2010-2011 ACC Preview

#1: Duke

Games against 2010 NCAA Tournament teams: 11
Best non-conference game: Dec. 4 vs. Butler (in East Rutherford, NJ)

Projected Starting Five:
F - Miles Plumlee (Junior)
F - Kyle Singler (Senior)
G - Andre Dawkins (Sophomore)
G - Nolan Smith (Senior)
G - Kyrie Irving (Freshman)

The easiest decision I had to make when putting this together was deciding who would be number 1. It's been a while since there has been a bigger favorite to win the conference than Duke this year. Not only are the Blue Devils coming off a National Championship season, but are bringing in a ton of talent as well. First, let's take a look at what Duke lost. They are without Jon Scheyer, who was a great scorer. Lance Thomas and Brian Zoubek are gone as well, good defenders and role players.

What Duke returns, though, is two terrific players in Kyle Singler and Nolan Smith. Either one of these guys can go for 20 at any time. The Plumlee twins return, a year older and presumably better. And they have potentially their best point guard since Jason Williams in freshman Kyrie Irving. Irving is expected to be the kind of player that makes an impact right away. Duke really didn't have a traditional point guard last year, and still won the title. In addition to all this, Duke brings Seth Curry off the bench after sitting out his transfer year. Curry made a big impact at Liberty as a freshman.

Add all of these pieces and this should be a pretty special Duke team. I wouldn't be surprised if they finished the conference with something on the lines of a 14-2 record. That being said, they don't hand out the hardware in November. The Blue Devils still have to earn it on the court.

Duke continues to be the model for great scheduling. Year after year, they play a number of good teams in neutral site games. And they have a lot of home games against strong mid-major teams. This year the highlight is a title game rematch against Butler. Listen to this five game stretch: neutral site games against Marquette and either Gonzaga or Kansas State. Then in Portland against Oregon, home to Michigan State, then Butler. Duke is setting itself up for a really great season.