Who will Duke play — and when — in the NCAA Tournament? Blue Devils learn their fate

Let’s see if entering the NCAA Tournament on a different kind of streak bodes better for Duke this season.

Unlike last season, when they won the ACC Tournament, this year’s Blue Devils carry a two-game losing streak into NCAA Tournament play and seek a strong response.

Duke’s first NCAA Tournament game will be Friday when, as the No. 4 seed in the South Region, the Blue Devils (24-8) play No. 13 seed Vermont (28-6) at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, at 7:10 p.m. on CBS.

If the Blue Devils beat Vermont, they would play either No. 5 seed Wisconsin (22-13) or No. 12 seed James Madison (31-3). The Badgers and Dukes play Friday, following the Duke-Vermont game, with CBS also televising that game.

Last season, Jon Scheyer’s first as Duke’s coach following Mike Krzyzewski’s retirement, Duke carried a nine-game winning streak into NCAA Tournament play. The Blue Devils beat Oral Roberts in the first round but were ousted by Tennessee, 65-52, in the second round to finish 27-9 and fail to make the Sweet 16.

This season, the Blue Devils lost their regular-season finale, 84-79, to North Carolina before being upset by N.C. State, 74-69, in the ACC Tournament quarterfinals. While the Wolfpack went on to its first ACC Tournament title since 1987, Duke returned home to Durham in search of answers to its late-season skid.

“The biggest postseason is ahead of us,” Scheyer said after Thursday night’s loss. “We’re excited about that. My thing is all about getting ready and focused for that.”

This is only the second time this season Duke has lost consecutive games. The Blue Devils lost 80-75 at Arkansas on Nov. 30, followed by a 72-68 setback at Georgia Tech on Dec. 2. Duke reeled off eight consecutive wins after those losses, including a 78-70 win over Baylor on Dec. 20 in New York.

Scheyer liked his team’s response to that adversity and that it hadn’t dropped back-to-back games again for three months. But now Duke has lost two games in a row again, which led to plenty of work since the Blue Devils returned from Washington.

With all that in mind, Scheyer said Thursday night he was confident in his team’s ability to raise its level of play in the NCAA Tournament.

“It would be a real problem if you didn’t believe in the team,” Scheyer said. “I think it starts there. Do you believe in the group you have? Do you believe in the team? And the answer is emphatically 100 percent yes. It starts there for me. Then it’s a matter of all these guys, obviously us as a staff, too, taking responsibility. You have to take responsibility for what we didn’t do.”

The South Region’s No. 1 seed is Houston (30-4), followed by No. 2 seed Marquette (25-9) and No. 3 seed Kentucky (23-9).

Duke’s first-round opponent, Vermont, won the America East Conference Tournament on Saturday, defeating Massachusetts-Lowell, 66-61, in the championship game. The Catamounts were 15-1 in conference play. Vermont played just one team from a power conference, losing 73-51 at Virginia Tech on Dec. 16.

South Region teams advancing out of the first two rounds will play the regional semifinals in Dallas, Texas, March 29 with the regional final scheduled for March 31.

NCAA South Region

First Four

Wednesday

At Dayton, Ohio

No. 10 seed Boise State vs. No. 10 seed Colorado, 9:10 p.m. (TruTV)

First round

Thursday

At Pittsburgh

No. 3 Kentucky vs. No. 14 Oakland, 7:10 p.m. (CBS)

No. 6 Texas Tech vs. No. 11 N.C. State, 9:40 p.m. (CBS)

Friday

At Memphis

No. 8 Nebraska vs. No. 9 seed Texas A&M, 9:50 p.m. (TNT)

No. 1 seed Houston vs. No. 16 seed Longwood, 9:20 p.m. (TNT)

At Indianapolis

No. 2 seed Marquette vs. No. 15 seed Western Kentucky, 2 p.m. (TBS)

No. 7 seed Florida vs. Boise State-Colorado winner, 4:40 p.m. (TBS)

At Brooklyn

No. 4 seed Duke vs. No. 13 seed Vermont, 7:10 p.m. (CBS)

No. 5 seed Wisconsin vs. No. 12 seed James Madison, 9:40 pm (CBS)