• PITTSBURGH, PA - MARCH 15: Marvin Bagley III #35 of the Duke Blue Devils gets a shot off against the Iona Gaels during the first half of the game in the first round of the 2018 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at PPG PAINTS Arena on March 15, 2018 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images) Photo: Justin K. Aller / 2018 Getty Images
Photo: Justin K. Aller
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PITTSBURGH, PA - MARCH 15: Marvin Bagley III #35 of the Duke Blue Devils gets a shot off against the Iona Gaels during the first half of the game in the first round of the 2018 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at PPG PAINTS Arena on March 15, 2018 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images) less
PITTSBURGH, PA - MARCH 15: Marvin Bagley III #35 of the Duke Blue Devils gets a shot off against the Iona Gaels during the first half of the game in the first round of the 2018 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament ... more
Photo: Justin K. Aller

Pittsburgh

Mike Krzyzewski keeps wringing his hands about his team's youth. And then Duke and its roster of NBA-bound freshmen get on the floor against a more experienced opponent and the Hall of Fame coach's fears largely vanish.

Having Marvin Bagley III certainly helps.

The Atlantic Coast Conference Player of the Year did whatever he wanted against game but overmatched Iona, pouring in 22 points to go with seven rebounds in his NCAA Tournament debut as the Blue Devils pulled away for an 89-67 victory on Thursday. The 6-foot-11 freshman forward made 10 of 14 shots in 32 minutes — even making his lone 3-point attempt — as Duke rolled into a second-round Midwest Region matchup with seven-seeded Rhode Island on Saturday. The Rams held off Oklahoma in overtime in the opening game of the tournament.

"(This is) what we've had to go through the whole year, you know, the first road game, the first conference game, the — you know, the first 10:00 of game, you know, all of those things," Krzyzewski said. "So this is a first for them."

Bagley included.

"I woke up and felt a little anxious," Bagley said. "I was just anxious to play. When the first game came on, I was watching it a little bit until we left the hotel. From there it was time to lock in."

After some early issues with the Gaels, that wasn't a problem.

Duke allowed seasoned if undersized Iona (20-14) to hang around for most of the first half then tweaked its zone defense enough to disrupt the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Tournament champions.

Villanova 87, Radford 61: Jalen Brunson scored 16 points and No. 1 seed Villanova hit 14 3-pointers in a romp over Radford in an East Region matchup.

Rhode Island 83, Oklahoma 78 (OT): E.C. Matthews hit the go-ahead 3-pointer in overtime and one more that sealed it to help Rhode Island hold off dynamic scorer Trae Young and beat Oklahoma in a Midwest Region game.

Alabama 86, Virginia Tech 83: Collin Sexton scored 21 of his team-high 24 points after halftime to lead Alabama to an East Region victory.