The Duke University Men’s Basketball program is undisputedly one of the premier outfits in the history of college basketball. Winning their 4th National Championship just a season ago in no way marked an ascent to the throne, rather another jewel for their royal trophy case. Still, repeating as the top team in college basketball, particularly coming off perhaps the most surprising championship on the Blue Devil’s extensive resume, is a tall order for any group of players, no matter from what university they hail. The last team to successfully defend their crown was the Florida Gators, emerging from March Madness unscathed in both 2006 and 2007, boasting a roster that included future NBA stars Al Horford and Joakim Noah, alongside fellow NBA starter Corey Brewer. Though this may be relatively recent history, it’s still historically a very tough feat to accomplish, with the Duke Blue Devils directly preceding the Gators with such an accomplishment, a feat that will you all the way down memory lane back to the 1991 and 1992 seasons. It could be argued, however, that in this particular instance, Duke has already accomplished the harder leg of their race. To be frank, last year’s team was a significantly less talented group of players, yet still managed to cut to the nets in their one shining moment. The current roster, however, has already navigated a tough nonconference schedule with an aura of ease, dispatching of fellow national heavyweights in Kansas State and Michigan State, coupled with rematch of last year’s national title game against Butler. As Duke prepares to enter ACC play, the Blue Devils look to be the odds on favorite to take home the conference championship. Will Duke do it? If we were in Las Vegas with a gun our head demanding we put money on one side or the other, we’d probably say no, but is it possible? After last year’s scrappy line-up showed the resolve win it all, this unit, returning veteran leadership and benefitting from a freshman infusion of talent, certainly has a chance.