Fansided

5 reasons Duke will win the ACC Tournament

By Mike Phillips

CHAPEL HILL, NORTH CAROLINA - MARCH 09: Zion Williamson #1 of the Duke Blue Devils watches on before their game against the North Carolina Tar Heels at Dean Smith Center on March 09, 2019 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)
CHAPEL HILL, NORTH CAROLINA - MARCH 09: Zion Williamson #1 of the Duke Blue Devils watches on before their game against the North Carolina Tar Heels at Dean Smith Center on March 09, 2019 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images) /
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Duke ACC Tournament
CHAPEL HILL, NORTH CAROLINA – MARCH 09: Zion Williamson #1 of the Duke Blue Devils watches on from the bench during their game against the North Carolina Tar Heels at Dean Smith Center on March 09, 2019 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images) /

Duke didn’t end the regular season on the strongest note, but they still remain a huge threat to win the ACC Tournament.

After spending most of the season as the class of the ACC, the Duke Blue Devils slipped all the way to the third seed in the ACC Tournament. The loss of future NBA top pick Zion Williamson played a huge role in that fall, with the Blue Devils dropping three games to ranked opponents without him

With Williamson expected to make his return to the lineup for the ACC Tournament, Duke will resemble the team that looked unstoppable with him healthy. With Williamson’s impending return, let’s examine five reasons that Duke will win the ACC Tournament anyway, starting with:

5. Duke should have an easy path to the semifinals

The good news for Blue Devils’ fans is that Duke’s strong early season assured they would get a bye to the quarterfinals of the ACC Tournament. While getting swept by North Carolina and ending up as the three seed is obviously not ideal, they should have a good draw in their first game.

Duke won’t play until Thursday when they await the winner of a matchup between Syracuse and whoever emerges from the 11-14 game between Boston College and Pittsburgh. The Orange did have a win over Duke at Cameron in January, but the Blue Devils played without both Cam Reddish and Tre Jones in that game.

Syracuse will most likely be Duke’s first opponent in the ACC Tournament, and they were cold to end the regular season, dropping six of their last nine games. One of those losses came at home to Duke, who was without Williamson, and with the tournament in Charlotte, it will be a de facto home game for the Blue Devils.