You just might begin to notice a theme developing here.
Last night in Winston-Salem, the Blue Devils (14-4, 6-1 in the ACC) opened the ACC tournament the same way they ended the 1999 version: in overtime.
Victory over the Maryland Terrapins (10-9, 1-6), seeded sixth in the tournament, did not come until the 112th minute, when Donald McIntosh came out of a flurry in front of the net with the ball, and moved Duke into the second round of the tournament with a 2-1 win.
"This was one of the greatest college games that I have ever been a part of," Maryland coach Sasho Cirovski said.
The fact that this game produced such a close result was something of a surprise, as the Blue Devils had knocked off Maryland 2-0 earlier this season in College Park.
But the Terrapins came to the ACC tournament ready to play.
The Terps managed only four shots in the first half, but held Duke scoreless in the opening frame.
The score would not remain tied for much longer.
Just three minutes into the second half, midfielder Demetrio Sanchez, standing seven yards from the net, received the ball with his back turned to the goal. Sanchez settled the ball, turned and fired a shot past Maryland goalkeeper Christian Lewis and into the back of the net.
The 1-0 lead did not hold up.
With under 14 minutes remaining in the game, Maryland striker Jason Sardis crossed the ball to freshman Abe Thompson. Thompson drilled the ball past Jeff Haywood from point-blank range.
Despite a decent chance for Ali Curtis with three minutes left, the 1-1 tie stood for the remainder of regulation, and the two teams headed to overtime.
Stymied by strong goalkeeping, neither team found the net in the first extra session.
Afterwards, Duke coach John Rennie credited Haywood with making the victory possible.
"The player of the game for us was Jeff Haywood," Rennie said. "He made some great, great saves."
Haywood kept the Terrapins off the board for the first seven minutes of overtime, and McIntosh put Maryland away.
Overtime victories are normally cause for celebration. But while the Blue Devils were pleased to continue on in the tournament, there was a great deal of frustration at the considerable lack of execution that allowed the Terrapins, a team generally regarded as inferior, to take them to a second overtime.
"The score could have just as easily have been 5-4," said Rennie. "We didn't finish a lot of our chances, and neither did Maryland. So it went to overtime, and we wound up getting the goal."
The victory sets up a rematch with the Virginia Cavaliers.
Earlier this season, the Blue Devils beat the Cavaliers 3-2 in Charlottesville when Robert Russell put in the game-winning goal with just over three minutes remaining. That triumph re-established Duke as a contender in the ACC. The two teams wound up tied with North Carolina for the conference title.
But when the two teams square off tonight at 5:30 p.m., Virginia will have more to think about than the fact that the Blue Devils cost it the regular-season conference title. The Cavaliers will be trying to exorcise the demons of last year's tournament championship game, played on the same field.
That epic battle went 129 minutes, into the third overtime, before Dwayne Harris broke the 1-1 tie, and gave Duke the victory.
The game ended with the Blue Devils piling on one another in total disbelief. Virginia players were holding their faces in their hands as they walked off the field in stunned silence.
Tonight's semifinal game represents another chance for the Blue Devils to send the Cavaliers home in disappointment, and the chance for Virginia to avenge a year-old grudge.
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