Jon Scheyer shares initial reaction to Duke's NCAA Tournament draw

Jon Scheyer led Duke to an ACC Tournament title in his first season as the Blue Devils’ head coach, and now the NCAA Tournament awaits.

Scheyer’s squad is slated as a No. 5 seed, which some believed was underrating the Blue Devils. They’ll face No. 12 Oral Roberts on Thursday at 7:10 p.m. ET, looking to exert their dominance once again.

Prior to leading Duke into their first NCAA Tournament game with him as a head coach, Scheyer shared the initial reaction the Blue Devils had to their draw.

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“Well, first of all, it’s an exciting time no matter what, no matter what seed you are, no matter where you’re going. And so, for us, you know, we felt there’s a possibility we could go to Orlando, whatever seed that was going to be. So, for us, we’re excited. It’s an amazing opportunity,” stated Scheyer. “You never take this day for granted. And we’re ready to go and we’ll pack our bags and we’re excited to be there on Tuesday and get ready for our game on Thursday.”

Regardless of their seed, the ACC Tournament champions will be one of the most popular picks to be the last team standing over the next couple of weeks. It may be Jon Scheyer’s first NCAA Tournament leading the charge, but the Duke Blue Devils are a force to be reckoned with.

Jay Bilas says Duke got a ‘good draw’ as a five-seed

Moreover, college basketball analyst and former Duke player Jay Bilas felt the Blue Devils’ seed should have been slightly higher. 

“I thought the three line was appropriate for Duke,” Bilas said. “Not just because of how they’re playing, but the fact that when they have a full complement of players, they’re 17-1. That speaks really well.”

Duke has won their last nine straight games, most recently defeating ranked Miami and Virginia on their way to an ACC title. Recently at full health, it’s hard to deny that the Blue Devils aren’t one of the best teams in the country, but their seeding may be more favorable than the seeding may say according to Bilas. 

“If you’re going to take injuries into account, you have to account — because the teams they’re going against are the ones that are getting jobbed there. Duke’s not getting jobbed. It’s the ones that have to play a better team than they’re seeded. They got a good draw, I believe,” Bilas said.

Duke will be facing Oral Roberts in their first round matchup, and if they escape an upset will face the winner of Tennessee versus Louisiana. Many anticipate the Volunteers winning that matchup, and if they do will have to face a Duke team without one of their best players Zakai Ziegler, who recently tore his ACL. Zeigler was the Volunteers and the SEC’s assist leader. There’s no doubt that Tennessee is a different team, and especially offense, without him, as they’ve gone 1-2 since his injury. 

Duke’s main focus will definitely be on Oral Roberts, but an undermanned Tennessee team may be their key to a deep tournament run in head coach Jon Scheyer’s first season at the helm.

On3’s Kaiden Smith contributed to this article.