2011-2012 Season in Review: Duke

27-7 overall, 13-3 ACC

It was an odd year for the Duke Blue Devils.  For the first time that I can remember, they actually played better on the road than at home.  Duke managed to go 8-0 on the road in conference, including wins at North Carolina and Florida State.  On the other side, they struggled at home more than any Duke team in recent memory.  The Blue Devils lost three times at home, and could easily have lost to Virginia, Virginia Tech and N.C. State.

The year started off well.  Duke went to Maui and won the tournament that they have dominated over the years.  They beat eventual national runner-up Kansas in the title game.  After starting the year 7-0, they went to Columbus and got killed by Ohio State.  But they responded and won their next five games.  After a somewhat surprising road loss at Temple, they got it together for the start of conference play.  The highlight was of course the comeback at North Carolina and last second shot by Austin Rivers.  That was the start of seven straight wins.  The turning point in the season, though, came with the injury to Ryan Kelly.  He was unable to play in the postseason, and Duke came out on the wrong end of one of the most shocking upsets in NCAA Tournament history, losing to #15 seed Lehigh.

Rivers was an interesting star for the Blue Devils.  Much like Terrell Stoglin at Maryland, he never saw a shot he didn't like.  When he was on, he would hit ridiculous shots, and came through in the clutch.  But he could also make you shake your head at times, and wasn't the best assist man at point guard.  Mason and Miles Plumlee were solid presences down low, averaging 16 rebounds a game between them.  But at times one or the other would disappear offensively.  Kelly was the team's third leading scorer, and led the team in 3 point percentage and free throw percentage.  You can see what a big difference it made not having him in the lineup for the team's last three games.

Biggest Win:

85-84 at North Carolina (February 8)

This was an incredible game and ending that was a big boost for Duke.  They were coming off a home loss to Miami, and were playing against a team with superior talent.  It looked like North Carolina would put them away, but they never could.  And some clutch shooting by Rivers and mistakes by UNC's Tyler Zeller set up the dramatic ending.  This game will be replayed whenever North Carolina and Duke play each other for years to come.

Worst Loss:
75-70 to Lehigh in the NCAA Tournament (March 16)

It isn't often when a team's worst loss is in the NCAA Tournament.  But it's hard to hide from this one.  Duke simply never loses games to teams like this.  Not in the regular season, and certainly not in the NCAA Tournament.  That's no slight to Lehigh, who played their butts off.  But Duke just did not come to play, and even without Kelly, did not have an excuse for losing this one.  If you single out one thing from this game for Duke, it has to be the performance of their sharpshooters.  Seth Curry and Andre Dawkins combined for 12 points on 3-18 shooting.

Postseason Play:

It was certainly a disappointing postseason for Duke.  They really didn't play well in any of their three postseason games, which were all without Kelly.  In the ACC Tournament, they got a sloppy four point win over Virginia Tech before losing in the semifinals to Florida State by three.  They still got a 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament, but squandered that with the loss to Lehigh.

Next Year:

Duke is good every year and next year should be no exception.  They are losing some offense, though.  Rivers has decided to go pro, so the team's leading scorer is gone.  The only senior Duke loses is Miles Plumlee.  The big question for next year will be who will be able to step up and carry the team like Rivers did at times.  There are good pieces returning, with Curry, Dawkins, Mason Plumlee and Kelly.  Duke brings in a typical strong recruiting class, including late commit Amile Jefferson and five star prospect Rasheed Sulaimon.  They should have the talent to compete for the ACC title once again.