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Duke vs Pittsburgh: 2020-21 key storylines for ACC matchup

By Tristan Freeman

Dec 16, 2020; South Bend, Indiana, USA; The Duke Blue Devils celebrate in the second half against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish at the Purcell Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 16, 2020; South Bend, Indiana, USA; The Duke Blue Devils celebrate in the second half against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish at the Purcell Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports /
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NCAA Basketball Tournament Selection Committee Pittsburgh Duke (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images) /

3. Pittsburgh currently has a better resume than Duke

It’s crazy that at this moment, Pittsburgh would have a better chance of getting an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament than Duke. In some Bracketology predictions, the Blue Devils are barely in the field as a 10 or 11 seed. But right now, their best wins are against Notre Dame and Boston College. They still have plenty of opportunities to get resume builders, starting on Tuesday in this Quad 1 matchup at Pittsburgh.

After losing to Saint Francis (PA) to open the season, it looked as if the Panthers were destined for another mediocre campaign at best. But they’ve won 7 of 8, including two wins over Syracuse and a road victory at Northwestern. The team’s NET ranking is currently at 51, and is 4-1 against Quad 1 and 2 opponents.

While the ACC doesn’t have any elite teams this season, there still is a strong middle with a number of teams still in the running for an at-large bid. And Pittsburgh’s emergence just gives teams more games as well in the next 40 days.

Next. Latest top-25 power rankings. dark

If Duke wins this matchup, there likely won’t be much of a reaction. However, if the Panthers pull this off, not only will they likely be in many Bracketology fields of 68 but the Blue Devils could be on the wrong side looking in.