A No. 13 seed has worn the Cinderella tiara only once in the last seven tournaments and only seven times ever (four occasions in the wild times between 2000-2007). No. 12 (26 times) and No. 11 seeds (37 times) are a little more regular at providing upsets. Will there be any magic this season? Check out our odds predictions here and our forecast bracket here. And don’t forget to see how your The Athletic bracket is doing against the expert bracket from Chantel Jennings.
Follow along today for our takeaways from the opening day of March Madness.
No. 3 Duke 81, No. 14 Charleston 64
Up next in Round 2:Winner of No. 6 Baylor vs. No. 11 Nebraska
Duke tipped off the tournament by taking care of business against College of Charleston. Sophomore forward Toby Fournier led the Blue Devils with 24 points, and junior Delaney Thomas added 19 as the Blue Devils were never really in any danger of losing their lead.
But even coach Kara Lawson knows the Blue Devils will have to play better moving forward … and now Duke’s future opponents do, too.
Despite Charleston shooting just 26 percent from the field, junior guard Taryn Barbot put on a clinic against the Blue Devils with 36 points, marking the most points by any Duke opposing player all season. She did it with remarkable efficiency in 38 minutes of play. And the worst part for the Blue Devils? She did it in all sorts of different ways to keep them on their toes all afternoon.
The 5-foot-10 junior might have finished just 8-of-24 shooting, but she went 6 of 12 from 3 and perhaps most notably, 14 of 16 from the foul line. The CAA’s Player of the Year had only one rebound and still finished with four turnovers. But she was fearless about taking it to the Blue Devils and drawing plenty of contact along the way. (Her twin sister and teammate Taylor Barbot chipped in 13 points, by the way.)
After the game, Lawson was reportedly asked to compare Taryn Barbot to the ACC guards Duke has faced Lawson initially declined, then gave a nod to Notre Dame’s Hannah Hidalgo.
Kara Lawson, asked to compare Charleston’s Taryn Barbot to guards in the ACC, declines to do so and then adds:
“Have you seen Hannah Hidalgo play?”
— Mitchell Northam (@primetimeMitch) March 20, 2026
Lawson, who tossed her clipboard into the bleachers in frustration late in the fourth quarter, can be pleased with a win while also knowing Duke exposed some early vulnerabilities that opponents will no doubt pounce on. And it’ll only get more competitive from here. — Grace Raynor
This article originally appeared in The Athletic.
Duke Blue Devils, Women’s College Basketball
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