What will you consider a successful tournament?

[_Gary]

I guess I just don't believe in setting the bar too low. I almost clicked Elite 8 as my vote for "successful", but then thought the better of it and actually chose Final Four. First off, I can't believe anyone would think a Sweet 16 is good enough for this particular team to qualify as a "Successful" Tournament run. Remember, the poll isn't asking you to judge the entire season, but simply the "Tournament Run". And if that's as far as Duke gets, it's more a bust than a success by any measure. Again, I almost selected Elite 8, but if we get there and lose then we've only lived up to our seeding, and not succeeded it. So I just can't see how that's a success either. Is it really nice? Yes. Is it better than recent teams have done? Yes. But is it really a "successful" tourney for us if that's as far as we advance? Just getting to the spot the seeding says we should get to? Not to my way of thinking.

It's Final Four or bust for me. I believe this team has that type of capability and that's where the line is drawn for me on whether or not this upcoming Tournament is a successful one for Duke.

[stals]

Ok, obviously nobody considers the last two years tournament successes, but since it's been a while now, what will you personally consider to be a successful run for this team? Of course we all want them to win the whole thing, but keep in mind that's not what the question is.

Success is winning the NC. I'll be proud of the team no matter how far they go.

[dukestheheat]

We have the athletes, the coach AND the momentum for a Final Eight run. PLUS, Duke is battle-tested.

Let's do this.

dth.

[mgtr]

I picked the final four, and my logic was as follows. If you get that far, with the parity of teams these days, you are in two coin clip games. In other words, you have a shot to win the national championship, but a lot of luck is involved. In addition, some smarts come into play (remember Michigan [Webber] calling a timeout they didn't have?). I would like our chances against any two teams in the final four.

[Jeffrey]

I think we're a strong #2 seed (especially after winning the ACC tourney) and Elite 8 is a reasonable expectation. This team is coming on strong at the right time of the year and moving Jon to the point has been far wiser than I predicted. This team is a lot fresher than we've been in March for at least three years and Coach K is showing more desire than I recall in a very long time. I definitely think we have Elite 8 potential.

[sivartrenrag]

I'm just hoping we get the chance to play UNC in the FF.

If we were to beat them in the FF, I would wear an entire Duke kit for at least a month.

[dubayuw]

I can't think of any teams that are so dominant this year that we wouldn't stand a chance against them though, although I haven't watched much of Louisville...

Louisville is extremely overrated. They won the big east b/c uconn and pitt beat up on each other and they won the tourny b/c uconn and pitt lost early. They've lost to Minnesota, UNLV, Western KY, and ND by 30.

[sleepybear]

I would consider an Elite Eight to be progress and The Final Four to be success. Anything more would be gravy IMO. I hope we will play UNC in the final four.

[SoCalDukeFan]

It is too bad that the measure of success in college basketball is how you do in the NCAA Tournament.

I think winning the ACC Tournament was a great accomplishment. However Roy kind of blew it off and did has best to save Lawson for the NCAA's.

I think I will be disappointed if we do not get to the Sweet Sixteen, very happy if we go to the Final Four, overjoyed if we beat UNC-CH in the FF game, and downright beside myself if we win it all.

SoCal

[Ignatius07]

I guess I just don't believe in setting the bar too low. I almost clicked Elite 8 as my vote for "successful", but then thought the better of it and actually chose Final Four. First off, I can't believe anyone would think a Sweet 16 is good enough for this particular team to qualify as a "Successful" Tournament run. Remember, the poll isn't asking you to judge the entire season, but simply the "Tournament Run". And if that's as far as Duke gets, it's more a bust than a success by any measure. Again, I almost selected Elite 8, but if we get there and lose then we've only lived up to our seeding, and not succeeded it. So I just can't see how that's a success either. Is it really nice? Yes. Is it better than recent teams have done? Yes. But is it really a "successful" tourney for us if that's as far as we advance? Just getting to the spot the seeding says we should get to? Not to my way of thinking.

It's Final Four or bust for me. I believe this team has that type of capability and that's where the line is drawn for me on whether or not this upcoming Tournament is a successful one for Duke.

I certainly agree this team has the capability to make the Final Four. And I would have said there was no way this team would lose in the first weekend until I saw Texas (though I still think we'd beat them).

The reason I chose Elite 8 is because if we made it that far, we'd have done exactly what chalk predicted. We would have made our furthest run in the tourney since 2004. While a Final Four would be absolutely huge, I think an Elite 8 would be enough to stem some of the negative press Duke gets about failing in March.

