There are a lot of important basketball games between now and March, especially the two coming within the next week, but the Duke Blue Devils lost their grip on a No. 1 seed in the ESPN NCAA Bracketology on Tuesday.
Longtime bracket expert Joe Lunardi knocked Duke down to the No. 3 in the South region after its loss to the Kentucky Wildcats, slotting them behind the Auburn Tigers and Iowa State Cyclones.
The Blue Devils could shake up the order themselves over the next seven days. Duke plays Arizona, whom Lunardi slotted in as a No. 4 seed, on the road this Friday before a neutral-site game against top overall seed Kansas. One or two wins between those two games could make the Kentucky loss less consequential.
Connecticut and Gonzaga filled in the remaining two No. 1 spots. The Wildcats joined Duke on the No. 3 seed line, and the North Carolina Tar Heels fell down to a No. 4 seed after their loss to the Jayhawks.