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Duke Blue Devils tabbed as the ACC favorites heading into the season

By Kevin Connelly

CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA - MARCH 16: Head coach Mike Krzyzewski of the Duke Blue Devils accepts the ACC Championship trophy after defeating the Florida State Seminoles 73-63 in the championship game of the 2019 Men's ACC Basketball Tournament at Spectrum Center on March 16, 2019 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)
CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA - MARCH 16: Head coach Mike Krzyzewski of the Duke Blue Devils accepts the ACC Championship trophy after defeating the Florida State Seminoles 73-63 in the championship game of the 2019 Men's ACC Basketball Tournament at Spectrum Center on March 16, 2019 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images) /
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The Duke Basketball team was tabbed as the favorites of the ACC according the the results of the preseason media poll.

The ACC Media Day has come and gone and the votes have been counted for the ACC Preseason Media Poll.

The Duke Blue Devils, the 2019 ACC Tournament Champions, was tabbed as the favorite to win the conference despite the departure of several key members of last year’s team and a new crop of freshmen entering Durham.

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Duke received 51 of a possible 111 first place votes with the North Carolina Tar Heels receiving 19, the Louisville Cardinals receiving 29, and the defending National Champions, the Virginia Cavaliers, receiving 12.

Despite the first place votes, the Tar Heels were projected to finish second in the ACC with the Cardinals third and the Cavaliers fourth. The Florida State Seminoles, who lost to the Blue Devils in the ACC Tournament Championship Game, were predicted to come in fifth.

The Blue Devils finished the poll with 1,564 points while the Tar Heels was awarded 1,493 points.

Things have not been kind to the team that is projected to finish atop the conference in the preseason as the No. 1 team has only won the regular season “crown”, which is not recognized by the conference, in the 2011-12 and 2015-16 seasons.

In both seasons North Carolina was the preseason No. 1 team and finished the regular season as the top team.

The Duke Blue Devils will have a different slew of players from a year ago with the departure of Zion Williamson, R.J. Barrett, and Cam Reddish to the NBA.

However, Mike Krzyzewski brings in a star-studded freshmen class in Vernon Carey Jr., Matthew Hurt, Wendell Moore, and Cassius Stanley.

The biggest holdover from last season’s freshmen class is point guard Tre Jones who opted to return to Durham for his sophomore season.

Fans do not have to wait much longer to see the 2019-20 Duke Blue Devils take the floor as the team will hold its annual Countdown to Craziness on Friday, October 18 and two preseason games on October 28 and October 30.

Duke will open the regular season at Madison Square Garden in the State Farm Champions Classic against the Kansas Jayhawks on November 6 and will begin ACC play on December 6 on the road against the Virginia Tech Hokies.

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