Early Projection Places Duke Basketball Atop Same Bracket as Tar Heels

This week, over 10 months ahead of next season's Selection Sunday, ESPN chief bracketologist Joe Lunardi released his first projected 2026 NCAA Tournament bracket. And surprisingly, given the slightly lower expectations elsewhere for Jon Scheyer and his fourth Duke basketball squad, the 2025-26 Blue Devils appear as a No. 1 seed in Lunardi's eyes.

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In fact, from a collective Tobacco Road viewpoint, Lunardi's expectations are all-around lofty, as he sees NC State becoming a No. 11 seed while tagging UNC as a No. 7 seed.

And so it begins!
Men's Bracketology: 2026 NCAA Tournament https://t.co/vW0tBZwWH5. 🏀🏀 For all the talk about bad losses in March, Purdue has been remarkably consistent:
The Boilermakers have never been worse than a 5-seed since the 2015-16 season, have reached at least the…
— Joe Lunardi (@ESPNLunardi) April 29, 2025

Interestingly, Lunardi has both the Blue Devils and archrival Tar Heels in the East Region, with a potential Elite Eight showdown in Washington, D.C.

Outside of The Triangle programs in the conference, the way-too-early bracketology lists only two ACC teams in No. 5 seed Louisville and No. 10 seed Miami.

Duke basketball enjoyed a 35-4 campaign last go-round, including an ACC Tournament title and trip to the Final Four. The Blue Devils are losing all five starters from that squad, but they're set to return most of their bench and have landed three five-star freshmen plus at least a pledge from an early NBA Draft entrant in former Washington State forward Cedric Coward.

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