As Duke heads into the ACC and NCAA Tournaments, it's not with the same fanfare that it has in the past.
When the Blue Devils begin their postseason slate, they won't be the ACC regular season champions, won't be ranked in the top-five and might not even be in the top ten.
But just like its counterparts of recent years, this Duke squad still has the same goal: Win the school's first national championship.
Despite finishing on the short end of many tight games, Duke (21-8) believes it is now fully prepared to put the pieces together and play consistently well in the tournaments.
"We have everything on the table," junior guard Abby Waner said. "Offensively, we know how to look for each other, how to set each other up. We're in more of a system. We understand our defenses better.... We've worked on everything that we need to.
"And because we're so close, maybe all we just needed was a little more time."
The Blue Devils have dropped the most regular-season contests of any Duke team since 1997, but they hope to erase the sting of those defeats with a strong postseason run-the part of the puzzle that has been missing the past two seasons.
The team has learned the hard way that wins in January and February don't necessarily translate to victories in March.
In 2006, after beating Maryland twice during the regular season, Duke fell to the Terrapins in both the ACC and the NCAA Tournaments. In 2007, the Blue Devils were knocked out of the NCAA Tournament by Rutgers, a team they beat by 40 earlier in the season.
This season, though, Duke seeks to avenge losses to Maryland, North Carolina, Tennessee and Connecticut.
"Unfortunately, we've lost a couple games that have forced us to learn a lot about ourselves and make us better," senior Wanisha Smith said. "The biggest thing I've learned from our team is that we can fight. Regardless of if we're down or not...we're going to be able to fight. Because when we do get into the Tournament, and we're down, we have the confidence to know that this is not over."
They demonstrated that resiliency in their last home game Feb. 24, when the Blue Devils erased a nine-point second-half deficit to Virginia to win 78-70. When Duke needed points, someone scored. When the team needed stops, someone forced a turnover. It was the type of performance the Blue Devils will need come March.
While Duke's defense has gelled as of late, the offense has stalled at times and limited the team in its biggest games. In their six losses to top-five teams, the Blue Devils have shot only 78 free throws, compared to a stunning 150 attempts for their opponents.
Duke also has had difficulty taking care of the ball in late-game situations. Turnovers in the final minutes of home games against both Tennessee and Maryland spoiled two furious comeback bids and resulted in two more tallies in the loss column. Even in the Blue Devils' lone win over an elite opponent, a 49-44 victory over Rutgers Dec. 6, Duke struggled to put up points and was bolstered by a physical defensive performance.
"Every time it comes down to crunch time, I feel like we turn it over," center Chante Black said. "And not a forced turnover, but a little easy turnover.... We have to value the ball."
With many new faces immediately assuming big roles-including first-year head coach Joanne P. McCallie-the Blue Devils experienced growing pains early in the year that turned into a three-game November losing streak.
But the current squad has been forced to grow up quickly, and ended that skid with the win over the then-No. 4 Scarlet Knights.
A tough schedule that pitted Duke against every top-five team provided the opportunity for the young Blue Devils to garner tournament-type experience.
"You play against the best to prepare and that's what we've done all season long," said Waner, the team's second-leading scorer behind Black. "We've made some strides. We've also regressed in some ways."
The team's defensive development has been its most noticeable improvement. As the offense struggled early with the loss of National Player of the Year Lindsey Harding and All-American Alison Bales, Duke emerged as one of the conference's premier defensive teams. Opponents shot 36 percent against them-second-lowest in the ACC-and scored only 57. 9 per game,, ranking the Blue Devils ahead of both North Carolina and Maryland.
If McCallie's team can maintain that defensive pressure, and couple it with a breakthrough on the other end, Duke could find a way to do exactly what they haven't done recently-peak in March.
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