Duke Basketball: Tough matchups for the Blue Devils in the East Region

CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA - MARCH 16: Teammates RJ Barrett #5 and Zion Williamson #1 of the Duke Blue Devils react after defeating the Florida State Seminoles 73-63 in the championship game of the 2019 Men's ACC Basketball Tournament at Spectrum Center on March 16, 2019 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images) /

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CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA – MARCH 14: Jordan Nwora #33 of the Louisville Cardinals reacts after a play against the North Carolina Tar Heels during their game in the quarterfinal round of the 2019 Men’s ACC Basketball Tournament at Spectrum Center on March 14, 2019 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images) /

3. Louisville Cardinals

The Louisville Cardinals are a great sleeper pick in the tournament that no team wants to see, let alone the Blue Devils. The Cardinals are coached by Chris Mack, who has done an excellent job in his first year. The Cardinals head into the tournament with a 20-13 overall record. Their record was 17-7 before there complete breakdown versus Duke on February 12. The Cardinals have looked crushed since the Duke game, as they have gone 3-8 since that heartbreaking loss.

The Cardinals are a physical and aggressive team on both sides of the floor. They have also proved that they can punch teams in the mouth as they did for most of the Duke game and when they blew-out North Carolina by twenty-one on the road. With this style of play, they can outmatch any opponent. The Cardinals may have limped into the tournament, but Mack should have his team ready for their first NCAA tournament run.

Sophomore guard Jordan Nwora is a great player who can take over games at will. It is hard to guard Nwora with his ability to score at any level. The Cardinals also have great playmakers around Nwora to feed off him. The Cardinals would be out for revenge after the heartbreaking loss to the Blue Devils earlier in the year. The Blue Devils would not want to come across this sleeper team in the Elite Eight after their regular season matchup. Watch out for the Cardinals to make a deep run in the tournament and upset a few teams along the way.

Next. Ranking all 68 teams in the Big Dance. dark

The Blue Devils are great at rising to the occasion for the biggest games, but these are a few teams that could challenge them the most in the East region. Duke has a history with all of these three teams named, and they could potentially knock the Blue Devils out of the tournament.

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