Wally Szczerbiak says what all Duke fans are thinking about brutal March Madness draw

It's never easy in March, but you figure if you are the No. 1 overall seed, that you might get the most favorable path to the Final Four of any team.

That's certainly not the case for the Duke Blue Devils. And CBS analyst Wally Szczerbiak wasn't afraid to point it out after the bracket was released:

"Duke has the hardest road in my opinion. It's not even close," Szczerbiak said. "...That is not a reward for the overall No. 1 seed."

Duke has the 'hardest road' to the Final Four, according ot Wally Szczerbiak

The path is rocky from the jump for Duke. After what should be an easy Round of 64 matchup against Siena, Duke will face off against either TCU or Ohio State. The Horned Frogs won nine of their final 11 games heading into the NCAA Tournament. The Buckeyes are as battle-tested as any team in the country, and of their 12 losses this season, nine of them have come against teams ranked inside the KenPom Top 25.

After that, Jon Scheyer will have a parade of elite college basketball coaches standing in his way of getting to a second consecutive Final Four. Barring upsets in the first two rounds, either Rick Pitino and St. John's or Bill Self and Kansas will be waiting for Duke in the Sweet 16.

In the Elite Eight, Duke will likely have to get through either Dan Hurley and UConn or Tom Izzo and Michigan State. The Blue Devils certainly have their work cut out for them if they want to get back to the Final Four and have a shot at winning their first national championship in 11 years.

But I don't think this group would have it any other way. They haven't backed down from a fight all year, regardless of the adversity they faced. You always have to earn every inch in the NCAA Tournament, and Scheyer will have his team well prepared from the opening tip-off on Thursday.