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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LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY – FEBRUARY 12: Zion Williamson #1 of the Duke Blue Devils watches the action against the Louisville Cardinals at KFC YUM! Center on February 12, 2019 in Louisville, Kentucky. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY – FEBRUARY 12: Zion Williamson #1 of the Duke Blue Devils watches the action against the Louisville Cardinals at KFC YUM! Center on February 12, 2019 in Louisville, Kentucky. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) /

2. Duke pretty much never loses when healthy

If Williamson is back in the fold as expected, the Blue Devils should be as close to full strength as possible entering the ACC Tournament. That is a frightening proposition for the rest of the league since Duke almost never loses when they have their full complement of players.

They lost five games during the regular season, but three of them came without Williamson and their loss against Syracuse came without both Cam Reddish and Tre Jones. The only team in the country to top a fully healthy Duke was Gonzaga back in November during the non-conference portion of the schedule.

In other words, they went 21-1 with a complete roster, and a lot of those wins came in blowout fashion. Even if Bolden misses some time in the ACC Tournament due to his injury, Coach K’s crop of fabulous freshmen should be able to wreak havoc on the field in Charlotte, allowing the Blue Devils to reclaim the crown.

1. The return of Zion

After the loss to North Carolina on Saturday, Mike Krzyzewski announced Williamson is expected to return from his knee injury for the conference tournament. That announcement alone should make Duke the favorites in Charlotte.

Since Williamson went down, the Blue Devils have struggled to pull away from the opposition, especially since his presence masked Duke’s perimeter deficiencies. Duke is still a very good basketball team even without Williamson, but adding the best player in the country to the mix will make them even better.

The Blue Devils really need Williamson back as well, especially with Marques Bolden leaving the loss to North Carolina with a knee injury. They were staring at a very thin front line without Williamson and Bolden, but Zion’s return should put the Blue Devils in a much better position.

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