We are just a couple of weeks away from March Madness in college basketball. Despite there being some teams that are separating themselves from the rest of the pack, upsets are always going to happen.
However, you could make the case that a couple of teams are beginning to separate themselves from the rest of the pack. Duke and Michigan, who met in a classic game on February 21 in Washington, 68-63, appear to be the two favorites as we enter March.
On Monday in Raleigh, North Carolina, the Blue Devils clinched the ACC regular-season title outright with a 93-64 rout of North Carolina State. After the loss, Wolfpack coach Will Wade had some interesting comments about the Blue Devils that should put the rest of the country on notice.
NC State Coach Will Wade Doesn’t Beat Around the Bush About Duke
NC State was looking to rebound from a tough stretch against Duke. The Wolfpack recently took down North Carolina at home without Caleb Wilson. The Blue Devils were healthy going into the game, which would have improved their seed line for the 68-team field later this month.
Instead of picking up the upset after putting in a zone defense, Duke picked it apart. They picked it apart to the tune of dropping 93 points on NC State. After the game, Wade said out loud what a lot of fans came away with after the game.
“We got a long way to go to catch Duke right now. There’s as good a team as I’ve played against. I’m not just talking about their talent, the way they operate. They’re ruthlessly efficient on both ends. Coach Scheyer does just an incredible job. Watch the way they run to the scores table when they sub in. It’s an impressive, impressive, impressive operation from top to bottom. We’ve got some work to do,” said Wade.
Truth be told, NC State isn’t the only one with some work to do. Not only in the ACC, but across the country. If someone is going to take down the Blue Devils in March or April, it’s going to take a huge effort on both ends of the floor.
Duke Setting the Standard for the Rest of College Basketball
Wade said that Duke is the standard right now in college basketball. They are what the Wolfpack want to be in time under Wade.
“We kind of know where the standard is now. We’ve got work to do, and our eyes are wide open to try to start the chase and try to catch up. They’re tremendous, tremendous team, great players, great coaches, just incredible. The whole operation. To see it up close, it’s, really, it’s very impressive. See it up close, it’s, almost unparalleled from what I’ve seen in coaching, very impressive,” said Wade.
It is impressive. He’s not wrong. However, being like them isn’t going to happen overnight. You never want to be the guy who follows the guy who set the standard. That’s what Scheyer is doing, following Mike Krzyzewski and all the success he had in Durham. He is, though, putting his own fingerprints on the program, and others are beginning to notice. It’s evident each time you watch them play.
Duke will look to get some revenge ahead of the ACC Tournament next week when it hosts North Carolina on Saturday night. The Tar Heels stunned the Blue Devils last month on a last-second shot in Chapel Hill.
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