From the field to the court, the Blue Devils provided fans and media members alike with plenty of memorable moments. With 2014 coming to a close, The Chronicle is taking look back on the year's biggest stories. We continue our countdown today with No. 2 and the biggest upset of the 2014 NCAA tournament: 14th-seeded Mercer taking out the third-seeded Blue Devils in Raleigh.
Jabari Parker's March Madness was over almost before it started.
The freshman struggled mightily from the floor as Duke—the No. 3 seed in the Midwest Region—fumbled away a late lead against No. 14 Mercer March 21 in the Round of 64 in the 2014 NCAA tournament, falling 78-71 at PNC Arena in Raleigh. The Blue Devils led 63-58 with 4:52 to play, but were held scoreless for four minutes as the Bears scored 11 unanswered points to pull off the upset.
Parker finished with 14 points on 4-of-14 shooting, failing to establish a rhythm inside against a veteran Mercer frontcourt. Redshirt sophomore Rodney Hood didn't fare any better in his March Madness debut, scoring six points on 2-of-10 shooting.
On the other end, Mercer forwards Jakob Gollon and Daniel Coursey combined for 37 points, two of five Bears to finish in double-figures.
The loss marked the Blue Devils' second Round of 64 exit in three seasons, with both defeats coming inside North Carolina.
In the aftermath of the loss, the sporting world was introduced to the Nae Nae and Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski visited the Mercer locker room to congratulate the Bears.
In a quiet Duke locker room, media members surrounded Parker and Hood, aiming to discover the duo's next steps. Neither gave definitive answers—both would later declare for the NBA Draft.
"I thought I'd be playing after today," Hood said. Parker called his season "incomplete."
Blue Devil basketball fans were dealt another tough pill to swallow just three days later, as the second-seeded Duke women's basketball team fell to seventh-seeded DePaul at Cameron Indoor Stadium in the second round of the NCAA tournament.
The Blue Devils—playing without injured point guards Chelsea Gray and Alexis Jones—made an abrupt exit from the tournament after four consecutive Elite Eight trips. The Blue Demons unleashed an offensive barrage that night, knocking down nine triples in the second half alone to spring the upset and cut short the Duke careers of Gray, Tricia Liston, Haley Peters and Richa Jackson.
It was a long offseason in Durham.
READ on the pair of early tournament exits:
No Mercy: Bears upset third-seeded Duke
Duke basketball sticks together in season-ending loss
Coach K visits Mercer locker room after loss
Duke women's basketball falls to Blue Demons in Round of 32
Guard-deficient Duke women's basketball falls in difficult matchup
Previously in The Chronicle's Top 10:
10. Shaun Wilson runs past Kansas, into record books
9. Ka'lia Johnson notches seventh triple-double in program history
8. Duke men's soccer upsets No. 1 North Carolina
7. Jabari Parker and Rodney Hood declare for 2014 NBA Draft
6. Duke basketball takes down then-No. 2 Wisconsin
5. Duke basketball's freshman class living up to expectations
4. Duke-North Carolina rivalry postponed by winter storm
3. Construction begins on Wallace Wade Stadium, other athletic facilities
Check back in with us on The Blue Zone tomorrow as we conclude our countdown with the No. 1 Duke sports story of 2014.
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