View Poll Results: What is your favorite Duke comeback?

Voters
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  • 2/12/98 vs. UNC: Duke trails by 12 at the half

    13 5.86%
  • 1/27/01 at Maryland: the gone-in-54 seconds game.

    72 32.43%
  • 3/30/01 vs. Maryland in the Final Four: Down 22 in the first half

    85 38.29%
  • 2005 vs. VT: Dockery nails 3 from half-court at the buzzer

    3 1.35%
  • 2/9/11 vs. UNC: Duke trails by 14 at the half

    9 4.05%
  • 2/8/12 at UNC: Duke trails by 10 with 2.5 minutes to go. Austin Rivers!

    37 16.67%
  • Any others?

    3 1.35%
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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Dec 2007
    Location
    Cary, NC

    What is your favorite Duke comeback?


  2. #2
    Join Date
    Nov 2011
    This years comeback without question. To beat them at home, in front of the smurf nation, after all the junk talking we've heard all week, it was blissful to see them go down in flames like that. To come back after being outplayed basically the entire game and to destroy them at the buzzer and see their fans all speechless and crying...that's every Duke fans dream come true!!!

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Jul 2007
    Location
    Burgtownvilleton, NC
    Until last night, it was Gone in 54 seconds (that game is on ESPN Classic right now, BTW). I was living with a MD grad at the time, so...you can imagine the cloud of smug that hung over our house for a day or so.

    I haven't celebrated like I did last night, physically and vocally, since the Laettner shot. I kept my mouth shut in every way through the flurry of stupid JPG's and ceaseless yapping yesterday, and I was rewarded. Selah.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Dec 2007
    Location
    Cary, NC
    This is such a tough one to answer for me. The 1998 game was the only one of these that I saw in person. The Heels were tearing us up inside, as they always seemed to do, and then Elton came in and they just couldn't stop him. Cameron was the loudest it ever was during my four years (95-99), I thought the roof would literally blow off of the building.

    The gone in 54 seconds game was mind-boggling, but in terms of stakes the final four game that year was more important. It was the pinnacle of frustration for the Terps, who had become a really good program but just could not beat us.

    The 2011 and 2012 games are similar in that it looked like UNC would just run away with things, but then we got hot and they tightened up. The comeback was more condensed in 2012, but 2011 was also an amazing game. It was the coming out party for Curry, just as the 2012 game was for Rivers.

    All in all I have to vote for 1998 for purely personal reasons. I'll never forget that experience.

  5. #5
    It came down to 2001 in MD and this year at UNC. I chose at UNC for the simple fact that its at UNC. Had the 2001 game been vs UNC that one would have won by far...

  6. #6
    Maybe the hardest vote i have ever made on DBR. Great Poll! I went with the 01 comeback on Maryland cause that was in the final four and it was a great game and a great team. But last night and miracle min were great. No winner here except us as Duke fans.

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
    Location
    20 Minutes From The Heaven That Is Cameron Indoor
    I called a close Duke friend last night right after the game ended. I told him that Duke had just given me the greatest regular season victory in my lifetime. 24 hours later I have not changed my opinion. Gone in 54 seconds was awesome, but this was Carolina.

    The elements of last night
    -dramatic comeback ... 13 down at one point, 10 down with 2:34 to go
    -road game
    -buzzer beater with time expiring before the ball reaches the goal. make wins it, miss loses it
    -slight underdog being ranked 10th and playing the 5th ranked team
    -the player the opponent hates the most hits the big shot
    -the Barnes angle
    -the Ol Roy angle
    -with Duke coming off the Miami loss every UNC fan at work road me everyday leading up to the game. They were giddy and convinced a blowout was coming
    -IT WAS CAROLINA

    In my 45 years, no other regular season win can top it.

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Asheville

    3 are tied

    Gone in 54 seconds because they showed the many, many Maryland "fans" on TV leaving the venue to beat the traffic only to find out later that they had lost. Sweet. Also, Jwill was just magical during that 54 seconds.

