ACC Defensive Player of the Year, earned Associated Press (AP) All-America Honorable Mention status and was recently tabbed a finalist for the Naismith Women's Defensive Player of the Year award.
Defense has been the calling card for the Blue Devils this season as the team has won each of its games by an average of 18.8 points and held each of its opponents below their season scoring average, including 16 of them to 50 points or less.
Duke has held its foes to 50.8 points per game on 34.8 percent shooting from the floor, marks that currently rank second and eighth in the NCAA, respectively, as well as first in the ACC (as of March 15).

BALLIN' LIKE ITS MARCH MADNESS

Following a four-year absence, No. 13 Duke returns to the NCAA Tournament. The Blue Devils make their 25th overall appearance Saturday night when they square off against Iona in a first-round tilt at Cameron Indoor Stadium in Durham, N.C.
Having earned one of the top 16 overall seeds, the Blue Devils are set to host first and second-round games in Cameron for the 15th time.
Duke enters the NCAA Tournament as the No. 3-seed in the Seattle 4 Region, marking the Blue Devils' 19th time overall, and first since 2017, as a top-three seed in the tournament.
The Blue Devils are seeded No. 3 for the third time in school lore (1999, 2008) and hold a 7-2 record all-time in this spot.
In their 24 previous appearances, the Blue Devils won at least one tournament game en route to compiling a 58-24 (.707) record -- No. 8 on the NCAA list.
Duke has advanced to the regional semifinal 17 times, including four trips to the Final Four (1999, 2002, '03, '06).
Since 2014, the ACC owns the most NCAA Tournament wins (105) of any conference, with the next closest conference at 86. ACC member institutions have won three NCAA Championships with eight schools combining for 22 trips to the Final Four.

HOME COOKIN' – THE CAMERON EFFECT

Although the first and second round games of the NCAA Tournament are considered neutral site contests, the Blue Devils have fared extremely well at Cameron Indoor Stadium this year.
Duke finished the regular season with a 13-1 record at home, going 8-1 against ACC foes.
The Blue Devils' 13 wins and .929 win percentage at home this season is a team-best dating back to 2017-18 and marks the 23rd time in program lore that Duke has won at least 12 games on its home court.
All-time, the Blue Devils have compiled a 526-145 (.784) record at Cameron Indoor Stadium.

CUT LOOSE, FOOTLOOSE – BREAK IN YOUR DANCING SHOES

The Blue Devils have a rich NCAA Tournament history, however, Saturday's game marks the first appearance in the big dance for the majority of the players on the 2022-23 roster.
The quintet of Elizabeth Balogun, Taya Corosdale, Jordyn Oliver, Reigan Richardson and Celeste Taylor get set to dust off their dancing shoes as the group represents the current Blue Devils who have played in the NCAA Tournament, having gained experience at their previous respective institutions.
The group has compiled a 15-6 (.714) overall record in the big dance, with Corosdale yielding the most experience having played in nine NCAA Tournament games (6-3). Balogun and Taylor both tallied 3-1 records through four tournament games, Oliver was 2-0 and Richardson went 1-1.
Balogun, Corosdale, Oliver and Taylor each assisted their teams to NCAA Elite Eight runs, while Richardson helped lead her squad to the NCAA Second Round.

GAME RECOGNIZE GAME – MORE HONORS FOR AGENT ZERO

The awards continue to roll in for senior Celeste Taylor.
After being crowned the 2023 ACC Defensive Player of the Year and recieving nods to the All-ACC First Team and All-Defensive Team, Taylor earned Associated Press (AP) All-America Honorable Mention status and was recently tabbed a finalist for the Naismith Women's Defensive Player of the Year award.
Taylor has been an instrumental part in helping the Duke women's basketball team boast one of the nation's top defenses throughout the season. She leads the squad in total steals (60) and steals per game (1.9) – both marks that check in at sixth in the ACC. The Blue Devils are currently ranked second in the NCAA in scoring defense (50.8) and eighth in field goal percentage defense (34.8) and have held each of their opponents below its season scoring average, including 16 to 50 points or less.
The Valley Stream, N.Y., product has tallied two-plus steals in 16 games this season, including eight games with three or more thefts and three games with at least five takeaways. Per HerHoopStats, Taylor is 13th nationally in defensive win shares with an average of 2.6 per 40 minutes while her player defensive rating of 73.1 is good for 29th in the country.
On the offensive end, Taylor has been the team's leading scorer throughout the season with an average of 11.5 points, pairing that with 4.6 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game. The engine that makes the Blue Devils go, Taylor has scored in double figures 19 times this season, including two games of 20-plus points.
Earlier this season, she joined the ranks of Chelsea Gray (3X), Haley Gorecki (4X) and Lexie Brown (4X) as the only Duke women's basketball players since 2009-2010 to post multiple career games of 15+ points, 5+ rebounds, 4+ assists, and 4+ steals, according to HerHoopStats.

