NCAA Tournament March Madness
#2 Duke
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Projected seed: 1 (automatic qualifier)
Duke projects as a top seed because its resume is built around high-profile neutral-site wins over Texas, Kansas and Arkansas and a signature neutral victory over Michigan while a road win at Michigan State and convincing wins at Louisville, Stanford and California show it can win away from home. The defense has been the backbone in those environments and the roster has produced blowout road and neutral performances that sell the committee on depth of quality. The blemishes are a narrow neutral loss to Texas Tech and a road setback at North Carolina plus a squeaker against Florida that serve as reminders this is not an unassailable profile. Remaining chances at Notre Dame, at NC State, a home date with Virginia and a return against North Carolina give clear opportunities to cement top-seed status or to introduce fresh questions.
| Date | Opponent | Ranking | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11/4 | (N)Texas | 32 | W75-60 |
| 11/8 | W Carolina | 254 | W95-54 |
| 11/11 | @Army | 336 | W114-59 |
| 11/14 | Indiana St | 221 | W100-62 |
| 11/18 | (N)Kansas | 19 | W78-66 |
| 11/21 | Niagara | 344 | W100-42 |
| 11/23 | Howard | 218 | W93-56 |
| 11/27 | (N)Arkansas | 17 | W80-71 |
| 12/2 | Florida | 5 | W67-66 |
| 12/6 | @Michigan St | 10 | W66-60 |
| 12/16 | Lipscomb | 168 | W97-73 |
| 12/20 | (N)Texas Tech | 16 | L82-81 |
| 12/31 | Georgia Tech | 167 | W85-79 |
| 1/3 | @Florida St | 71 | W91-87 |
| 1/6 | @Louisville | 15 | W84-73 |
| 1/10 | SMU | 33 | W82-75 |
| 1/14 | @California | 66 | W71-56 |
| 1/17 | @Stanford | 74 | W80-50 |
| 1/24 | Wake Forest | 76 | W90-69 |
| 1/26 | Louisville | 15 | W83-52 |
| 1/31 | @Virginia Tech | 56 | W72-58 |
| 2/3 | Boston College | 160 | W67-49 |
| 2/7 | @North Carolina | 30 | L71-68 |
| 2/10 | @Pittsburgh | 108 | W70-54 |
| 2/14 | Clemson | 40 | W67-54 |
| 2/16 | Syracuse | 78 | W101-64 |
| 2/21 | (N)Michigan | 1 | W68-63 |
| 2/24 | @Notre Dame | 87 | 93% |
| 2/28 | Virginia | 18 | 84% |
| 3/2 | @NC State | 25 | 74% |
| 3/7 | North Carolina | 30 | 90% |