10 Most Painful Duke NCAAT Losses

[DukeTrinity11]

What's your list?

Here's mine:

1. 1999 Final
2. 1994 Final
3. 1998 Elite 8
4. 2002 Sweet 16
5. 2004 Final 4
6. 2011 Sweet 16
7. 2019 Elite 8
8. 2006 Sweet 16
9. 2018 Elite 8
10. 2017 2nd Round

The heartbreak makes all our triumphs all the more sweeter!

[CDu]

What's your list?

Here's mine:

1. 1999 Final
2. 1994 Final
3. 1998 Elite 8
4. 2002 Sweet 16
5. 2004 Final 4
6. 2011 Sweet 16
7. 2019 Elite 8
8. 2006 Sweet 16
9. 2018 Elite 8
10. 2017 2nd Round

The heartbreak makes all our triumphs all the more sweeter!

I'm gonna guess 1986 gets a lot of votes too.

[OldPhiKap]

10. It's
9. not
8. possible
7. to
6. rank
5. they
4. all
3. hurt
2. equally
1. 1986

[robed deity]

10. It's
9. not
8. possible
7. to
6. rank
5. they
4. all
3. hurt
2. equally
1. 1986

'86 seems to be the winner here, but for me (I was only 5 and barely remember watching that), it's '99, then '04 (ugh UConn), small gap, then '98, big gap, then probably a tie between '94 and this year.

[moonpie23]

10.
9.
8.
7.
6.
5.
4.
3.
2.
1. 1999

[HereBeforeCoachK]

Two words:

Eighty

Six

[wsb3]

Two words:

Eighty

Six

Yes...

[kako]

Depends on the kind of pain.

I'd submit 1990 was extremely painful. Totally blown out, completely outplayed, embarrassed and humiliated in the final game. Duke was down huge to UNLV with most of the 2nd half remaining. We looked like those cupcakes they play in a late December game right before finals. Nothing went right. I remember Laettner getting an and-1. Someone tried to give him a high five, but missed and hit him in the eye. UNLV looked like they were just toying with us. I remember I stopped watching, lying on the couch with a pillow over my head just listening. When I thought it couldn't get worse, they announced that Duke was in danger of losing by the biggest margin in the championship game since UNC lost to UCLA by 23. I started watching again, just praying to bring down the margin in garbage time. Nope. UNLV won going away. Duke lost by 30. '90 was a low point - 4 Final Fours in 5 years, and 0-4. Duke can't win the big one, they said. Pain, pain, pain all around.

People often ask if it's better to lose in a blowout or lose at the buzzer. The answer is both totally suck when it's the final game of the season. They are just different kinds of pain.

But all of that made '91, beating an undefeated UNLV team in the semis, all the sweeter.


9F

[Highlander]

Caveat - 1986 is my earliest Duke memory.

10. 2006 - LSU (smh)
9. 2011 - Arizona (just a buzzsaw game)
8. 1994 - Arkansas (soo close)
7. 2019 - MSU (the end of Zion)
6. 2012 - Lehigh (2/15 upset)
5. 2014 - Mercer (3/14 upset)
4. 1999 - UConn (soo close)
3. 1990 - UNLV (buzzsaw/embarrassment. After 4 of the last 5 FF's, threw gas on the "K can't win a title" trope)
2. 2004 - UConn (we got hosed)
1. 1986 - Louisville (most deserving Duke team to not win a championship)

[Matches]

Triggered so hard by this thread. Not sure I can list 10, but here goes:

1. 1999
2. 2002
3. Mercer
4. 2019
5. 2006
6. 2004
7. 1989
8. 1986
9. 2017
10. Lehigh

Honorable mention to 1997, 2000, 2005, 2011 and 2018.

[RPS]

4. 1990
3. 1978
2. 1999
1. 1986 (easy choice)

[kako]

Caveat - 1986 is my earliest Duke memory.

