BeDeviled: Duke Becomes First #1 in 21st Century to Lose by More Than 20
Hall of Famer Mike Krzyzewski has defeated five #1 opponents while coaching Duke. But there is a price to pay for the Blue Devils spending more weeks ranked No. 1 during Coach K's tenure than unranked. After getting embarrassed at Miami (Fla.), Duke moved ahead of North Carolina for school with the most defeats as nation's top-ranked team (31). Kentucky is right behind the ACC rivals with 29.
An individual all-time high 27 (only eight outside ACC competition) of the 30 such setbacks have been with Krzyzewski as the Blue Devils' bench boss. Marquee mentors ranking behind him for most losses coaching the nation's top-ranked team are Dean Smith (18 with North Carolina), Roy Williams (17/11 with Kansas and six with North Carolina) and Adolph Rupp (15 with Kentucky).
Miami's demolishing of Duke marked the first time in the 21st Century that a #1 team lost by more than 20 points. The blowout was the third-widest margin of defeat for a top-ranked team since polling starting in the late 1940s. The most recent such defeat was Duke at North Carolina in 1997-98. Following are the eight times a #1 squad succumbed by more than 20 points:
- 41 - St. John's at Kentucky (81-40 in 1951-52)
- 32 - Houston at UCLA (101-69 in 1967-68)
- 27 - Duke at Miami, FL (90-63 in 2012-13)
- 24 - Kentucky at St. Louis (87-63 in 1962-63)
- 24 - Arkansas at Massachusetts (104-80 in 1994-95)
- 24 - Duke at North Carolina (97-73 in 1997-98)
- 23 - Connecticut vs. Villanova (96-73 in 1994-95)
- 22 - Kansas at Oklahoma (100-78 in 1989-90)
Duke lost as the nation's top-ranked team seven straight seasons from 1997-98 through 2003-04. Five of the Blue Devils' seven such losses from late-November 1998 to the 2002 NCAA playoffs were by margins of fewer than four points. Following is a chronological list of the 27 K's for Krzyzewski when ranked No. 1 in the country:
| Season | Date | Score | Team Defeating #1 Duke | Opponent's Coach |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1985-86 | 3-31-86 | 72-69 | Louisville at Dallas in NCAA Tournament final | Denny Crum |
| 1988-89 | 1-18-89 | 91-71 | North Carolina | Dean Smith |
| 1988-89 | 1-21-89 | 75-71 | at Wake Forest | Bob Staak |
| 1991-92 | 2-5-92 | 75-73 | at North Carolina | Dean Smith |
| 1991-92 | 2-23-92 | 72-68 | at Wake Forest | Dave Odom |
| 1992-93 | 1-10-93 | 80-79 | at Georgia Tech | Bobby Cremins |
| 1993-94 | 2-3-94 | 89-78 | at North Carolina | Dean Smith |
| 1997-98 | 12-13-97 | 81-73 | at Michigan | Brian Ellerbe |
| 1997-98 | 2-5-98 | 97-73 | at North Carolina | Bill Guthridge |
| 1997-98 | 3-8-98 | 83-68 | North Carolina at Greensboro in ACC Tournament final | Bill Guthridge |
| 1998-99 | 11-28-98 | 77-75 | Cincinnati at Anchorage in Great Alaska Shootout final | Bob Huggins |
| 1998-99 | 3-29-99 | 77-74 | Connecticut at St. Petersburg in NCAA Tournament final | Jim Calhoun |
| 1999-00 | 3-24-00 | 87-78 | Florida at Syracuse in NCAA Tournament East Regional semifinals | Billy Donovan |
| 2000-01 | 12-21-00 | 84-83 | Stanford at Oakland | Mike Montgomery |
| 2001-02 | 1-6-02 | 77-76 | at Florida State | Steve Robinson |
| 2001-02 | 2-17-02 | 87-73 | at Maryland | Gary Williams |
| 2001-02 | 3-21-02 | 74-73 | Indiana at Kentucky in NCAA Tournament South Regional semifinals | Mike Davis |
| 2002-03 | 1-18-03 | 87-72 | at Maryland | Gary Williams |
| 2003-04 | 2-15-04 | 78-74 | at North Carolina State | Herb Sendek |
| 2005-06 | 1-21-06 | 87-84 | at Georgetown | John Thompson III |
| 2005-06 | 3-1-06 | 79-74 | at Florida State | Leonard Hamilton |
| 2005-06 | 3-4-06 | 83-76 | North Carolina | Roy Williams |
| 2008-09 | 1-28-09 | 70-68 | at Wake Forest | Dino Gaudio |
| 2010-11 | 1-12-11 | 66-61 | at Florida State | Leonard Hamilton |
| 2010-11 | 2-26-11 | 64-60 | at Virginia Tech | Seth Greenberg |
| 2012-13 | 1-12-13 | 84-76 | at North Carolina State | Mark Gottfried |
| 2012-13 | 1-23-13 | 90-63 | at Miami (Fla.) | Jim Larranaga |