ACC Tournament preview: Will injuries derail Duke in March?

Yahoo Sports Daily hosts Caroline Fenton and Jason Fitz are joined by college basketball analyst Dalen Cuff to discuss how injuries could prevent Duke from winning the ACC tournament and making a deep March Madness run.

Video Transcript

Who can stop Duke in the ACC Tournament?

Well, injuries can stop Duke, Carolyn.

That’s the pro- that’s the problem right now.

Yeah.

that’s the issue, issue with this team.

We, we just saw it this past weekend.

You had no Patrick Gamba, their, their big center, and I’ve been saying for weeks now, he is their most important player.

Cameron Boozer’s the most valuable player in the country, the most the best player in the country, but Gamba makes them different.

And when he’s not in the lineup, you lose your rim protection, you lose your lob threat, you m- lose your best rebounder.

And he was bummed to not play in that Duke game.

That was a, that was a big enough hit.

But then Caleb Foster mid-game, you lose your, you lose your starting point guard.

So they’re, they’re figuring it out on the fly there in that game, and they were dominant over North Carolina.

They’re just flat out more talented.

They’re better.

They’re at home.

But we’re talking about winning a national championship, which unfortunately or fortunately for Duke, that is the only measure by which you are, you are, you are, you are assessed.

It is not about ACC championships.

It’s not about ACC tournaments.

It’s about the NCAA Tournament, winning national championships.

And this team, I’m concerned for their health.

They are, they’ve proven they, they’ve played over the balance of the season the best in the entire country.

They’ve been the most consistent, them along with Arizona, I would say.

But with these injuries, i- that’s the k- that’s the question.

So we’ll see what happens and who plays when you come on to Thursday here in the ACC Tournament, and if Gamba can go and if Foster can go.

We’ve yet to hear anything s- of, of substance, and we won’t.

There’s no reason for Duke or Jon Scheyer to say anything, because if you do say a guy is out, that can affect your seeding.

Now, they’re not gonna go off the one line, but maybe they go from the overall one to the overall three.

You just don’t give the committee that option.

Now, what the real question is when we t- t- to tip it up next week in the NCAA Tournament, who can play?

‘Cause you can sit out a 16-one game and that’s fine.

An eight-nine game that you’re gonna play in the next round, those are other high major quality opponents.

You’re not sitting guys for that.

So I just hope they’re healthy.

I hope we get to see this team at full capacity, because when they are, to your, answer to your initial question, nobody’s stopping them in their own league.

The question is can they win a national title?

To be healthy is the answer.