Mark Dolejs-USA TODAY Sports
The Duke Blue Devils have fallen down the rankings a little bit ever since the start of the season, but they still find themselves in the top 10. ACC play is about to begin for the Blue Devils, which means this team is going to have to be even better. However, how can they earn a No. 1 seed in the 2014 NCAA Tournament?
Here is the short version: win the ACC regular season title and the conference tournament. That basically guarantees this team a top seed every time. That is going to be very hard to do this season, though.
Syracuse is currently ranked No. 2 in the nation and North Carolina is also ranked. Either team could come away with the ACC crown.
What Duke needs to actually do–other than sweeping the ACC–is win the ACC tournament and finish no worse than No. 3 in the conference standings. The Blue Devils may even have to finish No. 2.
Unless if a team runs away with the regular season title, a No. 1 seed will be up for grabs after the regular season.
Duke must also win the majority of its home games and steal some contests on the road. Beating the other top dogs at least once is a must.
So basically, Jabari Parker and co. need to beat Syracuse and North Carolina at least once and finish no worse than No. 3 in the standings. Then, it must win the ACC tournament.
Two ACC teams could earn No. 1 seeds in the upcoming dance. That is how talented this conference is.
Duke has already beaten Michigan and UCLA, but it lost its toughest tests against Arizona and Kansas. Showing that it is a top five team during conference play will be very important, and I am sure the Blue Devils will get better and better.
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