In college basketball, there's nothing better than being on a hot streak, when it seems like every shot thrown into the air falls through the net. Conversely, there's nothing worse than seeing the same score over and over on the scoreboard as your opponent's score rapidly increases.
Rarely does a team experience both situations in one game. But on Saturday, the ninth-ranked men's basketball team did just that in its 69-59 win over No. 23 Michigan at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
"It was unbelievable," freshman Ricky Price said. "The crowd was there. The Fab Five that was left -- Ray Jackson and Jimmy King -- they're great players. They gave us a run for our money."
The victory increased Duke's home winning-streak against non-conference opponents to 92. It was also the Blue Devils' 14th-straight win against Big Ten teams, with the last loss coming against Michigan in 1989.
And as the Cameron Crazies aptly noted with chants of "Four years, no wins!" and "You can't beat us!", it was Duke's fifth win over the Wolverines since the heralded Fab Five recruiting class entered the scene in 1991. Michigan is now minus Chris Webber, Jalen Rose and Juwan Howard, but Saturday's game did not lack intensity.
"We've had great teams all four years that we've played Michigan," senior Erik Meek said. "It's been like a war every time."
On Saturday, the Blue Devils streaked to an early 28-11 lead in the first half, and it looked as if Duke were on its way to its second blowout in two games.
But Duke would stay fixed on 28 points for over eight minutes. During that stretch, the Wolverines went on a 24-0 run and took a 35-28 advantage with just under two minutes left in the first half.
"We started out so strong, I think our kids thought it was going to be like [Tuesday's 103-73 win over George Washington] -- everything came easy," head coach Mike Krzyzewski said. "They didn't realize the competitiveness or the talent level of Michigan.
"I've never seen a team come into our gym and, for an eight-minute period, totally dominate us the way Michigan did in that first half."
Turnovers plagued the Blue Devils during the Wolverine run, as Michigan converted 12 Duke mistakes into 17 first-half points.
"We weren't even getting shots off," said senior Cherokee Parks, who led Duke with 16 points and eight rebounds. "We were just coming down and handing them the ball. They did a good job of taking those turnovers and turning them into points."
It was only when freshman Ricky Price dunked off a Parks steal with 1:09 left in the half that Duke broke its scoreless streak.
"I thought we just got sloppy with the ball and their defense picked up," Krzyzewski said. "I didn't know if we were going to score again. . . Thank goodness [the players] weren't as demoralized as I was at the end of the first half. My team picked me up."
Duke managed to pull itself together and cut the lead to two going into the locker room at halftime.
"One good thing that happened tonight is that we didn't let [the drought] get us down, and we didn't quit when they made that run," freshman point guard Steve Wojciechowski said. "We gained our poise and came out in the second half and played real well."
The second half was a complete reversal of the first stanza. This time it was the Blue Devils' stingy defense which held the Wolverines scoreless for nearly nine minutes of the half.
"I think we did a good job of putting the first half behind us, not worrying about what we did wrong," Parks said.
At the outset of the second half, Duke had to contend with Michigan's athleticism on the boards. The Wolverines outrebounded the Blue Devils 43-34 for the game.
But the Blue Devils remained tough and took their first lead of the second half at the 10:08 mark, when a Chris Collins layup gave Duke a 52-51 advantage. Michigan did not score again until only 3:44 remained in the game.
"To hold a team as talented as Michigan to 12 points in 16 minutes is unreal," Wojciechowski said. "I'm real proud to be a part of this win."
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