Is Duke Basketball really like Notre Dame Football?

Recently on the radio I heard Colin Cowherd say that he felt Duke Basketball is overrated much like Notre Dame Football, that they both get into the rankings and get respect and media hype based on their prestigious history rather than the actual product that these two teams are putting out there. As the host of "the Herd" radio show on ESPN Mr. Cowherd has made numerous outlandish and inflammatory statements, it's the job of a sports-talk radio host to keep the show interesting, but this is an interesting comparison that I thought deserved some written commentary from a neutral party.

I think he is correct about Notre Dame, I think as a football institution they have been given a wide margin of error by the media and the pollsters. Notre Dame had a very good season their first year under coach Charlie Weis, reaching the Fiesta bowl and got beat 34-20 by the Ohio State Buckeyes and their leading defender A.J. Hawk. The score of that game is not indicative of the domination that OSU exerted over the over-matched Irish, as Brady Quinn struggled against their talented defense. After a 2006 pre-season ranking of #2 and losses to USC and Michigan the Irish found themselves back in the BCS at the Sugar Bowl against a surging LSU team that pounded them 41-14. Brady Quinn was helpless against the Tigers defense and JaMarcus Russel played himself into the #1 pick of the 2007 NFL Draft. The Irish then went on to have a historically bad season with a trio of QBs and a 3-9 record including losses to Air Force and Navy which snapped a 43 year losing streak to the Irish. This year Notre Dame again ranked in the tops in recruiting and Coach Weis surely has a punishing spring ball routine to get his boys ready for the 2008 season, the only expectations will be from the fans as most of the nation reveled in their failure this past season. But the Irish have a lot of work to do to regain national respect and vye for a BCS game. (In another article for another time I will discuss Ohio State's need to regain respect to compete in the national title game after two straight losses to SEC teams). Before Weis got there in 2005 however, the Irish had suffered similar inconsistency under then head coach Ty Willingham.

   Duke basketball for the last decade has largely been unspectacular. While the name Duke is almost synonymous with the sport, given the school's great history and legendary coach, the Blue Devils have largely underplayed the lofty expectations showered upon them. The argument against them is that since 1998 they have played for two national championships winning one, but the overwhelming average of their tournament appearances has resulted in losing in the Sweet Sixteen, meaning that they went 2-1 in the tournament each year they lost in the Sweet Sixteen. While this may not sound all that bad at first remember that Duke has entered the tournament in the top 5 seeds in those years and their competition would have been much lower seeded and while those teams are good enough to the tournament a team like Duke should beat them. Last year the Blue Devils went out in the 1st round losing to Virgina Commonwealth.

  Basketball is a sport that lends itself to quick fixes, a singular good player can lift a team from the depths of mediocrity and inspire a role reversal more so than a single individual in Football. Duke has seen a resurgence this year, committing to owning up to their legacy and playing very solid basketball, compiling a 22-2 record falling last night to unranked Wake Forest. However the critics remain, they say that without a post presence Duke will not last in the tournament and they argue that you can not rely on 3's and jumpers to make it through the Madness. I am not convinced that Duke can not make some noise in the tournament, they will again come in with favorable position and should be able to take advantage. Unlike Notre Dame they are not resting on their laurels they have gone out and made the most out of what some consider a lackluster roster and competed soundly against UNC even without a significant post presence. While Notre Dame may have a similar turn-around as Clausen matures, I think they have a ways to go to get back to the pinnacle of national respect, but Duke is earning it night after night on the hardwood showing us again and again what makes that school have such a legendary history and earning their top-10 ranking. I am not a Duke fan, but good luck boys you have a tough road ahead. And to Notre Dame Fans, the time will come again when Notre Dame is mentioned with the elite teams of this country, Weis has to make use of the talent he has stockpiled.

Finally while both teams will continue to get the benefit of their history with the media, fans, and pollsters they are also in an envious position. Both school's marketing departments have lucrative contracts with apparel companies and they never lack for sold out games and profitable TV contracts. Their fan bases are also rabid as wild dogs, something that makes their stadium atmosphere both fun and annoying depending on what side you are on, but always interesting. As Cowherd said, being overrated may not be that bad of a place to be.