“This group is so driven and fundamentally sound… I think it will be fascinating to continue to follow their road map to a title,” said analyst Jon Fanta. Well, that has been the case for Cooper Flagg and Co. who have bulldozing teams in the ACC and have cemented themselves as the second best team in the country. But there’s some bad news in store for Duke. A terrifying ordeal awaits the ACC regular season champions.

When the team from The Field Of 68: After Dark podcast was busy predicting which team had a similar resume to 2011 Duke, 2023 Houston, 2011 Ohio State, 2022 Arizona, and 2023 UCLA, they were shocked by the answer. It was none other than the Blue Devils themselves. You see, all the teams mentioned before were eliminated in the Sweet 16, and if this prediction holds true, we could be witnessing one of the biggest upsets in college basketball history.

Fanta was extremely rattled by it. He compared the reveal to fans being shocked every time The Undertaker would appear out of nowhere, Mike LaTulip had a different stance on it. He said, “Is it stunning though? because they don’t play a ton of ranked teams in the ACC, I don’t think they have had a chance resume wise, I mean I saw a bunch of Auburn fans who were tweeting today about how they (Duke) haven’t beaten a ranked team…so it’s stunning but also in a way makes sense. 

It’s true, Duke’s last game against a ranked team was in the first week of December, and that was against Auburn. They’ve played only 4 ranked teams this season and have a 2-2 record. That doesn’t exactly make Duke seem like a true contender, despite what many have portrayed. But does that really mean they deserve a Sweet 16 exit?

Well, anything can happen. But the 2025 Duke team is definitely better than the 2011 team. The 2011 Duke had Kyrie Irving, yes, but he was rushed back from injury, and they weren’t a strong defensive team. Unlike the current Blue Devils.

The Jon Scheyer-led squad has one of the best defenses in the country, allowing just 61 points per game this season. This sentiment is also shared by Randolph Childress who says, “I don’t see that happening (Duke getting eliminated in sweet 16) because I just think that difference is I think this is an elite Duke defensive team. I think that they are better, what they can do defensively, and how they can attack you defensively is just different than I think the teams that we have seen in year to years.” 

While Duke deservedly got praise for their defense, in a shocking turn of events, Jon Scheyer and his team just lost out on the guy who ran the defensive plays for them.

Cooper Flagg and Co. do not lose hope despite losing out on their associate head coach

On Thursday, the University of Miami announced that they had agreed to sign Duke associate head coach Jai Lucas. The 36-year-old will be joining Miami right after the regular season ends, meaning he won’t be part of Duke in the NCAA tournament. An absolute shocker! Jai, however, wanted to stay till the tournament ended but couldn’t due to the transfer portal opening after the second round of the big dance.

Jon Scheyer’s right-hand man had been part of the program since Scheyer took over three years ago from Coach K. Lucas played a key role in recruiting players like Flagg and Kon Knueppel. However, his main responsibility had always been running the defense for Duke.

It remains to be seen how Duke will recover from this but Scheyer is confident they will be fine. “At this point of the year, we’ve developed our identity already. So really, it comes down to the day to day preparation, the job with our players on the court. And that’s why you have a staff. That’s why it’s not just one guy.” 

Duke’s elite defense, highlighted by Randolph Childress, makes a Sweet 16 exit seem unlikely. Their ability to disrupt opponents, along with Cooper Flagg’s X factor, are key for their success. However, the sudden loss of associate head coach Jai Lucas to Miami could impact the Blue Devils. Only time will tell, but this adds extra intrigue to Duke’s tournament run.