Duke Is On A Collision Course With The NIT Tournament

At times, it seems the Duke Blue Devils have it all. They’ve got the game’s greatest coach. They’ve got the tradition. They even have one of the most famous courts in college basketball. Cameron Indoor Stadium is the home of one of the most famous and most rabid fan bases in all of sports. It gets so hot and so noisy that you’d never know the place is as small as it is. When you look around, it seems like there are 15 seats, but it’s always done the trick. It’s one of the hardest places to play in the country.

It would almost make you believe this team will never lose, and that would make any fanbase greedy. Duke walked into this season, and was expected by many to have a shot at another title run. Yes, Jahlil Okafor was gone, but they had the hero of last year’s title game Grayson Allen. Then, you factor in Amile Jefferson and the addition of all the talented freshman, and it seemed Duke was ready for another title run even though many expected them to get swept by the rival North Carolina Tar Heels.

Well, the truth is basketball is played on the court and weird things have happened all season. There were losing streaks and an inability to get all those freshman all playing well at the same time. Jefferson has missed a lot of games, and Chase Jeter hasn’t been able to convince his coaches that he should be on the court (probably due to concerns about his free throw shooting and rumors that he hasn’t responded well to pressure).

Now, with two games against North Carolina still on the schedule, it appears Duke could realistically miss the tournament. They’d most likely need an ACC Tournament Championship to find their way in — but that’s probably not going to happen. Fans were right about the possible title run, but just didn’t realize it was in that other tournament.