The last NCAA tournament when we were clearly the team to beat?

[HeLooks2MuchLikeDave]

Was it 2006? We've only had three 1 seeds since 2006.
2015: UK was undefeated and even Wisconsin was ahead of us
2011: We were ranked #5 going into the tourney. Ohio State and Kansas had all the first place votes
2010: We barely snagged that last 1 seed that no one thought we deserved

There have been a couple years where we've had a 2 seed and I thought we could win it all ('13, '17, '18) but there were teams that were definitely better than us those years.

Hard to believe its been that long since we were the odds-on favorite to win the touney

 

[Mac9192]

We were one of the favorites last season, but I thought we were picked by many after we ran through Brooklyn in 17.

 

[dbav]

I'm guessing '04, '01, or '92. Maybe '99.

 

[SwatX1]

I'm guessing '04, '01, or '92. Maybe '99.

I see what you did there....

 

[duke0527]

was duke the favorite in 2002?

 

[pisgah101]

According to who? Overall I guess? We shoulda been in 15 FWIW

 

[Alaskan_Assassin_21]

I'd vote 2011 once Irving returned from injury. 30 wins and ACC Tournament champs (without Kyrie)

 

[meisperplexed]

There are only two teams that I felt would inevitably win the tourney. One was 1999 and I still can't believe they didn't win. The other one was 1992. That was a dominant team that just refused to lose and though they had some close calls, I always thought they would end up hoisting up the trophy..

 

[dukedevilz]

Vegas had us as the favorites in 2017. Before then, I think you'd have to go back to 2002.

-Ohio State was the favorite in 2011. Duke was the second favorite behind OSU.
-UConn was favored by 2 points in the 2004 Final Four, so I'm guessing they were the favorite that year.

 

[Quavarius]

Was it 2006? We've only had three 1 seeds since 2006.
2015: UK was undefeated and even Wisconsin was ahead of us
2011: We were ranked #5 going into the tourney. Ohio State and Kansas had all the first place votes
2010: We barely snagged that last 1 seed that no one thought we deserved

There have been a couple years where we've had a 2 seed and I thought we could win it all ('13, '17, '18) but there were teams that were definitely better than us those years.

Hard to believe its been that long since we were the odds-on favorite to win the touney

Not sure why they thought that in 2010 since we won the ACC Regular and Tournament.

 

[lyonhawk]

Not sure why they thought that in 2010 since we won the ACC Regular and Tournament.

My memory is slipping, but I thought in 2010, we were pretty clearly a 1-seed but also a step behind KU and UK. I remember some people thinking we shouldn't have gotten a 1 in 2015 based on our resume.

As far as last time we were the odds on favorite, probably 06? Definitely, 99, 01, and 02 though. We were among the favorites in 04, 11, 12, 15, 17, and 18.

 

[Quavarius]

My memory is slipping, but I thought in 2010, we were pretty clearly a 1-seed but also a step behind KU and UK. I remember some people thinking we shouldn't have gotten a 1 in 2015 based on our resume.

As far as last time we were the odds on favorite, probably 06? Definitely, 99, 01, and 02 though. We were among the favorites in 04, 11, 12, 15, 17, and 18.

Yes, we were certainly a 1-seed in 2010 along with KU, UK, and Syracuse. Remember, that was a “down” year (hehe).

Now, 2015, we didn’t win the ACC regular or tournament, but our resume was still unbelievable. We won @Wisky, @UL, @ UVA, @UNC, beat Notre Dame by 30. So our resume was VERY strong in 2015.

 

[Neue Regel]

Not sure why they thought that in 2010 since we won the ACC Regular and Tournament.

2010 was easily a # 1 seed.

In the final weekend of the regular season, for Duke this would be senior night vs chapel hill college. The other top seeds were believed to be set with one available and those numbers amongst the contenders were as follows:

Duke- RPI # 2, SOS # 8
Kansas State- RPI # 5, SOS # 4
Purdue-RPI # 13, SOS # 51
Ohio State- RPI #29, SOS #80
West Virginia- RPI # 6, SOS # 6

They showed these very numbers during the Duke/cheater hill game. Duke went on to win that game by 32 points and then went on to Win the ACC Tournament. Duke did absolutely nothing to hurt it's already powerful # 2 RPI ranking. And thus deservedly got the # 1 seed in the South and went on to beat West Virginia by 21 points at the Final Four. Case closed.

In terms of the OP, "the team to beat" is always a matter of opinion pretty much. I'm sure 2011 with Kyrie back and the seniors a lot was expected of the defending Champs but it didn't happen. Kyrie came back too late.

 

[LongTimeDukeFan]

I kind of think that Duke is always the team to beat. We are consistently seeded high and have a high(est?) profile. No team thinks they want to pass up the chance to play us in tournament.

 

[lyonhawk]

Yes, we were certainly a 1-seed in 2010 along with KU, UK, and Syracuse. Remember, that was a “down” year (hehe).

Now, 2015, we didn’t win the ACC regular or tournament, but our resume was still unbelievable. We won @Wisky, @UL, @ UVA, @UNC, beat Notre Dame by 30. So our resume was VERY strong in 2015.

I remember the NC St and Miami losses in the middle of the ACC and the fact that we didn't win the regular season or tourney titles coming up. Maybe that was just UK and UNC fans though

 

[Neue Regel]

I remember the NC St and Miami losses in the middle of the ACC and the fact that we didn't win the regular season or tourney titles coming up. Maybe that was just UK and UNC fans though

Shows what a powerhouse league the ACC was that year. Duke only lost 4 games the entire season and one was in the ACC Tournament so a 3 loss league record wasn't good enough to finish first despite wins @ Virginia, @ Louisville @ Chapel Hill, @Wisconsin, @ Florida State, @ Syracuse, @ Virginia Tech, Michigan State in Indianapolis, UCONN in NJ, etc. That Duke team was a beast and April showed that.

 

[Alaskan_Assassin_21]

Wikipedia Pre-Tournament rankings
AP & Coaches:

2019: 1 & 1
2018: 9 & 6
2017: 7 & 7
2016: 19 & 20
2015: 4 & 5
2014: 8 & 6
2013: 2 & 2
2012: 8 & 8
2011: 3 & 3
2010: 3 & 3
2009: 6 & 5
2008: 7 & 7

 

[HeLooks2MuchLikeDave]

Wikipedia Pre-Tournament rankings
AP & Coaches:

2019: 1 & 1
2018: 9 & 6
2017: 7 & 7
2016: 19 & 20
2015: 4 & 5
2014: 8 & 6
2013: 2 & 2
2012: 8 & 8
2011: 3 & 3
2010: 3 & 3
2009: 6 & 5
2008: 7 & 7

Thanks for sharing. Confirmed what I was thinking. We haven’t been ranked #1 going into the tourney since 2006. Pretty surprising when you think about it.

Also interesting, we’ve only been ranked outside the top 10 once in that timeframe. I am willing to bet just about anything that we are the only team in the country that could say that.

 

[DiehardDukeFan4Life]

Thanks for sharing. Confirmed what I was thinking. We haven’t been ranked #1 going into the tourney since 2006. Pretty surprising when you think about it.

Also interesting, we’ve only been ranked outside the top 10 once in that timeframe. I am willing to bet just about anything that we are the only team in the country that could say that.

I bet we’re also one of the few teams if not the only team that can say that we were ranked in the top 3 in the final regular season poll 4 different times in that time frame.