College Basketball: Historical Comparisons for This Season's Top-10 Teams
3. Duke Blue Devils
nERD: 18.94
Historical Comp: 2014 Creighton Bluejays, 27-8, 3 seed, lost in Round of 32
Duke ranks as the most efficient offense in the country, but their porous defense ranks outside the top 100. This makes them a great comparison to the 2014 Creighton team that was lead by current Knicks' forward Doug McDermott and his 26.7 points per game.
While this Duke team is not nearly as reliant on one player as the 2014 Creighton team was, they are lead by a dynamic star, Marvin Bagley III, who is one of the leading candidates for player of the year honors. This team is loaded with freshman talent, but what makes this squad different from other one-and-done teams is the senior presence in Grayson Allen. He, Bagley, and the other three freshmen who round out the starting five each average at least 12.5 points per game, with the next closest Blue Devil averaging a shade under 5.0.
Just like that Creighton team, the main thing that could hold this Duke team back is defense. In their eight games against top-100 nERD teams, the Blue Devils have given up an average of 85.3 points per game.