Busting Brackets
Fansided

Duke Basketball: 10 predictions for the Blue Devils’ 2018-19 season

By Lukas Harkins

OMAHA, NE - MARCH 25: The Duke Blue Devils cheerleaders carry their schools flags on to the court prior to the 2018 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament Midwest Regional against the Kansas Jayhawks at CenturyLink Center on March 25, 2018 in Omaha, Nebraska. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)
OMAHA, NE - MARCH 25: The Duke Blue Devils cheerleaders carry their schools flags on to the court prior to the 2018 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament Midwest Regional against the Kansas Jayhawks at CenturyLink Center on March 25, 2018 in Omaha, Nebraska. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
9 of 11
Next
NEW YORK, NY – MARCH 11: The Duke Blue Devils hold up the trophy. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY – MARCH 11: The Duke Blue Devils hold up the trophy. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images) /

8. No regular season title but an ACC Tournament trophy

Speaking of how strong the ACC is, Duke is far from a shoe-in to win the regular-season title. In fact, there are two other major contenders that stand in Duke’s path (and that doesn’t include dark horses): North Carolina and Virginia. Both of these teams are far more experienced than Duke and will also feature more depth. In regards to the Tar Heels, the leadership of Luke Maye in the frontcourt makes them a dangerous team as well as incoming stud freshman Nassir Little.

As for Virginia, good luck taking down Tony Bennett’s team in the regular season. The Cavaliers rolled through the ACC last season and they have plenty of talent returning. It might not be the “trendy choice” but UVA might be the favorite to win the conference. Their slow and methodical pace centered around defense is difficult for a lot of teams to match up and can swallow teams up.

Even though Duke might not win the regular-season title in these predictions, the ACC Tournament is a different animal. Over this short period of time, Duke could prove to simply be the most dominant team in the conference. Depth could be an issue but the Blue Devils are traditionally successful in the ACC Tournament. With arguably two of the top players in the entire conference, Duke could use Barrett and Reddish to lead an offensive onslaught in this event before hoisting the trophy.

Home/Duke Blue Devils