Joining Zion Williamson and Kyrie Irving, Duke Star Freshman Jared McCain Claims 2 Records in March Madness Clash

Published 03/25/2024, 9:11 AM EDT

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Do the Blue Devils have a new knight in shining armor? Duke has given their fans some spectacular performances throughout the program’s history. Clearly, they are not halting anytime soon as after Zion Williamson and Kyrie Irving, Jared McCain makes the list for most points in a game. Evidently, he grabbed 30 points in their second-round matchup with James Madison Dukes. Apart from this, he also bagged a title for the most 3-pointers in an NCAA tournament in Duke’s history.

Jared McCain was nothing short of phenomenal as he took the reins for the Blue Devils and flew them past the JMU Dukes in a 55-93 flush. Of the 93 points, 30 points came from McCain as he dropped 10 of 15 overall shots. Moreover, by grabbing the double-digit score against JMU, the 6 ft 3 in ACC All-Rookie team winner, inked his name in Duke’s MBB history. On top of these stats, the FIBA Americas Under-18 Championship gold medalist also collected 5 rebounds.

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He now stands tall with two of the former Blue Devils rockstars Zion Williamson and Kyrie Irving. All three are popular names in Duke for contributing 30 or more points in one game. Zion stands at 35 points that he grabbed back in 2019 against Syracuse. At the same time, Irving made 31 points in 2010 against Michigan in the ACC/ Big 10 Challenge. Now, McCain is also a part of Duke’s single-game freshman scoring record.

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Let us now look at another record that this 2023 McDonald’s All-American broke.

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Jared McCain dropped 3-pts like butter

The immaculate freshman guard who made six 3-pointers in the opening match against Vermont returned with a bigger purpose just 2 days later. However, it was not the number 8 that he was looking at when he displayed his impressive shooting skills. In fact, he tried 11 shots from beyond the arc but missed the other 3. Nevertheless, he rewrote Duke’s history as he collected one 3-pt more than their former 6 ft 2 in guard — Quinn Cook.

However, there is a long list of records based solely on 3-pointers that Cook willed to his name at Duke. Hence, McCain has a long way to go. Thankfully, he also has three more years with the Blue Devils. But until then, let us look at what the future holds for Duke in 2024 March Madness. Next, the Blue Devils will come against the 1st seed Houston in their Sweet-16 matchup. It would be interesting to see the two as it is surely going to be a battle of the heavyweights.

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What do you think of the exquisite performance displayed by Jared McCain?

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Written by:

Srashti Sharma

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Srashti Sharma is an NBA writer at EssentiallySports, known for her in-depth researching skills. From the very first time that she heard about Kobe Bryant, she herself cultivated a Mamba Mentality. She loves the competitive nature of the sport which fuels her inner sportswoman.
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Edited by:

Bilal Handoo