NCAA Tournament Sweet 16: 5 strongest national title contenders

COLUMBUS, OHIO - MARCH 22: Coby White #2 and Nassir Little #5 of the North Carolina Tar Heels share a laugh as they take on the Iona Gaels during the second half of the game in the first round of the 2019 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Nationwide Arena on March 22, 2019 in Columbus, Ohio. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images) /

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COLUMBIA, SC – MARCH 24: Zion Williamson #1 of the Duke Blue Devils reacts during their game against the UCF Knights in the second round of the 2019 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament held at Colonial Life Arena on March 24, 2019 in Columbia, South Carolina. (Photo by Grant Halverson/NCAA Photos via Getty Images) /

1. Duke

The Blue Devils haven’t looked overwhelming in either of their first two games. After Duke let 16-seed North Dakota State hang around for a half, the Blue Devils ran away with it to set up a showdown with former Duke assistant Johnny Dawkins and UCF.

The Knights gave Duke everything they could handle, with Dawkins’ son Aubrey scoring 32 points on 12-18 shooting and big man Tacko Fall wreaking havoc in the paint. UCF had two shots to win the game at the end as well, but the ball just didn’t fall into the net, enabling Duke to get through the second round by surviving that scare.

Having a game that close will only help Duke realize they need to step up their game if they hope to win it all. Duke is still a flawed team that is very reliant on Williamson to generate offense since they have issues shooting from the perimeter, but this is without a doubt the most talented team in the field.

At the end of the day, talent usually comes out on top in these games, and Duke has more of it than anyone in the country. That is why the Blue Devils remain the most likely team to win the national championship entering the Sweet 16 on Thursday.

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