Latest court ruling a major win for Jon Scheyer and Duke's pursuit of ACC, National Title

The Colorado court ruling that granted blanket eligibility for a fifth season to the class of 2022 outgoing seniors was unfortunate for Jon Scheyer and Duke. Scheyer built his roster the right way and was forced to watch competitors bolster their rosters with players who should have been ineligible.

For now at least, that ruling has been overturned.

The Tenth Circuit Court has granted the NCAA a stay request in the ruling, meaning all the fifth-year players granted eligibility from that ruling are now ineligible pending appeal/their own lawsuits.

Those athletes are free to pursue their own waivers via temporary restraining orders and preliminary injunctions against the NCAA, but for now they are ineligible. That deals a blow to two of Duke's biggest hurdles for supremacy in both the ACC and National Title races.

Louisville's Seth Trimble and Florida's Denzel Aberdeen are now both ineligible...for now.

Tenth Circuit ruling is a big blow to both Louisville and Florida

Louisville just recently added UNC transfer Seth Trimble, who played four years for the Tar Heels and participated in the NBA's Summer League before pursuing a fifth season of eligibility thanks to Judge Sweeney's ruling. Trimble bolstered the Cardinals' backcourt and joined a strong Transfer Portal class that included Flory Bidunga, Jackson Shelstad, Karter Knox, and Alvaro Folgueiras.

The blow is even worse for Todd Golden and Florida. The Gators have been counting on Denzel Aberdeen as a critical piece of their backcourt, and now he'll need to seek out his own eligibility waiver in order to play next season.

Aberdeen spent three seasons with Florida before joining Kentucky last season, and then re-entering the portal and signing with the Gators despite seemingly being out of eligibility. Florida has the nation's best frontcourt, but they have serious backcourt questions, especially if Aberdeen is ultimately unable to play. It was Florida's biggest weakness last season, and it proved costly in the stunning loss to Iowa in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

This is good news for Duke currently. Louisville is the biggest competition for the Blue Devils' quest for a third consecutive ACC Championship.

With Aberdeen, Florida is the only team on equal ground with Scheyer and company next season. If he's ineligible, then Duke should be seen as the clear national title favorite, with the Gators entering the year with a significant question mark at guard.

Of course, when it comes to eligibility cases nowadays, it's impossible to figure out what's going to happen next. While this is temporarily good news for Duke, it's far too early to celebrate just yet.

Both Trimble and Aberdeen will likely pursue their own eligibility case against the NCAA, and given the NCAA's Washington Generals-esque court record, the two fifth-year guards will almost certainly win and be on the court next season.

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