Can Blue Devils 'overachieve?'

Leading up to Midnight Madness in October, ESPN Insider's "Countdown to Madness" series is previewing the top five seeds in each of the four regions in Joe Lunardi's preseason 2013 NCAA bracket. To read about the key stats and freshman impact for each team as the previews are published, plus get expert predictions from Jay Bilas, Fran Fraschilla and Lunardi, click here. This is the entry for the Duke Blue Devils, No. 4 in the East (Washington).

The keys: Veteran starters

Stat to know: 82.4 percent

Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski is looking to turn the page quickly from a 2011-12 season that ended without an NCAA tournament win, and he just might have the roster to do it as he enters his 33rd season at the ACC school.

The Blue Devils won't have the luxury of turning to Austin Rivers, their polarizing guard who led the team in scoring as a true freshman (15.5 ppg) before leaving for the NBA. But they will be stronger in a number of ways.

First and foremost, they will be more experienced.

To read the full 2012-13 Duke preview, including the Blue Devils' season outlook from Joe Lunardi, you must be an ESPN Insider.

• Recommend0
• Tweet0
• Email
• Subscribe