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Duke Blue Devils Given Painful, Necessary Wake-Up Call

By Jacob Rude

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Life is always easy at the top. The Duke Blue Devils were riding as high as any team in the nation before yesterday, winners of twelve straight games, a streak that included wins at Virginia and a season sweep against North Carolina.

Then it all came crashing down.

After blowing out NC State in their opening game of the ACC Tournament, the Blue Devils were matched against a Notre Dame team they ran out of the gym in their last meeting. In early February, the Blue Devils unleashed a 43-7 first-half run on the Fighting Irish en route to a 30-point blowout win and revenge for a loss earlier in the season. The past win, however, may have given Duke too much confidence heading into Friday night’s semi-final showdown.

Coming out relatively flat and unmotivated, the Fighting Irish returned the favor of an embarrassing loss, leading by as many as 17 points before settling on a 10-point final margin of victory. Their game plan worked nearly flawlessly, allowing Jahlil Okafor to score at will (13 of 18 from the field for 28 points) while shutting down the rest of the Dukies (14 of 42 from the field for 36 points). The loss sent the Blue Devils home early and offered a very much-needed wake-up call.

Two of the last three years, the Blue Devils and Mike Krzyzewski were made the laughing stock of the NCAA Tournament. Their 2011-12 post-season campaign ended in the first game at the hands of 15-seeded Lehigh, while the same fate met last season’s team, this one at the hands of Mercer. While an Elite Eight run was sandwiched in the middle, no one remembers that run over the embarrassing losses.

The Blue Devils were given a necessary lesson in how quickly things can end. While I’m not Coach K, I’d imagine a good part of his conversation to his team following the game surrounded around that very fact: nothing is guaranteed in the post-season. One loss and it all ends.

Which makes Friday’s loss all the more important. The Blue Devils were given a necessary lesson in how quickly things can end. While I’m not Coach K (or anything remotely close), I’d imagine a good part of his conversation to his team following the game surrounded around that very fact: nothing is guaranteed in the post-season. One loss and it all ends.

Typically active and vocal on the sidelines, Coach K was seen stoic on the bench. The message seemed clear: you got yourself into this mess, you get yourself out.

If the Blue Devils hope to not repeat the embarrassments of previous team’s, they will need to learn from this loss. The self-proclaimed best backcourt in the nation, Quinn Cook and Tyus Jones, shot a combined 5-for-25, including 1-for-13 from beyond the arc. Justise Winslow was benched to start the second half, as was fellow starter Matt Jones, with the former held scoreless in the first-half in a nearly invisible performance.

The Blue Devils put up a much more valiant effort in the second-half, cutting a 15-point half-time deficit to four on a Jones three-pointer with 3:13 to go. It would be the last points Duke would score, however, as Okafor missed a pair of key free throws with 1:48 left and the Fighting Irish polished off the victory at the foul line.

While losses are never welcomed, one would assume Coach K will use this as a learning experience. Execution down the stretch, something the Blue Devils typically do well, is a must. The final 2:44 seconds of play saw Duke turn the ball over twice, miss three field goals, and allow a 6-0 run by the Irish to close the game.

In the end, while never enjoyable, these losses are necessary for teams. Fans will tell you it’s better to lose now than in the NCAA Tournament, which is true, but this loss will mean nothing if the Blue Devils can’t take away the necessary lessons that came along with it.

Next: Texas Southern Earns Bizarre NCAA Tournament Auto Bid

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