BY: SOME GUY NAMED STEVE
Over the past few weeks, the talk of the college basketball world has been surrounded by the Duke Blue Devils. After a very disappointing start to the season, the Blue Devils have won four straight and are doing everything to throw themselves into the NCAA tournament conversation. Have the Blue Devils done enough?
Love them or hate them, Duke is a major part of college basketball, and with a record of 11-8 (9-6), this season finds itself in unfamiliar territory … on the bubble.
The start of ACC play was not kind. They suffered two separate three-game losing streaks over a month span, and their tournament hopes began to look bleak.
With losses comes frustration and adversity, and that is what many Duke players began to face. One, in particular, was Jalen Johnson, the star Freshman recruit who decided to opt-out in the middle of February. Now it’s very rare to see a player opt-out this late into this season, and a lot of analysts viewed Johnson’s decision as quitting on the team.
Since the departure of Johnson, Duke has played its best basketball all season long. They have rattled off three straight wins, including a massive home victory over No. 7 ranked Virginia 66-65.
The win over Virginia gave the Blue Devils a much needed quadrant 1 victory that will help immensely come Selection Sunday. The win over Virginia and the win in their following game vs Syracuse was enough for ESPN bracketologist Joe Lundari to include Duke in his “First Four Out” along with Richmond, UCONN, and Stanford. Lunardi’s most recent “Last Four In” included Indiana, Xavier, Minnesota, and Colorado St.
So how does Duke’s resume compare to these teams? Let’s take a look.
| Record | Con. | NET | SOS | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | |
| Indiana | 12-10 | 7-8 | 52 | 7 | 3-7 | 5-1 | 2-2 | 2-0 |
| Xavier | 12-4 | 5-4 | 50 | 87 | 1-2 | 3-2 | 4-0 | 4-0 |
| Minnesota | 13-10 | 6-10 | 60 | 6 | 4-10 | 1-0 | 4-0 | 4-0 |
| Colorado St. | 14-4 | 11-3 | 46 | 120 | 2-3 | 1-1 | 3-0 | 7-0 |
| Stanford | 14-9 | 10-7 | 57 | 43 | 4-5 | 2-4 | 5-0 | 3-0 |
| UConn | 10-6 | 7-6 | 54 | 45 | 2-3 | 1-3 | 5-0 | 2-0 |
| Duke | 11-8 | 9-6 | 56 | 40 | 2-3 | 3-3 | 3-2 | 2-0 |
| Richmond | 12-5 | 5-3 | 58 | 80 | 2-2 | 3-1 | 4-1 | 2-1 |
The Blue Devils are right in the thick of the bubble picture but their lack of quadrant 1 and quadrant 2 wins hurt . However, it is worth noting that three of Duke’s 5 wins in those quadrants have come during their current four game winning streak.
So is Duke a tournament team?
If the season ended today, I would say no, but fortunately for them, their final three regular season games are against Louisville, Georgia Tech, and North Carolina. Wins over any of these teams would boost the Blue Devils’ resume and put them in very good shape heading into the ACC tournament.
Love them or hate them; Duke is playing its best basketball at the right time and is doing everything it can to avoid missing the NCAA tournament for the first time in 26 years.
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