The No. 12 women's basketball team fell one game short of winning the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament this past weekend, losing to Clemson 71-54 in the championship game. But the Blue Devils aren't hanging their heads too low, for in two weeks they begin a run in the NCAA Tournament.
The biggest thing Duke did was most likely earn the right to host the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament. The top 16 teams in the tourney get home-court advantage for the first two games, and the way the Blue Devils played this weekend, they proved to the selection committee that they deserve those first two home games.
Still, some of the media has suggested the Blue Devils may not get to host the sub-regionals since they lost in the conference tourney. Duke head coach Gail Goestenkors has a different opinion on the matter.
"I think that we are definitley going to get a subregional," she said. "I would be shocked if we didn't."
Goestenkors said by her calculations the Blue Devils should earn a third seed, and that she would be shocked if Duke was rated any lower. She pointed to the fact that last season, when the Blue Devils lost three of their last five ACC games before the conference tourney, Duke received a No. 5 seed. At the time, the Blue Devils were 21-8 overall and ranked in the top 20.
This year, Duke has four more wins under its belt and was riding a seven-game winning streak before the loss to Clemson. Among those wins were what Goesetnkors called qood wins-at Virginia, at Clemson and at home against a good North Carolina team. The Blue Devils only have one bad loss, the 63-52 upset at Maryland.
All those factors lead Goestenkors to believe that Duke has earned the right to host a sub-regional. If Duke is rated a third seed, it will face a No. 14 team in the first round. If the Blue Devils are given a No. 4 seed, they will play a No. 13 team first. And most importantly, those first two games will be played in Cameron.
"It would be fantastic," Goestenkors said of playing in Cameron. "You don't want to travel any more than necesary. Our players love playing here. There's a comfort level at home."
The other big question outside of seeding is where Duke will play the regionals. But that's a question Goestenkors isn't too concerned about at the moment.
"Our biggest concern is we need to win our first two games at home," she said.
The Duke head coach said the easiest regional may be the West, which has its games being played in Seattle. The host team in the West, the Washington Huskies, will not make it to the NCAA Tournament. That can't be said for the other three regional sites. DePaul, Virginia and Stephen F. Austin all should make the tourney, and all will be placed to play at home in the regionals.
The Blue Devils can only wait until Sunday when the official pairings are announced. That gives Duke two weeks before it plays its first tournament game. The time off will give the Blue Devil players the extra rest they need.
"I think [the time off] will be very good for us," she said. "We're going to get back to the basics. It will give us a chance to go against guys. It gives us time to work on the mental aspect."
Goestenkors said for the first time, the team feels complete. Junior guard Windsor Coggeshall, injured since the Maryland loss with a bad back, had 18 minutes of action in the ACC Tournament without practicing with the team. She'll get that chance over the next two weeks. Also, freshman Naz Medhanie played her best basketball in the ACC Tournament, scoring nine points and playing stellar defense against N.C. State.
The loss to Clemson hurt the Blue Devils' momentum. But Goestenkors said the best thing the team can do is learn a lesson from the loss-that Duke needs to do the little things to win.
"The only thing we need to take from the loss is that we have a lot to improve on," she said. "Doing the little things-if you don't do them against the great teams, you are going to lose. I think we all understand we have some more basketball to be played and some of our best basketball is yet to be played."
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