Duke is still the name everyone keeps circling in the ACC, and ESPN’s latest preseason projection only sharpened that picture. In Myron Medcalf’s floor-and-ceiling breakdown of the conference, the Blue Devils landed at No. 1, with a path that runs all the way to a national championship.
That’s the headline for Jon Scheyer’s fifth Duke team: ESPN sees a squad with title-level upside even without an obvious superstar in the Cooper Flagg or Cameron Boozer mold. The projected ceiling is as high as it gets - 37 wins, an ACC title and a national championship. The floor is still sturdy at 29 wins, second place in the league and a trip to the Sweet 16.
For almost any program, that kind of season would be a huge win. At Duke, it reads more like the baseline of a serious contender. The standard has been pushed that high after Scheyer’s Blue Devils won 70 games over the last two seasons, powered by back-to-back freshman National Players of the Year in Flagg and Boozer.
Even without that immediate centerpiece, ESPN still labeled this roster as having “Final Four talent.” The pieces Medcalf highlighted tell you why. Duke brings in All-Big Ten transfer John Blackwell, five-star freshman Cameron Williams and returning center Patrick Ngongba II as major parts of a group that has more experience than some recent Blue Devil teams.
Blackwell arrives as the top backcourt transfer in the country after averaging 19.1 points at Wisconsin, and he’s expected to become one of Duke’s main scoring options. Ngongba is back after putting up 10.1 points, 5.8 rebounds and 2.0 assists as a sophomore. Williams comes in as one of the highest-ranked players in Duke’s freshman class.
ESPN’s outlook lines up with other major preseason views around the sport. Gary Parrish has Duke at No. 2 in the CBS Sports Top 25 And 1, trailing only Florida, with the ranking built around four of the team’s top six scorers from a 35-3 season, plus the top freshman class and the top guard in the portal. Jon Rothstein also has Duke second behind Florida in his Rothstein 45, and his projected starting five features Foster, Blackwell, Sarr, Williams and Ngongba, with Boozer, Boumtje Boumtje, Rippey, Howard and Scharnowski behind them.
CBS’ early ACC tiers were even more direct, placing Duke alone in the league’s top tier as the conference’s national championship contender. Louisville was slotted into the second tier, with Duke’s depth and veteran backcourt setting it apart in that evaluation.
ESPN’s full ACC projection also shows Duke isn’t the only team with March ambitions. Virginia was picked second, with a ceiling of 32 wins, an ACC championship and a Final Four berth.
Miami checked in third with the same 32-win, Final Four ceiling. Louisville came fourth and was also given a possible Final Four finish.
North Carolina was fifth, with a ceiling of third place in the ACC and a Sweet 16 run.
The separation came at the bottom end of those projections. Duke’s floor was still second in the conference, while Virginia, Miami and Louisville all had fourth-place floors. North Carolina’s floor was seventh.
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Dukes 31-27 road win at Illinois gave the Blue Devils a valuable early-season rsum piece, and it came with a lot to like on both sides of the ball. Walker Eget managed the offense well, Jonah Burton provided the top receiving spark, and Evan Smith delivered the kind of defensive play that can swing a game away from home.
Still, the final minutes left one concern hanging over an otherwise encouraging night. Egets late injury was enough to put a brief scare into the Duke sideline, and while the offense held together, the Blue Devils are now left hoping their quarterback can keep building on that performance. Jared Richardson, meanwhile, is still waiting for his season to catch up to the rest of the attack. [Read more 🡒]
Former Duke Star Mark Williams Hit With Another Tough NBA Setback
Former Duke center Mark Williams is facing another setback in the NBA, where his career has already been shaped by injuries and interruptions. Now with the Phoenix Suns, Williams is coming off a summer that was supposed to build momentum after four professional seasons, but instead has turned into another frustrating stop on the road.
The issue traces back to an offseason workout, where he suffered a torn labrum in his left shoulder. Williams had surgery to repair the injury and is expected to be out for an extended period, leaving yet another question mark around a former Blue Devil whose talent has never been the concern, only the availability. [Read more 🡒]
Duke Is Hanging Around At Illinois For One Very Revealing Reason
Duke is still in the thick of its non-conference game at Illinois after a first half that swung back and forth, with the Blue Devils answering early pressure and finding enough offense to keep the margin tight. Illinois built its lead with a sharp passing start and the kind of early rhythm that put Duke on its heels, but the Blue Devils stayed attached thanks to a run game that kept producing usable drives and helped prevent the game from getting away.
Nate Sheppard has been the centerpiece of that response, giving Duke a much-needed spark as both a runner and a receiver while the Blue Devils leaned on him to steady the offense. Both teams also made their share of fourth-down gambles, underscoring how little separation there has been, and Duke heads into the second half still with a chance to turn an uneven opening 30 minutes into something bigger. [Read more 🡒]