When Duke defeated Wake Forest the other night in Winston-Salem, it marked the Blue Devils' eighth road victory in eight attempts in conference play this season.
"Over the years we've always felt that, if you're going to win anything or be any good, you have to win away from home," Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said. "We've taken a lot of pride in that and I think over the years we've had a really good road record.
"That streak in the late nineties of 22 or so on the road (24 wins from February 8, 1998 through February 7, 2001), to me that's really one of the more amazing streaks in the ACC."
Not to mention unmatched, before or since.
"It's difficult," Krzyzewski said of winning away from home, which this year's Duke squad oddly has handled better than playing at Cameron Indoor Stadium. "It's just difficult. I think it does show our kids have a great will to win."
The coach also noted that this was "only the fourth time in ACC history that a team has gone 8-0 on the road. Three of our teams have done it."
The stat was dutifully noted in newspaper stories the following day, although with a twist. By virtue of its eight road victories in conference action, "Duke became the fourth ACC team to accomplish an unbeaten league record," according to one account.
Well, yes and no.
If going strictly by eight road wins - a total spawned by the 1992 expansion that added Florida State and ballooned the league slate to 16 games -- then the 2012 Blue Devils are the fourth to manage such a mark. Duke also did it in 1999 and 2000 while compiling that previously mentioned 24-game win streak.
The trap is in hearing the unbeaten road record for this Duke team without also hearing the eight-win caveat. Because the 2012 Blue Devils are the 13th ACC squad, not the fourth, to finish a season without a loss on a conference opponent's home court.
Those ranks include nine squads that went through an entire ACC season without suffering defeat home or away.
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AWAY WE GO    Undefeated In ACC Road Games For An Entire Season    (Based On School Designation Of Road and Neutral Court Contests) |
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| Year | Team | ACC | Overall | Road ACC |
| 1957 | North Carolina | 14-0 | 32-0 | 6-0 |
| 1960 | North Carolina | 12-2 | 18-6 | 4-0 |
| 1963 | Duke | 14-0 | 27-3 | 7-0 |
| 1970 | South Carolina | 14-0 | 25-3 | 7-0 |
| 1973 | N.C. State | 12-0 | 27-0 | 6-0 |
| 1974 | N.C. State | 12-0 | 30-1 | 6-0 |
| 1976 | North Carolina | 11-1 | 25-4 | 6-0 |
| 1984 | North Carolina | 14-0 | 28-3 | 7-0 |
| 1987 | North Carolina | 14-0 | 32-4 | 7-0 |
| 1999 | Duke | 16-0 | 37-2 | 8-0 |
| 2000 | Duke | 16-0 | 29-5 | 8-0 |
| 2008 | North Carolina | 14-2 | 36-3 | 8-0 |
| 2012 | Duke | 13-2* | 26-4* | 8-0 |
| * Through games of Feb. 28. | ||||
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