Duke is going to the Final Four...

[Neue Regel]

I wouldn’t say something like that lightly but I have believed it for weeks now as the defense has steadily climbed. 7th now in Pomeroy. Heels were held to under 40% in all three Duke meetings but Duke has not valued the ball. Turnovers have been a killer. They have a slight edge with a couple vets while Duke only has Allen.

Carter and Duval nursing sore feet now have some time to rest up. While certain fan bases will spend more time tomorrow worrying about Duke’s region. It’s the field that had better worry about seeing Duke in their bracket. Carter and Bagley are going to be a load to deal with in the tournament and Bolden and Delaurier have been providing good minutes.

It’s just something I’ve felt for a while now. We’ll see what happens and how bad they want it...

 

[dukiejay]

I hope so. I’m not as confident as you, but like I said, I sure hope so.

 

[christophero]

I hope so. If I were to hazard a guess not letting last year or even 2015 cloud my judgement I'd say sweet 16 or Elite 8. Final Four would be nice. It's all about matchups. I would say talent will get us out of the first weekend, and maybe even will get us through the sweet 16. We will know more Sunday. And a healthy Carter and Duval will be needed.

 

[WI#1Dukie22]

I’m fairly confident, but the way UNC knocked us back with their physicality scares me a bit. Defense and intensity majorly ramp up in the NCAA. Our guys better get tough and learn to value the ball and positions real quick

 

[christophero]

I usually never make excuses after a loss (except now ha) but we win last night's game with a healthy Duval and Carter. And the experts label us a one seed and the hottest team in the country.

 

[HuffyJB]

I sure hope your feeling is prophetic. I am openly jealous of your optimism!

 

[christophero]

Things are rarely as good or as bad as they seem. They are somewhere in the middle.

 

[DukeSky85]

I hope so too! I’m actually looking into Final Four tickets this year! Would love to go and see them cut down the nets

 

[Swervin_Irvin_Duke]

dukiejay, what teams do you suppose have the capability to beat us? I do not believe many do. This aint your lose the ACC tournament and get put out early Duke team.

 

[WI#1Dukie22]

It doesn’t feel like it should be, but as I said above. They better man the F up quick. Everybody on the Court was out manned last night. We played soft. The difficulty multiplies moving ahead. The entire gym will be against us every game from here on. I also think Roy exposed us a bit last night on both ends. Just a matter of having the personnel to do so.

 

[Alaskan_Assassin_21]

My optimism will likely increase after the official bracket is released. I think our weaknesses & strengths are obvious so let's hope we avoid specific teams before the Final Four

Every team in the Top 10 - 1 to 3 seed should expect to make the Final Four. We have no major injuries or disciplinary issues, so sure why not. Go DUKE!

 

[Mac9192]

We can definitely get to the final 4. We have something needed to win and that's talent. The problem is our focus and intensity at times from our freshmen.
We have to clean up our guard play, and Allen has to be the rock. He can't take 11 shots in a close game, where 4 of them came in the last 4-5 minutes.
Our ball movement must be better than it was last night. That is why we were held to 69. Easy to guard when you don't move the ball crisp and quickly.
I won't be surprised either way. It's just the way this team has been all season.

 

[Swervin_Irvin_Duke]

We did not play soft last night. UNCheat is just a very good basketball team, why cant people see the obvious? I mean i hate them just as much as the next Dukie, but they are extremely well coached by a HOFer. If we played soft last night they would have blown us out by thirty, they packed the lanes tight almost like VA and played very good defense.

 

[dukiejay]

dukiejay, what teams do you suppose have the capability to beat us? I do not believe many do. This aint your lose the ACC tournament and get put out early Duke team.

A lot of teams are capable of beating us. A lot. There shouldn’t be many, but there are.

This team doesn’t protect the ball. They lack continued intensity and focus for long stretches. They’re not a good free throw shooting team. There’s more, too....but you get the point.

Now, I’m not saying they can’t win the whole thing or make a run to the final four. They’re clearly more talented than any other team in the country. That’s Duke’s trump card....and it’s a good one to hold.

Lastly....don’t you think through 33 games they’ve been pretty consistent with all of their issues? We’ve lost to more than one team who won’t sniff the tournament, and if not for some ridiculous comebacks this could be a 10 or 11 loss team right now.

 

[denverexpat]

There isnt a team out there that is scary good...Kansas has 7 losses and being challenged by WVU....KY is actually getting better, Villanova has shown some cracks...even if you get a #1 definitely going to be a rocky road to the Final four. This is probably one of the most wide open tournaments ever.

 

[OldasdirtDevil]

We'll be there. And while we're there, we might as well win it.

OFC

 

[The Optimist]

We'll be there. And while we're there, we might as well win it.

OFC

I hope you are right.

 

[Duke Bluu]

We need 2015 Title game Grayson for 4 games. I think we win the first two easily

 

[jnastasi]

So up in the air right now. I have a feeling it’ll be some random teams in the final four. We had been looking so good up until last night. Who knows which duke team will show up next week.

 

[DukeDenver]

Our round by round win chance percentages will probably be like 97%, 70%, 60%, 50%, 40%, 40%.

Matchups could obviously change those, but you get the idea. Making the FF using these numbers puts us at 20.4% chance. If we start to look like we did when Bagley was out, then throw those chances out and I’ll feel much more optimistic.

It’s been a fun year. We’ve seen some sick plays, great comebacks and blown out some good teams. We have some great players on the way. No complaints here. It’s great to be a Devil.

 

[Quavarius]

I'm with ya OP!

 

[Swervin_Irvin_Duke]

The only non conference game we have lost is to St. Johns at their house. I do not believe we will see an ACC opponent unless we reach the final 4, and NCAA games are not played in anyone's backyard.

 

[dukebluesTX]

I sure hope so but I just don't see it this year. I'm already in Texas so if they make it to San Antonio, I'll be there

 

[LouisiAaron]

I've already made my bets on us making the Final Four. If Carolina could do it last year damnit we can this year. The ACC Champ never win the real title anyway. I do think we should use that 1-2-2 press more and would like to see Carter try to go over the left shoulder just once. He never uses his right hand on the block. That's very odd for a right handed shooter

 

[Dahntay#1]

I am trying to get more optimistic about our chances but am having a hard time. If we run into a talented and experienced team, we are toast. The good thing is you never know how the bracket will fall. I think UK would have beaten us in 2010 and 2015 but luckily we didn't have to face them.

 

[QC Dukie]

Anyone think we’ll be in Charlotte first two rounds? I wanna pull the trigger and snag some tickets but not sure they’ll be here or not. The last time we were in Charlotte the wife and I went downtown where they were staying and ran into kyrie and Hairston. Also got a pic with MP2.

 

[pisgah101]

Anyone think we’ll be in Charlotte first two rounds? I wanna pull the trigger and snag some tickets but not sure they’ll be here or not. The last time we were in Charlotte the wife and I went downtown where they were staying and ran into kyrie and Hairston. Also got a pic with MP2.

We will be IMO get them

 

[dukiejay]

Yeah, I still think Duke will be in Charlotte.

 

[HuffyJB]

Yeah, I still think Duke will be in Charlotte.

I was thinking the same thing. Duke was 1-2 against UNC, but UNC was still a 10 loss team that finished four spots behind Duke in the conference standings. Very similar to last year, with the roles reversed. Either way, I'm happy Duke will open in a different pod than UNC.