Duke winning the national championship this season might require losing to NC State

Look, I don't want Duke to lose to NC State. But sometimes in life, sacrifices are required for the greater good.

And this greater good is ensuring the Blue Devils are the last team standing in Indianapolis with confetti dropping on their heads with One Shining Moment blaring through the arena speakers. If it takes a loss in Raleigh to ensure that, then so be it.

Indianapolis as a Final Four site has been kind to Duke in the past. The Blue Devils won three of their five national championships in Indy. That just so happens to be where the Final Four is located this coming April.

And in the three previous seasons that Duke cut down the nets in Indianapolis (1991, 2010, and 2015), they all had something common:

Duke lost to NC State in Raleigh earlier in the season.

In 3 previous Duke title wins in Indianapolis, it has lost to NC State in Raleigh

While Duke will undoubtedly be focused on Virginia on Saturday, for fans, looking ahead isn't as taboo. And Duke heads to Raleigh on Monday to face Will Wade and NC State for the first time this season.

And as unbelievable as it sounds, the above video is 100% true.

In 1991, Duke lost to NC State in Raleigh 95-89. Just over two months later, Coach K captured his first national title when the Blue Devils took down Kansas at the RCA Dome in Indianapolis.

Fast forward 19 years, and Duke dropped a road game to NC State 88-74 in late January. Fast forward to April and, in a different building, Duke took down Butler at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indy to capture the national title, led by an All-American guard named Jon Scheyer.

Five years later, Duke fell in Raleigh to NC State 87-75. Back in Lucas Oil Stadium in April, Duke took down Wisconsin for the program's fifth - and last under Coach K - national championship.

Perhaps history will repeat itself this season. That's about the only way a loss to NC State would be stomachable.