The Blue Devils put on a phenomenal performance for the Cameron Crazies last night, exploding on the Tar Heels on their way to an 82-50 victory, the second most lopsided in this rivalry. While they were busy celebrating, four ESPN experts were sitting on a makeshift stage on the cobblestone entrance to Cameron Indoor, discussing the Blue Devils’ performance and it’s impact come Selection Sunday.
College GameDay analysts Digger Phelps, Jay Bilas and Hubert Davis used Duke’s dominating performance on Saturday night to determine whether the Blue Devils were deserving of the last No. 1 in the NCAA Tournament. The other three – Syracuse, Kansas and Kentucky are widely considered to be guaranteed a top spot come tournament time.
Recently, in Duke’s favor came the injury of Purdue forward Robbie Hummel, the team’s second leading scorer and second leading rebounder. Purdue, once also in contention for a No. 1 spot, will not be nearly as much of a threat without Hummel.
Indeed, the GameDay analysts were confident in Duke’s chances, especially given their most recent 32-point victory.
“I do think that Duke is deserving of a No. 1 seed,” analyst and North Carolina alumni Hubert Davis said, even after predicting a Tar Heel victory barely 12-hours before. “But regardless of whether they are No. 1 or No. 2 seed, this is a team that is talented enough to get to a final four and win a national championship.”
The only analyst who seemed hesitant to agree with his colleagues was Jay Bilas. Bilas, a former Duke forward/center (1983-86) and assistant coach (1990-92), believed that Duke will be competing against No. 6 Ohio State for this coveted No. 1 spot.
"There are only two teams that are vying for [No. 1 seed]. Duke is in the prime position to get it. If they win the ACC tournament, they will get it,” Bilas explained. “The other team in contention is Ohio State. Now, Ohio State has four wins against top-25 teams. That's more than Duke. And, I think Ohio State will get credit for losing three games when [star forward] Evan Turner was out.”
No matter what, nothing is set in stone just yet. Selection Sunday is a week away, and in the meantime, the Blue Devils still has the ACC tournament to prove their value. Duke has gotten itself the No. 1 seed for the tournament, and will take on the winner between Boston College and Virginia on Saturday at noon.
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