Duke freshman guard Jared McCain hit eight 3s in Sunday’s second-round win over James Madison, setting a Blue Devils record for 3-pointers in a men’s NCAA tournament game.
— Freshman guard Jared McCain knew the kind of hot shooting that helped him set the Duke team record for 3-pointers in a men’s NCAA tournament game was coming. He was « due. »
McCain hit eight from behind the arc in Sunday’s 93-55 demolition of James Madison at Barclays Center. He made his first six 3-point attempts and finished with 30 points, just days after being so close to a breakout performance in Friday’s win over Vermont.
Three of McCain’s attempts in that contest were halfway down before rimming out. They had the standout freshman smiling at the rim, knowing it was only a matter of time. The time came in the second round two days later.
« Yeah, I was talking to my family, when those shots go in and out [like Friday night], I know I was due to make some more the other night, and [Sunday] was that night, » McCain said. « Yeah, when I see a few go in now, I smirk at the rim because I know the rim just wants to give me back some makes, and that happened [Sunday]. »
McCain beat the previous Duke record of seven 3-pointers in an NCAA tournament by Quinn Cook in 2014. He did it despite sitting out the final seven-plus minutes of the blowout.
