Bracketology 2023: Penn State, Marquette and Utah State among biggest winners
By Joey Loose
Duke
Many wanted to write off the Blue Devils when they struggled earlier in the season, especially with a few of their top-rated prospects not playing quite as expected. Jon Scheyer’s first season at Durham hasn’t been what you’d call electric, but Duke is playing their best basketball at the right time and got the best performance in their 8-game win streak on Friday in the process.
In the semifinals of the ACC Tournament, Duke got an 85-78 victory over top-seed Miami to advance to the finals and continue their hot streak. Five different Blue Devils scored at least 13 points, led by Kyle Filipowski’s 17-point, 11-rebound performance in the win. Fellow freshman stud Dariq Whitehead added 16 points off the bench as Duke hit 55% of their shots from the field, including an 8 of 16 mark from beyond the arc.
While the entire win streak is impressive, getting another Quad 1 victory will only help the Blue Devils when it comes to seeding with the Selection Committee. This team was likely not getting a very favorable seed or matchup a few weeks ago, but their winning streak and performance against Miami likely has them looking at a 6-seed or potentially better. This program is showing up when the games matter most, but how will the end result compare to last year’s squad that marched to the Final Four?