Duke basketball has a lot of momentum on its side under head coach Jon Scheyer. Going into his fourth season in charge of the Blue Devils, Scheyer is coming off a Final Four and brings in the No. 1 recruiting class in the nation. According to college basketball insider Kyle Boone of CBS Sports, Scheyer and the Blue Devils are pulling away from their nearby rivals in North Carolina and NC State.
“Duke has finished higher in the ACC standings than both North Carolina and NC State in four of the last six seasons — including a stunning 19-1 run in league play last year — and its strong offseason has seemingly helped it further the gap between the other two schools in the Triangle,” Boone said.
“UNC, meanwhile, isn’t even the clear No. 2 in its own conference thanks to Louisville’s reemergence. And NC State is bound to endure some growing pains in Will Wade’s first season.”
While the Tar Heels made a run to the national championship game in 2022, they struggled last season, finishing 23-14 and 13-7 in the ACC before being bounced by Ole Miss in the second round of the NCAA tournament. As for the Wolfpack, Wade arrives with a winning past but a lot of baggage after being fired from LSU for recruiting violations.
Duke should be near the top of the preseason polls once again as the Blue Devils look for their first national title since 2015.
