Word Is Spreading - Duke Is Going To Be Tough To Beat

Duke’s smashing win over Vegas left marks on UNLV. It also left some strong impressions.

Take Gary Parrish.

CBS’s formerly spike-haired columnist (he favors a flatter cut these days) had this to say about Duke’s performance in Las Vegas:

“Bottom line, Villanova should be No. 1. And UCLA should be No. 2.

“But Duke is the nation's best team.

“Anybody with eyes can see it.”

We haven’t seen enough of UCLA to judge but that’s a really intriguing team. We were surprised that Villanova’s rotation was so tight and scoring so limited against Notre Dame.

And Kentucky and UNC are both really good.

A healthy Duke though...that’s a load.

If you have Grayson Allen and Luke Kennard firing on all cylinders, the inside is wide open for Amile Jefferson, Frank Jackson, Marques Bolden and, soon, Harry Giles.

And both Kennard and Jayson Tatum have brilliant mid-range games.

This team is going to be increasingly difficult to stop.