COACH: Mike Krzyzewski, 31 years at Duke, 27 years in NCAA tournament.
HOW THEY GOT IN: Automatic bid (Atlantic Coast Conference tournament champion).
GO-TO GUYS: Senior G Nolan Smith was named the ACC's Player of the Year after leading the Blue Devils in scoring (21.6) and assists (5.2) per game. The former figure led the ACC, the latter was second. Senior F Kyle Singler averaged 17.4 points per game and blistered the nets with 45.2 percent shooting from 3-point range. The Plumlee brothers, Mason and Miles, and Ryan Kelly gave the Blue Devils a formidable inside presence and led them to an advantage in rebounds of about three a game. G Seth Curry began to emerge late and averaged in double figures (10.9) in conference play.
X FACTOR: Senior F Kyle Singler didn't come back for his senior season to make a quick exit from the postseason. Though he finished second on the team in scoring to Smith, he ended the regular season on a disappointing note with a 3-of-14 shooting performance and eight points in the loss to North Carolina that made the Blue Devils the No. 2 seed in the ACC tournament. Look for him to approach the NCAA with a vengeance, and, more importantly, he has the proven talent to back it up.
STRENGTHS: Smith can take over a game for the Blue Devils, who were the highest scoring team in the ACC (81.2 points per game) in the regular season. The Blue Devils' scoring margin was nearly 17 points a game. They shoot the ball well (46.7 for the season) and held opponents to just a tick over 40 percent for the year. Duke can rotate three big men up front in the Plumlees and Kelly and shuffle things on the perimeter with Smith, Singler, G Seth Curry, and G Andre Dawkins. That allows the Devils to keep the pressure on, and they forced their opponents into nearly three more turnovers a game than they commit, a league best.
WEAKNESSES: The Blue Devils need consistent production out of Curry. Though he finished with 38 points in the last two games of the regular season, he had scored only 25 in the previous four games. Dawkins faded down the stretch of the regular season, and the Devils need him for reliability off the bench. As big as they are, the Plumlees and Kelly are not big point producers.
