For a second year in a row, the Blue Devils have secured the ACC regular-season title, continuing a stretch of dominance that few teams can match. Along the way, Duke has made statement wins on the national stage, including a win over No. 3 Michigan in D.C., and has largely cruised through the ACC aside from a brief slip at UNC, where they led all but 1.2 seconds of the game.
And yet, despite all of this, some national analysts were slow to recognize Duke as a true contender. Stanford Steve was a perfect example. About two weeks ago, right before the showdown with Michigan, he left the Blue Devils completely off his contender list, a move that looked questionable even then. Following the impressive win, when given a chance on SportsCenter with Scott Van Pelt to walk back the claim, he still wasn't ready to fully buy in.
Duke has since made that hesitation look even worse, forcing Stanford Steve to finally walk back his claim last night on SportsCenter.
Stanford Steve eats crow as the Blue Devils continue to roll
Since these wildly off-base takes, Duke has continued to roll through the ACC, dominating nearly every opponent and climbing to the top of KenPom ratings, leaving little doubt about its place among the nation's elite. With each blowout win in the ACC, Duke made it impossible for Steve to stick to his original claim, and last night he finally walked it back.
"They've played their best basketball in the last four games." @StanfordSteve82 explains to @notthefakeSVP why he bought in on Duke 👀 pic.twitter.com/i1eCHiG2mR
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) March 3, 2026
It was only a matter of time before Steve adjusted his take. The Blue Devils' performances in the ACC and on the national stage left no question about their legitimacy as a contender, letting the team do the talking on the court while analysts trailed behind. Duke's dominant defense, Cam Boozer's star power, and Caleb Foster's calm leadership have consistently shown why the original omission was so far off base.
Of course, Duke isn't concerned with pundits' opinions; the Blue Devils have their eyes on a much bigger prize, focused on winning every game in front of them and ultimately cutting down the nets in April, confetti falling from the rafters. Duke returns to Cameron Indoor for the regular-season finale and a rivalry matchup with No. 17 UNC on Saturday. They'll need to carry that momentum through the weekend, into the ACC tournament next week, and all the way to March Madness.