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Duke basketball: Can Blue Devils still make the NCAA Tournament?

By Scott Rogust

MIAMI, FLORIDA - FEBRUARY 01: Head Coach Mike Krzyzewski of the Duke Blue Devils coaching from a socially distant bench against the Miami Hurricanes during the first half at Watsco Center on February 01, 2021 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Mark Brown/Getty Images)
MIAMI, FLORIDA - FEBRUARY 01: Head Coach Mike Krzyzewski of the Duke Blue Devils coaching from a socially distant bench against the Miami Hurricanes during the first half at Watsco Center on February 01, 2021 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Mark Brown/Getty Images) /
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After losing to North Carolina on Saturday, the Duke Blue Devils have a slim path to the NCAA tournament.

The Duke Blue Devils entered Saturday afternoon with an 11-10 record and were looking to improve their chances of making the 2021 NCAA tournament. All they had to do was defeat the rival North Carolina Tar Heels. That proved to be a challenge in and of itself.

North Carolina must have remembered when Duke’s official Twitter account trolled them for losing to Marquette, because they absolutely stomped on the Blue Devils 91-73.  The game was essentially over at halftime when the Tar Heels led 42-26.

Now sitting at .500 and ending their season on a three-game losing streak, Duke’s chances of making the March Madness tourney are pretty slim. The only possible pathways for the Blue Devils is to either win the ACC tournament next week or put up an impressive run to the finals.

Duke: Blue Devils need ACC tourney miracle to make it to March Madness

The Blue Devils enter next week’s ACC tournament as the tenth seed. To make a deep run to the semifinals, Duke has to defeat Boston College in the first round, Louisville in the second and Florida State in the quarterfinals. If they were to impress throughout the tournament and make it to the finals, then there could be a chance they clinch a spot in the NCAA tournament regardless of the end result.

Duke faced Boston College earlier this season, where they narrowly won 83-82. As for Louisville, the Blue Devils lost both of their meetings 70-65 and 80-73. Duke’s lone meeting against Florida State was postponed due to COVID-19 issues. At the end of the season, Duke is 9-9 against ACC teams.

It’s either win-out or make a strong, deep run to the ACC finals if Duke wants to make it to the NCAA tournament. If not, it will be the first time the Blue Devils are not part of the “Big Dance” since 1995.

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