Duke may play in the toughest region of the NCAA Tournament this season, but Jon Scheyer's Blue Devils might be built for it, to run the gauntlet that is... Coming into March Madness, Duke is one of two No. 1 seeds to win its conference tournament, with the other being Arizona. Michigan fell to Purdue in the Big Ten Tournament, and Florida stumbled vs. Vanderbilt during the SEC Tournament.
While all four No. 1 seeds are as good of bets as any to win this year's national championship, there are plenty of reasons we should trust Duke more so than any other No. 1 seed. Could Arizona, Florida, or Michigan win it all? Totally, but Duke seems to possess the right combination of toughness, versatlity, and overall firepower to get it done. Having a head coach on the rise like Scheyer does this.
But there is way more to this than merely Scheyer. When he is on his game, Cameron Boozer is one of the toughest players to defend in the country. In the even that he has a bad game, someone like his twin brother is there to back him up in Cayden Boozer. See, Duke is more than just a one-man team this year. It is led by one of the best emerging head coaches in the sport of college hoops in Scheyer.
As far as the other three No. 1 seeds are concerned, there are reasons to be down on them as well...
Duke should be viewed as the most trustworthy No. 1 seed in the tourney
Let's remove Duke from the equation just a second, and take a look at the three other No. 1 seeds...
When it comes to Arizona, yes, the Wildcats may have won the Big 12 Tournament and regular-season championship, but the collective basketball world seems to view that league differently than the other Power Fours, so to speak... The gap between U of A and the likes of Houston and Iowa State seem inconsequential. Both are No. 2 seeds. Kelvin Sampson is easier to trust than Tommy Lloyd is...
With Florida, yes, the Gators were a mostly unstoppable force in the SEC, but they did not win the league tournament. Arkansas did. The Hogs are playing with a bit more momentum than them, as is Vanderbilt... Florida did win last year's national championship under Todd Golden, but seemingly everyone and their brother is willing to doubt them more and more this season. Is there any reason?
And with Michigan, it is not about them potentially running the gauntlet like Arizona and Florida may not be able to do. There are two things working against them. Two of Michigan's three losses on the season have come on a neutral floor. Every game the rest of the way will be that. The other might be the health of their best player. Yaxel Lendeborg hurt his ankle late in the game vs. Purdue on Sunday.
So even if Duke plays in the hardest perceived region, as well as having Caleb Foster down for the count and Patrick Ngongba II on the mend, so what? The Blue Devils still won the ACC regular season crown and the ACC Tournament. This team is finding new and creative ways to win games. Yes, they could stumble at various points in the East Region, but this team looks to be incredibly tough to kill.
Florida may have won the most recent national title of the No. 1 seeds, but Duke is the team to beat.