The No. 5-ranked Duke basketball program (17-1, 6-0 ACC) is back on the 1-seed line in the latest 2026 NCAA Tournament projections after the team earned its eighth Quadrant 1 victory over Stanford (14-5, 3-3 ACC) in dominant fashion on Jan. 17, winning 80-50 on the road.
Duke now boasts one of the best overall bodies of work in all of college basketball so far this season. The Blue Devils are 8-1 in Quadrant 1 games and 6-0 in true road games. Only No. 1 Arizona has seven Quad 1 victories, and the only squad with at least six road victories and no losses is No. 2 UConn.
ESPN’s latest Bracketology update put the Blue Devils back on the 1-seed line, along with Arizona, Michigan, and UConn. Duke is currently ranked No. 2 in the NCAA NET Rankings, one of the most important evaluation tools that the committee uses for seeding purposes. Along with Duke’s 1-seed projection, other predictions around the 68-team field could call for a revenge game for the Blue Devils.
Bracketology Reveals Potential Rematch Between Duke and Texas Tech
In the latest ESPN NCAA Tournament projections, Duke is the 1-seed out of the East Region. The 4-seed out of that region is projected to be Texas Tech, which handed the Blue Devils their only loss of the season on Dec. 20 at Madison Square Garden.
Duke was up as many as 17 points on the Red Raiders in the second half, but an abysmal performance from the charity stripe down the stretch led to an 82-81 loss.
Jon Scheyer’s club shot 17-of-29 (59%) from the line en route to a one-point loss.
Duke has taken down six ranked opponents this season, but the one it couldn’t get past was Grant McCasland’s Red Raiders. If these projections stand, which is miles away from being determined, Duke would face Texas Tech in a Sweet Sixteen rematch if both schools won their respective games in the Round of 64 and the Round of 32.
Texas Tech boasts one of the most productive trios in the entire nation, as the combination of JT Toppin, Christian Anderson, and LeJuan Watts combines for a wild 54.8 points per game.
With so much time to go in the regular season, these projections will change dramatically as time goes on. However, a second-weekend revenge opportunity for the Blue Devils would be must-see TV for the fans.
What’s Next For Duke?
Duke’s next contest comes at Cameron Indoor Stadium on Jan. 24 against Wake Forest (11-7, 2-3 ACC).
