Duke can sit back and laugh as Michigan and MSU compare their losses to the Blue Devils

Just a few weeks into the season, the Duke Blue Devils dismantled the then-No. 7 Michigan State Spartans. A few months later, they did the same to the then-No. 1 Michigan Wolverines, sweeping the in-state rivals in non-conference matchups.

Since then, while still focusing on their current opponents, the Blue Devils have enjoyed their successes and their new ranking as the No. 1 team in the nation.

Meanwhile, the Spartans and the Wolverines have only spiraled, comparing their losses to Duke to decide which team lost better.

No, this isn't to say that Michigan or Michigan State is a bad team, but to cling to the fact that you lost by fewer points to the same team is a little embarrassing at best.

Duke is living rent-free in Wolverines and Spartans' minds

Of course, Duke defeated Michigan when the Wolverines were the top team in the land, handing them a 68-63 loss. However, the Spartans were a top-10 team when they played the Blue Devils, and suffered a six-point loss (a one-point larger deficit than Michigan's).

Sure, Michigan moved on to defeat the Minnesota Golden Gophers by 10 points in their next game and a share of the Big Ten title, but the Blue Devils moved on to defeat the Notre Dame Fighting Irish by an astounding 44-point margin.

After losing to Duke in December, the Spartans moved on by eking out a win over the Penn State Nittany Lions, but have since lost four conference matchups, virtually forfeiting their chances to secure the conference regular-season title.

To put all of this in layman's terms, the Blue Devils are living rent-free in the minds of the Spartans and the Wolverines. Meanwhile, Duke and head coach Jon Scheyer are focusing on the task at hand: winning the National Championship.

Duke has just three regular-season games remaining: versus No. 11 Virginia, at NC State, and versus the No. 18 North Carolina Tar Heels (the revenge matchup).

Winning all three will cement the Blue Devils as the ACC regular-season champions ahead of the conference tournament and the subsequent NCAA Tournament next month.