We have recently come across another terrific piece of evidence explaining why Duke is so hated… because even when the Blue Devils are “bad,” they are still better than most teams out there.
Hear us out.
Check out this excellent article written by Stewart Mandel. He does a fantastic job of analyzing Duke’s struggles down the stretch since 2001. Duke has made it past the Sweet 16 only once during that time and has not performed nearly as well in February and March as it has in the preceding months. Mandel makes a solid case.
But then we took a more careful look at the numbers. Below is the table that Mandel set out showing what Duke has done in February and March over the last 7 years…
| Season | Nov.-Jan. | Feb.-March |
| 2002 | 19-1 | 12-3 |
| 2003 | 14-2 | 12-5 |
| 2004 | 18-1 | 13-5 |
| 2005 | 16-1 | 11-5 |
| 2006 | 19-1 | 13-3 |
| 2007 | 18-3 | 4-8 |
| 2008 | 18-1 | 4-2 |
| TOTAL | 122-10 (.924) | 69-31 (.690) |
You see that number at the bottom right? In those years where Duke has “struggled,” it still has a winning percentage of .690. If you throw out last season’s debacle, the Blue Devils check in at .739 in Feb-March. And that is considered “struggling.”
For comparison’s sake, in that same stretch of years in Feb-March: UNC has a winning percentage of .641, Michigan State at .612, and Texas at .722.
But you know what, Duke fans would likely agree with Mandel. Duke has struggled down the stretch since winning the title in 2001. Duke fans expect Final Fours and ACC titles every year. And Duke has been ranked too highly by the voters many years.
But how many teams out there would love to win 70% of their games in February and March every year?
Ask Wake Forest or Arkansas or Michigan or Arizona if they wouldn’t mind winning a mere 70% of their games at the end of the season. We feel pretty sure they would consider that a pretty successful run. We don’t have the time to crunch the numbers, but we would imagine that Duke’s win percentage in Feb-March is at least in the top 20 of NCAA teams since 2001.
So you can add this to the list of reasons to despise Duke. Right next to Dick Vitale, always being on tv, Coach K, and whatever else, pencil in this:
Even when they are criticized for not playing well or struggling, the Blue Devils still put up better numbers than most teams in the nation.