    The 2001 FF Maryland game because Coach K told the players to just go out and have fun playing together in place of his admittedly "over-coaching" job in the first half. Also, because we then went on to win the whole enchilada.

    The 2011 comeback against UNC in 2011 because we were not favored, it looked like they had us for sure at the half, the UNC staff and players were jumping for joy and celebrating at the end of the half, and because I WAS THERE!!!!!!!!

    This poll, I believe, should be revisited next year well after the immediate joy and newness of the event has passed. Then, I think we all would be able to put it in a more proper perspective leading to a more rational judgement as to its rank. But for now, all I can think about is how sweet it is-----------and forget about thinking rationally about where it stands. Like Coach K has talked about in the past, we should all just revel in the pure joy of the moment. Enjoy the now of the accomplishment. Go Duke!!!!

    ricks

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Nov 2009
    Location
    Carrboro, NC
    Had to go with the final 4 Maryland game. It led most directly to a national title and was the culmination of an intense 4 game series with the Terps that year (which we won 3-1.)

  10. #10
    Wednesday night is hard to top, but what about the women vs. UConn in 2004? From down 20 midway through the second half to a buzzer-beating three that ended a 60-something game home winning streak.

  11. #11
    This latest win has a special place in my heart but I have had a decade to relive the gone-in-54 seconds game. I still watch it randomly late at night sometimes (too much).

  12. #12
    Join Date
    Apr 2007
    All in all I have to vote for 1998 for purely personal reasons. I'll never forget that experience.
    The '98 comeback was more intense because of the Elton comeback factor, it was at home, and because Carolina
    had dominated the rivalry the previous four seasons. It marked the end of that era and the beginning of a new
    era of Duke dominance, which lasted for six seasons. But for pure improbability of a Duke win, I can't find a Carolina
    game ever that tops the latest game. Pretty amazing. They even were razzing Kenny Smith on TV last night about him tweeting how
    Carolina was going to win during the game. They had a photo montage of him with a "Dewey Defeats Truman"
    newspaper saying "Carolina beats Duke". It was sweet!

  13. #13
    Join Date
    Feb 2009
    Location
    Durham
    Logically for me it should be the final four vs Maryland because of how important it was. But I was at a sports bar filled with Maryland (and Maryland that night) fans for the gone in 54 seconds. I'm not sure I can remember a time basketball or otherwise that I have ever been happier, with that whole bar turning from hating on Duke to stunned silence. Must have been sort of like a small version of the Dean Dome on Wednesday.

  14. #14
    Join Date
    Nov 2008
    Location
    North Carolina
    I voted for the 2011 Duke/UNC game. Being front row for that one and with it being my first Duke/UNC experience as an undergrad, it's hard to beat.

    Throw aside those facts and I think Wednesdays game does a have a bit of an edge.

  15. #15
    Join Date
    Jul 2008
    Location
    San Francisco
    Maryland, '01 Final Four. There was no last second drama. In fact, we ended up winning going away. But that 2001 team, when it got on a role, was waaaaay too much fun to watch. Add to it the fact that we essentially spotted the Terps 22 points and sandbagged ourselves before winning by double digits and it adds insult to injury to the terps. Plus, it's hard not to get excited about Battier willing his team back to get the championship that had thus far been out of his reach. Beating UNC in heart-breaking fashion is always incredible, but I'm not sure I've ever seen Duke play better or with more fun than the end-of-first-half-and-second-half-drubbing of Maryland (Maybe the Laettner shot game? But UK matched us blow for blow). It's funny, I wasn't even all that worried going into half-time. I just knew that team would not be denied.

  16. #16
    Join Date
    Dec 2007
    Location
    Cary, NC
    You know what's amazing? In those 2001 Maryland matchups there were TEN future NBA players on the floor (not counting the game when Boozer was injured).

