Busting Brackets
Fansided

ACC Basketball: Each team’s worst performance of the last decade

By Joey Loose

NEW YORK, NY - MARCH 09: Cameron Johnson
NEW YORK, NY - MARCH 09: Cameron Johnson /
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GREENSBORO, NC – MARCH 16: John Adams #4 of the Lehigh Mountain Hawks dunks the ball late in the second half against the Duke Blue Devils during the second round of the 2012 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at Greensboro Coliseum on March 16, 2012 in Greensboro, North Carolina. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)
GREENSBORO, NC – MARCH 16: John Adams #4 of the Lehigh Mountain Hawks dunks the ball late in the second half against the Duke Blue Devils during the second round of the 2012 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at Greensboro Coliseum on March 16, 2012 in Greensboro, North Carolina. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images) /

Duke

March 16, 2012 (Lehigh 75, Duke 70) (GS: 59)

Anyone reading this article already knew that there were two easy choices for Duke, and with all due respect to Mercer’s great win in 2014, we’ve decided to give Lehigh the crown. The 15-seeded Patriot League champions came out of nowhere to knock off a Duke team just two years removed from a National Championship.

Lehigh rode to this victory on the back of C. J. McCollum, who led the Mountain Hawks with 30 points. While Duke led at the half, they could never pull away, despite 19 points apiece from Mason Plumlee and Austin Rivers. Lehigh came into the game winners of eight straight while Duke had lost in the ACC Semifinal, but it clearly took a special effort from McCollum to push his team over the top.

Arguments can be made that the Mercer loss two years later was more devastating for Duke, but both of these games are worthy contenders. One consequence of the Lehigh win was easing the road for 1-seed Kentucky, who blazed through the region (beating all four teams by a dozen or more), and avoiding Duke on their way to a National Championship. More times than not, Duke isn’t going to lose in the Tournament to a 15-seed, but six and a half years ago Lehigh was that special group, highlighting a loss that Duke rivals will continue to bring up time and time again.