March 12, 201016 yr All of the discussions taking place about the resume's of teams both on the bubble and fighting for the #1 seeds has brought to mind a question I have had for the last several years about Duke and how they schedule. Just in casual observation, it seems like you never see Duke playing any true out-of-conference road games. I know they schedule games every year in Madison Square Garden or in Chicago or in some other NBA arena in a big city. Sometimes they will even play a local team, just as an example playing Temple in whatever the 76ers arena is called in Philadelphia. But outside of the ACC/Big Ten Challenge (where they don't have control over who they play and where), I haven't been able to find a game (in at least the past 4 seasons) where Duke was playing as the road team in a true "on campus" arena. I understand that this is mostly a function of the success Duke and Coach Krzyzewski have achieved during the past 2 decades, in that they don't need to schedule these kinds of games. But even other "elite" teams like Kentucky, Kansas, North Carolina, & Michigan State always schedule these kinds of games (Kentucky with Indiana, Louisville, & North Carolina every season). I know there are some Duke fans on BGP, so I would like to get your take on this. Has Coach Krzyzewski ever addressed this? It seems like the potential media exposure provided by a Duke vs. Kentucky/Kansas/Michigan State home and home series would outweigh whatever the reason is they choose not to play these games. Has this always been Coach K's scheduling philosophy or is this a relatively recent development? And the question I would most like an answer to: when was the last time Duke played a true road game?
March 12, 201016 yr They played at Georgetown and Wisconsin this year. Georgetown doesn't necessarily fit your "on campus" criteria, but Wisconsin does. They visited Michigan and Purdue last year. I feel no real need to go further, but suffice to say, they do play some, just not many. Which is pretty well par for the course in a BCS conference.
March 12, 201016 yr Duke has a regular home-and-home with St. Johns, which is about the sum total of the true road games they play. However, don't act like the "elite teams" you mention are somehow putting themselves out there on the road. The difference between 2 and 1 isn't that big. It is a relatively recent thing that schools are doing this (much the same way you see in college FB), which sucks because it all but eliminates one of the great things about college sports -- the cross-conference game. Duke has historically played a baby-soft non-conference schedule, though.
March 12, 201016 yr They played at Georgetown and Wisconsin this year. Georgetown doesn't necessarily fit your "on campus" criteria, but Wisconsin does. They visited Michigan and Purdue last year. I feel no real need to go further, but suffice to say, they do play some, just not many. Which is pretty well par for the course in a BCS conference. Wasn't the Wisconsin and Purdue games part of that whole ACC-Big 10 challenge?
March 12, 201016 yr Wasn't the Wisconsin and Purdue games part of that whole ACC-Big 10 challenge? Hey, we didn't say WHY they were scheduled, only whether they were! In all seriousness, a fair argument would be that Duke didn't schedule an additional road game because they knew they were going to have to play those.
March 12, 201016 yr Author Duke has a regular home-and-home with St. Johns, which is about the sum total of the true road games they play. However, don't act like the "elite teams" you mention are somehow putting themselves out there on the road. The difference between 2 and 1 isn't that big. It is a relatively recent thing that schools are doing this (much the same way you see in college FB), which sucks because it all but eliminates one of the great things about college sports -- the cross-conference game. Duke has historically played a baby-soft non-conference schedule, though. I definitely didn't mean to portray that other elite teams play on the road all the time. That is definitely one of the spoils of being among the top dogs in college basketball. Duke has just always been kind of an anomaly in my mind. I hope the general trend of playing these kinds of road games continues becuase it becomes a huge benefit to fans and season ticket holders. The Purdue, Wisconsin, and Michigan games fall under the ACC/Big Ten Challenge I believe, which I why I discounted them initially.
March 12, 201016 yr Kentucky with Indiana, Louisville, & North Carolina every season North Carolina I will give you. But, for the other two... Louisville: In-state rival. Duke's major in-state rivals are all in their conference. There's simply not an obvious choice to make. Indiana: For several years this game was played at sites in Indianapolis and Louisville...hardly homecourt advantage for either team.
March 12, 201016 yr Author North Carolina I will give you. But, for the other two... Louisville: In-state rival. Duke's major in-state rivals are all in their conference. There's simply not an obvious choice to make. Indiana: For several years this game was played at sites in Indianapolis and Louisville...hardly homecourt advantage for either team. Granted Indiana and Louisville are regional rivals, and Duke's regional rivals seem to be in the ACC. But along with North Carolina, UK has had series with Kansas, Michigan State, and Maryland that I can remember over recent years. Maybe this is just a figment of my imagination that has something to do with the tangible dislike I feel toward Duke, but I'm not the only person that has pointed this out.
March 12, 201016 yr Granted Indiana and Louisville are regional rivals, and Duke's regional rivals seem to be in the ACC. But along with North Carolina, UK has had series with Kansas, Michigan State, and Maryland that I can remember over recent years. Maybe this is just a figment of my imagination that has something to do with the tangible dislike I feel toward Duke, but I'm not the only person that has pointed this out. We had a thread on this a couple months ago.
March 12, 201016 yr North Carolina I will give you. But, for the other two... Louisville: In-state rival. Duke's major in-state rivals are all in their conference. There's simply not an obvious choice to make. Indiana: For several years this game was played at sites in Indianapolis and Louisville...hardly homecourt advantage for either team. Not exactly a neutral court either.
March 12, 201016 yr Not exactly a neutral court either. I always viewed it a road neutral court game.
March 12, 201016 yr Not exactly a neutral court either. Actually I recall the Freedom Hall games to be practically an even split in tickets and fans. It was perfect red on one half and blue on the other. Hoosier Dome was similar. I might add that historically speaking throughout the 70's the two met in Bloomington and Louisville rather than Memorial or Rupp.
March 12, 201016 yr One thing Duke has shown this year is they are not able to beat good teams on the road. They have played 3 good teams on the road and lost all 3 games with Maryland, Wisconsin, and Georgetown.
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