Originally Posted by
gumbomoop
I understand this sentiment but don't agree, especially the "much rather" part, as "much rather" suggests that FSU is a much tougher opponent for Duke than all of the other 3.
IMO, a semi with any of those 4 is close to a toss-up; Duke would be favored, but not by lots against any of the 4. If Sene is back, and maybe even if not, UVa is very tough D. Miami is up and down, but Reggie sure beat the hell out of our inside guys. I guess we'd have the "revenge" factor on our side v. Canes; but then NCSt would have revenge-edge if they were the opponent. FSU? Toss-up, with Duke slight favorite, but not that much more dangerous to Devils' ACCT aspirations. None of the 4 teams fears Duke; they all think Duke is soft and lucky. [Well, maybe not Bennett and Cavs, whose MO is head-down, stifling D, shut up and play hard.]
They're all dangerous, unless Devils suddenly start playing with smooth efficiency. For that matter, any of our likely quarterfinal opponents - Clemson/Md/VT - would all love to upset the Devils
CDu, and others, I'm willing to be persuaded of the error of my thinking here...