Duke Basketball: 10 predictions for Blue Devils’ 2017-18 season

I’m not going out on a limb here to say that the Duke Blue Devils are the best team in the ACC heading into the 2017-18 season. They are, and it’s widely accepted that they are.

After winning the ACC Tournament championship last season, Duke enters the 2017-18 campaign even better than they were in 2016-17.

North Carolina, who won the 2016-17 ACC regular season title and eventually the National Championship, take a slight – and I mean slight – step backward this season, and, while it will keep UNC as a top 10 team in college basketball, it places Duke firmly ahead.

Throw in the fact that Duke’s conference schedule looks pretty easy compared to some of the others, and the Blue Devils should easily be able to secure a hefty lead in the regular ACC season standings.

There will be teams that push them, because, after all, it is the ACC and every team has a shot to win week-in and week-out. However, I do think that the mid-level teams that usually compete against the likes of UNC and Duke are not as strong as they sometimes can be.

This is an advantage for Duke because they do not have a home and home with any preseason ranked team in the ACC except North Carolina.