Duke basketball hit rock bottom in the second half of the 1994-’95 season. Duke lost 16 of its final 20 games to finish 13-18. That set a school record for losses that still stands.
Duke began to climb back in 1996. I’ve already chronicled Ricky Price’s buzzer-beater that propelled Duke over Maryland and clinched an NCAA Tournament bid.
But that season still ended at 18-13. A step in the right direction to be sure but not up to the program standards established by Mike Krzyzewski in the decade prior to his back surgery.
Senior Chris Collins was Duke’s best player in 1996.