Duke has checked off its strangest national championship requirement after St. John's

For a minute there, it did not look like it was going to happen. Thankfully, in the final minutes of regulation, the Duke Blue Devils did what they do and prevailed anyway. The St. John's Red Storm were quite the match for Jon Scheyer's program. Of course, Rick Pitino is a phenomenal head coach. What is even more interesting after this game is that Duke only needed to beat St. John's to win it all.

To date, all five of Duke's national championships have come in a year after they defeated St. John's.

While this does the likes of Chris Mullin and Metta Sandiford-Artest no joy, these are just facts, man. Whether it be 1991, 1992, 2001, 2010, or 2015, Duke has beaten St. John's on its way to winning a national championship. It should be noted that this was only the second time Duke has beaten St. John's in the NCAA Tournament en route to a national title. The others came in the regular season...

If you want more proof of this, here is every final score of St. John's game Duke had in those years...

All that Duke needs to do is win three more games for this unbelievable trend to extend to six times.

Duke has the makings of a team that can win a national championship

Of the eight teams still vying for a national championship, Duke belongs in the same breath as Arizona, Michigan, Purdue, and the team it plays next in the UConn Huskies. These are all either No. 1 or No. 2 seeds. The three other teams still vying for a national title are a bit more of the underdog variety in No. 3 Illinois, No. 6 Tennessee, and definitely No. 9 Iowa. What makes Duke so special here?

While they did earn the No. 1 overall seed in this year's tournament, Michigan kind of feels like the other team to watch. Purdue is playing with a ton more confidence this late into March than they are accustomed to. Arizona has been championship-viable all season long, but are they trustworthy? As for UConn, the Huskies are well-coached, but Duke seems to have an extra gear during crunch time.

Duke may need another Herculean effort out of Caleb Foster at some point. For now, Scheyer must lean on the Boozer twins and their winning ways to come out on top the rest of the way. All things equal, Duke may not meet its equal until it takes on Michigan again. Of course, they are on the other side of the bracket from one another. Plus, Duke will have its hands full when playing UConn Sunday.

For now, Scheyer's Blue Devils have checked their most important box to win it all: A St. John's win!