The last time Duke lost four games in a row, assistant coaches Chris Collins and Steve Wojciechowski sat a bit farther down the Blue Devil bench and wore sweats instead of suits.
Collins was a senior and Wojciechowski a sophomore on the Duke team that finished 18-13 and lost in the first round of the 1996 NCAA Tournament.
In January of 1996, the Blue Devils dropped their first four ACC games of the season, but they recovered nicely to finish at 8-8 in the conference. This year's Blue Devil squad will try to make sure that its current losing streak does not reach four as well when the team takes on Maryland (17-7, 3-6 in the ACC) at the Comcast Center Sunday at 5 p.m.
"We've lost three really tough games that we've played winning basketball in all of them," head coach Mike Krzyzewski said. "You cannot get down about losing because then you are not deserving of winning."
The past three defeats have been nothing short of heartbreaking for No. 16 Duke (18-6, 5-5). The Blue Devils dropped games to Virginia and Florida State that each came down to the final seconds. Although those two defeats were hard to swallow, perhaps the most devastating loss occurred Wednesday when North Carolina came into Cameron Indoor Stadium and won there for the second year in a row.
Against the Tar Heels, Duke led for a majority of the contest but allowed North Carolina to pull away late. The Tar Heels took advantage of missed shots and free throws, outplaying the Blue Devils down the stretch. After the game, Duke was left wondering how it let the game slip away.
"Most of the game we were winning and we were in control," freshman Jon Scheyer said. "It came down to the last part of the second half with our execution, and that's something that in the Maryland game we're going to have to do a lot better with."
Despite the three straight losses, Duke has played well during stretches of each game. The Blue Devils, however, cannot afford a hangover Sunday against the Terrapins.
Maryland started the year strong but has struggled in the ACC so far this season. The Terrapins are coming off a tough loss of their own, losing 69-65 at home to first-place Virginia Tuesday. Nonetheless, Maryland always brings its best game against the Blue Devils. The Maryland-Duke rivalry may not be what it was five years ago, but the Comcast Center will by no means be an easy environment to play in.
Three-game losing streaks are uncharted territory for this squad, but the slide could easily extend if the Blue Devils cannot respond against Maryland after Wednesday's defeat. In the locker room after the loss, the players all shared the disappointment but also echoed Krzyzewski's sentiment that the team cannot harp on its recent slide.
"We can't be down on ourselves-obviously the loss was hard, but we need to get ready for Maryland," Scheyer said. "We don't have the time to sit around and feel sorry for ourselves."
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