The Duke Blue Devils (31-3, 19-1 ACC) earned a 1-seed in the NCAA Tournament, but not the event's #1 overall seed. Instead, the top overall seed went to Auburn. Although Duke should've won the big dance's #1 overall seed in the event over the Tigers, the Blue Devils might've dodged a bullet by being a 1-seed, but not the tournament's #1 overall seed.
You see, the reason Duke may have lucked out is due to the "curse" of being the NCAA Tournament's #1 overall seed over the last near decade. Over the last nine tournaments, excluding 2020 due to the COVID cancellation, only one #1 overall seed has won the national championship, as that was UConn in 2024. Besides the Huskies, the farthest a #1 overall seed in the tournament has made it was in 2021 when Gonzaga lost to Baylor in the national title game and Kentucky in 2015 when it lost in the Final Four to Wisconsin.
Besides those three programs, all six others lost in the Elite Eight or earlier. Duke actually fell victim to that curse in one of those cases, as the Blue Devils were the #1 overall seed in the tournament in 2019 and fell to Michigan State in the Elite Eight.
Whether it's a true curse or not to be the top dog in March Madness, Duke is sitting much more comfortably as one of the 1-seeds as opposed to the top seed in the tournament. Despite Duke being the favorite to win the national title, the Blue Devils aren't haunted by the curse of necessarily being "expected" to win it all, if that makes sense.
Obviously, as a 1-seed, you are expected to go far in the tournament. But upsets happen all the time, and a 1-seed will almost definitely be upset before they are expected to this year as well.
The Blue Devils still have a tough path to making the Final Four or national title game even earlier than what might be anticipated. If Duke gets out of its Round of 64 game, it has to go up against 8-seed Mississippi State or 9-seed Baylor in the Round of 32, two feisty opponents out of the SEC and Big 12 respectively.
And even beyond that, Duke has 2-seed Alabama, 3-seed Wisconsin, and 4-seed Arizona to potentially have to get past in its region alone.
Despite having a difficult road in the NCAA Tournament this season, the Blue Devils will not be haunted by the #1 overall seed "curse."