Barry Jacobs On Winning Streaks

Some streaks are more arresting than others.

When the Connecticut women coached by Gene Auriemma won 90 consecutive games between 2008 and 2010, the run generated considerable attention and debate. So did the streak it surpassed, at least on paper: 88 consecutive victories amassed by John Wooden's UCLA men from 1971 through 1974.

Every few years there's also considerable fuss over some NFL team apparently poised to match the undefeated run enjoyed in 1972 by the Miami Dolphins. Don Shula's club won all 17 games it played en route to a Super Bowl title. But whether it's Green Bay this season, or Indianapolis or New England most recently before that, the challengers inevitably fall by the wayside.

Not before spawning hours of debate and reams of copy, however.

There was a time when Georgia Tech media guides highlighted a 59-58 victory by a Whack Hyder squad that ended the longest home court winning streak in men's major-college basketball history -- 129 straight victories by Kentucky from 1943 through 1955. These days, outside of Lexington, Ky., few remember either accomplishment.

Even fewer pay attention to the longest ongoing home streaks, which pale in comparison with Adolph Rupp's run. Currently second-ranked UK leads all schools with 46 straight at Rupp Arena, pending a meeting with 13-4 Alabama this coming Saturday.

Second among Division I schools is Duke at 44 and counting. The fourth-ranked Blue Devils face weak Wake Forest on Thursday night. Two days later, resurgent Florida State comes to Durham.

The meeting with FSU offers the Devils an opportunity to match the longest winning streak in Cameron Indoor Stadium history, 46 in a row from 1997 through 2000 under Mike Krzyzewski.

Or are we not supposed to jinx the streak by mentioning it?

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