Here comes Duke.

The dominant version of Duke basketball seems to be arriving just in time for March Madness.

Despite a 5-3 start and eight games in which it was missing at least one starter, the eighth-ranked Blue Devils (21-5, 12-3 ACC) are in position to challenge No. 10 UNC (20-6, 12-3) for the ACC regular-season championship and earn a top-4 seed in the 2024 NCAA Tournament.

Duke, the reigning ACC Tournament champion, will also have a chance to go for back-to-back titles in Washington D.C.

Even with its surging play of late, the national narrative surrounding Duke seems to centered around one question: Are the Blue Devils tough enough?

“I think some of that talk is kind of funny to me,” Duke coach Jon Scheyer said this week during the ACC’s weekly coaches teleconference.

“How many teams in the country right now have 20 wins and people are talking about, 'How tough are they or do they have dogs? How do you get 20 wins without having that?”

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Scheyer brings attention to a good point. Following the Blue Devils’ 84-55 win at Miami on Wednesday, Duke has won 16 of its last 18 games, including five straight by an average of 15.8 points.

The losses were against Pitt —without starters Jeremy Roach and Mark Mitchell — and at UNC in a game that saw Scheyer question his team’s effort and energy.

After losing its first two road games, Duke has won six of its last seven games away from Cameron Indoor Stadium. As of Wednesday night, the Blue Devils have as many road victories as No. 1 UConn and No. 10 UNC, and more road wins than No. 2 Houston, No. 3 Purdue and No. 4 Arizona.

Last season, Duke finished with a 4-6 record on the road.

"I think so quickly, in general, people can draw early conclusions on who people are, who teams are," Scheyer told reporters after the Blue Devils' victory at Miami.

"Just as with teams, all along we’ve talked about getting better. The whole season. We want to be at our best in February and March, and I think we’re on an upswing."

The numbers back it up. Duke was 40th in offensive efficiency and 25th in defensive efficiency in Scheyer’s debut season, according to KenPom.com. If Duke maintains its current trend, it’ll produce top-25 marks in both categories for the first time since the 2019-20 season, which was cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Blue Devils also produced top-25 offenses and defenses in the 2017-18 and 2018-19 seasons, advancing to the Elite Eight each year.

With its ability to handle adversity, its improved road record and boosts on both ends of the court, all signs point to Duke being in the mix for a national championship.

“Some of the narrative, I just flat-out don’t agree with. I know the competitors we have in that locker room,” Scheyer said. “. ... I can go through each one of our guys, the moments they’ve had, the plays they’ve made, the toughness you have to have when you start off the season 5-3.”

Scheyer went on to say “there’s a long way to go” in the season, but he’s confident in his group as March gets closer on the calendar.

“They’ve shown me already what they’re made of,” Scheyer said.

“We have to keep getting better in a lot of areas, and keep getting tougher. … But their mental toughness, they have it. For me, that’s just where I am with that.”

Staff writer Rodd Baxley can be reached at rbaxley@fayobserver.com or @RoddBaxley on X/Twitter. 

This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: Duke basketball surging as March Madness, NCAA Tournament gets closer