The wait is finally over for Duke hoops fans, as Jon Scheyer and his players are ready to get their postseason going. With the way the ACC Tournament has worked out thus far, the Blue Devils are locked into a quarterfinals dance with Florida State.
Jon Scheyer's confidence are the words Duke needs right now
While the Seminoles are entering this game with plenty of confidence, that's not going to matter much - at least that's what the Vegas oddsmakers are thinking. The betting odds have dropped for the ACC Tournament clash and Duke is favored by a head-turning 19.5 points. This tells us that barring a shocker, we'll be seeing Duke in the semifinals.
Duke is favored by 19.5 points against Florida State in the ACC Tournament
Yup, with the Blue Devils being such huge favorites, it's going to have plenty of people thinking that Duke essentially has one foot in the ACC Tournament semis. And if things go to plan for the Duke faithful, then another heavyweight showdown with North Carolina will be on the way.
The Tar Heels are getting ready to take on Clemson in the quarterfinals, hoping to make some noise even without Caleb Wilson on the hardwood. The standout freshman is out for the season due to a broken thumb he suffered on a dunk in practice.
While everyone would love to see Round 3 between the two ACC giants, North Carolina has a tough showdown on the way, as the Tigers are the five seed and they're hoping to land a proverbial haymaker on Hubert Davis' group in this one - it's surely not going to be an easy game for UNC.
Meanwhile for Duke, there will be no Caleb Foster or Patrick Ngongba in this one, as the two have already been ruled out for the week due to their foot injuries. Foster's is a bit more on the serious side, as he has a fracture in his foot and it's unknown if he'll play again this year.
Scheyer has left the door open for his point guard to return, but not until the Final Four if the Blue Devils make it that far. Ngongba is hoping to be ready for the start of the Big Dance. Those injuries complicate things for the Blue Devils' ACC tourney title hopes, but the expectation is still that this group can raise the trophy high into the sky this weekend and then go on a deep run in the NCAA Tournament too.