Duke basketball now has what it takes to return to the 30-win stratosphere.
The Duke basketball program has won 30 or more games in a season 15 times. Each instance was under the direction of Mike Krzyzewski, meaning they’ve all come within the past 41 years.
ALSO READ: Ranking the first 40 Duke seasons under Coach K
Five of those seasons concluded with the Duke Blue Devils standing atop the stage in April as pieces of the nets dangled from their newly acquired championship threads. Eight of the 15 reached a Final Four.
But Duke has managed only one 30-win campaign since its last national crown in 2015.
In fairness, though, if not for the pandemic eliminating the 2019-20 postseason just as the Blue Devils were showing signs of a March blossom, that 25-6 crew might’ve joined the previous year’s Zion & Friends in the 30-victory club. Also, those who subscribe to the notion that “Wendell Carter had his feet set” would unofficially credit the 29-8 bunch in 2017-18 with a 30th W.
Oh well. No worries, for another member looks to pop up on the list at some point in the spring. So let’s get right to this, giving 30 reasons — five at a time — that fans should expect 30 wins or more from the 2021-22 Blue Devils.