    Duke:
    Battier
    Dunleavy
    Duhon
    J. Williams
    Boozer

    Maryland:
    Terrence Morris
    Lonnie Baxter
    Juan Dixon
    Steve Blake
    Chris Wilcox

    Of the Maryland guys only Blake has had much of an NBA career.

  17. #17
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Raleigh, NC
    On December 30, 1950, playing the in the Dixie Classic, Duke trailed Tulane 54-22 early in the second half.

    No shot clock, no three-point shot. No ESPN. No Raycom.

    Duke won 74-72. Dick Groat led the comeback.

    This remains the largest comeback in NCAA basketball history.

    Deserves a mention.

  18. #18
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Annandale, VA
    Quote Originally Posted by UrinalCake View Post
    I can not vote for the gone in 54 game because, while exciting, I feel we stole that one as our comeback only happened after Blake fouled out. Before that he had owned JWill.

    • 3rd Place: The '98 was awesome for the Brand angle, and as mentioned elsewhere it ushered in a new era of Duke dominance.
    • 2nd Place: Austin Rivers. Seeing their stunned faces was priceless.
    • 1st Place: '01 Final Four. The stakes were higher and that makes all the difference. Seeing all those MD fans in the bar rooting for AZ on Monday night, but too ASHAMED to wear their MD gear that had been out in force on Saturday night was totally sweet. I was so full of joy after that... I am now thinking as I type this that it's no coincidence that my son was concieved shortly thereafter after we had been trying for over a year.
    The Gordog

  19. #19
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    New Jersey
    Quote Originally Posted by UrinalCake View Post
    You know what's amazing? In those 2001 Maryland matchups there were TEN future NBA players on the floor (not counting the game when Boozer was injured).

    Duke:
    Battier
    Dunleavy
    Duhon
    J. Williams
    Boozer

    Maryland:
    Terrence Morris
    Lonnie Baxter
    Juan Dixon
    Steve Blake
    Chris Wilcox

    Of the Maryland guys only Blake has had much of an NBA career.
    Of those Maryland guys, I would have considered him to be the least likely to succeed in the NBA. Shows what I know.
    Rich
    "Failure is Not a Destination"
    Coach K on the Dan Patrick Show, December 22, 2016

  20. #20
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Skinker-DeBaliviere, Saint Louis
    "Down 42-30 at the half" doesn't capture the gravity of the situation in the 1998 UNC game. They were matchup hell for us, they waxed us by 24 in Chapel Hill, and turned around and stomped us by 15 a week later in the ACCT Final. We trailed 64-47 at the under-12 television timeout. Carolina's top six were all veterans except for Cota who was a sophomore. Antawn Jamison murdered us on a regular basis. Our veterans were modestly gifted athletes (Wojciechowski, Langdon, McLeod, Singleton) or had disappeared (Price). The bulk of the NBA-quality talent on Duke's roster was in the underclassmen, and Brand had only been back for two games coming off the foot injury. Those guys owned us.

    Except for those twelve minutes. Yes, Haywood missed a couple foul shots at the end, but there wasn't really any collapse on Carolina's part. Jamison had a memorable layup where, shortly after we had chanted "yo mama can't spell" at him, he slowly ran the length of the court while Carolina set up and scored on a bullet pass from...Cota?...without having touched the ball for more than about half a second the whole possession. He taunted us, probably justifiably. It's not like Carolina felt apart, Duke just fought and fought and fought, like climbing what seemed like Kilamanjaro.

    Wojo had eleven assists and served the beer.

    I think it's still better, and an even greater team feat than JWill's Reggie Miller act at Maryland. I honestly thought the noise in Cameron was a structural hazard to the facility. I think I wept for about twenty minutes after the game.

    A movie is not about what it's about; it's about how it's about it.
    ---Roger Ebert


    Some questions cannot be answered
    Who’s gonna bury who
    We need a love like Johnny, Johnny and June
    ---Over the Rhine

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