The Duke Blue Devils are one the most historic programs in college basketball, maybe the most storied program. The biggest name in the program’s history is none other than Mike Krzyzewski. One of the greatest coaches to ever coach the sport, led the Blue Devils in five different decades, a historic run.
As the NCAA Tournament comes into view, the 2024-25 edition of the Blue Devils, coached by Jon Scheyer, have their sights set on yet another deep tournament run.
But how many Final Fours has Duke been to in their storied history?
Duke’s NCAA Tournament History and Eye-Popping Number of Final Four Appearances
The Duke Blue Devils first became relevant in the final years of head coach Bill Foster’s tenure, which spanned from 1974 to 1980. In his final season, Foster led the Blue Devils to the Elite Eight, a terrific feat for a school known for its excellent academics rather than its basketball program.
Foster left after the 1980 season to take the South Carolina Gamecocks’ job, which was seen as a promotion at that time. That left an opening.
On March 18, 1980, Duke basketball changed forever. No one knew it at the time, but the former Army head coach with the long, confusing, hard-to-pronounce last name would arguably become the greatest coach in college basketball on his way to establishing the Blue Devils as a bonafide blue-blood in the sport.
In his 42 seasons as head coach, Krzyzewski, who became known as Coach K, led his teams to an astounding 13 Final Fours.
As a program, Duke has been to 17 Final Fours. The first came while being led by head coach Vic Bubas; between 1962 and 1966, Bubas led the Blue Devils to three Final Four appearances. During that time, the tournament only involved 25 times with some real competition from the NIT, another postseason competition. 11 years later, Foster led his team to the national championship game, losing to the Kentucky Wildcats.
Of those 17 Final Four appearances, five turned into national championships — all coming in Krzyzewski’s tenure and tying for fifth-most all-time with the Indiana Hoosiers.
Scheyer has not yet led a Final Four run, but it seems like this could be the year he makes it happen.
Forward Cooper Flagg is up there with all the other prized five-star recruits that have donned the Duke jersey — and he’s lived up to the hype. At only 18 years old, he’s led the Blue Devils in every major stat category for most of the season, a sign of his versatility and overall talent level.
However, that’s not to say he has no one else around him. Fellow freshman guard Kon Knueppel and center Khaman Maluach are expected to be lottery selections in the 2025 NBA Draft and have had terrific seasons in supporting roles.
KEEP READING: Cooper Flagg Mock Draft: Where the Duke Star Land?
As a former five-star prospect in the class of 2022, Tyrese Proctor has been one of the most valuable players this season. Add in the length that Sion James (6’6″) brings from the guard position, and Scheyer’s squad has one of the top defenses in the nation.
Flagg and Scheyer may be able to engineer the Blue Devils’ 18th Final Four run in just a few short weeks — but they’ll have their sights set on something a little bigger: the program’s sixth national championship.
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