The return of the NCAA Basketball Blue Bloods: Duke, North Carolina, and Kansas

The 2020-21 NCAA Basketball season for programs for Duke, North Carolina, and Kansas was an outliner not the new normal for a group of Blue Blood programs.

Last season, I wrote about the Blue Bloods struggles and how a new group of teams like Baylor was on the rise in the NCAA basketball landscape. This season, the traditional Blue Bloods of North Carolina, Duke, and Kansas with numerous games on their home courts with their student sections in their packed arenas, played very well throughout the season with only a few bumps along the way to reach the prestige Final Four of the NCAA Tournament.

Here is how the three blue blood programs bounced back from last season’s underwhelming performances.

Duke made the biggest jump from last season as they nearly tripled their win total from last season and after finishing in the bottom half of the ACC conference standings just a year ago, the Blue Devils captured the ACC conference crown by winning the regular-season title.

Duke’s momentum continued as they reached the conference tournament title game and they earned a two seed in the NCAA tournament. The Blue Devils did not qualify for the NCAA tournament in 2021 for the first time since 1995, but they did this year and reached the Final Four with an opportunity to play in the championship game in Coach Krzyzewski’s last season before he retires from coaching.

Duke

                                                           2020-2021                        2021-2022

Wins                                                 13                                          32

Conference Regular Season     10th place                           1st place

Conference Tournament            Quarterfinals                      Championship game

NCAA Tournament                       Did not qualify                    Playing in the Final Four

To be fair to Kansas, they didn’t have an overall bad season last year. However, they didn’t finish in first place in the Big 12 regular season standings last season which is unusual as the Jayhawks since 2005, did not finish in 1st place only two times during that long period of time which means Kansas has won 16 out of the last 18 Big 12 regular-season titles.

Kansas this season, however, did finish in first place in the conference standings and captured the Big 12 regular-season title. Also, the Jayhawks who didn’t make it past the semifinals of the Big 12 conference tournament last season due to Covid protocols, won the Big 12 conference title this season and earned a one seed in this year’s NCAA tournament.

Most importantly, after a disappointing 1st round exit last season, Kansas in now playing in the Final Four with an opportunity to play in the championship game.

Kansas

                                                        2020-2021                        2021-2022

Wins                                                 21                                         32

Conference Regular Season     2nd place                           1st place

Conference Tournament            Semifinals                         Won the tournament

NCAA Tournament                       2nd Round                         Playing in the Final Four

The Tar Heels had an average season in 2020-2021. They finished in the middle of the ACC conference standings, qualified for the NCAA tournament as an eight seed, and made it to only the semifinals of the ACC tournament in 2021. This season they finished in the top three of the conference standings, won ten more games and made it to the Final Four of the NCAA tournament as an eight seed by defeating number one seed Baylor and another blue blood program in UCLA.

North Carolina did not have a perfect season by any stretch of the imagination but they finished out the season defeating Duke in Coach Krzyzewski’s last home game as the coach of the Blue Devils and Herbert Davis has done a fantastic job taking over for Hall of Fame head coach Roy Williams by leading North Carolina to their first Final Four since 2017. The Tar Heels have proven that they have a legitimate chance to win a national title this season.

North Carolina

                                                          2020-2021                        2021-2022

Wins                                                 18                                        28

Conference Regular Season     6th place                           Tied for 2nd place

Conference Tournament            Semifinals                         Semifinals

NCAA Tournament                       1st Round                         Playing in the Final Four

Many fans of college basketball claim that they want the underdogs and Cinderellas to go far in the NCAA tournament and that is partially true. Saint Peter’s run to the Elite Eight was exciting and having a ten seed in Miami making it to the Elite Eight shows that a double-digit seed has a chance of going far into the tournament. However, when it comes to the Final Four and having Duke, North Carolina, Villanova, and Kansas participating in the Final Four is what college basketball needs even if it is not want fans necessarily want.

The match-up against North Carolina and Duke is the first meeting between the storied programs in the NCAA tournament. In the game with Kansas and Villanova, you have two future hall of fame coaches in Bill Self and Jay Wright try to lead their teams to the championship game. You even have country music performer Eric Church canceling his concert so that he can cheer on North Carolina against Duke.

In other words, instead of complaining about the Final Four being filled with blue bloods and not underdogs, sit back and enjoy great basketball between outstanding teams in this year’s Final Four.