Blue Devils on Outside Looking In

With four games left in the conference schedule, Duke will need some help to win the ACC regular season championship.

Having suffered their second conference loss to the Tar Heels Monday, the Blue Devils currently sit in a two-way tie for second place in the conference. Although the team easily handled Clemson Friday, it doesn't get any easier for Duke as it still has to travel to Maryland to play the No. 9 Terrapins Feb. 22 and host No. 8 North Carolina Mar. 1.

Interestingly enough, the team that controls its own destiny to win the conference title isn't even a member of the the so-called ACC triumvirate of Duke, North Carolina and Maryland—it's Florida State.

The Seminoles were predicted to finish fifth in the league and received no first-place votes in the preseason. But after defeating then-No. 3 Duke behind a stellar performance from senior Mara Freshour Jan. 29 and upsetting No. 8 North Carolina last night 77-70 at home, Florida State now sits in the driver's seat as the only team with one conference loss.

The Seminoles have the easiest schedule down the stretch as they have already faced the ACC's big three—they went 2-1, suffering their only loss to the Terrapins on a last-second 3-pointer by Kristi Toliver—and play only one more team with a winning conference record.

Now, if the Blue Devils—or even the Tar Heels or Terrapins—hope to capture the conference crown, they'll need Florida State to stumble. Otherwise, for the first time since 2000, a team from outside of North Carolina could be the ACC's best.