#5 Duke Blue Devils 25-6
ACC #2 seed
The Duke Blue Devil's, led by the legendary Coach K, ended their regular season on a high note with a quality win at home vs UNC and look to continue their success thru the ACC Tournament en route to a #1 seed for the NCAA Tournament. Duke has been able to maintain steady play on the court thru shooting slumps, injuries and FBI investigations. Led by senior captain Grayson Allen and ACC Rookie of the Year Marvin Bagley III, Duke has the tools to make a deep run in the tournament and anything less than a championship will be a disappointment.
Starting Lineup:
PG Trevon Duval (2017 #1 PG recruit #6 overall)
SG Gary Trent Jr (2017 #1 SG recruit #8 overall)
SF Grayson Allen (THE GRAYSON ALLEN)
PF Wendell Carter (2017 #2 PF recruit #5 overall)
C Marvin Bagley III (2017 #1 overall recruit)
On paper, this Duke team is the best team in the country. MB3, at times, has looked like the most dominant player in the country and Grayson Allen is playing his best basketball since the national championship vs Wisconsin when he sparked the team and led them to a win as a freshman. Wendell has played himself into a lottery pick and has done a great job ignoring all of the outside noise (that will result in nothing in Duke's case). Gary Trent Jr has knocked down big shots all year and has been huge on defense, often taking the #1 guard assignment. Trevon Duval is where much of Duke's success lies. His decision making has been sporadic all season long, and Grayson has had to take over primary ball-handling duties at times. In order for Duke to find success, the ball will need to be in Trevon's hands and he needs to be able to find Grayson to score or find MB3 to work in down in the paint without turning it over. If this strong starting 5 can hold it together and do what they are supposed to do, then I believe Duke is in good position to make a run at not only an ACC Championship, but also another National Championship.