The No. 1 Duke Blue Devils are the heavy favorite to win the NCAA tournament in the coming weeks, but Coach K’s team has two clear weaknesses as they prepare to start March Madness run.
Duke enters the NCAA tournament as the worst three-point shooting team in the field at just 30.9% as a team, trailing every single past NCAA champion. The Blue Devils have gotten hot from long range on occasion – most notably in a road win over Virginia – but Duke made a combined six threes in their ACC tournament wins over North Carolina and Virginia.
The Blue Devils are also heavily reliant on their starters, with Coach K typically only playing seven or eight players throughout a game depending on the matchup. Against Florida State, Zion Williamson and Tre Jones each logged 40 minutes, with RJ Barrett playing 39. The lack of depth could hurt Duke as the tournament progresses – but the Blue Devils are welcoming back a key player from injury just in time for the start of the tournament.
Duke lost junior center Marques Bolden just minutes into a game against North Carolina on March 9th to a knee sprain. Bolden went down hard in Chapel Hill chasing a block and suffered a knee sprain.
Bolden did not play in the ACC tournament, but Krzyzewski confirmed Thursday that he will return to play North Dakota State in Duke’s first-round matchup.
Bolden isn’t necessarily a make-or-break player for Duke – the Blue Devils would be title favorites even if he wasn’t able to play – but he does add size, rebounding and shot blocking. Bolden is averaging 1.8 blocks per game in 19.5 minutes, and he’s a decent free throw shooter (71.8%) for a big man. His presence in the interior will be key for Duke, especially if Zion Williamson gets in foul trouble.
Duke will play North Dakota State at 7:10 p.m. ET on CBS.
