For two straight years, Notre Dame has ended Duke’s hope of securing an ACC tournament title.
Last season, the Blue Devils were galvanized by the loss to the Fighting Irish in the ACC semifinals, made the necessary adjustments did not drop another game the rest of the way.
Can this year’s team do the same?
The parallels between last year's squad and this year’s Duke team are hard to ignore as the 2015-16 Blue Devils gear up for another NCAA tournament that they hope ends with them cutting down the nets in Houston.
A tough loss to Notre Dame that came down to the wire and a big night from Fighting Irish forward Bonzie Colson. A worryingly short bench that leaves questions about how Duke can fare on the back end of two-games-in-three-days stretches. A reliance on freshmen to thrive during their first go-round in the March Madness limelight.
After last year's ACC tournament loss, the Blue Devils gathered to discuss what needed to change heading into the Big Dance. At a similar meeting following last Thursday's loss in Washington, several of those topics came up once again.
“[There were] similar themes in terms of sense of urgency, but the way this loss came about tonight was completely different, and a lot of disappointment in the locker room,” center Marshall Plumlee said after that game. “A lot of individual things could have been done better, myself included. We’re going to come together and figure out what the next step is.”
Although the loss to Notre Dame is a constant across the two seasons, the games themselves could hardly be more different. The 2015 Duke squad—headlined by star one-and-done freshmen Jahlil Okafor, Tyus Jones and Justise Winslow—were nearly buried by the Fighting Irish and trailed by 15 at halftime.
But the Blue Devils stormed back in the second half and Jones hit a crucial 3-pointer with three minutes left to cut the lead to four and strike some fear into the hearts of the Fighting Irish faithful. That was all Duke had left in the tank that day, though, as Notre Dame escaped with a win and went on to claim the tournament crown the next day.
This time around, it was the Blue Devils who jumped out to an early lead and looked ready to cruise into the next round. Sweet Blue Devil shooting and uncharacteristic turnovers from the Fighting Irish staked Duke to an eight-point halftime lead, and the advantage doubled to 16 with 11 minutes remaining.
At that point, the Blue Devils’ tired legs gave in and the offense sputtered, hitting just one field goal the rest of the way in regulation. Led by junior V.J. Beachem, Notre Dame’s offense caught fire, erasing Duke’s lead and rolling past the Blue Devils in overtime.
So in some ways, the script has been flipped. Last season's defeat was a setback, yes, but one Duke could grow from and take pride after a strong finish. This year's loss left the Blue Devils trying to figure what happened in their collapse, then make sure it does not happen again.
“Our offense in the last 16 minutes was excellent,” Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski said after last year’s loss. “That’s the best Jah has played in a couple of weeks, as far as getting him the ball. If we play like that, we’ll be all right.”
If this year's Blue Devils play as they did for the last 16 minutes of their most recent contest against Notre Dame, they could easily find themselves headed home after Thursday's first round matchup with 13th-seeded UNC-Wilmington. But if they can draw lessons from other parts of the game—and perhaps repeat the offensive fluidity and defensive tenacity that led to their 29-13 run midway through the game—they, too, could end up "all right."
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