Duke won 97-60 at Miami on Tuesday to continue its dominant run through the ACC. But did you realize the Blue Devils aren’t really running away with the ACC?
It’s true.
Incredibly, Duke is 16-1 in the ACC and on its way to securing a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament — but still only one game ahead of Louisville and Clemson in the loss column of the league standings. That’s a testament to the jobs Pat Kelsey (Louisville) and Brad Brownell (Clemson) are doing, sure, but also a byproduct of literally half of the ACC being ranked 100th or lower in the NET — point being even borderline top-25 teams like Louisville and Clemson are rarely threatened in ACC games.
Simply put, that needs to change.
The ACC, right now, rates closer in the NET to the Mountain West and Atlantic 10 than it does the SEC and Big Ten. That’s a problem and why the upcoming hires at Virginia, Miami and Florida State are crucial to the future of the league.
Anyway …
Did Duke’s dominant win at Miami come with a cost? It’s possible considering Tyrese Proctor, the team’s third-leading scorer, left the game late in the first half with an apparent knee injury and did not return. The 6-foot-6 junior was later spotted leaving the Watsco Center on crutches.
“We have to get him back, get X-rays, MRI,” said Duke coach Jon Scheyer. “He got hit in the leg; that’s the extent of what I know.”
Duke remains No. 2 in Wednesday morning’s updated CBS Sports Top 25 And 1 daily college basketball rankings. Unless the Blue Devils lose a game they’re not supposed to lose, they’ll soon be outright ACC champions for the first time since 2022.
Top 25 And 1 rankings
5
Mississippi State
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