Duke Haters Will Never Get Tired of Seeing the Blue Devils Lose in the NCAA Tournament

Duke lost to South Carolina in the second round of the 2017 NCAA Tournament on Sunday night, and Duke haters went wild.

Mike Krzyzewski reacts to a call during a Duke/South Carolina game.
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Image via Getty/Kevin C. Cox

Mike Krzyzewski reacts to a call during a Duke/South Carolina game.

At this point, you would think that people would be used to seeing the Duke Blue Devils crash and burn in the NCAA Tournament. Over the last 10 years, they’ve suffered stunning defeats to the likes of VCU (2007), Lehigh (2012), and Mercer (2014). Granted, they’ve also won two national titles during that same time period and padded their impressive NCAA Tournament résumé in the process—they have made the tournament 40 times and put together a 107-35 record overall—but they’ve certainly had their fair share of disappointing finishes in recent years. So it shouldn’t be a huge shock to see the Blue Devils bow out to a lesser opponent during the tournament.

But don’t tell that to all of the Duke haters out there! With all due respect to Jim Nantz, it’s watching Duke lose—not the Masters—that has become "a tradition unlike any other" for people who enjoy watching Blue Devils coach Mike Krzyzewski and his hatable players lose at this time of the year. Sure, there are plenty of college basketball fans who enjoy when Duke dominates (full disclosure: *raises hand*), but there are way more fans and even casual college hoops observers who love it when Duke runs into a buzzsaw in March and gets eliminated from the NCAA Tournament earlier than expected. Even those who pick Duke make a deep run in their brackets cheer when the Blue Devils go home early.

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That’s exactly what happened on Sunday night after Duke got upset by South Carolina in the second round of the tournament. Heading into the game, Duke was a 7-point favorite and appeared, on paper at least, to be the better team. But thanks to a 24-point performance from star guard Sindarius Thornwell, the Gamecocks were able to knock off the Blue Devils 88-81 to advance to the Sweet 16 where they will face Baylor. And as soon as the final buzzer sounded, those who despise Duke took to social media to put the disappointed Dukies in their place. It may not have been as satisfying as celebrating Duke’s losses to VCU, Lehigh, or Mercer, but it proved that people are never going to get tired of watching the Blue Devils take Ls. Check out the best reactions below…

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