CHARLOTTE - All season long Duke has been trying to return the basketball program to its levels of the early '90s.
Now, the Blue Devils will seek a return to the Final Four through the venue that proved so successful a decade ago-The Meadowlands.
Duke was named a No. 1 seed in the East Region for the NCAA tournament yesterday evening and will battle 16th-seeded Florida A&M (12-18) in the opening round Friday back in Charlotte. Should the Blue Devils advance past the first two rounds, though, they'll return to the site of earlier glory and potentially have a chance to avenge their only loss in the process.
In 1986, '88, '89 and '90, Duke breezed through East Rutherford, N.J., in the regional semifinals and finals on its way to the Final Four. The Blue Devils continued their success there this past December when they beat Kentucky, 71-60.
"Duke came out clearly as the top team in the country," said C.M. Newton, the chairman of the selection committee.
In seeking a return to its first Final Four in five years, Duke first travels through the Charlotte Coliseum it just departed before potentially heading for New Jersey.
"It's good that we had a chance to play here," Nate James said of the Charlotte Coliseum. "The atmosphere was great and it got us ready for the NCAAs. We'll look forward to coming back."
Beyond Florida A&M, Duke's potential second-round opponents are College of Charleston, who has the second-longest winning streak in the country behind the Blue Devils, and Tulsa. The fourth and fifth seeds in Duke's bracket are Tennessee and Wisconsin.
Intrigue follows down the road. The Miami Hurricanes are the No. 2 seed, and right behind them is Cincinnati, the only team to beat the Blue Devils in Duke's 33 games this season. The Bearcats toppled Duke back in Alaska in late November, 77-75.
"The guys started smiling a little bit around the room when we saw that potential matchup," Cincinnati's Melvin Levett told the Associated Press. "Of course you want to go out and prove to everybody that the first time was for real. If the day ever comes that we do meet, we'll be ready."
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