Duke Basketball: Are the Blue Devils returning to elite status?

Duke basketball appears to be headed in the right direction with Coach K expecting to return to the sidelines on Saturday.

If any team in the country has been dealt with major bouts of adversity, it’s the Duke Blue Devils. Between their top three freshmen battling injuries, Grayson Allen getting suspended for a tripping incident and their Hall of Fame coach going to the sideline due to back surgery, the Blue Devils have dropped all the way down to 21st in the country in the AP Poll.

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In fact, just a week ago, Duke was in the bottom half of the ACC. Seriously. They got smacked by Virginia Tech, throttled by Florida State, pounded by Louisville and embarrassed by NC State on their home floor.

They weren’t guarding anyone, they had no chemistry and Jeff Capel was still juggling the rotations.

But after two straight road games against Wake Forest and Notre Dame, Duke seems to be headed for elite status again. No, they will not be the heavy favorite to win the National Championship, but they will pose the same threat that the 8-seeded Kentucky Wildcats did back in 2014.

Why? Because the Blue Devils are not only playing better on the court, but they are getting the legendary Mike Krzyzewski back on Saturday against Pittsburgh.

“I’m going to be back on the sidelines on Saturday when we play Pitt,” Krzyzewski said on SirusXM. “Basically though I’ve been doing stuff every day, really with our program. Not as much with the physical nature but with preparation and some of the things that you just have to do in running a big-time program.”

This is huge news for Duke, not only because Coach K is one of the best coaches in all of sports but because Allen has started to play his best basketball of the season, Kennard is still balling, Harry Giles gave them a lift against the Irish late, and Jayson Tatum had arguably his best game of the season in South Bend.

With Coach K on the sideline, their production is only likely to be greater.

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With confidence on their side, the defense looking much better and the offense finding some flow and rhythm, Duke appears to be headed back to the top of the ACC. And that’s dangerous for not only their conference counterparts but the rest of college basketball.