Duke enters the NCAA Tournament as one of the most complete teams in the country, and there’s an obvious belief that this group has all the talent needed to make a legitimate run at a national title.
While plenty of teams have cases to win it, the Blue Devils stand out for a combination of many things, including stars, coaching, and experience.
Feshman phenom Cameron Boozer, who has been the best player in America, is perhaps the biggest reason why. His ability to take over games in multiple ways makes him a tough matchup for any squad. e can stretch the floor with decent 3-point shooting while also killing defenders inside.
Simply put, Boozer can do it all on a basketball court.
That kind of star power is often what separates good teams from championship-caliber ones, but Duke’s case doesn’t only rely on Boozer. This roster is built with a lot of good players, though some injuries will hurt early in the tournament. Regardless, that depth has allowed the Blue Devils to continue playing a high level brand on both ends of the court, something that is very important in the tournament.
Brendan Marks of The Athletic spoke about the case for Duke as a rea title contender, pointing to both Boozer’s individual play and the team’s overall strength.
“Because they have the best player in college basketball, freshman superstar Cameron Boozer, whose impact on winning is borderline supernatural. The 6-foot-9 forward is the ultimate mismatch, as capable of pouring in 3s — at a 40.9 percent clip this season — as using his 250-pound frame to bully opponents in the post.
“Beyond Boozer, Jon Scheyer’s team is incredibly balanced, and one of just two teams nationally that rank top five in adjusted offensive and defensive efficiency. Before recent injuries to starters Caleb Foster and Patrick Ngongba, this squad actually had a better net rating than last season’s Final Four group — which was the second-best in KenPom’s database, dating to 1997. (Oh, no! Guess third all-time will have to do,” he wrote.
Duke is currently playing Siena and will hope to advance into the Round of 32 and get healthier as the tourney goes on.