No. 3 Duke may once again fall in the rankings following what was a blowout victory for No. 2 Notre Dame at Cameron Indoor Stadium Sunday afternoon. The Blue Devils simply did not have any solutions to the bevy of issues that have arisen since senior guard Chelsea Gray's injury. The question is becoming less a discussion of winning a national championship, but in an oddly similar fashion to last season whether Duke will even make it to the Final Four of the NCAA tournament. The Fighting Irish, who are still undefeated this season, have solidified themselves as the top team in the ACC with this statement win on the road in front of an exuberant home crowd for the Blue Devils. With another matchup in the coming weeks against Notre Dame and multiple against No. 6 North Carolina and No. 8 Maryland, Duke will face stiff competition leading into post season play.
As for those other top ACC opponents, the Tar Heels found themselves upset by the Miami squad Sunday that nearly did the same for Duke this week. The Hurricanes might not be ranked but they play fantastic basketball when matched up with quality opponents in ACC play. They should be a factor come ACC tournament time to make a surprise run deep into the contest. The Terrapins continue to earn victories against lower ACC opponents and look to be in the top tier of ACC teams. Duke will have a difficult enough time repeating its ACC Championship this season, and if the Blue Devils manage to earn that title, there is significant hope for them to make noise in the NCAA tournament as well.
No. 1 Connecticut appears to be on a different level than these ACC teams and the other top-ranked programs in the nation. No. 4 Stanford earned an easy victory over No. 21 California and has the leadership in Chiney Ogwumike to play a role in the national championship discussion, but the reality is that it all comes down to Duke. They have yet to play at the standard expected of them for the majority of the season constantly reiterating that all these close games and losses are learning experiences. They can answer all the questions from skeptics by executing and beating a top-tier team, and the Blue Devils will have a chance to do so against Notre Dame in South Bend, Ind. The parity between ranked teams in women's college basketball seems to be constantly increasing this season, but Duke will need to rise above that during the final half of ACC play if it plans to be in contention with Connecticut at the end of the season.
Game to watch: No. 5 Louisville vs. No. 1 Connecticut. Sunday, 1:00 pm.
Upset Alert: No. 11 Oklahoma State vs. No. 9 Baylor. Sunday, 4:00 pm.
ACC game: No. 3 Duke vs. Clemson. Thursday, 7:00 pm.
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