Duke Basketball: 5 reasons why Blue Devils will win ACC title in 2019-20
By Brian Rauf
4) Cameron Indoor Stadium
Many times, conference championship races come down to a team’s ability to defend their home court. You’ve heard the adage that the toughest thing to do in college basketball is win on the road, right?
Sure, the great teams have the ability to offset some of that by simply having enough talent to win a majority of their road games, but champions often differentiate themselves with their ability to hold serve at home.
Duke has the best home-court advantage in the ACC and one of the best in the entire country, which is one of the reasons they post such gaudy records every season. They have only lost in front of the Cameron Crazies four times in the last three seasons, allowing them to stay right in the thick of the ACC race.
Other teams don’t have that much of a luxury. Everyone plays better at home but North Carolina and Virginia achieved their conference success by winning on the road. In fact, last season, UNC went undefeated on the road in ACC play and UVA only lost once – at Duke.
Those kinds of season-long streaks almost never happen, especially in a league that is as up for grabs as the ACC is expected to be next season (more on that in a second). It’s going to be as important as ever to hold serve at home, and the advantage that is Cameron Indoor Stadium sets Duke up better than anybody.