The No. 1 Duke Blue Devils got their get back against the UNC Tar Heels when they bested their rivals to exact revenge in the two teams' final game of the regular season.
However, with starting center Patrick Ngongba II already on the sidelines with an apparent injury, starting point guard Caleb Foster went down and didn't return against the Heels, leaving the game in a boot and on a knee scooter.
Immediately, analysts started backing off their picks of Duke for the obvious National Champions, and now, the Blue Devils' odds of winning the natty are taking a dip as well.
Michigan lone frontrunner for Natty with Caleb Foster out
Before the rivalry matchup, Duke was tied with the Michigan Wolverines as the odds' favorites to win it all at the end of the season. Now, Michigan is the lone team at the front of the pack with +340 odds, according to FanDuel Sportsbook, followed by the Blue Devils with +360 odds after Foster's injury.
Despite the 12-point win over UNC, Duke's odds to win dropped from +320 to +360, and while Michigan's odds dropped as well, they are now the undeniable favorite to win the national title.
No, that isn't a huge gap between Duke and Michigan, and at the end of the day, the Blue Devils already had the head-to-head win over the Wolverines just a few weeks ago.
However, the fact that the odds are that reliant on just one (or maybe two) players should speak volumes to what fans can expect from their backups, like Foster's understudy, Cayden Boozer.
Of course, Duke still has the ACC Tournament on the horizon, and Michigan has the Big Ten Tournament on its schedule.
Blue Devils' head coach Jon Scheyer said that he doesn't expect Ngongba or Foster to play in the coming week, but that could change at the drop of a hat, apparently just like the odds for who will win the National Championship.
Duke doesn't necessarily need Foster or Ngongba to march its way to yet another ACC Tournament title, but their presences wouldn't hurt. Yet, playing devil's advocate, it could be really beneficial for them to rest and fully recover before the Blue Devils start their march through the NCAA Tournament.