NCAA Basketball March Madness 2014: Jakob Gollon scored 20 points on 56% field goal shooting while Daniel Coursey added 17 points as Mercer pulled off the biggest upset in the NCAA tournament so far by eliminating Duke 78-71.
For Duke, the unsung heroes were Quinn Cook, who scored 23 points and Rasheed Sulaimon, who contributed 20 points as well. The big guns for Duke, Jabari Parker, had a so-so game by scoring 14 points, who is also expected to show-up big time and carry the offensive load in this game, while the other, Rodney Hood, was nowhere to be found as he only scored 6 points on 20% shooting.
The Blue Devils' defense - an unusual weakness all season - did them in again while all those Mercer seniors picked Duke apart down the stretch.
Mercer scored 11 straight points during the late 20-5 run that clinched the biggest victory in school history. It's the second one-and-done in three years for the third-seeded Blue Devils.
Mercer won the Atlantic Sun conference championship. That's the same conference that produced 2013 tournament darling Florida Gulf Coast.
As Duke's season is finally over, questions will now surface for Jabari Parker whether he will return next year for redemption or if he will declare for the 2014 NBA Draft as many analysts have been expecting. Critics say that the last game he played in the tourney will definitely affect his draft stock, but he will not go down lower than top 5. Jabari is one of the most complete players among the league and lottery teams today could definitely use some help from the offensive end, or a franchise player should Parker develop his full potential.
Regardless of what Jabari Parker chooses, the kid will still have a bright future and there is always plenty of room for improvement.