Bracketology Update: Wake Loss Drops Duke Again in Projections
Duke lost for the second time in three games, this time against ACC doormat Wake Forest, losing by 12 in double-overtime in Winston-Salem.
The loss to NC State the previous week sent Duke tumbling in the bracketology projections, and the Wake loss was even more damaging, with Duke leaving the comfort of the East in most projections and dropping a seed line in others.
Here’s a look at the latest projections:
ESPN’s Joe Lunardi: Duke managed to hold onto its 2-seed, but it came at a cost of mileage. The Blue Devils are now in the West Region in Lunardi’s bracket and would play the second weekend in Los Angeles. The Blue Devils would have to get past top seed Gonzaga to reach the Final Four.
Duke opens with Montana in Greensboro in Lunardi’s bracket, then faces the winner of No. 7 Houston and No. 10 Rutgers. No. 3 Creighton, No. 6 BYU, No. 4 Oregon and No. 5 Wisconsin are also in the bracket.
USA Today: Duke fell a seed line in the USA Today projections but was returned to the East Region. The Blue Devils are now a 3-seed and has the optimal first two weekends from Duke’s point of view—Greensboro and New York. Duke is behind top seed San Diego State and 2-seed Maryland.
Duke opens with 14-seed North Texas then gets No. 6 Ohio State or No. 11 Providence.
The rest of the bracket includes No. 4 Auburn and No. No. 5 Michigan State.
CBSSports.com’s Jerry Palm: Duke got the double whammy from Palm, with a 3-seed and hitting the road. Duke is now a three in the South, behind 1-seed Baylor and 2-seed Villanova. The Blue Devils would open in Greensboro and then head to Houston.
Duke would open with No. 14 UC Irvine, then get No. 6 Marquette and former Blue Devil player and assistant Steve Wojciechowski. Wojo and Mike Krzyzewski were given a possible second-round matchup in 2017, but South Carolina scuttled those plans by upsetting both teams.
The rest of the contenders in the bracket include 4-seed Auburn, 5-seed Michigan State and 7-seed Arizona.
SB Nation: The latest update came on Tuesday afternoon, hours before Duke lost to Wake, so the Blue Devils will likely see their projection slip following that result. At the time, however, SB Nation had Duke as a 2-seed in the Midwest, behind Kansas. The Blue Devils would open in Greensboro against 15-seed Little Rock, then get 7-seed Texas Tech or 10-seed Indiana.
The rest of the region includes 3-seed Creighton, No. 4 Colorado, No. 5 Iowa and No. 6 BYU.
Facts and Bracks: There also hasn’t been an update since the Wake loss. Duke had been a 2 in the East behind San Diego State. 15 Radford, 7 LSU or 10 Rutgers and 3 Seton Hall would be in the Blue Devils’ path.
NCAA.com: Andy Katz hasn’t had an update since the Wake loss. Prior to that, he had Duke as a 2-seed in the South, behind Baylor. The Blue Devils would open with 15 Little Rock, then get 7 Ohio State or 10 Saint Mary’s, followed by 3 Creighton or 6 Illinois.
Real Time RPI: The outlier bracketologist has Duke as a No. 3 in the South, behind Kansas and 2-seed Dayton. Real Time has Duke opening in Dallas (which does not host games this year) followed by Houston.
Duke would open with No. 14 Eastern Washington, then get No. 6 Virginia or No. 11 Oklahoma. The rest of the region includes No. 4 Kentucky, No. 5 Arizona, No. 7 Butler.