10. 2006 - LSU (smh)
9. 2011 - Arizona (just a buzzsaw game)
8. 1994 - Arkansas (soo close)
7. 2019 - MSU (the end of Zion)
6. 2012 - Lehigh (2/15 upset)
5. 2014 - Mercer (3/14 upset)
4. 1999 - UConn (soo close)
3. 1990 - UNLV (buzzsaw/embarrassment. After 4 of the last 5 FF's, threw gas on the "K can't win a title" trope)
2. 2004 - UConn (we got hosed)
1. 1986 - Louisville (most deserving Duke team to not win a championship)

While I'd probably agree that '86 was right up there with painful losses, I respectfully submit the '99 team was the most deserving Duke team not to win a championship. 32 wins in a row leading up to the UConn game, going in with a record of 37-1...

9F

[soflabluedevil]

Caveat - 1986 is my earliest Duke memory.

10. 2006 - LSU (smh)
9. 2011 - Arizona (just a buzzsaw game)
8. 1994 - Arkansas (soo close)
7. 2019 - MSU (the end of Zion)
6. 2012 - Lehigh (2/15 upset)
5. 2014 - Mercer (3/14 upset)
4. 1999 - UConn (soo close)
3. 1990 - UNLV (buzzsaw/embarrassment. After 4 of the last 5 FF's, threw gas on the "K can't win a title" trope)
2. 2004 - UConn (we got hosed)
1. 1986 - Louisville (most deserving Duke team to not win a championship)

1-1999 team ran out of gas (mentally more than physically) as no rest for starters over the season so we could win games by 32, not 26
2-2019 offense was guys practicing for nba one on one game
3-2004 fantastic coaching job; refs did everything they could to take it away from us and we still almost won
4-1986 would have been great and well deserved for that team to win
5-1994 fantastic coaching job; if Lang's fingernail longer it's a block and we win

[Highlander]

While I'd probably agree that '86 was right up there with painful losses, I respectfully submit the '99 team was the most deserving Duke team not to win a championship. 32 wins in a row leading up to the UConn game, going in with a record of 37-1...

9F

They are definitely 1&2 of Duke teams on that list, no argument there.

I've personally always been at peace with the 1999 team because they won _everything_ else except for the NC. In fact, they were rarely even challenged that season, winning almost every game by double digits. UConn finished 34-2 on the year, and they were (IIRC) the only other team to be ranked #1 that season. They were easily the best team Duke played all season. I was 22 at the time and at the game, and it capped off a pretty incredible weekend in Tampa. As I walked down the bleachers I remember thinking "I'm not going to let myself be disappointed by a 37-2, 19-0 conference, ACC champion and FF level season because we lost a close game to the #2 team in the country."

To contrast, in 1986, I was 10 years old. That team was filled with seniors who had paid their dues for four years. They started from the bottom of the conference and worked their way up to the top in an era where they were playing the likes of Michael Jordan, Len Bias, and Ralph Sampson on a weekly basis. They were a team that was guard heavy, but this was before the three point shot. In the FF they were paired against a tough Kansas team in the FF which took a lot out of them. As a result, Duke was gassed and lost the final by three points on two late free throws. I quite literally cried myself to sleep that night.

To put it another way...

• Duke '99 was Ivan Drago.
• Duke '86 was Rocky Balboa.

[Matches]

1-1999 team ran out of gas (mentally more than physically) as no rest for starters over the season so we could win games by 32, not 26

We have very different recollections of the 1999 season. I'm an old fart so maybe my memory is suspect, but I recall the bench playing a ton that year, precisely because we had so many blowouts. I think (?) we only had nine guys on scholarship that season (plus Matt Christensen who was redshirting), but 8 of them played a LOT and the 9th (Domzalski) didn't grow splinters either.

[devildeac]

Every. Damn. One.

[mattyoung18]

1999 1999 1999

[JDNC64]

1999 and it is not even close.

[zippy_the_cat]

Can't believe nobody has mentioned 1979. Semi-finalist the year before, returned all the key guys, added Gene Banks, flushed in their opening game by a 10 seed the same afternoon UNC was losing to a nine seed. Probably the darkest day ever in local hoops.

[devildeac]

Can't believe nobody has mentioned 1979. Semi-finalist the year before, returned all the key guys, added Gene Banks, flushed in their opening game by a 10 seed the same afternoon UNC was losing to a nine seed. Probably the darkest day ever in local hoops.

Only one of those losses that day made it dark for me...