Jared McCain has exceeded expectations time and time again this season. He quickly established himself as one of Duke's best players early on, and the freshman Blue Devil hasn't looked back since. He had seven regular-season games with 20 or more points and established himself as a big-game performer with 35 points at Florida State last month. He made 8 of 11 attempts from beyond the arc while playing in all but one minute of game action.
McCain continued this trend in his biggest game to date, the Round of 32 against James Madison University. He again made 8 of 11 shots from deep and grabbed 5 rebounds along the way to reach 30 points. He did most of his work in the first half, making six treys and scoring 22 points as the Blue Devils ran away with it early. His shot-making was pure, including some difficult, highly contested makes. He also made some smart plays out of the pick-and-roll. If this game had been a close one, McCain would have had a chance to do even better, but as it stands, he gave Duke everything it needed to earn an easy ticket to the Sweet 16.
McCain's draft stock is currently undecided, but he's already in top-20 territory in many mock drafts. This is a bit higher than his preseason status as a fringe first-rounder. He's almost a possibility at the top of the draft class, and a big push through the remainder of the tournament would certainly pave the way for McCain to contend for lottery status.
Moving on to the Sweet 16, the Blue Devils will travel to Dallas this Friday night to take on the top-seeded Houston Cougars. Each impending match in this tournament is the biggest of McCain's career and his biggest opportunity to strengthen his draft stock in front of everyone. This matchup will be against Houston's elite defense and will be the stage for McCain to make a big impression.
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