Ending on a Win: Putting the End of the Season in Perspective

Duke goes out with a win but no title

Duke’s season came to an unexpected end on Thursday when first the ACC Tournament, then the NCAA Tournament were cancelled as the nation attempts to control the spread of COVID-19, better known as the Coronavirus.

The Blue Devils ended their season without participating in any postseason games, creating a situation where a deep dive into the history books is required to find precedent.

Duke finished the year at 25-6. Its 31 games were the fewest in a season for a Blue Devil team since 1995-96, when Duke went 18-13, with first-round losses in the ACC and NCAA Tournaments.

Duke’s last game of the season was a win over the Tar Heels on Senior Day last Saturday. It’s the first time the Blue Devils have ended the season with a win since 2015, when Duke won its fifth national title.

Obviously, Duke ended its season with a win the previous four times the Blue Devils cut down the nets—2010, 2001, 1992 and 1991. Prior to that, Duke ended with a win in 1963 and 1966. The Blue Devils made the Final Four both years, and after losing in the national semifinals, they won the consolation game.

This is the eighth team in the last 70 years to end with a win, meaning that Jack White, Justin Robinson, Javin DeLaurier, and whatever Duke players choose to enter the draft or transfer, finish their time at Duke with a win, joining a list of 35 players. Here’s the full list of Blue Devils to go out on a win:

Art Heyman, Fred Schmidt, Fred Cox, Scott Williamson, Bob Jamieson (1963 team), Jack Marin, Steve Vacendak, Phil Allen, Bill Zimmer, Dick Warren (1966), Bill McCaffrey, Greg Koubek, Crawford Palmer, Clay Buckley (1991), Christian Laettner, Brian Davis, Christian Ast, Ron Burt (1992), Shane Battier, Nate James, Andre Sweet, JD Simpson, Ryan Caldbeck (2001), Jon Scheyer, Brian Zoubek, Lance Thomas, Jordan Davidson, Steve Johnson (2010), Jahlil Okafor, Quinn Cook, Justise Winslow, Tyus Jones (2015).

In the pre-ACC era, Duke finished its season with a win 21 times: 1906, 1908, 1909, 1910, 1913, 1914, 1915, 1916, 1917, 1920, 1921, 1923, 1924, 1925, 1926, 1928, 1938, 1941, 1942, 1944, 1946.

1946, when Duke won the Southern Conference Tournament but wasn’t invited to the NCAA or NIT tournaments, was the last time the Blue Devils ended a year with at least two straight wins without winning a title. The last time Duke ended on a regular season win was 1928.