Duke basketball: Three reasons officiating often favors Blue Devils

2. Blue Devils are smart

Mike Krzyzewski is renowned for recruiting prospects with unusually high levels of character, charisma, and competitiveness. And he has 1,153 wins, five national championships, 12 Final Four appearances, and 15 ACC Tournament titles to show for his selection process.

The mastermind strategist has witnessed Duke basketball great Shane Battier wisely use the charge rule to his advantage — to the tune of a record 111 so-called “flops” from 1998-01 — at a time when his peers across the nation were seemingly either too inept or fragile to do the same.

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Also, a slew of Blue Devils, such as current pests Tre Jones and Jordan Goldwire, have dared to think outside the box by pushing the limits of hands-on perimeter defensive techniques in order to stymie opposing backcourts and manufacture transition opportunities. In a perfect world, such efforts would receive infinitely more applause than cries of unfair play.

Plus, like their coach, the Blue Devils do not act like goons when disputing calls. For those whose eyes see otherwise, I recommend you take an honest look inside your Duke-hating heart to understand why your vision is blurred.

Thankfully for the Duke basketball program, refs typically do seem to appreciate such mature behavior and brilliantly executed defensive crafts. Therefore, when in doubt, they likely do subconsciously side with the more skilled and well-mannered side.

Makes sense, right? Well, the same reasoning holds true for calls when the Blue Devils have the ball…