Fansided

5 reasons Duke won’t win the ACC Tournament

By Mike Phillips

DURHAM, NORTH CAROLINA - FEBRUARY 20: Zion Williamson #1 of the Duke Blue Devils falls as his shoe breaks against Luke Maye #32 of the North Carolina Tar Heels during their game at Cameron Indoor Stadium on February 20, 2019 in Durham, North Carolina. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)
DURHAM, NORTH CAROLINA - FEBRUARY 20: Zion Williamson #1 of the Duke Blue Devils falls as his shoe breaks against Luke Maye #32 of the North Carolina Tar Heels during their game at Cameron Indoor Stadium on February 20, 2019 in Durham, North Carolina. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images) /
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Zion Williamson
DURHAM, NC – MARCH 02: Zion Williamson of the Duke Blue Devils reacts prior to their game against the Miami Hurricanes at Cameron Indoor Stadium on March 2, 2019 in Durham, North Carolina. (Photo by Lance King/Getty Images) /

While a lot of the country expects Duke to win the ACC Tournament with Zion Williamson back, betting on the Blue Devils may not be the smartest strategy.

The ACC Tournament is the most top-heavy tournament in the country, featuring three teams that could end up as top seeds in the NCAA Tournament. Virginia is a lock to be on the top line, while North Carolina and Duke are jockeying for that second top seed.

Duke was a lock like Virginia for a no. 1 seed until Williamson got hurt against North Carolina, and the Blue Devils lost three games without him. Williamson’s absence exposed a lot of Duke’s flaws, but he is expected to be back for the ACC Tournament, significantly boosting Duke’s odds of cutting down the nets in Charlotte.

Despite all of the positivity surrounding Duke’s chances right now, there are a lot of red flags surrounding the Blue Devils. Let’s break down five reasons why Duke won’t come out on top in Charlotte.

5. Zion Williamson needs to shake off the rust

Assuming Williamson plays in their first game on Thursday, it will be his first action in just over three weeks. That is a long layoff for anyone in the middle of the season, and Williamson figures to be rusty.

Duke could look to ease Williamson back into game action, which makes sense since winning the ACC Tournament isn’t Mike Krzyzewski’s ultimate goal. Cutting down the nets in Minneapolis on April 8 is, so using this tournament to get him back into game shape is an optimal strategy.

Williamson probably won’t be fully unleashed in Charlotte, so this Duke team won’t be the complete unit most people were counting on. That could be problematic the deeper into the tournament Duke goes.

4. Marques Bolden’s injury

If the Blue Devils were fully healthy, playing Williamson in limited minutes wouldn’t be that big of a deal. The problem is that Duke is not healthy after forward Marques Bolden suffered a knee injury in the regular season finale at North Carolina.

Bolden has already been ruled out for the ACC Tournament, which leaves the Blue Devils tremendously thin up front. Javin DeLaurier should get the bulk of Duke’s minutes inside, and he is not nearly the interior presence that Bolden is, let alone Williamson.

Williamson’s return should help a bit here, but missing Bolden on the inside could leave the Blue Devils vulnerable to teams who are excellent on the interior. Luke Maye beat up Duke once this year when they had Bolden, so he could give them fits again without him.