After a shaky performance that nearly resulted in a monumental upset in the first round, confidence was waning in Duke's ability to make a deep run in March Madness and compete for the National Championship.
The first half against TCU did little to dispel those concerns, with a quiet first 20 for Cameron Boozer and the Blue Devils clinging to just a four-point lead.
But Boozer and Duke came alive in the second half, outscoring TCU by 19 and cruising to an 81-58 win to advance to the Sweet 16.
Duke's second-half performance against TCU will have many ready to ignore the issues Duke has had in the opening two rounds and reinstall the Blue Devils as the title favorite. But that might be a bit premature.
Duke has some real concerns that 2nd weekend teams could take advantage of to send them home
Duke will face nothing but elite teams and elite coaches from here. Waiting in the Sweet 16 will be either Bill Self and Kansas or Rick Pitino and St. John's. The Elite Eight will likely be against Tom Izzo and Michigan State or Dan Hurley and UConn.
And when they turn on the tape from Duke's opening two rounds, those teams and coaches are going to see some things they can take advantage of.
In the first half, TCU successfully got the ball out of Cameron Boozer's hands. He only took a single shot, and Duke's offense looked discombobulated as a result.
He was much more aggressive in the second half, and his dominance allowed Duke to gain some late separation in a 23-point win.
Duke still shot the ball poorly from deep, however, connecting on just 7-of-21 from three. That would have been even worse if it weren't for a 4-of-7 night from Dame Sarr. Typically, when Isaiah Evans struggles, so does Duke. He hit just 2-of-8 from three, but Sarr's makes picked him up.
Both St. John's and Kansas have physical bigs who can make life difficult for Boozer on the interior. If he is anything less than a superstar, Duke's margin is much thinner unless Evans, or someone else, can step up with a big performance.
After a brilliant regular season where Duke rarely showed any flaws, they've had a few creep up in the postseason that could keep them out of the Final Four.