10 Most Painful Duke NCAAT Losses

[wsb3]

really, I just hate when Duke loses.

Amen...

[KenTankerous]

I have this ongoing discussion with my UofL and UofK loving family on which we actually kinda agree:

The agony of defeat is FAR worse than the thrill of victory.

Please dispel this feeling that 2010, 2015 somehow make 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009... 2019 all better? Especially 2019. Duke was by far the most talented.

I'm whinging and should just stop...

[RPS]

The agony of defeat is FAR worse than the thrill of victory.

The academic literature is fully on board with you.

[Bigwayne17]

This thread brings back a lot of sad memories for me. We had a loss to Indiana with that red-headed kid sometime in the early 2000s. I remember being at a middle school birthday party watching that one with a bunch of my middle school buddies.

Wasn’t the LSU loss the end of JJ’s career? Watched that one in my dorm room freshman year at N.C. State...

I remember losing to Kentucky in ‘98...watching at my grandparents house while waiting for my parents to pick me up after their shift at the textile plant.

Watching the ball skip away from Trajan in ‘99

But the one that started it all for me as a little Duke fan...1994. The house I grew up in...as a 6 year old little boy I cried uncontrollably far into the night before I was able to go to sleep. My mother tried her best to comfort me, but the loss was difficult for me at that time.

[sagegrouse]

But the one that started it all for me as a little Duke fan...1994. The house I grew up in...as a 6 year old little boy I cried uncontrollably far into the night before I was able to go to sleep. My mother tried her best to comfort me, but the loss was difficult for me at that time.

I was 50, and it was difficult to me. I don't recall crying, but I did my share of whining --"ten-point lead with seven minutes to play" -- "fluke play when we had Arkansas shut down and were gonna win on the last possession."

[wavedukefan70s]

This thread brings back a lot of sad memories for me. We had a loss to Indiana with that red-headed kid sometime in the early 2000s. I remember being at a middle school birthday party watching that one with a bunch of my middle school buddies.

Wasn’t the LSU loss the end of JJ’s career? Watched that one in my dorm room freshman year at N.C. State...

I remember losing to Kentucky in ‘98...watching at my grandparents house while waiting for my parents to pick me up after their shift at the textile plant.

Watching the ball skip away from Trajan in ‘99

But the one that started it all for me as a little Duke fan...1994. The house I grew up in...as a 6 year old little boy I cried uncontrollably far into the night before I was able to go to sleep. My mother tried her best to comfort me, but the loss was difficult for me at that time.

1994 was the angriest I have ever been.mr Clinton ruined my experience.i was 23 years old .had my career job saved money for great seats .I treated my father to the game .after years of him taking me to Cameron. I had done it.i felt like I was finally a grown man.anyway here comes Mr Clinton and his security. They dampened my experience.to say the least.

You know I'm still pretty darn angry over that .I'll probably die angry over it.gthc has two meanings for me.

To be honest I shed a few tears of relief in Columbia this year.

Quite a few years I've walked out the house to take a drive after we have lost.

[Turk]

TL; DR

"Why don't you give me a nice paper cut and pour lemon juice on it?!?"

[Dukehk]

1999 was definitely the worst of the lot.

Jay Williams vs. Indiana was pretty bad too. Such a winnable game.

Zion and co. vs msu is up there. We were the best team in college basketball, but just ran into a whole bunch of circumstances that eventually worked against us.

[mark34]

TL; DR

"Why don't you give me a nice paper cut and pour lemon juice on it?!?"

Ha. Exactly.

[OldPhiKap]

TL; DR

"Why don't you give me a nice paper cut and pour lemon juice on it?!?"

Ha. Exactly.

This thread has made me feel mostly dead all day.

[DevilYouKnow]

It's a 36 way tie.

[devildeac]

TL; DR

"Why don't you give me a nice paper cut and pour lemon juice on it?!?"

" 'Cause I'd rather get a hundred thousand paper cuts on my face
Than spend one more minute with you..."

[ranantha1]

Had that game won, choked it away and would have crushed GA Tech in the final. Duhon's heave at the end only made it worse.

[gotoguy]

1986 I loved those boys.

1989 I grew up in Illinois following the Illini, my father played varsity basketball there 1945 and
1946, the year after Vic Bubas left to join Everett Case at NC State. Brickey gets hurt then the
the Flying Illini lose to Michigan in the nightcap.

2005 Bruce Webber's Illini, Bill Self's recruits lose to a team which will go unnamed with at least 5
ineligible players. The feelings after that game, believe me, approached what I would feel if
the Devils lost to UNCheat in a final.

[HereBeforeCoachK]

Had that game won, choked it away and would have crushed GA Tech in the final. Duhon's heave at the end only made it worse.

Out of curiosity, what was your life/fan status in 86? Or 78?

[Rogue]

1964 ,, my first National Championship game. Such Heart break. We'd lost Arty from '63, but Jeff Mullins was hitting on all cylinders .

1966,, was my favorite team. ( favorite till 1991 lol ) Bob Verga and the flu. I will always believe we were better than Ky.. Not sure if we were better than Texas Western. I hated Ky..

1986 ,, I truly still believe we were the best team. And as we know, the best team doesn't always win a 6 game tourney .

1978 ,, was magical . Jim Spanarkel had an amazing Sr year.. It was the first great Duke team where I was older than those playing.

[ranantha1]

Out of curiosity, what was your life/fan status in 86? Or 78?

I became a fan in '94 when i started grad school at Duke.

[noworries]

Personally, 2002 and 2011 are at the top for me...the recent years losses aren't as bad since graduating from UVA back in '13 and the Hoos having their fair share of bad postseason losses...those ones hurt worse.

[sagegrouse]

My Novocaine injection is wearing off. Is there a chance to get rid of this painful thread (to which I contributed while numbed)?

[HereBeforeCoachK]

I became a fan in '94 when i started grad school at Duke.

Fair enough. 94 was a tough one, missed it by a Tony Lang manicure perhaps. Ended my dreams of tee shirts saying
91 Duke
92 Duke
93 Fluke
94 Duke
(the cheats won in 93 with the 6th timeout from Webber)

and a little more history and perspective that at least some of us around here believe:
94 was a chance to really nail down a dynasty status even more than Duke already had...it was the 7th Final Four in 9 seasons, an amazing feat. But 94 doesn't happen without 91-92, and 91-92 couldn't happen without 86, and in a way, 78 set the stage for K and thus all of this.