HBO
Season three of HBO’s hit comedy-drama series The White Lotus is current in the midst of its run, lining the acclaimed series up with the business end of the college basketball season. Coincidentally enough, there is a family in S3 of The White Lotus that is from North Carolina, thus leading to references to both Duke University and the University of North Carolina.
Sunday night’s episode, which premiered just hours after both the Men’s and Women’s NCAA Tournament brackets were announced, featured the most hilarious reference to the famed Tar Heel State rivals yet, as Jason Isaac’s character Timothy Ratliff, a Duke graduate, put a gun to his head whilst wearing a Duke t-shirt, instantly creating a ready-made meme for college basketball fans right ahead of the NCAA Tournament, which begins on Thursday.
The #1 seed Duke Blue Devils will being their NCAA Tournament run on Friday, March 21 at 2:50 p.m. in Newark, New Jersey.
White Lotus just blessed us w an all-time meme if Duke loses early in the tournament (and for any brutal Duke loss thereafter) pic.twitter.com/pIsYiiozYL
— glansberg (@bigpizzaguy) March 17, 2025
Jason Isaacs in The White Lotus holding a gun to his head in a Duke t-shirt is going to do absolute numbers on this site if the Blue Devils get bounced early this tournament
— Matt Schargel (@mattschargel) March 17, 2025
“Unfortunately this White Lotus ep just gave us the perfect meme for when Duke blows it in the tourney,” one CBB fan said.
“Duke fans who watched tonight’s white lotus… you better not lose,” warned another.
“Malfoy holding the gun to his head with the Duke shirt on is gonna be the meme when duke loses in the tournament, christ,” noted a fan who remembers the actor Jason Isaacs from Harry Potter, in which he played the villainous Lucius Malfoy.
The #1 seeded Duke Blue Devils find themselves in the East Region of the NCAA Tournament, which will be held at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. Duke will begin their tournament against either 16th-seeded American or 16th-seeded Mount St. Mary’s, who face-off in the play-in game on Wednesday.
The bookies have Duke, led by presumed #1 overall pick in the NBA Draft Cooper Flagg — who will reportedly be healthy for the tourney after an injury scare of the weekend — as the second-favorites to win March Madness, as their odds of +360 only slightly trails the favorite Florida Gators at +350.