Duke basketball: Maddening reminder for Blue Devil critics

One fact should help Duke basketball haters to identify the Big Dance king.

Averaging three wins every four NCAA Tournament games equates to “only” an Elite Eight finish. Those quotes around “only” are only necessary since those who despise Duke basketball enjoy snickering any time Mike Krzyzewski falls short of a Final Four. These aspiring comedians laugh, laughably, even though the stats say that whichever teams they like likely exited earlier than the Blue Devils in whichever year serves as fodder for their jokes.

ALSO READ: Ranking all 40 Duke teams under Coach K

So props to the NCAA March Madness Twitter account this week for reporting the truth despite the public pressure to trash Duke at every opportunity and without regard for facts (google “Zion Williamson driver license”). Maddening, for sure, but the mad-with-envy folk should still take a look for educational purposes:

For those who only pay attention to the anti-Duke comments when it comes to tweets pointing out Dukie dominance, let’s review. See, not only do the Blue Devils lead in all-time Big Dance winning percentage at 75.0 percent (114-38), but also the 2.2 percent separating them and No. 2 North Carolina is greater than the 1.8 percent gap between the Tar Heels and No. 5 Florida.

If Elite Eight Dukies, like Williamson in 2019, continue drawing wisecracks, then what does that say about these knee-slapping fanbases? Well, the answer lies in a two-part experiment: 1) Raise your hand if you root for a program that has snagged five NCAA crowns the past 30 years while winning 76 of its 100 NCAA Tournament games in that span, then 2) Sit down and eat crow if you didn’t raise your hand.

The comically bright Duke basketball future

Similar to the past six years — yielding “only” one NCAA Championship — Krzyzewski returns “only” a few former top 50 recruits for 2020-21 while welcoming “only” six new ones plus a grad transfer. Therefore, there’s no guarantee returnees Wendell Moore, Matthew Hurt, Joey Baker, and Jordan Goldwire alongside newcomers Jalen Johnson, Jeremy Roach, DJ Steward, Mark Williams, Jaemyn Brakefield, Henry Coleman, and Patrick Tape will reach the Final Four.

In summary, assuming an NCAA Tournament takes place next spring with Duke seeing “only” its average result, expect to hear audacious Heels fanatics cackling at “Elite” Dukies after UNC falls in another Sweet 16 (see: 2018-19). Actually, maybe it’s too kind to assume Roy Williams will manage to bounce back from becoming the only blueblood head coach to end the 2019-20 campaign before the cancellation could.

On the other hand, a string of more 14-18 records from the ballers in Chapel Hill would ensure no change to their March Madness winning percentage. In that case, all it would take for the Tar Heels to claim top honors on the above list is five straight opening-round exits by Duke basketball. Or the Blue Devils averaging “only” a Sweet 16 across the next 20 years would also work. Hardy har har.

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