The Fayetteville Observer

One month to Selection Sunday

March Madness, NCAA tourney projection­s for Duke

- Rodd Baxley Staff writer Rodd Baxley can be reached at rbaxley@fayobserve­r.com or @RoddBaxley on X/Twitter.

Duke basketball, the reigning ACC Tournament champion, remains in the race for one of the top seeds in the 2024 NCAA Tournament.

The Blue Devils (20-5, 11-3 ACC) are safely in the field, but they have some opportunit­ies on the horizon to improve their seed line ahead of March Madness.

In four weeks, college basketball teams across the nation will be preparing to watch the selection show on CBS. With the madness fastly approachin­g, there's work to be done as hundreds of squads compete with hopes of securing a spot in the 68-team field on Selection Sunday (March 17).

On Feb. 17, the NCAA Tournament committee offered an early preview of how the bracket might look when it revealed its top 16 seeds. Duke came in at No. 12 overall as a projected 3 seed in the West Region.

Here's a look at where Duke stands with just under a month left before March Madness.

ESPN Bracketolo­gy for Duke basketball

According to ESPN bracketolo­gist Joe Lunardi, Duke is projected to be playing the first two rounds in Salt Lake City, Utah, as the No. 4 seed in the West Region, which features Arizona as the top overall seed. Kansas (2) and Alabama (3) are the other top seeds in that region.

CBS Sports Bracketolo­gy for Duke basketball

According to CBS Sports bracketolo­gist Jerry Palm, the Blue Devils are slated to be a No. 3 seed in the West Region, playing the first two rounds in Brooklyn. Like Lunardi, Palm has Arizona (1) and Kansas (2) as the top seeds in that region.

USA TODAY Bracketolo­gy for Duke basketball

USA TODAY Sports has Charlotte as the projected destinatio­n for Duke at the start. The Blue Devils are the No. 4 seed in the East Region. UConn is the projected top seed in that region, followed by Iowa State.

Bracket Matrix Bracketolo­gy for Duke basketball

The Bracket Matrix formula considers the preeminent bracketolo­gy projection­s from across the web and averages them out to create a composite 68-team field. As it stands, Duke comes in at No. 13 overall as the top No. 4 seed. With some big games remaining, the Blue Devils have a chance to move up down the stretch and improve their chances of playing in Charlotte.

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