Don’t sleep on the Duke Blue Devils, they’re absolutely loaded. If you don’t believe us, just ask Rhode Island.
This was not Duke’s best season. They finished 27-7 and lost to North Carolina twice. The second, a loss in the semifinals of the ACC Tournament, probably sealed their fate as a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament, instead of landing on the top line of the bracket for their region. From Jan. 8 on they never ranked higher than No. 4, and fell as low as No. 12, in the AP poll.
They may have been overshadowed for the last two months of the college basketball season but Duke will not stay in the shadows for long. Their talent won’t let them.
Duke’s frontcourt players rank both among the top-10 prospects in the latest NBA Draft Big Board at The Step Back. In fact, their entire starting five ranks among the top-60 prospects in those rankings.
Marvin Bagley (6)
Wendell Carter Jr. (7)
Trevon Duval (39)
Grayson Allen (45)
Gary Trent Jr. (55)
Duke also has the third-best adjusted efficiency margin in Division I, according to KenPom.com, and is the only team in the country that ranks in the top-10 on both sides of the ball. And then there is what they’ve done in the NCAA Tournament so far.
Duke stomped Iona in the first round, winning by 22 points, headlined by 22 points from Bagley on just 14 shots from the field. Duke assisted on 66 percent of their made field goals and hit 13-of-30 from behind the 3-point line. They were +10 on the glass and four of their five starters scored in double-figures.
They followed that up by thumping Rhode Island 87-62 to advance to the Sweet 16. Bagley again paced his team with 22 points on just 10 shots. All five starters were in double-figures and the team finished shooting 56.9 percent from the field and 47.6 percent on 3-pointers.
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Duke is now headed for a possible Sweet 16 matchup with Michigan State, a team that also has multiple NBA lottery-bound draft prospects and elite efficiency at both ends of the floor — ninth on offense, 11th on defense. They may not have the sparkle of year’s past, but this Duke team is absolutely loaded.