Duke basketball is seen by many as the top squad in this year's NCAA Tournament and was expected to be one of the top picks by the public making their brackets to win the national championship. And it looks like that prediction is coming into fruition, as the Blue Devils are by far the most-picked team to cut down the nets in San Antonio.
Through brackets made so far around the nation, 30.84% of them picked Duke to win the national title game. The second-most picked team was Florida, in which 16.95% of brackets picked the Gators to cut down the nets. Third is Auburn as 9.42%. Duke is clearly seen as the best team by most as Jon Scheyer's club is picked at nearly double the rate of any other team in the nation.
Interestingly, the tournament's #1 overall seed in Auburn is picked at a far fewer rate than Duke to win it all. Typically, the #1 overall seed tends to be the popular pick with fans, but the Tigers' late season struggles have dropped the confidence of many around college hoops.
Auburn lost three of its final four games heading into the tournament, including a loss in the SEC Tournament semifinals to Tennessee.
Not only is Duke seen as the top team in March Madness, but many believe Duke has the easiest route to win its region of any 1-seed. The 2-seed in the East Region where the Blue Devils are slotted is Alabama, which at full strength is an elite squad. But, questions are rising on how far it can go as Grant Nelson is dealing with injuries.
Wisconsin is an intriguing team and was very deserving of earning a 3-seed in the tournament, but Duke could likely handle the Badgers easier than any other top 3-seed in the big dance.
Now obviously, no path to the Final Four is "easy," but most around college basketball see teams like Duke and Florida as in a tier of their own above everyone else in the nation.
Cooper Flagg's status for Duke's Round of 64 matchup remains unclear, but Scheyer said it is both his and Flagg's "goal" to have the freshman sensation available.
Watch the Blue Devils take on the winner of American and Mount St. Mary's on Friday at 2:50pm ET on CBS.