March Madness: Ranking the remaining teams in the Midwest Region

NEW YORK, NY - MARCH 08: Grayson Allen #3 celebrates with Marvin Bagley III #35 of the Duke Blue Devils after making a three point shot in the first half during the quarterfinals of the ACC Men's Basketball Tournament at Barclays Center on March 8, 2018 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. (Photo by Abbie Parr/Getty Images) /

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PITTSBURGH, PA – MARCH 17: Grayson Allen /

1. Duke Blue Devils (2 seed)

Strength: Star power

Remember me glowing about Kansas’s starting lineup and how few teams can match it? Unfortunately for the Jayhawks one of them is in their region.

Marvin Bagley III is the best talent left in this tournament, but Wendell Carter Jr. is honestly nearly as good but doesn’t put up the same kind of numbers. And of course, Grayson Allen (who is a national champion himself) is still capable of going for 30 and singlehandedly winning a game.

Gary Trent Jr. had a five-game stretch against some good teams in which he shot nearly 75% from three-point range. And starting point guard Trevon Duval has finally become somewhat a threat from deep himself. And when you add a much-improved defense to them, and you got yourself a national title contender.

Weakness: Foul trouble to either Duval or Bagley

This is a rhythm team, meaning they can either go on big runs or have runs happen on them. That usually happens when with the lead ball distributor (Duval) or the best overall player (Bagley) is out of the game.

Next: Ranking the Sweet Sixteen teams

The Blue Devils have capable backups, but at this stage, a bad few minutes could be the difference between a Final Four or back to Durham.

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