Barry Jacobs On The Last Mile

Still not there.

The Duke men's program has won national championships. Four. The women have none to their credit, falling short again this season.

Men's basketball unquestionably commands our attention far more than the women's version. Winning national championships will do that, as will the predilections of fans and the media.

What's more, the Blue Devil men have been led since the 1980-81 season by Mike Krzyzewski, the most successful coach in major-college men's history and a two-time U.S. Olympic gold-medal winner.

The Duke women have been led by three different coaches since Krzyzewski's arrival - Debbie Leonard, Gail Goestenkors, and Joanne P. McCallie. None quite established herself as a national figure. So far.

For all that, you can certainly argue that since 2000 the two Duke programs have been virtually equal in postseason accomplishment. They have most certainly been the most consistently successful programs in the ACC.

For starters, both programs have won the majority of ACC titles during that span. The Duke men won nine ACC Tournaments in the 14 seasons from 2000 through 2013. The women won eight.

The Duke men advanced at least four times to the NCAA regional finals during those years, including this season, with three trips to the Final Four and national titles in 2001 and 2010. (North Carolina's men similarly have NCAA championships in 2005 and 2009 and two others trips to the Final Four over the past 14 seasons).

The women got to the Elite Eight or farther nine times since 2000, including this year. They made the Final Four in 2002, 2003, and 2006, all under Goestenkors. No ACC women's team can match that contemporary body of work.

The women have been to the Sweet 16 or beyond all but once since 2000. The men failed to get that far on three occasions, most recently in 2012.

Ultimately, though, the difference is those pesky, elusive NCAA championships.