Duke Basketball: 3 takeaways from disappointing loss at Louisville

3. With February right around the corner, it might be too little too late for the Blue Devils and their postseason aspirations

With all that being said regarding their offensive woes, the elephant in the room needs to be addressed: it might be too late for Duke to tackle and mend these issues.

This team looked lost on both ends of the floor on countless occasions against Louisville, and the fact that this is the case in Duke’s 10th game of the season – and sixth ACC game – does not bode well whatsoever for the future.  Given Duke’s current resume, there might not be much of a “future” for them at the conclusion of the regular season.

The Blue Devils currently sit 5-5 with 12 games left ahead of them.  They have already missed out on opportunities on three resume wins in Illinois, Virginia Tech, and Louisville, and their losses to Michigan State and Pittsburgh have not aged well whatsoever.  Their best win, currently, is against Notre Dame – a team that ranks 85th in KenPom and 122nd in the latest NET rankings.

There is still very much time for Duke to pick up a few season-defining wins – they do still have Virginia on their schedule, after all, as well as a rematch with Louisville.  But those are the only two games left on their schedule that scream “resume-building.”  The Blue Devils do have potential tournament-caliber teams like Clemson, North Carolina, and Syracuse on their schedule – but given the inconsistency and struggles of those three teams, wins against those teams could either go a long way or mean nothing at all.

Before their game with Louisville, the Blue Devils ranked 90th in NET, having amassed an awful 0-3 record against Quad 1 teams.  For what it is worth, they rank behind – and own fewer Quad 1 wins – than mid-major teams like Marshall, Georgia State, and Toledo.

Again, the fact that Duke is still experiencing these issues 10 games into the season does not bode well for the final 12 – and it may be too little too late for them to figure out the issues and still be an NCAA Tournament team.  Right now, they very much appear like a team that will need to win the ACC Tournament in order to reach March Madness.  They have the talent to pull it off, absolutely – but all the signs point to them falling short.

The Blue Devils do have the opportunity to pick up two significant victories to close out the month, however, hosting Georgia Tech on Tuesday and Clemson on Saturday.  Wins against those two squads, albeit not necessarily resume building, would be – by far and away – their best wins of the season, and would do wonders for Duke’s confidence moving forward.