The Duke basketball program had a strong 2023-24 but lost to NC State in the Elite Eight. Star forward DJ Burns played a big role in the Blue Devils' defeat. Moreover, former North Carolina forward Armando Bacot gave an intriguing admission that prompted a “crazy” response from Burns.
Armando Bacot-DJ Burns exchange after Duke basketball hiccups
Bacot joined the Tidal League Podcast to reveal his discontent with NC State advancing to the Final Four.
“I can't stand NC State,” Bacot said. “I wanted Duke to win. I wanted Duke to go to the Final Four… because [I knew they were good enough to compete].”
Bacot said that Duke might have had a chance to beat Purdue but admitted that UConn would have been too much to handle. Nevertheless, the former North Carolina basketball center proposed that Duke fans would only remember the defeat for a couple of years. Meanwhile, he felt NC State would remember previous wins against the Tarheels and the Blue Devils for a long time.
“NC State, they're never gonna let this go. They beat [North Carolina] in the [ACC] championship. Then, they beat Duke in the Elite Eight. And I blame Duke too. Because Duke shouldn't have lost to them in the ACC Tournament… You know it goes. When a team gets hot in March, they're hard to beat,” Bacot added.
Despite his team's loss to the rival NC State basketball squad, Armando Bacot gave props to DJ Burns.
“Hats off to that man. Even for me, you look at all the other games versus Burns, we'd go at it, but he just had confidence that last game. It was a long night for me I ain't gonna lie. Shout out to DJ,” Bacot said.
This was Burns' response:
“Twin I’m [not gonna lie] wanting Duke to win is a crazy statement bein main opp #1. I appreciate the love tho fasho,” Bruns replied on X alongside a series of crying face and fingers crossed emojis.
Will the Blue Devils bounce back from their NCAA Tournament showing?
The Blue Devils finished the 2023-24 season with a 15-5 record. As Armando Bacot mentioned, Duke lost to the NC State basketball squad in the earlier round of the ACC Tournament. The Wolfpack bested them again in the Elite Eight, ending their NCAA championship aspirations.
Duke is losing some stout contributors ahead of the 2024-25 season. Most notably, star center Kyle Filipowski departed for the NBA. The Utah Jazz selected Filipowski with the 32nd overall pick in the 2024 Draft. He is a mobile, versatile big man that Duke will dearly miss. The Blue Devils also lost former guard Jared McCain to the Philadelphia 76ers.
Nevertheless, Duke will continue to seek an improved postseason showing with the talent they do have. Head coach Jon Scheyer has a stout incoming 2024 class and will have a plethora of high-level players ready to help the team.
It will be interesting to see how Duke performs in 2024-25 with the fierce college basketball competition in the state of North Carolina.
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