The Devil's in the Details: Duke has not fared well as a No. 2 seed in recent history

Although the Blue Devils have struggled as a No. 2 seed historically, Allen and Duke have owned potential Sweet 16 opponent Michigan State in recent years.
Although the Blue Devils have struggled as a No. 2 seed historically, Allen and Duke have owned potential Sweet 16 opponent Michigan State in recent years.

They say the devil is in the details. But in Durham, the Blue Devils are in the details—and numbers.

Each week, the Blue Zone will dissect five key stats from last week's action in Duke sports, whether they be historic or underwhelming. This week, let the numbers take you inside Duke men’s basketball as they prepare for the NCAA Tournament. 

2

For the second year in a row, the Blue Devils were awarded the No. 2 seed in the Big Dance. Following a loss to UNC that put it out of the running for a one-seed, Duke was slotted in the Midwest region and will travel much further than expected to Pittsburgh to face off against Iona in the first round. The Midwest region is littered with blue-blood teams in Kansas and Michigan State and also features National Player of the Year Candidate Trae Young of Oklahoma—a potential second round matchup if the stumbling Sooners can get past Rhode Island.

20

March 8, 1998 was the last time North Carolina had defeated Duke in the ACC Tournament. But 20 years later, the Tar Heels stopped a furious comeback in the final five minutes of the game to defeat the Blue Devils 74-69 in the ACC Tournament semifinals. 

The loss prevented Duke from an opportunity to defend its title and avenge a narrow home loss Jan. 27 to Virginia. With the loss, the Blue Devils were the No. 6 overall team in the Big Dance, as UNC jumped them for the five spot. 

In hindsight, the loss made a huge impact. instead of playing in Charlotte in the first round as a part of undeniably the easiest region—Xavier, Michigan and Gonzaga make up the rest of the top-four seeds—Duke is stuck in arguably the hardest region far away from home.

Top-20

As far back as Ken Pomeroy’s rankings go (2002), every national championship winner—outside of Connecticut in 2014—finished the season in the top-20 in both offensive and defensive efficiency. 

After switching to zone, the Blue Devils have seen their defensive rating shoot up from the low-100s all the way to the No. 7 defense in the country. Pair that with a No. 3 offense and Duke is sitting pretty as a title contender.

Unfortunately for the Blue Devils however, Michigan State—the only other team that currently “qualifies”—is ranked No. 9 in both categories, and could be a potential Sweet 16 date.

1995

As a No. 2 seed, Duke has failed to reach the Final Four since 1994 in six tries. In these tournaments, the Blue Devils have been bounced in the first or second round four times and have only won a single Sweet 16 game. 

2013 was the best year for a two-seed Duke squad over this stretch, when it reached the Elite Eight before bowing out against eventual national champion Louisville—which has since had its title vacated. Prior to 1995, the Blue Devils had reached the Final Four all four times as a two-seed, reaching the championship game twice and winning it all in 1991. 

1-11

If the blockbuster rematch between Michigan State and Duke were to materialize in the Sweet 16, Blue Devil fans can find solace in the fact that Coach Krzyzewski has owned Spartans Coach Tom Izzo in head-to-head matchups.

Michigan State has not defeated Duke since 2005 in the Sweet 16 as a part of its Final Four run. Grayson Allen has been a thorn in the Spartans' side in recent memory. He added nine points off the bench as a freshman in the 81-61 drubbing in the Final Four in 2015 before a championship victory against Wisconsin. 

Last year, as a junior, Allen poured 24 points on 45.5 percent shooting from deep to lead the Blue Devils to a 78-69 win in ACC/Big 10 Challenge. This year, as a part of the Champions Classic, Allen exploded for 37 points after Marvin Bagley III went down, making seven treys as then-No. 1 Duke defeated then-No.2 Michigan State 88-81. 

Discussion

Share and discuss “The Devil's in the Details: Duke has not fared well as a No. 2 seed in recent history” on social media.