Duke basketball to begin postseason in uncharted waters

It’s uncharted waters for the Duke basketball program entering the postseason in 2021. 

The postseason is finally here, but that might not be great news for the Duke basketball team.

For the first time ever, the Blue Devils (11-11, 9-9 ACC) will be playing on Tuesday at the ACC Tournament, as the No. 10 seed and battling the worst team in the conference, No. 15 seed Boston College (4-15, 2-11 ACC).

Duke narrowly escaped the Eagles at Cameron Indoor Stadium back in early January, 83-82, but both teams look much different now.

The Blue Devils did not have head coach Mike Krzyzewski on the sidelines as he was in quarantine after being exposed to COVID-19, and Jon Scheyer took over head coaching responsibilities.

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Boston College had its head coach, Jim Christian, fired. And star guard Wynston Tabbs has left the program.

The Eagles have only won two games since the calendar has turned to 2021, at home over Miami (FL) and Notre Dame, ending the regular season on a two-game losing streak against Florida State and Miami (FL).

Duke is coming off its low point of the season, an 18-point road loss to North Carolina, where the Blue Devils didn’t look interested in being inside the Dean Dome whatsoever.

Duke basketball NCAA Tournament chances

Prior to its loss against the Tar Heels, Duke was handed two tough overtime losses to Louisville and Georgia Tech, putting a major dark cloud over its NCAA Tournament hopes.

Should Duke want to make its 25th straight NCAA Tournament this season, it very well may have to win five games in five days to capture the ACC Tournament Championship.

At the very least, the Blue Devils will have to win three straight games with victories coming over Boston College, Louisville, and Florida State.

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Duke was swept by the Cardinals this season and did not play the Seminoles due to a COVID-19 issue in Tallahassee.

Should Duke advance past the Eagles, neither Louisville nor Florida State will have played an ACC Tournament game this season.

Tipoff between the Blue Devils and Boston College is scheduled for 4:30pm EST (ACC Network) inside the Greensboro Coliseum.

PREDICTION: Duke 87, Boston College 70