DURHAM, N.C. _ For the second season in a row, Duke is counting on a lineup featuring four freshmen as it aims for its usually lofty goals of ACC and national championship contention.
A year ago, Marvin Bagley III, Wendell Carter, Trevon Duval and Gary Trent were joined by senior Grayson Allen. Duke went 29-8 and made the NCAA Tournament's final eight. Along the way, the Blue Devils went through ups and downs _ remember the losses at Boston College and St John's? _ before falling just short of the Final Four.
This year's freshman quartet in the starting lineup includes R.J. Barrett, Zion Williamson, Tre Jones and Cam Reddish. Junior big men Marques Bolden and Javin DeLaurier have split time as the fifth starter.
This year's Blue Devils are 11-1, ranked No. 1 in the Associated Press poll and are the Las Vegas favorite to win the NCAA championship.
Duke has won a single title during its era of relying on freshmen stars. The 2014-15 Blue Devils used three freshmen starters _ Jahlil Okafor, Justise Winslow and Tyus Jones _ while going 35-4 and winning the 2015 NCAA Tournament.
With Barrett (23.8 points) and Williamson (19.8 points) currently Duke's leading scorers, the Blue Devils are on their way to having at least one freshmen among their top two scorers for the sixth consecutive season.
In addition to the 2015 title team, which was led by Okafor's 17.3 points per game, that list includes Jabari Parker (19.1), Brandon Ingram (17.3), Jayson Tatum (16.8) and Bagley (21.0).
Here's a look at how Duke's current freshmen stack up to the program's top freshmen of recent seasons:
