Fansided

The 5 most disappointing NCAA Tournament performances since 2000

By Ryan Phillips

Feb 24, 2014; Lawrence, KS, USA; Kansas Jayhawks head coach Bill Self reacts from the sidelines during the first half against the Oklahoma Sooners at Allen Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 24, 2014; Lawrence, KS, USA; Kansas Jayhawks head coach Bill Self reacts from the sidelines during the first half against the Oklahoma Sooners at Allen Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports /
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Jan 7, 2015; Winston-Salem, NC, USA; Duke Blue Devils head coach Mike Krzyzewski yells out during the first half against the Wake Forest Demon Deacons at Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Jeremy Brevard-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 7, 2015; Winston-Salem, NC, USA; Duke Blue Devils head coach Mike Krzyzewski yells out during the first half against the Wake Forest Demon Deacons at Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Jeremy Brevard-USA TODAY Sports /

2006 Duke Blue Devils

The 2006 Duke Blue Devils were supposed to be the team that finally won coach Mike Krzyzewski his fourth NCAA title. After having loads of talent since his 2001 championship, Coach K hadn’t been able to get over the hump and take the program back to a championship. The 2006 season was supposed to be when it all came together.

The Blue Devils were absolutely loaded. They had two players who would wind up  being consensus First Team All-Americans in J.J. Redick and Shelden Williams, while Redick would also be the 2006 Naismith and Wooden award winner for national player of the year. Meanwhile, freshmen Josh McRoberts and Greg Paulus had excellent first seasons, while Sean Dockery, DeMarcus Nelson and Lee Melchionni were solid in reserve roles.

The Blue Devils didn’t disappoint, as they started the season 17-0 and were the No. 1 team in the nation for the first 10 weeks of the campaign. They wound up finishing the regular season 27-3, won the outright ACC title with a record of 14-2, then cruised to the ACC tournament title. Duke was the No. 1 team in the country heading into the NCAA tournament and was rewarded with the No. 1 seed in the Atlanta Regional. As a bonus, Duke got to play its opening two rounds in Greensboro, North Carolina, just 55 miles from campus.

Things got off to a rough start for what was supposed to be such a juggernaut of a team. Facing 16th-seeded Southern in the opening round, Duke struggled mightily to put the Jaguars away. The Blue Devils led 39-30 at the half, but could never quite shake Southern and wound up winning 70-54. While it was a 16-point win, Krzyzewski had to leave Williams (36 minutes), Redick (35) and Paulus (32) on the floor far longer than he probably wanted to.

In the second round, Coach K’s bunch faced a pesky George Washington team and, again, couldn’t seem to shake a clearly inferior opponent. The Blue Devils led 37-26 at the half, but could never stretch the lead to much more than that, and wound up pulling out a 74-61 game. Again, Krzyzewski had to use his starters far more than he probably thought he would. Paulus (38), Williams (37), Redick (36) and McRoberts (35) all logged heavy minutes in what was supposed to be an easy win over the eight seed.

After a surprisingly difficult first weekend, Duke rested, then moved on to Atlanta for the Sweet 16, where they would match up with LSU. The Tigers had a solid team led by Glen “Big Baby” Davis, Tasmin Mitchell and Tyrus Thomas, but they should have been no match for Duke. Yeah, about that…

LSU took an early punch from Duke and countered by taking a 31-27 lead into halftime. The second half was tight, with LSU leading by around five for most of the first eight minutes. Duke tied the game at 40 with 10:50 to go, and wound up taking a 45-40 lead at the 8:47 mark, but the Tigers closed the game on a 22-9 run to score a 62-54 upset win.

Despite all the hype, Redick was held to just 11 points on 3-of-18 shooting, and he was just 3-of-9 from beyond the arc. What was supposed to be a dream season produced a phenomenal 32-4 record, but the run ended in the Sweet 16, far sooner than anyone expected.

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