ACC Tournament: Outlooks for Each of the Big Four

Duke Blue Devils – Fifth Seed

Record – 23-8, 11-7 ACC

Basic Gist – Duke’s season took a winding path to get here. They were preseason number one in the country before injuries and other factors took their toll. Harry Giles is not at 100% yet. Grayson Allen got suspended for tripping violations. Coach Mike Krzyzewski had back surgery and missed time to produce a more cohesive bunch. That said, Duke is still 23-8 and has enough talent to beat anyone in the country including anyone in this tournament

NCAA Chances – Lock. The Blue Devils are in the tournament. The only question will be what seed they might have. They are fifth place in the ACC right now. Duke obviously would like to improve its positioning in the bracket, although a one seed is probably out of the question even if they storm to the championship game.

Goal – A Better Seed

Road to Goal – Duke would have to show something different in order to get back in the conversation for a three or two seed. Fortunately the bracket lines up for them. They would need to make the title game itself. That would give them a second win over UNC and a win over Louisville. That would give the committee some pause. Just advancing past Louisville would gain Duke a little cred, but not enough for a really good seed.