The Road to the Final Four
Duke in the NCAA Tournament
After three seasons, Coach K led Duke to the NCAA Tournament in 1984, the first of 36 tournament appearances. Throughout his career, Duke built a staggering NCAA resume, filled with stats we know well including: 5 National Championships, 13 Final Fours, 101 NCAA Tournament wins, 14 one-seeds, and 24 consecutive tournament appearances (see bonus stat below). I could go on, but here’s a stat I’m particularly fond of and haven’t seen elsewhere.
The road to the Final Four involved Duke in 25 out of those 36 tournament appearances (69.4%). I’ll provide details momentarily, but here’s the summary. Duke won the National Championship five times, lost to the eventual National Champion nine times, lost to the National Runner-Up five times, and lost to a Final Four team six times. Presented another way, Duke and Coach K were eliminated from the NCAA Tournament by a Final Four team 64.5% of the time (20 out of 31).
The NCAA single elimination format provides both excitement and heartbreak, with only one team left standing on that Monday night in April. My dad used to always say you should want whoever eliminates your team to keep advancing, because it shows they lost to an opponent playing at a certain level. I think that’s why I love this stat so much, and I agree with Dad. I don’t think any team that reaches the Final Four should be considered a fluke or Cinderella - if you make it that far, you’re playing really good basketball. To be clear, I mean no disrespect to teams that eliminated Duke but did not reach the Final Four, and I’m not saying Duke would have gone on to the Final Four or won the National Championship in any (or all) of the years I have listed below. I’m simply pointing out that nearly 70 percent of the time, Duke was in the mix, only losing to teams playing well enough to reach the pinnacle of college basketball.
Here are the full details of the road to the Final Four under Coach K at Duke.
Duke won the National Championship five times.
1991 - Duke 72 Kansas 65
1992 - Duke 71 Michigan 51
2001 - Duke 82 Arizona 72
2010 - Duke 61 Butler 59
2015 - Duke 68 Wisconsin 63
Duke lost to the National Champion nine times (round).
1986 - Duke 69 Louisville 72 (National Championship)
1987 - Duke 82 Indiana 88 (Sweet 16)
1988 - Duke 59 Kansas 66 (Final Four)
1990 - Duke 73 UNLV 103 (National Championship)
1994 - Duke 72 Arkansas 76 (National Championship)
1998 - Duke 84 Kentucky 86 (Elite 8)
1999 - Duke 74 Connecticut 77 (National Championship)
2004 - Duke 78 Connecticut 79 (Final Four)
2013 - Duke 63 Louisville 85 (Elite 8)
Duke lost to the National Runner-Up five times.
1989 - Duke 78 Seton Hall 95 (Final Four)
2000 - Duke 78 Florida 87 (Sweet 16)
2002 - Duke 73 Indiana 74 (Sweet 16)
2003 - Duke 65 Kansas 69 (Sweet 16)
2022 - Duke 77 North Carolina 81 (Final Four)
Duke lost to a National Semifinalist six times.
2005 - Duke 68 Michigan State 78 (Sweet 16)
2006 - Duke 54 LSU 62 (Sweet 16)
2009 - Duke 54 Villanova 77 (Sweet 16)
2017 - Duke 81 South Carolina 88 (Round of 32)
2018 - Duke 81 Kansas 85 OT (Elite 8)
2019 - Duke 67 Michigan State 68 (Elite 8)
Bonus Stat
Rightfully so, the official number is 24 consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances for Coach K (1996-2019). This is the most all-time, one ahead of Dean Smith. However, in my mind the number is 35 instead. Duke went to the tournament from 1984-1994 (11 seasons), prior to the start of the official streak. In 1995, Duke was 9-3 before Coach K took a leave of absence for health reasons. Of course, Duke may not have made the tournament had he been able to finish the season. But, as it stands, technically Coach K didn’t miss the 1995 tournament either. Come to think of it, Duke was 25-6 and ranked #10 nationally before the NCAA Tournament was cancelled in 2020 - a lock to earn a tournament bid that season as well. Let’s call it 36.
Thanks for reading, Go Duke!
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