Duke Basketball: Why Blue Devil Fans Should Be Worried Come March

Last night the Duke Blue Devils came back from a 20 point deficit with just over eleven minutes left in the game to beat in-state rival North Carolina State 78-73 at Cameron Indoor Stadium.

Last week they came back from a ten point deficit in the final two and a half minutes to beat the arch-rival North Carolina Tar Heels 85-84.

While a win is a win no matter what, Blue Devil fans should not feel too confident about their teams' chances come March.

To put it as simply as I could: Duke is not that good this season.

Are they an NCAA tournament team? Absolutely.

Are they a national championship contender? Absolutely not.

National championship-caliber teams do not struggle at home, and the "Dookies" have done just that this year, losing to Florida State 76-73 and to a mediocre Miami Hurricanes in overtime by the score of 78-74.

Dominant Duke Blue Devil teams do not lose to Florida State and Miami at Cameron Indoor Stadium.

Cameron is arguably the best home-court advantage in all of college basketball, and yet, in Duke's last seven home games, they have lost twice, beat Maryland and Wake Forest by double digits, and beat Virginia, N.C. State, and St. Johns by an average of just five points.

Sure the team is still tied atop the Atlantic Coast Conference with Florida State and North Carolina and are ranked fourth in the nation with a 22-4 overall record, and you can buy all the Duke-hype all you want, but I guarantee you that this Blue Devil team is nothing but smoke and mirrors.

If they can't take care of business at home, put away terrible teams, and need to come back from double-digit leads late in games, there is no way Duke will be able to compete with the likes of Ohio State, Kentucky, and Syracuse come March Madness.

The truth hurts, doesn't it?

So go ahead and enjoy the magic now Blue Devil fans, because come March, that magic will disappear in a flash.