CHAPEL HILL--Despite the Carolina blue final score of 99-86, it was a close game. Few were even the least bit shocked that Duke, stuck at the way bottom of the Atlantic Coast Conference standings, provided a good scare for the Tar Heels. And even fewer so much as raised an eyebrow when UNC took over, and the Blue Devils bowed out late in the second half.
The surprises, however, came after the game, in the locker room.
Following a blowout loss at now-No. 1 UCLA just over a week ago, Duke fell to No. 6 Maryland in a nail-biter in Cameron Indoor Stadium last Wednesday. So, when the Blue Devils dropped the ball against No. 2 North Carolina, they blew their third-straight chance to knock off a top-10 team.
Duke had finished its regular season, which had been chock-full of frustrating losses, with yet another unfavorable ending. Thus, it was expected that the Blue Devils wouldn't be in the cheeriest of postgame moods--to say the least.
But in the locker room, there were no hanging heads, there were no angry voices, and there were no signs of exasperation among the Duke players. In fact, it was just the opposite--the Blue Devils grinned, with a sense of relief.
"I think the best thing is that the regular season is done," senior Cherokee Parks said. "We can put it behind us and just worry about going on to the next game. [During] these last couple of games, it was frustrating.
"You still want to go out and play your best to win, but there wasn't a whole lot of significance in the games. We were down as far as you can get."
Duke is still down--in fact, dead last in the league. But with the regular season over, the Blue Devils have an opportunity to truly start anew. Granted, we've heard this before--last I recall it was just before their game at Notre Dame when the 0-7 Blue Devils were talking about starting a new season. But this time, Duke can do it without having to stare 10 more rigorous ACC games in the face.
"It's a clean slate now--we're 0-0," junior Chris Collins said. "There's no looking at 2-14 or whatever our record is. Let's just go out, strap 'em up, and the best team will win. We feel for four days we can do that. Right now we're looking at N.C. State. We have a score to settle with them."
For an entire season now, the Blue Devils have had to deal with the same crushing outcomes and annoying postgame questions. Despite some phenomenal efforts to turn things around and eradicate its losing record, Duke was never able to escape the rut. Until now, that is. It's tournament time, and as Collins pointed out, regular season records simply don't matter.
"Just about everybody's beaten us this year, and we're looking to pay some people back," freshman Ricky Price said. "I know there are some people who don't want to play us in that first game of the ACC tournament because they know our potential--they know that we can win. So we're looking to turn a few heads.
"Well, they call Duke the best under .500 team right now. That's not a great compliment, but it shows people might be scared of us."
It's hard to imagine that a nationally-ranked ACC powerhouse like Virginia or Maryland might actually be scared of a 2-14 squad. But it's true. Duke might be 0-4 this season against those two teams, but three of the four losses were by three points or less, and the fourth was a 64-58 contest in Charlottesville. As odd as it may seem, no team wants to play the Blue Devils.
Add to all that the meaning of the ACC tournament. To at least half of the teams in the league, it's just a quick preparation for the real postseason tournament--the NCAAs. But for the Blue Devils, it might be the only postseason tournament.
"We know a bad half in a game, we're done for the year," sophomore Jeff Capel said. "So hopefully we can learn from everything that's happened this season and really play well in the tournament."
One thing that might help Duke as it enters the ACCs would be some more inspirational advice from absent head coach Mike Krzyzewski. Although the time Krzyzewski has spent with his team this season has been minimal, his much-talked about blackboard messages have time and again helped boost spirits.
The basketball office has already said that Coach K won't be back this year. But what if, at today's press conference, he somehow changes his mind and returns to the sideline.
"Oh, if he did, we'd win the [ACC] tournament. Definitely. No doubt about it," Parks said. "He's got his health to think about, which is the most important thing. [But if he came back], you'd see a team like you haven't seen in the last month in a half. You'd see a team like you haven't seen--on fire, el fuego."
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