Worst loss in recent Blue Devil History?

[rthomas]

That's what this dude says:
http://cbs.sportsline.com/collegebasketball/story/10062867

"Embarrassing was the word of the night as this was one of the worst losses in modern Blue Devils basketball history."

I didn't think it was embarrassing. I was dissapointed but not humiliated. I'm sure I can think of more embarassing losses by Duke if I tried. And I'm 100% confident that I can think of more embarassing losses by other programs, such as UNC, Kansas, Arizona, UConn.

[jimbonelson]

this year maryland ........twice

[rthomas]

Sorry to reply to my on message, but then he says this!

"Now, the Blue Devils dynasty is officially done after suffering its first opening-round loss in over a decade. Goodnight, Dukies. You're not much better than Rutgers."

Whoa...Now I'm getting PO'd.

[imagepro]

but lets be honest here. Is he wrong?

[Bob Green]

I'm sticking with the 1974 theme...8 points in 17 seconds is embarrassing!

Bob Green
Yokosuka, Japan

[throatybeard]

That UNC team in 1974 had no business being down 8 to us with the game nearly over, a fact Tar Heels like to conveniently ignore.

If "worst" means "least justifiable," I'm going to stick with the 2002 loss to FSU. This team was capable of beating Carolina or losing to NC Central.

[rthomas]

Imagepro,
First question to be answered is: Is (was) Duke a dynasty? Considering last time we didn't lose in the NCAA's was 2001 and before that 1992.

And the second questions is: Does one loss in the first round of the NCAA crumble the dynasty?

[Bob Green]

That UNC team in 1974 had no business being down 8 to us with the game nearly over, a fact Tar Heels like to conveniently ignore.

I'm not disagreeing with you, but the fact is we had an eight point lead with 17 seconds left in the game. I was attending high school in Fayetteville, NC at the time. My school had 1500 students and about 3 of us pulled for Duke. I had to go to school on Monday morning.

Bob Green
Yokosuka, Japan

[coblue]

Sorry to reply to my on message, but then he says this!

"Now, the Blue Devils dynasty is officially done after suffering its first opening-round loss in over a decade. Goodnight, Dukies. You're not much better than Rutgers."

Whoa...Now I'm getting PO'd.

This is the problem.

Because he, like others, go exponentially too far, it gets written off when if you just stick to the facts you could shed light on the legitimate problems.

The program is fine. Its not elite right now, but its leaps and bounds beyond Rutgers.

[Karl Beem]

Isn't this pretty much the dreck that you expect from CBS Sportsline?
:rolleyes:

[imagepro]

Just frustrated now man......

[Duke76]

As a 1976 graduate, I'd have to agree on the '74 loss to Carolina. We were in our frat house with a keg from Jim's just about drained. With Cramer on the foul line (he never missed) we poured out of the house to play football on the quad, knowing we had won. Little did we know.

[killerleft]

The loss that was most embarrassing for me was a late 60's loss to St. Peters in the NIT. Our lack of speed was exploited time after time, and we lost to the tune of 100-71.

[Dave Duke76]

This is the problem.

Because he, like others, go exponentially too far, it gets written off when if you just stick to the facts you could shed light on the legitimate problems.

The program is fine. Its not elite right now, but its leaps and bounds beyond Rutgers.


Interesting post info on the guy who wrote the Duke article, he's not very reputible!!! -
Former New York Times sportswriter Mike Freeman won't be <a href="http://www.indystar.com/articles/5/108117-5725-036.html">going to the Indianapolis Star after admitting he lied about a University of Delaware degree. SportsPages.com quotes Freeman: "I was at the university for four years but in fact did not graduate. This was a terrible and unforgivable manipulation of the facts and I have resigned from my newly accepted position as columnist for the Star."
> <a href="http://www.indystar.com/articles/1/109943-7101-092.html">INDY STAR UPDATE: Editor Dennis Ryerson tells readers he accepted Freeman's resignation Friday morning. "The Star is committed to operating with high ethical standards. We recognize credibility issues have confronted our industry, and we want to be a leader in addressing those issues," he writes

[RepoMan]

Heck. Last year's loss was much worse that yesterday's.

[Patrick Yates]

While I do not agree with the gleeful tone of that article, he made some valid points. The team was outhustled. K was out coached. How many times did our ball handler dribble to center court, wait for the double team to show up, and then pick up his dribble. There were some defensive blown assignments last night. McBob quit going down low, and no one else would crash when Paulus penetrated, leaving him to pass the ball to an indeterminate position.

