Just over a week ago, when Duke guard Caleb Foster first went down with his fractured foot, the odds of the Blue Devils securing a National Championship took a slight dip.
Now, despite center Patrick Ngongba II being on track to return sooner rather than later, no new injuries cropping up, and the Blue Devils dominating the ACC Tournament, Duke's odds to win it all have dropped once again.
However, it is far from time to panic. The Blue Devils still have +390 odds to win the natty, only trailing the Arizona Wildcats (+370) and the Michigan Wolverines (+380) by the narrowest of margins.
Duke can easily overcome odds to win the National Championship
Earlier this season, Duke overcame the odds to upset the Wolverines. Then, just a week ago, even with Foster and Ngongba freshly sidelined, the Blue Devils defeated the UNC Tar Heels by double digits and went on to claim the ACC Tournament title.
Point guard Cayden Boozer stepped up when the team needed him most and, quite literally, pushed Duke to victories over Clemson and Virginia in the conference tournament. Additionally, Maliq Brown and Nikolas Khamenia rotated into the lineup to play crucial roles.
To put it lightly, Duke is going to be just fine, even if the Blue Devils have to wait a little longer for Ngongba to return or if Foster can't make it back by Jon Scheyer's dream return date.
The Blue Devils face the Siena Saints in the First Round, with a 2:50 p.m. ET tip-off time on Thursday, March 19. Unsurprisingly, the odds are heavily in Duke's favor for this game, giving Scheyer's squad a 28.5-point margin for victory.
While the Blue Devils have a brutal uphill battle ahead of them to return to the Final Four, fans shouldn't panic just because the odds aren't heavily in their favor.