There have been both positive and negative signs for Duke Basketball recently. What could make or break a possible deep run?
With the mid-major tournaments beginning and many power conferences finishing up their regular season. This installment of ‘making or breaking’ takes a look at Duke Basketball.
Making or breaking is a quick guide to understanding the primary strength and the most concerning weakness that defines each team that is considered ‘a contender’ to reach the Final Four on Saturday, April 4th.
Defining a contender: The term contender is a subjective term. In order to avoid any bias, The Associated Press college basketball poll and the NCAA Men’s NET Rankings are being used to decide if a team is a contender or not.
With that out-of-the-way, let us begin with a squad that has every legitimate belief they can make it to the Final Four. The Duke Blue Devils have not made the National Semifinal game since 2015 when they would ultimately defeat Wisconsin 68-63 to win the National Championship.
With one game left in the regular season, Duke is 24-6 overall while being 14-5 and in 3rd place in the ACC. Duke currently sits at No.12 in the AP and 6th in the NET, with the ACC having a down year with its lowest Strength of Schedule rating since 2014. The conference is currently projected to field 4 teams in the tournament.
With a decent showing in the ACC tournament, Duke should remain on the 3 line, with a chance at a 2 seed with a great performance in the tournament. With that established, let us see how Duke can make their march to the Final Four.