2010 Final Four: Duke Looks To Build On Late-Season Momentum Versus Mountaineers

The once mighty and consistent college basketball powerhouse that is Duke University had supposedly “lost its way” after making their last Final Four appearance six years ago in San Antonio, Texas.

Coach Mike Krzyzewski had lost confidence in his teams and their talent, and as a result the Blue Devils’ NCAA Tournament success was rapidly going downhill.

The players seemed to be worn down by the end of the long season, and although several of those teams that failed to advance past the Sweet Sixteen since 2004 had great regular seasons, they each faltered down the stretch in March.

Although many people believe that Duke’s downfall can be blamed on what they haven’t done in the post-season, the true culprit in this instance is the lack of Elite Eight and Final Four appearances for the Blue Devils in recent years.

Many people say that the Duke Basketball program has been playing poorly since 2004, that these teams lacked the natural talent and ability that former Coach K teams possessed, and that difficult games during the regular season eventually wore down some of the Blue Devils’ top players when March arrived.

Even with all the negatives surrounding Duke in recent years, there’s hardly any school out there that can say they have played better since 2004 than the Blue Devils.

Kansas, UNC, Michigan State, and several others, along with Duke, would be in the mix of the top programs over the past six years, and this would include UNC’s disappointing season this year and Duke’s March meltdowns from the past.

So, do you still believe that the Blue Devils are headed downhill even after all the success they have had over the past few years, excluding March?

Last year’s Duke team broke through the post-season letdowns of years before and won the ACC Tournament in Atlanta, prevailing in the title game against the Florida State Seminoles. They then advanced to the Sweet Sixteen in the NCAA Tournament, where they were completely over-powered against the Villanova Wildcats.

Although their season ended prematurely, the 2008-2009 Duke squad made strides that Blue Devil teams the past couple of years before them had failed to achieve. Leading scorer Gerald Henderson declared for the NBA Draft after the season, but other than him no major players departed from the program.

That set up an exciting 2009-2010 season for Duke, full of high expectations and hopes that the Blue Devils would once again reach the Final Four.

Led by Jon Scheyer, Kyle Singler and Nolan Smith, better known as “The Big Three” to the rest of the country, Duke claimed the ACC regular season title and then went on to win the ACC Tournament title in Greensboro, North Carolina, the following weekend.

Coming into this year’s NCAA Tournament, the Blue Devils were better prepared mentally and physically for the challenges that laid ahead of them when the first week of the tournament began. They received a No. 1 seed in the South Regional, and waited to meet the winner of the play-in game as their first round opponent.  

The winner of the play-in game was Arkansas-Pine Bluff, and Duke’s first round game ended up being competitive for about as long as it would take you to figure out how to say the school’s name in its entirety. Let’s just say, it wasn’t close at all.

Duke’s second round game would be much more difficult, however, pitting the Blue Devils against the Pac-10 Champion California Golden Bears. The game was close after halftime, but the first 20 minutes were dominated by Duke on their way to a 68-53 win.

That meant that the Blue Devils would face Purdue in a match-up of teams heading in opposite directions.

After Robbie Hummel went down with an injury, the Boilermakers had gone on a free-fall to end the season but made an inspired run to the Sweet Sixteen. Their stay was short, however, as Duke defeated Purdue, 70-57, to advance to the Elite Eight for the first time in six seasons.

The most talented opponent left in the Blue Devils’ Regional, the Baylor Bears were up next for Duke in an Elite Eight match-up of outstanding rebounding teams. Whoever ended up with the most second chance opportunities off of offensive rebounds, said many experts, would go on to the Final Four.

The Blue Devils and Bears each dominated on the glass, but Duke ended up making the plays down the stretch, prevailing in the closing minutes, 78-71.

Duke’s next opponent? The West Virginia Mountaineers, out of the powerful Big East Conference.

Fresh off winning the Big East Tournament title, the Mountaineers have steamrolled every team they have played in the NCAA Tournament, including No. 1 seed Kentucky in the Elite Eight.

Da’Sean Butler has been “Mr. Clutch” for West Virginia throughout the year, hitting six game-winning shots on the season, including two in the Big East Tournament. Devin Ebanks has also been a consistent presence in every game, owning the paint on the defensive end of the court and setting the tone for the Mountaineer’s defense all season long.

Whichever team wins this Final Four game will go into the National Championship game with even more confidence and momentum then before. Each team has been playing well of late, and should prove to be difficult for each other to control and handle.

Now, the epic Final Four showdown is set: Duke vs. West Virginia, ACC vs. Big East, and Krzyzewski vs. Huggins. Each team has the National Championship in their sight, and both have momentum heading into their high-profile game tonight in Indianapolis, Indiana.