What bothered me were repeated mistakes. When a player makes an egregious mistake, (ie worse than a misdribble, dropping the ball, missing a makeable shot, stupid foul) take the player out and explain what the mistake was, and how to correct the mistake. If the player repeats this mistake, he comes out for longer periods of time. Repeated infractions = less playing time and more suicides, wind-sprints, push-ups, whatever. Players can be forced not to make mistakes. It seems like in the early 90s players played mistake free almost out of fear. That seems to be working at UNC (however much we hate them, they at least have a good shot at the FF)

I hope that the team can be righted next year. I am not sure that it can, given the recruits/mentality of the program. Until, unless PP gets in the truck, we must work on the assumption that he will not be in Durham next year. As it stands right now, without me having seen anyone other that Smith play, our recruits do not address our most pressing needs. I will defer to other posters on this board who believe that Smith will not play a lot at point, and may not play a great deal at all. I hope that he can handle the point, but if he does not, so be it. I know that Singler and King are reputed to be good shots, but it is not their pure shooting ability that worries me. I am more concerned with their ability to get their shot off than whether or not they can hit shots when they are open. I know they were able to do this vs high-school competition, but can they do it against the superior defenders they will face in the ACC? (this is a legitimate question, not a denigration of their unseen by me abilities) If they can get their shots, then we will indeed be good to great next year. If not, it will be more of this year.

I also worrly about their defense. Neither Kind nor Singler are reputed to be strong athletes. Even if they can score, we may have more of a Paulus situation. Last night, for all of his wonderful shooting (not necessecarily playing great overall, but he shot very well from the floor), he only netted us 1 point because the guy he was, or should have been, guarding went off also. Still, I credit GP for us being in the game.

Back to my original point, if you read the original article and strip away the vitriol and unoriginal Duke baiting, there are some valid points or concerns. We have not been dominant in the post season since our final four run in
2004. If next years team does not reach the FF, it will be the first four year class not to have gone since Wojo's class graduated. Given our exposure, resources, recruiting, and expectations, it could well be interpreted that the dynasty has some cracks in the foundation.

Patrick Yates

[RelativeWays]

How is this any worse than the loss to Eastern Michigan in 96 or Carolina's
1st round loss to Weber State (I think it was Weber State) in 03? This yellow journalism irritates me because its an obvious cheap ploy to attract readers. Does any sports journalist truly believe this is the end for Duke? Did they conveniently sweep other early exist under the rug by Kansas, Kentucky, Florida and others? Its college basketball for chrissakes, this stuff happens all the time, there really isn't a team thats been immune to the cyclical nature of the game. Next year, any of the top 10 teams could struggle to make the tournament depending on how many players leave early. What a bunch of crap.

[CMS2478]

Can we change the subject. ;)

[DU Band Prez 88]

Lousy article, stupid conclusion for the "journalist" to reach. I would really only call last night's game a mild upset at best.

Last year's LSU game and the title game loss to UConn were far and away worse than last night's game given the expectations for each Duke team in '99 and '06. The LSU game in particular because 1) LSU was just horrible in the Final Four, 2) JJ and Shelden were two of Duke's all time greats and we all really, really wanted to see JJ and Shelden at LEAST get to the title game once.

On to next year: look for us to be back in the top 10 most of the year and at least an elite 8 team - count on it.

[SECulp]

You thought that an article from CBS Sportsline would be well thought out?

[RelativeWays]

Most embarrasing loss was to UNLV in 90. 30 point defeat in the title game? It doesn't get any worse.

[devil84]

Let the journalists have their fun. VCU was the only upset yesterday -- I wish the headlines were "VCU Wins" rather than "Duke Loses." Give VCU some props for playing a great game. If these journalists insist on celebrating Duke's loss, then fine. G'head. Kick us when we're "down." Let's not up their hit counters.

Given that 32 schools advance past the first round, and 32 leave in the first round, that leaves around 270 Division I schools (or more) dream of "terrible" season such as ours. Our season is likely going to be better next year, as we return every player except one walk-on. And we add a most excellent recruiting class. G'head, media pundits, have a field day with your schadenfraude (heaven knows I enjoyed the heck out of Carolina's 8-20 season). Enjoy it now because it's bound to be quite short-lived. It's great to be a Duke fan.

- della

[KandG]

Bad losses to me are the ones you don't see coming, that truly hit like a sucker punch. The loss to Maryland in the ACC tournament a few years ago was one like that.

Losses like last night, the loss to Indiana in 2002, the loss to Cal in 1993...those ones hurt, they may have been "surprising" given the relative seeding, but anyone that followed those Duke teams knew there was bad karma over all of them. They hurt because as a Duke fan you wanted the bad vibes to go away, but they never did.

[jimsumner]

Well, let's see. Duke last lost in the first-round in 1996. That didn't exactly bring the program to the Rutgers level did it? Duke either finished first in the ACC regular-season and/or won the ACC Tournament each of the next ten seasons, a streak that ended this season. So I'll hold off on the obits for now, thank you very much.

[mapei]

My worst losses:

1. UNLV 1990
2. Indiana 2002

Last night's game doesn't come close. We all knew this team wasn't playing well and couild lose in the first round. I was mildly surprised and terribly disappointed, but not shocked.