NCAAB Predictions: No. 4 Duke Blue Devils

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03 November 2022

NCAAB Predictions: No. 4 Duke Blue Devils

Former associate head coach Jon Scheyer takes over for the legendary Mike Krzyzewski at Duke. His former boss certainly left his protege with plenty of talent as Duke comes in at No. 4 in the BetUS ranking of the top college basketball teams in the country.

Duke brought in the top recruiting class in the country to help overcome the loss of four players selected in the first round of the 2022 NBA Draft.

Duke will need to replace the top five scorers off last season’s team. Jeremy Roach is the only one of the eight players who averaged more than 10 minutes per game for Duke last season who is returning.

When looking at the college basketball playoff odds, Duke (+1600) is tied for sixth in the odds to win the national title.

Duke came in at No. 7 in the Associated Press poll and No. 8 in the Coaches poll.

Duke was picked to finish second in the ACC preseason poll. The Blue Devils received a pair of first-place votes and trail only North Carolina in the ACC predictions.

Let’s check the latest NCAAB picks, stats, injury reports, and NCAAB predictions. We’ve plenty of NCAAB expert picks for you to consider.

Duke Blue Devils

2021-22 record: 32-7
2021-22 ACC Record: 16-4
Coach: Jon Scheyer
Odds to win national title: +1600

Dereck Lively and Dariq Whitehead were rated as the No. 1 and 2 incoming freshmen in the country. Both have been dealing with injuries heading into the season and didn’t play in the exhibition game against Fayetteville State. Whitehead might miss the first few games of the season while Lively has a chance to be back for the season opener.

Illinois transfer Jacob Grandison came off the bench to lead Duke with 17 points in the tune-up game.

FINAL: Duke 82 Fayetteville State 45
The Blue Devils wrap up their preseason with an exhibition win on their home floor:https://t.co/OfU7Y2vR9t
— Duke Basketball (@dukebasketball) November 3, 2022

Roach, who averaged 8.6 and 3.2 assists as sophomore, not only started but led the Duke starters in minutes played against Fayetteville State. Freshmen Mark Mitchell, Tyrese Proctor and Ryan Filipowsk and Northwestern transfer Ryan Young joined Roach in the starting lineup. Jalen Blakes averaged just 4.5 minutes per game as a freshman, but he was on the court longer than any other Duke player in the exhibition game.

Duke needs to replace most of its team. Paolo Banchero, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft, has lived up to the hype as he is averaging 21.8 points, 7.6 rebounds and 3.8 assists with the Orlando Magic. Mark Williams, AJ Griffin, Wendell Moore and Trevor Keels are also in the NBA.

Reserve forward Joey Baker transferred to Michigan, Theo John graduated, as did Bates Jones.

Duke Blue Devils Outlook

It will look much different without Coach K on the sidelines. Keep an eye on the status of Lively and Whitehead because they figure to play key roles during Scheyer’s debut season.

Expectations are still pretty high with the college basketball odds having Duke (+500) tied for eighth in the odds to get to the Final Four.

Nine of the Duke players are either freshmen or sophomores so there could be some growing pains, especially when going against rival North Carolina which brings back most of the team from the group that played for the national title and is listed by the Las Vegas odds as the team to beat

Seven freshmen and three incoming transfers figure to play significant roles for the Blue Devils.

Playing against defending national champion Kansas in the third game of the season should give a pretty good indication where Duke stands. Meeting up with Oregon State and then either Florida or Xavier in the Phil Knight Legacy event in Portland, Ore., along with games against Ohio State and Iowa should prepare Duke for ACC play.

The Blue Devils won’t play a true road game until meeting Wake Forest in the second game of the ACC season. Their first road game outside of North Carolina won’t come until January, and that is some questionable scheduling as playing a top team in a hostile environment might have done wonders for such a young team.

Something that could be of interest to those who bet online: Duke failed to cover in six of its final nine games.