Photo credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
Where Duke Basketball Appears in Latest Bracketology
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Duke basketball dropped to a No. 4 seed in the eyes of ESPN's Joe Lunardi following the Blue Devils' loss to NC State in the ACC Tournament quarterfinals on Thursday night. However, in light of Kentucky's defeat at the hands of Texas A&M on Friday, Lunardi replaced John Calipari's Wildcats with Jon Scheyer's Blue Devils on the 3-line.
RELATED: Horrible Sign for Duke's Chances in NCAA Tournament
He has No. 3 seed Duke in the NCAA Tournament's East (Boston) region, beginning with a Round of 64 matchup against No. 14 seed Colgate, the Patriot League champion, in Brooklyn.
These Blue Devils, with a worse overall record (24-8) than this time last year (26-8) when the program earned a mere No. 5 seed despite reeling off nine straight victories and winning the ACC Tournament, enter Selection Sunday on a two-game skid. And they're 3-3 across their past six outings.
As things stand, Lunardi sees three other ACC teams getting an at-large invite to the Big Dance: projected No. 1 seed UNC, No. 8 seed Clemson, and No. 11 seed Virginia.
Of course, NC State has a chance to land an automatic bid by knocking off the Tar Heels in the ACC Tournament title bout in Washington, D.C., at 8:30 p.m. ET Saturday. If the Wolfpack prevail, though, that could equate to the Cavaliers — currently one of Lunardi's "last four in" — being left out of the field of 68 altogether.
Stay tuned to Blue Devil Country on SI.com for more Duke basketball news.
