Duke Blue Devils: The Vegas Favorite for the Title
The Duke Blue Devils are on a high wave of success right now, the East Region is positioned to bring them the rest of the way.
The Duke Blue Devils are the consensus Vegas pick to win the National Championship in this year’s NCAA Tournament. That was the headline according to reports from David Purdum of ESPN. This revelation comes as Duke was unveiled as the number two seed in the East Region on Sunday.
Vegas’s love of the Blue Devils stems from two sources. First the Blue Devils were the preseason number one team in the nation and viewed as having more talent than any other team in the tournament. Second, the Blue Devils are finally all healthy and put together an impressive run in the ACC Tournament as evidence that they might be the team that was thought of as number one at the beginning of the year.
A second factor in Vegas’ thinking has to be the East Region itself. Duke has no real equal in its half of the regional bracket. The best team for team ranking is probably Baylor. Marquette could be interesting just because Steve Wojciechowski should know better than anyone how Duke plays, but these teams are not Duke’s talent equal.
More from Duke Blue Devils
- Court alleges Zion’s Stepfather received $400k
- Four North Carolina players selected in first round of MLB Draft
- N.C. State at Duke: Staff Predictions
- N.C. State makes strong case for NCAA Tourney berth with win over Duke
- Duke vs North Carolina Staff Predictions
On the other side of the East region will be either defending champion Villanova, Virginia, Florida, and Virginia Tech. Duke has beaten each of these teams with the exception of Villanova. Villanova was rewarded by the committee for basically not screwing up too much while Duke had to fist fight its way through the ACC. It will be a good game, but Duke should again have the right talent to get by the national champs.
More from Old North Banter
- Carolina Panthers: Secondary battles to watch in training camp 2020
- Carolina Panthers: 2020 training camp kicks off on Tuesday
- NC Colleges Provide Coronavirus Results from Athletic Departments
- Court alleges Zion’s Stepfather received $400k
- UNC Football gets Commitment from Top Cornerback
At the Final Four level, Duke could face either weakest number one seed Gonzaga, spunky Arizona, or familiar faces Notre Dame and Florida State. Duke has beaten the Irish and the Seminoles, and Gonzaga has not faced anyone like Duke all season. The most dangerous team to the Blue Devils is the Wildcats, simply because they have been clawing their way through tough Pac-12 competition to get to this point. Oregon ousted Duke last year and was also from the Pac-12.
The championship game is likely Kentucky, UNC, or Kansas. Duke played Kansas to the wire without Jayson Tatum, and they clearly have Tatum now. They are 2-1 against the Heels. Kentucky would be the biggest unknown, but they did not look dominating like they should have in the SEC.
So there is Duke’s road and likely the reason that Vegas is comfortable naming a 2 seed the favorite.