Duke Blue Devils | 24-6
Season: Finished With 2nd Best Record In ACC Standings | Ranked No. 2 In Midwest Regional
Senior, Ryan Kelly who’s been Duke’s lights out shooter while on the court, missed two months with a right foot injury over the season but returned to action and has since made an immediate impact with the team in just four games back. Although Duke didn’t win the ACC tournament losing to Maryland; we can guarantee you Kelly will not go 0-6 from beyond the arch and will help anchor the front court with team captain Mason Plumlee.
Luckily for Duke, they’re ranked 2nd in the Midwest Regional behind Louisville, who is not a team they want to see at this very moment. Kelly will still need a few more games to work himself back into the offense, but what sets Duke apart from the entire field is having a go to scorer in Seth Curry, a dominate big man in Plumlee, outside shooting from Kelly at the four to free up room for Miles along with the slashing Quinn Cook and the best basketball coach in Mike Krzyzewski.
With all of these dynamics, it all comes down to their captain and best player mason Plumlee. The team feeds off how well Plumlee plays which is why they went him to always get off to good start to set the tone for the counterparts in the back court as well as help from the bench when the starters take a rest. I can’t think of a player in the tournament that means anymore to a team than Mason as I’m expecting the Blue Devils to make it to Atlanta and maybe a National title appearance in following.