No. 7 Duke will continue to drop in the rankings headed into the final weeks of ACC play having lost yet again to No. 2 Notre Dame, this time in South Bend, Ind. Sunday afternoon. The Blue Devils continue to spiral out of control with super-sophomore guard Alexis Jones now out due to a sprained knee suffered against the Fightin' Irish. Jones' MRI Monday will be the deciding factor for the future of this Duke squad, which scored merely two baskets in the 9:30 following the injury to Jones. Having lost Chelsea Gray for the season, the Blue Devils will need Jones to return to the court should they hope to contend for a Final Four appearance let alone a national or ACC championship run.
Moving to the remainder of the top ACC teams, No. 11 North Carolina, who upset the Blue Devils in their last meeting, were surprisingly beaten by an unranked Virginia Tech team Sunday 50-47. No. 14 N.C. State barely slipped by Virginia in a 68-66 contest the same day. All this goes to show how closely contested ACC play has been this season. The ACC tournament in March will be undoubtedly prove to be a compelling event as all of these ranked team will face each other with the potential for upsets very high. Duke has now both the luxury and curse of being in the best conference perhaps in women's college basketball history with about five legitimate and competitive teams in Notre Dame, Duke, N.C. State, North Carolina, and No. 8 Maryland.
Shifting out of the conference, it has become clear that once again Notre Dame and No. 1 Connecticut, protected from close contests by a weak American Athletic Conference schedule, are at the top of the women's basketball food chain. Duke, who was at one point this season seen as the team with the highest chance of upsetting the Huskies, has quickly fallen out of the national spotlight and in its place resides the Fightin' Irish and last year's surprise squad in No. 3 Louisville. The injury to Jones does not bode well for Duke but the Blue Devils have shown that they can compete with top team for stretches and beat the teams they are supposed to beat. However, right now they are performing well below expectations and the level needed to win against top opponents. With two games remaining in regular season play before the ACC tournament including an away matchup with North Carolina, Duke will need to hit its stride quickly should the Blue Devils hope to repeat as ACC champions and receive a favorable seeding in the NCAA tournament.
Game to watch: No. 4 South Carolina vs. No. 10 Tennessee. Sunday, 2:30 p.m.
Key ACC matchup: No. 11 North Carolina vs. No. 7 Duke. Sunday, 1 p.m.
Upset alert: No. 11 North Carolina vs. No. 7 Duke. Sunday, 1 p.m.
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