^ If Duke wants to solidify a top 2 seed or even move into a 1 seed, it is going to have to start blowing out teams to improve the NET rating. There are so few Q1 opportunities remaining on the schedule. As of today, Duke is scheduled to play one Q1-A game, this Saturday's matchup at North Carolina and one other Q1 opportunity, at Clemson. Clemson is 72 right now in the NET, so they could slip to a Q2 road game before the season is over.
FSU is currently at 79 and falling after two losses. Duke would benefit from them rising back up into the Top 75 so that the OT loss goes back to being a Q1 game. Miami is rising and currently at 60. If they can get into the top 50, that home loss also can move into a Q1 game.
Basically, Duke needs Clemson, Miami, and FSU to move up as much as they can in the NET to improve the resume. The only other way for Duke to improve is to increase the margin of victory, moving the needle on the dork polls.
As for Purdue, I would love for them to be in the same bracket as Duke. Their defense is suspect. They have an inherent flaw in that two of their three best players cannot be on the court at the same time. If you look at the
T-Rank Similar Resume profile for Purdue, not a single team that shares their profile made it to the Final Four. Of the top teams, Purdue is the one I'd prefer to have in the same bracket.