You suck Duke*

I know this is nothing new, but I'm seriously sick of all of the "respect" that Duke is getting this season. I'm disgusted at how they're constantly hanging around the top 25 when they have absolutely no business being anything higher than 20. So I decided to do a little research as to Duke's position throughout the season, and then rip on the voters who continue to give Duke voting fellatio** for no reason.

I also want to point out that, no, I don't like Duke. I hate them. But, they are not a threat this year, as opposed to other years when they were easy to hate because they were so good. This year, it's not like I hate them as much as I'm just annoyed by all of the press for playing average. Also, I'll point out that I'm using the Coaches Poll, because I'm too lazy to look at both.

#11 Duke vs. Columbia, W 86-43. Don't want to start off the season with too much of a test. (1-0)

Well hell, Duke won that game, let's move them UP!

#10 Duke vs. Georgia Southern, W 72-48. That's more of the test we like to see in the early season. (2-0)

#10 Duke vs. UNC-Greensboro, W 75-48. Tough competition, I'm surprised Duke has been able to win by nearly 30 points. (3-0)

New week, new ranking:

#8 Duke vs. Air Force, W 71-56. Air Force has been one of the most up and down teams this season, so at first this looked like a huge win for a solid Duke team. Now, not quite so much. (4-0)

#8 Duke vs. #17 Marquette, L 62-73. So this means that Marquette is an awesome team if they can beat the #8 team in the nation right? Duke probably won't fall too far, right? (4-1)

#8 Duke vs. Davidson, W 75-47. After two tough teams in a row, it's good to take a break mid-season. (5-1)

#10 Duke vs. Indiana, W 54-51. Indiana isn't an easy team to beat, but, Illinois beat Indiana by more than 3 at home, so does that mean that Illinois should be in the top 10 as well? (6-1)

#10 Duke vs. #23 Georgetown, W 61-52. This was while Georgetown was in its free-fall stage. Play this game now, you'll probably get a different result. (7-1)

#9 Duke vs. Holy Cross, W 57-45. This was probably a closer game than most expected. (8-1)

#9 Duke vs. George Mason, W 69-53. Probably thought this game would be closer when it was scheduled, so I won't really mock them for this one.

Just so we're all on the same page here though, after 10 home games in a row, Duke is 9-1.

Well, while most teams start playing real competition, Duke was still taking it easy. By comparison. But let's move them up regardless of competition. I mean, come on, it's DUKE!

#6 Duke vs. Kent State, W 79-72. Kent State is kind of a strong team if they make it to the NCAA's, so this isn't a terrible game, but still, #6 in the nation? (10-1)

#6 Duke AT #24 Gonzaga, W 61-54. Wasn't this the game that Heytvelt disappeared in? Or was that later? Regardless, Gonzaga has been up and down this season too, but this is a pretty decent win. And it's on the road. ON THE ROAD! (11-1)

#5 Duke vs. San Jose State, W 70-51. SJ State had all of 1 win coming into this game. Again, good idea to schedule a cupcake in between real games. (12-1)

#5 Duke vs. Temple, W 73-55. Temple is sometimes good, right? (13-1).

So, at the conclusion of non-conference play, Duke has played 3 ranked teams, with the highest team ranked at 17, they've played one game on the road, yet they're ranked #5 in the nation. Seems fair, right? No?

#5 Duke vs. Virginia Tech, L 67-69. Virginia Tech must be a top 10 team to come INTO Cameron Indoor and knowck off the Dookies. Right? Right?! (13-2, 0-1)

#11 Duke AT Georgia Tech, L 63-74. Ok, loss on the road, the ACC is tough, blah blah blah. Top 15 team though? I know I'm questioning it at this point. (13-3, 0-2)

#11 Duke AT Miami, W 85-63. A win on the road is a win on the road, but it's not like winning at, say, Maryland. Or Georgia Tech for that matter. Which I guess didn't technically happen either. Always good to get off the shnide in conference play though. (14-3, 1-2)

