Duke has reached the ACC championship game in 12 of the past 14 years.
State in the 1950s, Duke in the 1960s and UNC in the 1980s were excellent too.
Why has Duke dominated in recent years?
“You have to be a little bit lucky,” Krzyzewski said. “I’m sure there were times when one kid hit a shot, where if he misses, you don’t advance. [J.J.] Redick did that a couple of times for us. I don’t know. We’ve been a pretty good team. During that time were we ever less than a 3 [seed]?”
Actually, Duke was less than a 3 seed just once in the last 12 years -- in 2007, when the Blue Devils were seeded No. 7 … and that was the team’s only first- round tournament loss in that span, an overtime loss to NC State.
And while there have been some close victories over the years, only one of Duke’s 30 wins came down to a last-second shot -- the 2001 ACC semifinal victory over Maryland, which was won on Nate James’ tip-in. Twice (in the 2006 finals and the 2009 quarterfinals), Boston College missed last-second shots that could have beaten the Devils.
Interesting note -- of Duke’s three ACC Tournament losses in the last 13 years, all three have been in overtime.
Winning Again Duke opened the 2011 ACC Tournament as the No. 2 seed. Four of the 10 title teams in the current run were second seeded -- 2001, 2002, 2009 and now 2011.
Just two players on the 2010-11 Blue Devil roster have played in a losing ACC Tournament game -- seniors Kyle Singler and Nolan Smith played in the 2008 semifinal loss to Clemson. Overall, each finished 10-1 in tournament play.
Smith credits the coaches for Duke’s amazing tournament success.
“I think all the credit goes to our coaches,” the senior guard said. “It’s all about preparation in tournament situations. Every team’s kids are going to go out there and play as hard as they can. But if you’re prepared better than the opponent, you’ve got a better chance of winning. Our coaching staff just does a great job of staying up all night, waking us up early and having film ready for us to see. We listen.”
Coach K said the quick preparation is good practice for the NCAA Tournament.
“We don’t know who we’re going to play,” he said. “It kind of simulates that real quick preparation that you’re going to have if you’re fortunate enough to
30 DUKE BASKETBALL
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