Every March Madness you see the media create pieces that ask “why do people hate Duke?” (in the years they go far in the NCAA tournament) or “why is everyone happy to see Duke eliminated?” (during the seasons they get bounced early)
The answer is very simple, and it’s the same explanation as to why Mitt Romney just doesn’t have the personality to get elected president: too privileged, too rich, and it makes their astronomical success rather worthy of resentment, not likable.
There, end of story.
Now let’s get to why that doesn’t matter when figuring out how far Duke can go, and why you should pick them (this is college basketball, not a popularity contest)
1. Other people in your bracket pool hate them…
…and could be less likely to pick them because of it. So if they go far, you’ll get points and they won’t. And they may hate you for picking them, which is cool.
2. Winning record vs. Tournament teams (10-5) and teams seeded #1-#4 (5-3)
Unlike other teams, they can take down Goliath. They’ve already beaten Michigan State, North Carolina, Kansas, Florida State and Michigan (“effing Uncle Tom”) this season.
3. They’ll at least make it to the next weekend FOR SURE
Duke is 12-0 when playing NCAA Tournament games in Greensboro, N.C., and 32-4 when playing in North Carolina.
4. Past is prologue?
It could be an omen (they are the devils after all) or it could just be coincidence, Duke has won 16 consecutive NCAA Tournament games in North Carolina and won its 1992 and 2001 NCAA Championships after playing its first two games in Greensboro.
5. The Final Four seems to always include a #2 seed, and at least two non-#1 seeds.
Duke won it all as a #2 seed in 2001, and their main roadblock is Kentucky and John Calipari, the tournament’s #1 overall seed. However, Calipari has never won it all (due to violations, both his Final Fours have been vacated by the NCAA by the way), and the whole “load up on blue chip, but one-and-done guys” philosophy has not translated into a championship yet; for anybody.
6. They have the track record
Duke is 96-31 (.756) all-time in the NCAA Tournament, the highest NCAA Tournament winning percentage of any program. Duke’s 96 wins are the third most behind Kentucky (105) and North Carolina (105).
7. Those who don’t know history
Duke has opened the NCAA Tournament in North Carolina 17 times and has reached the Final Four in 10 of those years. Duke has reached the National Championship game six times when playing its first round game in North Carolina.
Paul M. Banks is CEO of The Sports Bank.net, an official Google News site that generates millions of unique visitors. He’s also a regular contributor to Chicago Now, Walter Football.com, Yardbarker, and Fox Sports
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