The D1scourse research bat signal went off last night after Duke's 90-63 loss at Miami, a rare lopsided defeat for the Blue Devils.
You can look it up. In the last 10 years, Duke has lost only seven times by 15 points or more.
The question from a few Maryland fans was obvious: Just how cranky will the Blue Devils be when the Terrapins head to Cameron Indoor Stadium on Saturday.
Short answer: Probably very cranky, since the No. 1 team in the land usually doesn't get pummeled quite the way Duke did last night.
Slightly longer answer: In a historical sense, Duke has won 11 of its last 12 with Mike Krzyzewski on the bench* immediately after a loss of 15 or more points. The problem is, that run of bounceback games stretches all the way back to 1988-89. That, as Pete Gillen might say, is a reflection simply that "Duke is Duke."
(*-Yes, this takes out the Pete Gaudet games in 1994-95. Duke lost three times under Gaudet by at least 15 points. Twice those setbacks were followed by a loss; the third was a season-ender in the ACC tournament).
So this research probably doesn't mean a whole lot. One interesting number before getting to the rundown: Coach K absorbed 18 losses by at least 15 points in his first three seasons at Duke. In the 30 seasons since, he's taken 21 setbacks by that large a margin.
1980-81
Dec. 29: 90-69 loss vs. Tennessee; Next: 94-79 loss at Maryland
Jan. 10: 94-79 loss at Maryland; Next: 76-73 loss to Wake Forest
Jan. 17: 80-65 loss at North Carolina; Next: 60-51 win vs. George Mason
Jan. 31: 68-47 loss at Virginia; Next: 82-68 win at Georgia Tech
1981-82
Dec. 12: 77-52 loss at Princeton; Next: 70-57 win vs. East Carolina
Jan. 2: 99-61 loss at Louisville; Next: 80-61 win vs. Rutgers
Feb. 6: 77-60 loss at Maryland; Next: 67-57 win vs. UNC Wilmington
Feb. 13: 86-71 loss vs. Wake Forest; Next: 72-56 loss at N.C. State
Feb. 16: 72-56 loss at N.C. State; Next: 87-78 loss at Georgia Tech
Feb. 27: 84-66 loss at North Carolina; Next: 88-53 loss vs. Wake Forest (ACCT)
March 5: 88-53 loss vs. Wake Forest (ACCT); Next: End of season
1982-83
Jan. 12: 91-76 loss vs. Louisville; Next: 86-67 win at Maryland
Jan. 22: 103-82 loss at North Carolina; Next: 94-79 loss at N.C. State
Jan. 26: 94-79 loss at N.C. State; Next: 99-96 win vs. Clemson
Feb. 5: 105-84 loss at Virginia; Next: 67-66 loss at Georgia Tech
Feb. 23: 96-79 loss vs. N.C. State; Next: 106-81 win vs. Georgia Tech
March 5: 105-81 loss vs. North Carolina; Next: 109-66 loss vs. Virginia (ACCT)
March 11: 109-66 loss vs. Virginia (ACCT); Next: End of season
1983-84
Jan. 18: 97-66 loss at Wake Forest; Next: 78-73 loss vs. North Carolina
1984-85
Jan. 23: 89-71 loss at N.C. State; Next: 100-83 win at Clemson
1988-89
Jan. 18: 91-71 loss vs. North Carolina; Next: 75-71 loss at Wake Forest
Jan. 26: 88-73 loss at N.C. State; Next: 92-62 win vs. Clemson
April 1: 95-78 loss vs. Seton Hall (NCAAT); Next: End of season
1989-90
Jan. 17: 79-60 loss at North Carolina; Next: 97-69 win at Wake Forest
April 2: 103-73 loss vs. UNLV (NCAAT); Next: End of season
1990-91
Jan. 5: 81-64 loss at Virginia; Next: 98-57 win vs. Georgia Tech
March 10: 96-74 loss vs. North Carolina (ACCT); Next: 102-73 win vs. Northeast Louisiana (NCAAT)
1995-96
March 14: 75-60 loss vs. Eastern Michigan (NCAAT); Next: End of season
1996-97
Nov. 29: 85-69 loss vs. Indiana; Next: 103-51 win vs. Lehigh
1997-98
Feb. 5: 97-73 loss at North Carolina; Next: 65-49 win at N.C. State
March 8: 83-68 loss vs. North Carolina (ACCT); Next: 99-63 win vs. Radford (NCAAT)
2002-03
Jan. 18: 87-72 loss at Maryland; Next: 80-71 loss at N.C. State
2008-09
Feb. 4: 74-47 loss at Clemson; Next: 78-75 win vs. Miami
March 26: 77-54 loss vs. Villanova (NCAAT); Next: End of season
2010-11
Jan. 30: 93-78 loss at St. John's; Next: 80-62 win at Maryland
March 24: 93-77 loss vs. Arizona (NCAAT); Next: End of season
2011-12
Nov. 29: 85-63 loss at Ohio State; Next: 87-64 win vs. Colorado State
March 3: 88-70 loss vs. North Carolina; Next: 60-56 win vs. Virginia Tech (ACCT)
2012-13
Jan. 23: 90-63 loss at Miami; Next: Saturday vs. Maryland
--- Patrick Stevens
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