The 2026 NCAA Tournament is here, and the Duke Blue Devils will enter as the No. 1 overall seed and the best team in college basketball. But in the grand scheme of things, what does that really mean?
March is made for powerhouses like the Blue Devils to go down, and they do not have an easy path to Indianapolis through the East Region. However, Duke has already faced three of the region’s top six seeds in Michigan State, Kansas, and Louisville, and went 4-0 this season combined against those programs.
Now, Duke is dealing with key injuries, as sophomore center Patrick Ngongba and junior guard Caleb Foster both missed the entirety of the ACC Tournament with foot injuries. Their long-term status remains unknown.
When key pieces go down, that paves the way for the bottom part of the rotation to step up. Duke is one of the deeper teams in college basketball, but this rotational change should be made, and could completely change the team’s ceiling, which has been lowered due to injuries.
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