[DukeChapel'90]

I really believe that the better measure of success will be if we look at the last game we play and say we played really well - win or lose. This team has improved all year. The players have improved all year. If we lose to a team with superior talent or depth, but we play to our best ability, then that is a success.

Still I want to win it all and I truly believe that this team is capable of winning it all. Every team has a flaw. "EXPERTS" seem to magnify ours by saying we have no low post. Yet, we have beaten teams with far better low post play because we better take advantage of their flaws than they do ours.

I will put Duke as Champion on my bracket and I don't think it is a far reach. In past years I have put them there as a hope more than prediction. This year I put them there with conviction!

[MarkD83]

Win the ACC Championship (8 of the last 11 by the way) and go as far as UNC.

[dukebluelemur]

Poll needs an option: "Farther than Carolina"

Practically speaking, there's no way that means anything less than Sweet Sixteen. (And if for some reason Lawson doesn't play the second game this week, that may be their best chance to lose )

[ice-9]

Semantics of what can be considered a success aside, for me:

Sweet Sixteen: Did not meet expectations
Elite Eight: Just met expectations
Final Four: Exceeded expectations
Runner-Up: Giddy
Champion: Break out the bubbles!!

If we had a weak one seed in our bracket, I might have expected us to get to the Final Four. But Pitt is a very strong team, probably the second best team all season behind UNC, so if we lose to them I wouldn't be all that heartbroken.

The above assumes that things go to seed. For example, if in the Elite Eight we faced Tennessee instead of Pittsburgh, I would expect us to win. At that point, not reaching the Final Four would be a disappointment.

Losing in the first weekend though would be a disaster. I don't even think I can visit this website if we lose this weekend.

[DUKIE V(A)]

For me, this has already been a successful season. A successful tournament will be making at least the Sweet Sixteen and playing well. IF we lose, it will hurt like always, but it would be more painful than usual as I think this team is playing well and with a few breaks can go very far. I love that we are a bit under the radar. I think we are going to surprise a lot of people.

[CameronBornAndBred]

Losing in the first weekend though would be a disaster. I don't even think I can visit this website if we lose this weekend.

It would not surprise me if you wouldn't be able to.

[OZZIE4DUKE]

Coach K has his eye on the big prize!

BTW, we have already had a successful season. No reason for it to end early...

[DukeDevilDeb]

... I also want to add. If Duke plays their guts out and just loses to a team that hits more big shots (no matter what round), I will be satisfied. I just want to see a lot of heart in every game.

The Clemson loss was more disappointing than anything I've seen in Duke basketball for 20 years... because we didn't play hard and we didn't play Duke basketball. If we play our hearts out and lose in the Sweet Sixteen to a "better team", I'm OK with that. I just want these guys to get a taste of the success they so much deserve!

[bjornolf]

I think we might be OVERESTIMATING Carolina's chances. Who's word are we going on that Ty's going to be 100% by this weekend? Ty's? Roy's? He might have just said what he said to protect his team's number 1 seed. And if he plays hard on Thursday, who's to say it won't end just like it did against Duke (he has a great game but his toe swells up and he's in a boot again)? You can only inject the toe so many times in a short period without risking permanent damage. It'll be interesting to see how this progresses.

What are Carolina's chances if Ty can't play on Saturday? What are Carolina's chances if he becomes more and more hindered as the tournament progresses? Will underdogs try to stomp the foot (kind of like "sweep the leg")?

Carolina is a final four team with a healthy Ty. Without Ty or with a hobbled Ty, just how good are they? Is he willing to risk his long term health and playing ability for one tourney run? Maybe he is. He did it to beat Duke in a regular season game. I'm just saying, it might not be as hard to get farther than Carolina as many think it will be.

[Chitowndevil]

I'll call it a successful tournament if we make the Elite 8. Duke has now gone four straight seasons without fulfilling its seed and, since the 2001 National Title run, has not beaten a team seeded higher than #5 in the NCAA Tournament. Particularly if Duke beats Villanova, if the game against Pitt is competitive I'll call it a success win or lose.

And by the way, to me asking "what makes a successful tournament?" is very different from "what makes a successful season?". If Duke makes the Sweet 16, they'll have won the ACC championship and put up 30 wins against one of the toughest schedules in the country. In this era of college basketball that is a fantastic season for any program.