It seems like it's been a really long time since Duke last played a game.
With the weekend off, the Blue Devils' only game of the week was a home contest against Virginia Tech, who sits in last place in the ACC.
Their game Tuesday night went as you'd imagine, and Coach K's squad used the remainder of the week to get some much needed rest after playing five games in 11 days.
So now we've hit the last week of the regular season, and Duke has already clinched the crucial double-bye* in the ACC Tournament by finishing in the top four of the conference standings.
*Because the ACC has 15 teams, everyone makes the conference tournament, and you can only play four games a day at most, teams can get double-byes. The first day of the conference tournament will feature teams ranked 10-15 in the conference, where the winners from those games will face teams 5-7 (8-9 will also play each other that day). Then the winners of those games will face teams ranked 1-4, and from that point on it's your tradition eight-team quarterfinal setup.*
However, both Duke games this upcoming week still very much matter in terms of NCAA tournament seeding and bragging rights.
Wednesday the Blue Devils will face off with Wake Forest, who has lost eight of their last nine games. A loss to the Deacons would put Duke in danger of being knocked down to a three-seed in the NCAA Tournament, where they are sitting solid as a two-seed pushing for a one right now.
And then Saturday night, ESPN's College Gameday will be in Durham again for the Duke-UNC rematch.
The Tar Heels are on fire, having won 11 in a row, and there's nothing they would like more—and nothing Duke fans like less—than a Carolina sweep in the greatest rivalry in college sports.
Outside of the hatred and bragging rights (which matters more than anything else to everyone associated in the rivalry, by the way), the game will also have major tournament seeding impact.
A loss will not hurt either side, but a Duke win over a quality UNC team could be what they need to catapult into a one-seed, while another Carolina win could see them move up to as high as a potential three-seed.
But this is the norm when these two squads get together.
So it's a good thing that we didn't see a lot of the Blue Devils this week—they have a lot to prepare for.
And having a week off to rest and let players get their strength and stamina back is a great thing before the grind that is March Madness.
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