Northwest's Duhart Heads to "Big Dance"
R.J. Duhart will be the first Northwest men's basketball alumnus to participate in March Madness in nearly 15 years. Duhart's Appalachian State team will face Norfolk State on Thursday at 7:40 P.M.
BOONE, N.C. (via NWCCRangers.com) - Former Northwest forward R.J. Duhart and his Appalachian State teammates will shine on the big stage later this week, as the Mountaineers are one of 68 programs playing in the annual NCAA Division I Tournament.
More commonly known as "March Madness" or the "Big Dance", the tournament returns this year after being canceled due to the COVID-19 outbreak that shut down the sports world one year ago.
Duhart is the first Northwest alumnus to experience March Madness since Marcus Avant (2002-04) helped UCF to the 2005 edition of the tournament. An injury kept Avant from participating in the Knights' tournament run, which ended with a 77-71 first-round loss to UConn in Worcester, Mass.
In 28 games this season, Duhart has averaged 2.7 points per game off the bench, along with 2.8 rebounds and 0.3 assists per game. The Boynton Beach, Fla. native has 16 blocks on the season.
Duhart has started in four games for the Mountaineers, including the last two games of the Sun Belt Conference Tournament, where Appalachian State defeated Georgia State for the conference title and automatic NCAA tournament bid. His most notable game came in his Division I debut on November 25, 2020 at South Carolina State, where he scored 12 points with six rebounds in an 81-61 victory.
In his lone season at Northwest, the Boyd Anderson High School product averaged 11.9 points and 7.8 rebounds per game. Duhart also swatted 47 shots and helped the Rangers and coach Shane Oakley to a 16-10 overall record and the semifinals of the NJCAA Region 23 Tournament in Clinton.
Duhart started every game for the Rangers and reached double figures 14 times, including a career-best 24 points and 14 rebounds in a 99-96 victory against SAU Tech on December 4, 2019. Off the court, Duhart was one of 87 Northwest student-athletes to earn Academic All-MACJC honors for the 2019-20 semester.
Appalachian State (17-11) will make its third appearance in the NCAA Division I Tournament and the first in 21 years. The Mountaineers are set to face MEAC champion Norfolk State (16-7) in Bloomington, Ind. on Thursday, March 18, with the game scheduled for a 7:40 P.M. Central tipoff on truTV.