via Getty
CLEMSON, SC – JANUARY 14: Mike Krzyzewski head coach for Duke during a college basketball game between the Duke Blue Devils and the Clemson Tigers on January 14, 2020, at Littlejohn Coliseum in Clemson, S.C. (Photo by John Byrum/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
via Getty
CLEMSON, SC – JANUARY 14: Mike Krzyzewski head coach for Duke during a college basketball game between the Duke Blue Devils and the Clemson Tigers on January 14, 2020, at Littlejohn Coliseum in Clemson, S.C. (Photo by John Byrum/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
The Duke Blue Devils were hoping to keep their impressive legacy as a basketball school alive when they entered this season. However, a season with COVID-19 has presented a lot of challenges for what were historically the best schools.
Coaches got lesser preparation time, something that handicapped many teams that rely on freshmen. Two of these teams are the Kentucky Wildcats and the Duke Blue Devils. While we have seen Kentucky match their fair share of historic lows, their rivals in Duke seem to be catching up really quick.
Duke is now 1-6 in its last 7 road games. The Blue Devils were 19-6 in their previous 25 road games.
Mike Krzyzewski is now 6-8 against the Cardinals. Louisville is the only school he has a losing record against (min. 10 GP, includes all games). pic.twitter.com/alvqJv7fJi
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) January 24, 2021
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Head Coach Mike Krzyzewski has been criticizing the NCAA all season long for continuing the season, despite COVID-19 concerns. Duke’s women’s team already canceled their season. However, the men’s team are yet to announce anything of that nature and have played all their games so far. They have seen infrequent stints in the AP Top 25 Poll, but they seem well on their way out of contention.
Duke Blue Devils: What is going wrong?
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At this point, Duke should ask what can go right. Their season has been quite surprising. Their highly recruited freshmen that came in have been underperforming. While that isn’t necessarily their fault, as they never got a chance to really learn Coach K’s system, this is historically bad.
USA Today via Reuters
Jan 19, 2021; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Duke Blue Devils forward Matthew Hurt (21) shoots a three point basket against Pittsburgh Panthers forward Justin Champagnie (11) during the first half at the Petersen Events Center. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
However, the fact that Kentucky and Duke are struggling together this season does indicate something. The first thing is that COVID has really impacted these teams.
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But the more important thing this has exposed is the viability of the one-and-done system. Duke and Kentucky have built programs around getting top-recruits that jump to the NBA within one season. These players have tanked their draft stock while also giving both programs some of the worst results they have had in decades.
Hopefully, this serves as a wake-up call to the team. If not, they may be in danger of losing out to more experienced teams atop the NCAA Basketball mountain.