#17 Duke vs. Wake Forest, W 62-40. Wake doesn't have much of a team this year, but it's still good to beat the pants off of a rival, right? By the way, this is the first time I've thought the ranking has been anywhere near close to accurate. (15-3, 2-2)

#17 Duke AT NC State, W 79-56. NC State is a team who has taken a while to get it together, and they've been up and down this season. So is this a good win? Meh, it's a solid beating at least. (16-3, 3-2)

Well, the coaches were sick of Duke being out of the top 10 for so long, so after two mediocre wins against average (at best) teams, they decided to do something about it.

#10 Duke vs. #17 Clemson, W 68-66. We all know this is bullshit and Clemson should have won this game. But what a surprise, the DUKE operators fucked up, allowing Duke to win. Regardless, it was a win against a Clemson team that was still performing at the time. Well, not regardless. It's bullshit. But whatever. We know the truth. (17-3, 4-2)

#10 Duke vs. Boston College, W 75-61. I can't remember if this was after BC lost those dudes for the season or what. I've personally always felt that BC was overrated, so this win doesn't surprise me much. It was a decent win I guess. (18-3, 5-2)

#10 Duke AT Virginia, L 66-68. Why isn't UVA ranked? They beat a top ten team. Even if it was at home, that should be good for something, right? Good win for UVA, who, I reiterate, is unranked. (18-4, 5-3)

#10 Duke vs. Florida State, L 67-68. Youch, Florida State? Really? Ok, I guess, uh, they're tough. Even though you're at home. And ranked #10 in the nation. Right? They're tough? (18-5, 5-4)

#16 Duke vs. #5 UNC, L 73-79. Like we didn't see this coming. Rough stretch for Duke, first losing to perennial ACC powerhouses UVA and FSU, now losing to UNC? Ouch. (18-6, 5-5)

#16 Duke AT Maryland, L 60-72. Maryland always plays Duke tough at home, Why isn't Maryland ranked 16 though? Following this game, the teams had similar cumulative records. (18-7, 5-6)

UNRANKED (Gasp!) Duke AT #21 Boston College, W 78-70. Now I'm positive BC didn't have those two dudes who were suspended, and Duke won this game pretty easily. I expected BC to win, and I was very disappointed. It's a good win on the road though, right? Maybe not quite so much, but at the time they needed it. (19-7, 6-6)

UNRANKED Duke vs. Georgia Tech, W 71-62. Duke atones, sort of, for the loss at GT. The ACC is tough this year? (20-7, 7-6)

Again, the coaches had enough of Duke out of the top 25, so guess who's back baby!

#17 Duke at Clemson, W 71-66. Try as they might, Clemson's timekeeper didn't get the opportunity to fuck over Duke, and Duke comes away with the win. But seriously? Back in the top 25 at 17? That's a joke coaches, and you know it. (21-7, 8-6)

#17 Duke at St. John's, W 67-50. SJU was overmatched from the beginning. They could have used some of Bootsy Thornton's magic. I loved him. This was an easy win over a pretty weak team. Who cares? (22-7, 9-6)

#14 Duke vs. Maryland, L 77-85. I didn't watch the game, but apparently Maryland out-athleticked*** Duke in this game. Also, apparently the coaches cared about the win over SJU because they moved Duke up in the polls. (22-8, 9-7)

So that's where Duke stands now with a game coming up at UNC (a loss) and then the conference tourney. Just to be fair, Duke's RPI is 13, and their strength of schedule is 3. THREE?! Are you serious? They played all non-conference games at home except for one, and only 3 of those teams were ranked. Bah, I used to think RPI meant something, but if Duke gets a 3 for strength of schedule, then I refuse to buy into it. THREE??

*While I dislike Duke, this is more directed at how the media and coaches give them so many votes for playing so average.

**Voting fellatio is a term trademarked by me.

***It's a word.