Dorothée Durivage ’28 and Pippa Jones ’28

by Dorothée Durivage ’28 and Pippa Jones ’28 on March 19, 2026

Arizona

With March Madness approaching, there is a big debate over who will win the 2026 NCAA Division I men’s basketball tournament due to the many highly competitive conferences. While the University of Florida won the tournament in 2025, the University of Connecticut won the title consecutively in 2023 and 2024. This year, the University of Arizona is projected to earn a No. 1 seed and is a reliable team to bet on to win the title. As a team, Arizona has proven to be strong, given that they finished No. 1 in the Big 12, one of the most competitive conferences in the NCAA. Arizona managed to pull out some of the biggest victories this season with its wins over Iowa State University and its championship win against the University of Houston. Arizona managed to break Iowa State’s three-game winning streak, which shifted expectations for Iowa State fans. While many trusted Iowa State to be a top contender, this result proved Arizona’s strength as a team and emphasized their capability to apply their skills under high pressure. Furthermore, this specific game shows that Arizona actually thrives under pressure—a skill that most NCAA teams lack, especially in a highly competitive tournament such as March Madness. In a post-game interview, head coach Tommy Lloyd emphasized that the team often practices situations where the players need to figure out what to do on their own. With this  skill under their belts, Arizona’s team can persevere in tight situations. This season, Arizona had to deal with illness and injuries, which would seemingly be a setback, but allowed the team to evolve overall and become stronger without some of their best players, thus making them a more well-rounded team overall. Arizona’s record this season was 32-2, earning them a No. 1 seed in a West region that contains many other top teams such as Michigan State University, Gonzaga University, and Purdue University.”One of Arizona’s top players, Jaden Bradley, was named Big 12 Player of the Year, further elevating the program. He also had the first Big 12 buzzer-beater against Iowa State since 2015. Coach Lloyd often boasts about Bradley’s capabilities to lead the team, and his sacrificial actions allow Lloyd to be confident in Bradley’s performance. With the Big 12 Player of the Year award on Bradley’s back, he is sure to continue proving himself as a successful leader in the tournament while guiding his teammates through the pressure of being a top seed. While Duke University is another team projected to win, Arizona competed in one of, if not the most competitive, NCAA basketball conferences and won the entire tournament. With that being said, both teams are likely to go far in the tournament, but Duke is at a disadvantage due to Arizona’s consistency of performing  in the tournament. There is a lot riding on Arizona to succeed in this tournament, but as the results show, diamonds are made under pressure, and Arizona doesn’t break.
– Pippa Jones ’28
Sports Staff

Duke

With a nearly perfect record this season of 32–2, the No. 1 Duke University Blue Devils are well-positioned to take home the championship trophy for the sixth time in school history. This could mark their first March Madness win since their Hall of Fame coach, Mike Krzyzewski, retired and was replaced by head coach Jon Scheyer. Scheyer has two national championship titles under his belt; one in 2010 as a player at Duke, where he was a guard under Coach Krzyzewski and another in 2015 when he returned to Duke as assistant coach. With experience both on the court and on the sideline, Scheyer knows how to lead his team to a win. Over this past season, Duke has had success both offensively and defensively. Offensively, the team stands at No. 1 in the country in point differential, where they averaged 19.1 points more than their opponents per game. Moreover, they also excelled defensively. The Blue Devils stand at No. 3 in terms of points allowed, where, on average, they allowed the other team to score only 63.1 points per game. These two aspects have contributed to their high number of wins and show how well-rounded the team is. Duke has talented players all over the court, especially when it comes to the freshmen Boozer twins, Patrick Ngongba II, and Isaiah Evans. Cameron Boozer leads the Blue Devils with 765 points this season, averaging 22.5 points per game, which places him No. 10 in the country. Cameron Boozer also leads the team in rebounds, averaging 10.2 rebounds per game, while his twin brother, Cayden Boozer, has been a key distributor and often plays an important role in his brother’s scoring. Evans and Ngongba are both sophomore players who were with Duke last season when the team made it to the Final Four.  
– Dorothée Durivage ’28
Sports Staff