Duke is dominant.
The Blue Devils are now 27-3 after obliterating Wake Forest 93-60 on Monday night, thanks in part to Cooper Flagg showing everyone why he's at least the second-best player in the country with 28 points, 8 rebounds, 7 assists, 2 steals, 3 blocks
ACC standings after Duke blows out Wake Forest
Team | Record |
|---|---|
Duke Blue Devils | 27-3 (18-1) |
Louisville Cardinals | 23-6 (16-2) |
Clemson Tigers | 24-5 (16-2) |
North Carolina Tar Heels | 19-11 (12-6) |
SMU Mustangs | 21-8 (12-6) |
Wake Forest Demon Deacons | 20-10 (12-7) |
Stanford Cardinal | 19-10 (11-7) |
Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets | 20-10 (12-7) |
Virginia Tech Hokies | 13-16 (8-10) |
Florida State Seminoles | 16-13 (7-11) |
Virginia Cavaliers | 14-15 (7-11) |
Pittsburgh Panthers | 16-13 (7-11) |
Syracuse Orange | 12-17 (6-12) |
California Golden Bears | 13-16 (6-12) |
Notre Dame Fighting Irish | 12-17 (6-12) |
NC State Wolfpack | 11-18 (4-14) |
Boston College Eagles | 12-17 (4-14) |
Miami Hurricanes | 6-23 (2-16) |
Monday's blowout was equally as important for Duke and Wake Forest — just in opposite ways. For the Blue Devils, things are going about as well as possible. Now two games clear of Louisville and Clemson in the win column and one game clear of the loss column, the Blue Devils are on the precipice of securing an ACC title — a well-deserved one, at that. This team is a force.
Wake Forest might have just seen their bubble pop
Ranked as one of Joe Lunardi's "next four out" teams in the most recent Bracketology, Wake Forest probably needed a win tonight to boost their resume back into bubble contention. Maybe even a competitive loss plus some magic in the ACC Tournament. But getting blown out in the manner they did might remove them from bubble talk for good.
Most years, a 12-7 conference record in the ACC and a 20-win season would be plenty to get a team into the dance. Not this year, as a weak conference will likely send just three or four teams to the field of 68.
North Carolina and SMU move ahead of Wake Forest
Two other bubble teams in the ACC, North Carolina and SMU, just moved up in the conference standings thanks to Duke stomping WF. But this result likely won't have much bearing on the outcome for either of those teams (who are in ESPN's "first four out" and "next four out," respectively) who need some magic of their own to get into the tourney. If anything, this game hurts those two teams because it shows just how large the gap between Duke and most other teams in this conference really is.
ACC Tournament seeding is massively important
The top four teams in the ACC get byes to the quarterfinals in the ACC Tournament, meaning they only have to win two games to appear in the championship. Teams No. 5-9, however, have to play in the "second round" the night before, making the path to conference tourney glory considerably more difficult.
With a loss tonight, Wake Forest falls out of the top four in the ACC. Granted, it's only by a half game, so they're not doomed to the second round just yet. But it'll be tough to regain that all-important No. 4 seed in the next few days.
Duke is rolling through the conference
There is a championship-level team in Durham right now. This team is buzzing and it's hard to point to any game Duke has played this season as a cautionary tale. No team in college basketball is perfect, and no team is unbeatable, but this is one of the best Duke teams in years.
Its best player is a freshman — that's usually said as a slight, but it's hard not to believe in Cooper Flagg, who is going to make a bad NBA team very happy in a few months. In two of Duke's losses, Flagg wasn unable to make a play late to get his team over the hump. But considering he hasn't needed to do that in 27 games because Duke has been ahead... it still doesn't seem smart to bet against Duke in the early rounds of the tourney... or maybe any rounds.