Duke basketball not included in Top-16 seeds with concerning signs

The Duke basketball program was not included in the Top-16 seeding reveal. 

Hours before the Duke basketball team tipped off against Syracuse, the NCAA Tournament selection committee revealed a projection of its Top-16 seeds ahead of next month’s selection show.

The Blue Devils were not included on any of the Top-4 seed lines, as expected, but there was a concerning sign for Duke that the chances for more quality wins are slim.

Jon Scheyer’s team ranks No. 25 in the NET after its dominant win against the Orange but only hold a disappointing 2-7 record in Quad 1 games, and many project the five-time National Champions to receive a unflattering seed in the NCAA Tournament.

Bracket Matrix, a site which averages out a team’s seeding from expert bracketologists, has the Blue Devils as an 8-seed with an average of 7.64-seed per bracket.

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No bracketologist has Duke worse than a 9-seed but none better than a 6-seed.

However, the problem surrounding the Blue Devils involves the ACC and its lack of quality teams this season.

Virginia is the only team in the league that earned a spot in the Top-16 reveal as a No. 3 seed and there are very few opportunities for Duke to boost its resume before Selection Sunday.

Duke basketball looming schedule looks favorable

Duke (19-8, 10-6 ACC) begins a three-game home stand on Monday night against Louisville (4-23, 2-14 ACC) before playing Virginia Tech (16-11, 6-10 ACC) on Saturday night and hosting No. 23 North Carolina State (21-7, 11-6 ACC) next week, two teams that defeated the Blue Devils on the road this season.

North Carolina (16-11, 8-8 ACC), which is firmly on the bubble of the NCAA Tournament, awaits its rematch with Duke in the regular season finale, but the Blue Devils might have to win out to have a chance at significantly improving its seeding.

A trip to the Dean Dome is currently the only Quad 1 game left in the regular season for the Devils.

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The world knows that Duke was robbed of a chance at victory last weekend on the road against the No. 7 Cavaliers (21-4, 13-3 ACC) but of the teams placed in the Top-16, not including Virginia, the Blue Devils are 1-2 in those games with a neutral court victory over Xavier but losses to Kansas and Purdue.

A rematch could be coming within the next three weeks between Duke and Virginia in the ACC Tournament but the team must continue to focus on stacking wins and trying to secure a double-bye in Greensboro.