Being the No. 1 overall seed comes with some perks. Duke will stay relatively close to home for the first two rounds, playing in Greenville, and it landed its preferred East Region, with the Sweet 16 and Elite 8 set for Washington, D.C.
But beyond that, the selection committee didn’t make things any easier. In fact, it’s widely seen that Duke drew the toughest path of any top seed in the tournament.
Even former North Carolina players have weighed in. Ex-UNC forward Justin Jackson told Jeff Goodman and the Field of 68 crew on Sunday that he believes Duke was “screwed over” by the committee.
Duke faces a daunting road to the Final Four. While the Blue Devils are expected to advance past the opening round, either Ohio State or TCU in the Round of 32 could pose a real challenge. Both teams are battle-tested from tough conferences and won’t be intimidated by Duke’s reputation.
Things only get tougher in Washington, D.C. There, Duke could run into 4-seeded Kansas, led by star guard Darryn Peterson and Hall of Fame coach Bill Self, or a red-hot 5-seeded St. John’s, fresh off a Big East Tournament title under legendary coach Rick Pitino.
Should Duke reach the Elite Eight, the path to a second straight Final Four could require getting past either 2-seeded UConn, guided by coach Dan Hurley, or 3-seeded Michigan State under tournament legend Tom Izzo.
Simply put, Duke will have to earn a return trip to the Final Four—and it’ll have to do it without starting point guard Caleb Foster.