Since Division I basketball started, it has been dominated by the blue blood schools year in and year out. These schools include Duke, Kansas, North Carolina, Kentucky, UCLA, Syracuse, and Indiana. This year has been different with COVID, but you wouldn’t expect it to change the play of these teams. These blue blood teams haven’t played up to their normal expectations, but particularly the three teams that everyone expected to have big years: Duke, Kentucky, and North Carolina. These three teams had the top three recruiting classes coming into the season, with Kentucky ranked first, Duke ranked second, and North Carolina ranked third. Because of this, one might think that these teams would dominate, but it just hasn’t been the case. Could this be the end of the blue bloods?
The Duke Blue Devils, led by legendary coach Mike Krzyzewski, haven’t had the season they were hoping for. The team brought in the second-ranked recruiting class led by First-Year NBA draft prospect, Jalen Johnson, along with five other talented first years. They have a 10-8 record and are fifth in the Atlantic Coast Conference. Playing a considerable amount of freshman, the Devils only brought back two players from last year’s team that got a lot of playing time. They seem to lack the experience and leadership to help them win close games. However, they are currently on a three-game win streak and are hoping to turn it around to make a run in the conference tournament.
The Kentucky Wildcats are led by another legendary and winning coach: John Calipari. Kentucky, with the number one recruiting class, is led by First-Year, Brandon Boston. Kentucky always has players in big roles in their first year because after a year of playing on the team, first years tend to move on and enter the NBA draft. This is an obvious reason for their struggles. Three transfers accompany the first-year-dominated team, but because they haven’t previously played for Coach Calipari, they don’t have connection or chemistry with the team. The Wildcats are also on a three-game win streak; they are hoping to get hot at the right time to make a run in the conference tournament and get into the NCAA tournament.
The North Carolina Tarheels are having a decent season, but not the one that they were hoping for coming in. They are led by future hall-of-famer, Coach Roy Williams and Senior Garrison Brooks. They currently hold a 14-8 record and are placed fourth in the conference standings. The Tarheels have some returning players, but they also have a lot of first years that are getting playing time, a reason for not having the season that they are capable of. They are on a two-game winning streak and are hoping to win out the rest of the schedule so they can get a higher seed in the conference tournament.
These three teams are going to be fun to watch to see if they can improve on their season and finish out on a strong note.
