The Duke Blue Devils are the No. 1 team in the nation, and they are on a (hopefully crash-free) crash course for the National Championship (yes, even with Caleb Foster sidelined until the Final Four).
However, with a few flaws cropping up throughout the regular season, the return to the biggest game of them all isn't guaranteed.
As head coach Jon Scheyer and his young squad look to take Duke back to the National Championship for the first time since 2015, these are the three biggest things that could spoil their journey:
1. Foul trouble hurting already hurt depth
Fouling was a major issue when Duke first played the UNC Tar Heels in the regular season, one of the Blue Devils' two losses all year.
Even star freshman Cameron Boozer racked up two fouls before halftime, and center Patrick Ngongba II fouled out during the second half in what turned out to be a crucial time for the big man to be on the court.
This team hasn't been the most egregious squad when it comes to fouling, but in games where the season is quite literally on the line, it wouldn't be surprising for this kind of issue to become a serious problem.
2. The ghost of free-throws' past
Earlier this year, the Blue Devils were making a name for themselves as a team that couldn't shoot free throws.
In its only other loss in the regular season, a one-point defeat at the hands of the Texas Tech Red Raiders, Duke shot a shockingly bad 59 percent from the charity stripe. Against the Cal Golden Bears (whom they still beat) just a few weeks later, they shot just 47 percent from the line.
While each free throw is worth just one point, missing upwards of nine or so free throws can undeniably change the outcome of a game.
3. Postseason pressure overwhelming the young guns
Now, this is more of a mental problem than something that you could actually chalk up to missing shots or sending your opponent to the free-throw line too many times.
However, Scheyer's squad is extremely young, especially with junior point guard Caleb Foster out for at least a majority of the postseason.
Duke's starting lineup now has three freshmen: guard Cayden Boozer, forwards Dame Sarr and Cameron Boozer. Rounding out the group are sophomore guard Isaiah Evans, who saw minimal postseason minutes last year, and senior center Maliq Brown, who hasn't been a starter since transferring to Duke.
The postseason puts more pressure on these young players than anything else has in their entire careers, and all too often, that pressure goes to their heads and causes them to make out-of-character mistakes.
While Scheyer has most likely prepared his team for this kind of strain, nobody knows what this team's postseason play will look like until the Blue Devils actually tip off.