Early-season schedules often bunch a
teamâs weakest opponents. Few conference matchups occur early on. The first part of the season tends to be laden with home games.
Still, itâs easy to stumble at a time when a squad has yet to hit its stride. Or, to have a game scheduled against Maryland, North Carolina, or Georgia, which between them ended 11 of the 13 longest ACC winning streaks to open a season since 1990.
Dukeâs 14 victories to start 2006 is the fourth-longest opening run since the â90 season. Up next: a home game against Maryland, which ended last yearâs opening strut at 15 wins. Georgia is not scheduled. Dukeâs visit to Chapel Hill on Feb. 7 will be its 22nd game of the year.
Note that, of the 14 longest winning streaks since 1990, only two ended on a homecourt. Both times â at Duke in 2005 and at Wake Forest in 1997 -- the opponent was Maryland.
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BEWARE OF TURTLES, TAR HEELS, AND BULLDOGS |
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| Longest Winning Streaks To Open ACC Season, Since 1990 | |||
| Wins | School | Year | Streak Ended |
| 17 | North Carolina | 1998 | at Maryland, OT |
| 17 | Duke | 1992 | at North Carolina |
| 15 | Duke | 2005 | Maryland |
| 14 | Duke* | 2006 | Next Game: Maryland |
| 13 | Wake Forest | 1997 | Maryland |
| 12 | Georgia Tech | 2004 | at Georgia, 2OT |
| 12 | Duke | 2003 | at Maryland |
| 12 | Duke | 2002 | at Florida State |
| 12 | Wake Forest | 2001 | at North Carolina |
| 11 | Clemson | 2006 | at Georgia |
| 11 | Wake Forest | 2004 | at Texas |
| 11 | Maryland | 1997 | v. Georgia, OT |
| 11 | Clemson | 1996 | at North Carolina |
| 11 | Virginia | 1993 | at North Carolina |
| * Ongoing | |||
Long opening skeins of victories have come with increasing frequency at Duke this decade.
The Blue Devils have started five of seven seasons since 2000 with at least 10 wins. The current run is the fourth-best of Mike Krzyzewskiâs 26-year tenure.
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LONGEST DUKE WINNING STREAKS UNDER |
|
| 17 | 1992 |
| 16 | 1986 |
| 15 | 2005 |
| 14 | 2006* |
| 13 | 1989 |
| 12 | 2003, 2002, 1985 |
| 10 | 2001 |
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WINS BY ACC SCHOOLS TO OPEN SEASON, SINCE 1997 |
||||||||||
| 06 | 05 | 04 | 03 | 02 | 01 | 00 | 99 | 98 | 97 | |
| BC | 6 | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA |
| C | 11 | 2 | 3 | 9 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 4 |
| D | 13* | 15 | 3 | 12 | 12 | 10 | 0 | 5 | 9 | 3 |
| FS | 2 | 1 | 10 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 3 |
| GT | 2 | 7 | 12 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| M | 1 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 10 | 0 | 11 |
| Mi | 1 | 1 | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA |
| NC | 3 | 0 | 6 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 8 | 17 | 0 |
| NS | 5 | 8 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 7 | 3 | 1 | 5 |
| V | 2 | 6 | 8 | 3 | 9 | 10 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| VT | 1 | 4 | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA |
| WF | 2 | 5 | 11 | 10 | 4 | 12 | 5 | 1 | 6 | 13 |
NA=Not Applicable or Not ACC, take your pick. |