Now that Wake Forest’s loss to Virginia Tech on Wednesday has cleared Duke’s path to the No. 1 ranking when the next polls are released Monday, here are some things to consider:
- Duke has been ran ked No. 1 by The Associated Press for 55 weeks since 1997-98, more than any other school. The last time the Blue Devils were No. 1 was March of 2006, when a loss to LSU in the regional semifinals in Atlanta knocked them out of the NCAA tournament.
- Mike Krzyzewski has coached Duke in 188 games as the No. 1 team, going 165-23. Only John Wooden (217-11 in 228 games) has coached in more.
- The Blue Devils have been ranked No. 1 for 110 weeks in their history.
- Finally, No. 2-ranked Duke must defeat Maryland on Saturday to gain the No. 1 spot in the polls. The Terrapins are 13-5, 2-2 in the ACC and hardly one of Gary Williams’ best teams.
But Maryland has been one of Duke’s most challenging opponents in recent years, winning seven of the last 14 in the series. At Cameron, the Terrapins have won two of the last four.
For that reason alone, Duke’s ascent to No. 1 is hardly a sure thing. – Ken Tysiac
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Duke's path to No. 1 cleared
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3 comments:
Duke always has trouble with Maryland. However, every team tries their best to beat Duke. I just hope Duke keeps improving and winning. They use the TEAM effort. GO, DUKE!!!!!
How refreshing to find the Bluedevils atop the #1 spot ousting the Tarheels, ahhhh I love it when the news/media/fans can't suck the everliving life out of me with their bandwagon and played out Tarheel news....GO DEVILS!!!
Not a Duke fan, but what an enormous difference between their team and the Tarholes. They don't spend their time pretending that teams should just bow down to them and roll over to let them win so they can be #1, they actually work extremely hard for it. They don't make excuses when they lose. I know Carolina fans will hate to hear this (which makes it sweeter to say), but they should take many many lessons from the Duke players and coaches.
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