NCAA Tournament March Madness

#5 Duke

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Projected seed: 1

Duke's résumé is defined by eye-catching neutral-site victories over Texas, Kansas, and Arkansas and by a statement road win at Michigan State, and those marquee results sit alongside a stout defensive identity and a string of blowouts over low-major opponents such as Niagara, Howard, and Army that have kept the ledger clean. The narrow home escape against Florida serves as the clearest blemish and shows an ugly result can sap polish, and the schedule still offers meaningful chances to reinforce the profile in a neutral meeting with Michigan and in true road tests at Florida State, Louisville, and NC State as well as high-profile matchups with North Carolina and Notre Dame. How those upcoming showdowns play out will determine whether the marquee neutral wins and the signature road victory are validated further or whether any slip-ups on the road or in league play whittle away the cushion provided by the easy nonconference wins.

Date Opponent Ranking Outcome
11/4(N)Texas44W75-60
11/8W Carolina277W95-54
11/11@Army337W114-59
11/14Indiana St182W100-62
11/18(N)Kansas16W78-66
11/21Niagara356W100-42
11/23Howard288W93-56
11/27(N)Arkansas25W80-71
12/2Florida13W67-66
12/6@Michigan St11W66-60
12/16Lipscomb132W97-73
12/20(N)Texas Tech2777%
12/31Georgia Tech13198%
1/3@Florida St11892%
1/6@Louisville1456%
1/10SMU4290%
1/14@California7685%
1/17@Stanford8989%
1/24Wake Forest5592%
1/26Louisville1477%
1/31@Virginia Tech6282%
2/3Boston College13899%
2/7@North Carolina2265%
2/10@Pittsburgh10892%
2/14Clemson3186%
2/16Syracuse7995%
2/21(N)Michigan138%
2/24@Notre Dame5881%
2/28Virginia2383%
3/2@NC State2868%
3/7North Carolina2283%