Mike Krzyzewski figures to get his 903rd career victory tonight at Madison Square Garden, the midtown Manhattan arena once the center of the basketball universe. "Any time we play in the Garden it's a big honor," Krzyzewski said this week.
The sheer number of Krzyzewski's wins open up a wealth of statistical byways and back stories, a number-crunchers buffet. Among the more delectable tidbits is the performance of his Duke squads as members of the Associated Press Top 10, where the Blue Devils have most recently resided for 76 straight weeks.
Over the years Coach K's teams have spent a whopping 406 weeks in the top 10, beginning at the outset of the 1985 season, his fifth year at Duke. Late in February of the '86 season, en route to the NCAA championship contest the Devils reached the ultimate poll plateau, playing the final 11 games as the nation's No. 1 team.
That's a perch they've occupied in 15 different seasons for 104 weeks. Duke finished eight of those 15 years as the top-rated unit.
When ranked atop the AP poll, Krzyzewki's squads are 183-26, an .876 winning percentage.
Of its defeats as No. 1, Duke suffered the majority (17) against ranked teams. Similarly, 17 of the losses were inflicted by ACC opponents. Ten came against other members of the top 10. Five ended a season in NCAA competition.
The 1992 Blue Devils were the last team rated No. 1 throughout an entire season, finishing with a 34-2 record and a second consecutive NCAA title.
| ONE AND NOT DONE | |||
| Duke's Record As No. 1 Team In AP Poll Under Mike Krzyzewski | |||
| Season | Record | Last Poll At Top | Lost To |
| 1986 | 10-1 | Final | No. 7 Louisville (NCAA title game) |
| 1989 | 13-2 | Jan. 17 | No. 13 UNC, Wake Forest |
| 1992 | 34-2 | Final | No. 9 UNC, Wake Forest |
| 1993 | 8-1 | Jan. 4 | No. 10 Georgia Tech |
| 1994 | 1-1 | Jan. 31 | No. 2 UNC |
| 1998 | 13-3 | March 1 | Michigan, No. 2 UNC, No. 4 UNC |
| 1999 | 19-2 | Final | No. 15 Cincinnati, No. 3 UConn (NCAA title game) |
| 2000 | 2-1 | Final | No. 11 Florida (NCAA) |
| 2001 | 11-1 | Final | No. 3 Stanford |
| 2002 | 23-3 | Final | Florida State, No. 3 Maryland, Indiana (NCAA) |
| 2003 | 3-1 | Jan. 13 | No. 17 Maryland |
| 2004 | 7-1 | Feb. 9 | No. 21 N.C. State |
| 2006 | 21-4 | Final | Georgetown, Florida State, No. 13 UNC, No. 18 LSU (NCAA) |
| 2009 | 1-1 | Jan. 26 | No. 6 Wake Forest |
| 2011 | 17-2 | Final | Florida State, Virginia Tech |
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