ABOUT THE GAELS

Champions of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC), Iona enters the NCAA Tournament at 26-6 overall. Iona has won four straight and 20 of its last 21 games.
Picked to finish fifth in the MAAC preseason poll, the Gaels captured both the regular season and tournament titles, most recently defeating Manhattan (73-60) in the MAAC tournament title game.
Tenth-year head coach Billi Chambers has guided Iona to its only two NCAA berths, having previously led the team to its first NCAA Tournament back in 2015-16.
Iona enters NCAA tournament play among the nation's top offenses, ranking 2nd in 3PT FG% (40.1%) and 8th in the NCAA in FG% (47.4%).
The Gaels are led in scoring by Juana Camillion, the reigning MAAC Player and Defensive Player of the Year and Championship MVP, at 14.2 points per game. Ketsia Athias (12.1) and Kate Mager (12.0) average double figures for Iona as well.
Athias also leads the team on the glass (8.3 rpg) and in the assist column (5.0 apg).

DISRUPTING THE PEACE – ELITE BLUE DEVIL DEFENSE

Disruptive defense has been the calling card for the Blue Devils early in the season as the team ranks among the nation's elite, having held its opponents to 50.8 points per game on a 34.8-percent clip from the field.
Those marks check in at second and eighth in the NCAA, respectively, as well as first in the ACC (as of March 15).
Duke is also fourth in Defensive Rating, allowing its opponents just 0.668 points per possession.
The Blue Devils have won each of their games by an average of 18.8 points and held each of their opponents below their season scoring average, including 16 of them to 50 points or less.
Duke held its opponents to single digits in seven straight quarters, a stretch spanning from the 4th quarter at Notre Dame (Feb. 5) all the way through the first half against Miami (Feb. 12).
In addition to leading the league in scoring defense and field goal percentage defense, the Blue Devils are also second in the ACC in blocks (5.19), defensive rebounding percentage (.741) and rebounding defense (31.68), third in rebound margin (6.23) and fourth in three-point defense (.284).

DUKE IN THE NATIONAL RANKINGS

With the release of the final polls earlier this week, Duke concluded the regular season ranked No. 13 in both the Associated Press (AP) and USA Today Coaches Poll.
In the latest NCAA Evaluation Tool (NET) rankings, Duke is slotted 10th (as of March 12), third in the ACC, with a home record of 13-1, a 10-3 mark in true road contests and a 2-2 record in neutral site games.
With an average opponent NET ranking of four, the Blue Devils are 8-6 this season against teams ranked in the top 50 of the NET Rankings and 18-6 against the top 100, including wins over Notre Dame (No. 8), Virginia Tech (No. 9), NC State (No. 17), Louisville (No. 20), FGCU (No. 36) and Miami (No. 50). Duke's six losses have come against UConn, Florida State, North Carolina and Virginia Tech - the first three checking in at No. 2, No. 24 and No. 21, respectively, in the NET.

UP NEXT
Should the Blue Devils win, they will advance to the second round to take on the winner of No. 6-seed Colorado and No. 11-seed Middle Tennessee State on Monday, March 20.

To stay up to date with Duke women's basketball, follow the team on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook by searching "DukeWBB."

#GoDuke

No. 3 Seed Duke Opens NCAA Tournament Action Saturday Versus No. 14 Seed Iona

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Players Mentioned

Elizabeth Balogun

Taya Corosdale

Jordyn Oliver

Reigan Richardson

Celeste Taylor

Duke information

No. 3 Seed Duke Opens NCAA Tournament Action Saturday Versus No. 14 Seed Iona

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Elizabeth Balogun

Taya Corosdale

Jordyn Oliver

Reigan Richardson

Celeste Taylor

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Duke information