Duke looks fantastic, but it shouldn’t be a No. 1 seed
On Saturday night, Duke won the ACC tournament title. It came via a 75-69 win over Notre Dame at the Barclays Center, giving the Blue Devils two of the last three ACC tournament crowns and a staggering 14th of the Coach K era.
But before the confetti could even fall on Duke’s conference title, the speculation was already brewing: With this ACC tournament title, should Duke get a No. 1 seed in the upcoming NCAA Tournament?
The answer should be an unequivocal “no.”
This isn’t a knock on who the Blue Devils are. What Duke (27-8) did in New York this week is incredible. Four wins over a four-day stretch, with the last three wins coming against teams that all rank somewhere in the top 25 in the country. The Blue Devils are absolutely worthy of the praise they are currently receiving. They are unquestionably a team good enough to win the title.
But any committee member who is even considering moving them to the top line is just living in the moment. And it would be a shame if one great four-day stretch in Brooklyn overshadowed four months of inconsistency for the Blue Devils this regular season.
The only reason Duke even had to play four games in four days is because of a terrible run down the stretch in the regular season. Overall, the Blue Devils lost three of their last four regular-season games, costing themselves a double-bye in Brooklyn.
And looking at the Blue Devils’ resume, it gets worse.
They finished the year just 3-6 in true road games. They also probably have the worst loss of any legitimate contender for a No….