Duke basketball is known for one thing: dominance. That's what happens when you advance to the Final Four in a third of the NCAA Tournaments over the last 30 years. While players come and go, as stars hand in the Blue Devils jersey for an NBA Draft snapback, one thing has remained true within the walls of Cameron Indoor Stadium: Mike Krzyzewski is Duke Basketball's greatest hero.
Coach K took over the Blue Devils men's basketball head coach job in 1980, two years after their fourth Final Four appearance in school history. The early years were rough, as Coach K found his footing, but a mere six seasons later, Duke was playing in the national championship game, losing to Louisville 72-69. Over the next six seasons, Coach K's Blue Devils would lose another title game in 1990 but take the next two home to Durham North Carolina in 1991 and 1992.
At home, inside of Duke's Cameron Indoor Stadium, Coach K's teams have been all but invincible, especially to non-conference teams. Since Cameron opened its doors to the Cameron Crazies in 1940, the Blue Devils have amassed an all-time record of 832-154, equating to a win percentage of .844. That number is astounding, until you look at Coach K's record of 474-59, good enough for a win percentage of .889.
It's not like we could find a more impressive set of numbers, right? Oops, since the 1997-98 season, Duke is 266-17, which means Coach K's squad won 94 percent of its home games in that span. Beyond that, from the 2004-05 season, Duke has only lost 12 games at home out of their 192 games at Cameron Indoor Stadium. That's wild. Since the dawn of YouTube, you could only upload videos of 12 Duke home losses. Over the last two popes, the Blue Devils have lost 12 games.
All of this to say, it's no real shock as to why tickets for Coach K's final home game have skyrocketed to Super Bowl heights. According to reports, tickets for the Hall of Fame coach's final home game will cost you over $5,000 and that's the cheapest ticket we could find. So the average price is probably even higher. To be completely honest, in the time it took to write this article, the price jumped by $1,500. We here at FanBuzz will always support a fan's decision to obsessively follow their teams to the ends of the Earth, but today, we thought it might be best to offer some other ways you could spend $5,000, instead of seeing Coach Mike Kryzewski''s Final Home Game.
Place a $5,000 bet on Duke to win
Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images
After what you just read, how can you not want to place a wager on Duke to win? Whenever Duke loses at home it's headline news, so this feels like a pretty safe bet. The only problem is that the odds aren't great if you're looking to turn a profit. Prior to tipoff, oddsmakers have Duke sitting at -900 odds and are named the favorite at -12.5. That means a moneyline wager of $5,000 would net you $555 dollars, for a total payout of $5,555. Not ideal. However, if you think Duke is going to blowout rival North Carolina in Coach K's final regular-season showdown, you could be in for big money. Early odds on your wager for Duke to win by 13 points could net you over $7,000. Something to think about. But that's quite the margin at 13 points.
Ten PlayStation 5 Consoles
Photo by Budrul Chukrut/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images
Okay, so this one is a bit tricky, considering you need to find the PS5s in order to purchase them. So maybe this is a long play. Keep your money in your wallet, wait for the PS5s to hit your local GameStop, and then BOOM! Paydirt. Or you could do a wonderful thing and donate them to a hospital. After all, you can't play ten consoles at once.
A Trip to Europe
Photo by LUDOVIC MARIN/AFP via Getty Images
Full disclosure, I'm planning my honeymoon now and this is basically what a Premium Economy flight to and from London for two will cost you. Could be fun! They have basketball games over there too! Also, unlike tickets to the Duke-UNC game, these ticket prices may actually go down prior to tip-off.
16 Pairs of the Kyrie 3 "Duke" Shoes
Boogie Ellis in the exclusive Kyrie 3 Duke PE ?? #StayCrazie pic.twitter.com/az7xsC6OXg
— Dreamers (@dreamershoops) December 31, 2018
There are more expensive shoes out there, but there's no better way to show your team spirit than these bad boys right here. Retailing at a solid $320 on Stockx, you could use your money to purchase a full size run for a local basketball team. Or, if you're playing on playing some streetball when Spring rolls around, you can buy enough pairs to last you three months hopping outdoors. That's not a condemnation of the shoe, that's just a scientific fact about playing on concrete.
A Once-In-A-Lifetime Experience of Seeing Coach K's Final Regular-Season Home Game
Photo by Lance King/Getty Images
Aw man, who put this one in here?! Just kidding, this was always going to round out our list. All in all, we all have our own fandoms and we're not ones to judge how you spend your money or whether or not you want to send Coach K off into retirement with a W. It's obvious how much this one man has given to the Duke community and the college basketball community at large. You may not be able to spell his name, but that's fine because this basketball coach now owns the letter K. And if you want to be there as he goes for his final win, then more power to you. So head on over to StubHub, VividSeats or SeatGeek, grab your tickets and go cheer on Coach K and the Blue Devils as they look to send the North Carolina Tarheels home unhappy one more time!
