"Duke, the No. 2 seed in the Philadelphia Regional, had all 11 players get at least 11 minutes in the first-round romp against Tennessee-Martin. Yet the minutes don't come only in blowouts; Duke had at least eight players in double-figure minutes in all seven games decided by six or fewer points.
"Our depth is one of the things that coming into the tournament you need to have if you want to make a long run," Christmas said. "We're all confident that any player can come in and make an impact, whether it is passing, rebounding and shooting."
Tenth-seeded Marist (31-2) has some similar balance with nine players averaging at least 10 minutes. But in Saturday's 74-64 first-round win against Iowa State, the Red Foxes' starters played at least 32 minutes while none of the five bench players managed more than seven.
"We see people that are tired and we can put some other people in who can play," Marist coach Brian Giorgis said. "Maybe not at the caliber of theirs, but they can go in and play quality minutes if we get in foul trouble or if people need rest. The thing is (the Blue Devils) just bring them in waves.""
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