Why Duke basketball is a clear March Madness contender

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Why Duke basketball is a clear March Madness contender

Benjamin Adducchio, ClutchPoints · ClutchPoints

Tue, Feb 3, 2026 ·

4 min read

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The Duke basketball team hopes to win the ACC again this season, and head to March Madness as a no. 1 seed. Duke has plenty of talent, including twin freshmen Cameron and Cayden Boozer . While the Blue Devils have been tripped up this year, the squad is looking strong with a 20-1 overall record.

Duke went to the Final Four last season, under head coach Jon Scheyer. There are plenty of reasons to believe they can do it again. Here are a few reasons why Duke is a true March Madness contender for the 2025-26 season.

Duke's defense is as good as just about anyone in college basketball

There's an old saying in basketball that says offense wins games, but defense wins championships. That has proven to be true over the years. Duke is an example of why that could be true again this season.

The Blue Devils are first in the ACC this season in scoring defense. Duke is allowing just 64.3 points per game to opponents, per league stats. That is about as good as anyone is doing in the country on defense. Duke is 11th nationally in scoring defense.

Duke is using that defense and turning it into offense . The Blue Devils are also averaging 85 points per game. The team has the top scoring margin in the ACC, with a 20.7 point margin of offense over defense.

That balance is hard to stop, and the team's record shows that. The Blue Devils are undefeated in ACC play, with a 9-0 conference mark. Duke's only loss this season is to Texas Tech, who won the game over Duke by just one point.

Duke has a true freshman star in Cameron Boozer

While Duke has several talented players, the team's biggest star this season is inarguably Cameron Boozer . Boozer has been projected as a possible lottery pick in the 2026 NBA Draft .

This season, Boozer is carrying a lot of water for the team. He leads the Blue Devils in minutes played per game, points, rebounds, assists and steals. The fabulous freshman is averaging 23 points, 9 rebounds, 4 assists and just under two steals per contest. Those numbers are just eye-popping, especially considering this is his first year of college basketball.

Boozer has been humble about his success , sharing the accolades with his teammates.

"We got weapons," Boozer said, per Ball Durham. "We've got guys at every position that can shoot, drive, and pass. Yeah, I've got to make the right play every time, and I know guys are going to find me. Back-to-back games two guys hit big-time shots, two different guys. I think that's what describes this team. We're nine deep and we're going to keep it rolling."

This young man is clearly a special player. With Boozer in the lineup, Duke has a chance to beat any team in the country.

Duke might also have the best young coach in the country

Jon Scheyer is the head coach of the Blue Devils. He played his college basketball at Duke, and has immediately picked up where legendary coach Mike Krzyzewski left off.

Last season, Scheyer reached his first Final Four as head coach. Despite having to replace a lot of production from that team including Cooper Flagg , Scheyer has his squad rolling once again. His ability to mentor and lead these young men makes him one of the best young coaches in America.

"I think we're finding our identity, right?" Scheyer said, per The Fayetteville Observer. "Doing a better job of our offense helping our defense with shot selection and valuing the ball. That's been much better."

The Blue Devils clearly have a lot of ingredients that championship teams need. Time will tell if Duke is able to make a run in March Madness. Considering their record, it seems perfectly reasonable to assume this is a team that could be a no. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

Duke hopes to keep its momentum going when they next play Boston College on Tuesday night. The Blue Devils have won nine in a row.

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