March Madness Bracketology: What seed will Duke drop to after upset loss to NC State?

The Duke Blue Devils didn't end the season like they had envisioned. Last week, they lost to the rival North Carolina Tar Heels on the road to lose the opportunity to tie as ACC regular-season champions. Now, they had the chance to increase their odds of landing a high seed in the NCAA Tournament by cruising through the ACC Tournament.

Entering the ACC Tournament, Duke held the No. 2 seed and matched up with the No. 10 NC State Wolfpack, who had beaten the No. 15 Louisville Cardinals and the No. 7 Syracuse Orange in the first and second rounds.

On Thursday night, the Blue Devils were eliminated from the ACC Tournament, losing 74-69 to the Wolfpack.

DJ Horne led the way for NC State, scoring 18 points off the bench after shooting 7-for-13 from the field. Meanwhile, Mohamed Dairra notched a double-double after scoring 14 points (five-for-nine from the field) and 16 rebounds.

As for Duke, Kyle Filipowski led the way, scoring 28 points (13-for-20 from the field) and hauled in 14 rebounds to notch his own double-double. Filipowski fouled out in the closing seconds during Duke's comeback attempt.

NC State is now the first double-digit seed to advance through the first three rounds since the 2007 Wolfpack when they were a No. 10 seed. As for Duke, this is the first time they exited the ACC Tournament without a win since 2013. This statistic comes courtesy of Richmond.com's David Teel.

So, is Duke in danger of falling down the rankings with this loss?

Duke Bracketology update: What seed will the Blue Devils fall to after ACC Tourney elimination?

Entering Thursday, ESPN's Joe Lunardi listed Duke as a No. 3 seed in the South Region in his Bracketology report. After the game, Lunardi still had Duke as a No. 3 seed but in the East Region. Two notable moves did take place, as Iowa State jumped up to a No. 2 seed after their 76-57 win over Kansas State, while Creighton dropped to a No. 3 seed after their 78-73 loss to Providence.

There's a possibility that Duke falls to a No. 4 seed as conference championship tournaments progress and eventually conclude.

Thursday night's defeat is now the team's fourth Quadrant 2 loss of the season. Their other Quadrant 2 defeats came against Arkansas, Georgia Tech, and Pittsburgh. They do, however, have five Quadrant 1 wins to their credit (No. 18 Michigan State, No. 10 Baylor, Pittsburgh, Virginia Tech, and NC State) earlier in the season.

Duke may very well be safe and keep their No. 3 seed. However, that will all depend on what happens in the closing moments of each conference championship tournament.