Commentary
Duke enters a whole new zone
The Blue Devils have cruised through soft competition, but Baylor offers lengthy issues
Updated: March 27, 2010, 12:06 PM ET
By
Elena Bergeron | ESPN The Magazine
The "Instant Intel" series is designed to immediately respond to a team's victory by looking ahead to its next opponent.
Zzzzz.
Duke hasn't played a tournament game decided by less than 10 points yet. Whether it's their overall dominance or the red carpet the selection committee rolled out in the South, the way the Blue Devils have executed on both sides of the ball has made opponents look boringly overmatched. Sunday's Elite Eight game could be the first time that pattern changes.
To read about why Duke is in for, by far, its toughest test yet, you must be an ESPN Insider.
-
ESPN The Magazine subscribers
-
Need more information?
SPONSORED HEADLINES
MORE MEN'S COLLEGE BASKETBALL HEADLINES
- Graham becomes 4th to transfer from PSU
- Georgetown's Whittington has torn left ACL
- Baylor's Jackson (knee) can't work out for draft
- Ex-Alabama guard Lacey chooses NC State
MOST SENT STORIES ON ESPN.COM
NCAA TOURNAMENT

NCAA Tournament home page
STORIES
- College Basketball Nation home
- Forde: Perfectly flawed Spartans are back
- O'Neil: Smith's game honors late father
- Katz: Mazzulla turns in game of his life
- Katz: Despite loss, Kentucky is back
- Schlabach: Butler knows Final Four path
- Schlabach: Butler's best defense? Guards
- Katz: Huggins, Calipari show ability to mesh
- Forde: Izzo continues to work his magic
- O'Neil: Duke isn't afraid to ugly it up
- Forde: A Prince of an effort on defense
- O'Neil: Baylor believes something special
- Forde: UNI's Jacobson stays grounded
- O'Neil: Jardine brings flash to Orange
- Katz: Huskies end up where they expected
- O'Neil: Cornell shatters glass ceiling
- Forde: Picking sides never easier
- Leung: Saint Mary's rings in Sweet 16
- Forde: Early winners and losers
- Katz: Will Sweet 16 be just as wild?
- Wojciechowski: A maddening March
- O'Neil: Butler's attitude gives him an edge
- Forde: Best- and worst-case scenarios
- Schlabach: Historically entertaining weekend
OPENING WEEKEND
- Katz: Samhan leads Gaels to the big time
- O'Neil: Johnson's hand doing fine
- Bennett: Red-hot Big Red keeps on rolling
- Low: Kentucky hitting its stride
SELECTION SUNDAY
- Forde Minutes: Big Dance edition
- Katz: Committee chair explains tough calls
- O'Neil: Behind the bracket
VIDEOS
- Vitale: East | Midwest | South | West
- Andy Katz: Sweet 16 breakdown
- Mike And Mike: Bracket reactions
- Lasting opening-weekend impressions
- What happened to KU?
- WVU thriving with physicality
- Can Kentucky run through the field?
- Looking at K-State's Final Four chances
TOURNEY TOOLS
- Tournament Challenge
- Lunardi's team-by-team breakdowns
- Lipscomb/Fallica: Bracket bits to chew on
- By the numbers: NCAA tournament 1-65
- Brackets: HTML | GIF | PDF
INSIDER
- Sweet 16 simulation: Duke wins it all
- Experts' Roundtable: 8 burning questions
- Dance Lessons: How Butler can do it again
- Dance Lessons: Misses are key for UK, WVU
- Lundblad/McCrystal: Title formula
ESPN COLLEGE BASKETBALL ENCYCLOPEDIA
- Gasaway: Signs of a Pac-12 revival
- Recruiting: Top targets for Big Ten teams
- Gasaway: Will KU keep its streak alive?
- Fraschilla: Challenges for U.S. U-19 team
- Draft: Ford/Bilas on PFs | Point guards
