NCAA Bracket 2011 Predictions: Which No. 1 Seed Has the Easiest Path?

Duke Blue Devils: ACC Tourney Champions

Regardless of who they play, when it comes tourney time, every team is outstanding.

However, in comparison to their competition, the Duke Blue Devils are easily at least a few steps ahead of their regional competition.

And, based on how everyone has played down the stretch, the Connecticut Huskies are their biggest competition.

In Round 1, they face the Hampton Pirates of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference.

A No. 16 seed has never beaten a No. 1 seed, so don't expect that to happen this time.

Hampton did win their conference tournament, so they are on a roll. But then again, so did Duke.

Round 2 would pit them against either Michigan or Tennessee.

Michigan's best win came against Penn State, and while Tennessee did start off strong, they have been a bit lackluster down the stretch.

For as good as Duke is with experience and depth, neither of these two schools will come close.

In the Sweet 16, the team that looks to challenge the Blue Devils are the Arizona Wildcats.

They won the Pac-10 regular season and were tourney runner-ups.

However, the Pac-10, in comparison to the other major conferences, was rather weak.

Other than the Wildcats, the Texas Longhorns could also face Duke in the Sweet 16, but they have been somewhat inconsistent this season.

The Longhorns have solid wins against Kansas, Missouri and Texas A&M, however, they also have bad losses to Nebraska and Colorado.

Okay, now moving to the other half of the bracket. On display, you will see two conference tourney champions in Connecticut and San Diego State.

UConn, who won the Big East tourney, is banging on all cylinders with Kemba Walker, and San Diego State finally got over the hump versus BYU.

If Duke is to make it to the Elite Eight, Connecticut looks to be the most likely team they'll face.

By then, however, UConn (if they get that far) could be running on fumes.

After winning five straight games in five straight days in the most difficult and best conference in the country, UConn may not have enough gas to outlast the Blue Devils.

Make no mistake about it, Duke is extremely talented and has a tremendous amount of experience.

However, a route to the Final Four for a team of this level is a walk in the park.

Now, if the Blue Devils fail to make it to the Final Four, then can you say overrated? You be the judge.