What, if anything, did Duke's stumble mean?

Mike Krzyzewski should hope Duke's struggles at Georgetown can be blamed on nerves performing before Barack Obama.

Coach K hopes the loss was not an indictment of Duke's lacking athleticism, which has plagued the Blue Devils in recent postseasons.

"We're not a powerhouse," Krzyzewski said. "I don't think Georgetown's a powerhouse, either. We're both really good teams.

"You can't let one game define you either way."

Lately, Duke has been defined by failing to live up to lofty billings come March.

Since 2000, Duke has earned six No. 1 seeds and two No. 2 seeds in the NCAA Tournament. Yet, Duke has made just two trips to the Final Four in the last decade, and none since 2004. It's the longest Final Four drought in Durham since the mid 1980s.

And again on Saturday, Duke did not have the look of a Final Four contender.

Thumbs up

Sylven Landesberg

The conference's player of the week has scored in double figures in every game this year and is second in the ACC in scoring in conference games (21.3 ppg), trailing only Malcolm Delaney. The good news for Virginia is the guard might return for his junior year. NBADraft.net does not rate him as a first-round prospect for 2010.

Virginia's Tony Bennett

Can you award coach of the year honors on Feb. 2?

The Cavs (13-6, 4-2) are a half-game back of Duke for first place in the ACC and fresh off a rout of North Carolina in the Dean Dome. Bennett might want to send a thank-you note to former coach Dave Leitao for landing Landesberg.

Solomon Alabi

Florida State's 7-1 center is blocking 2.6 shots a game and is now knocking down jump-hooks with consistency. He's even hitting 18-foot jumpers. Scary -- for the opposition.

Thumbs down

North Carolina

The Tar Heels (2-4 ACC) are in danger of missing the NCAA Tournament.

After UNC's latest setback, a 75-60 home loss to Virginia, the Raleigh News & Observer's Robbi Pickeral offered a one-liner, saying Landesberg joined what is "becoming an 'I Lit Up Carolina' club,' scoring 29 points on 11-of-18 shooting."

UNC coach Roy Williams was reportedly tearing up in frustration after the game: "How can you go any lower?" Williams asked. "How can it be any worse than it is right now?"

Maryland

How much of the Terps' short-lived, first-place standing in the ACC was fueled by a favorable early schedule? Trips to Duke, Virginia, Florida State and Virginia Tech remain along with home dates against Georgia Tech, Duke and Virginia.

Over-usage at Duke

Duke's Kyle Singler, Jon Scheyer and Nolan Smith are great. But they are also being exhausted, each averaging at least 35 minutes per game.

By the numbers

6 -- Number of ACC teams in the NCAA Tournament in ESPN's latest bracket projection. Duke is the only ACC team with a top-four seed (No. 3), followed by Georgia Tech (5), Wake Forest (6), Florida State (7), Clemson (8) and Maryland (11)

31.9 -- Clemson's shooting percentage against Maryland, its lowest in a win since 1997.

71.7 -- Percentage Georgetown shot against Duke on Saturday, the Hoyas' best shooting percentage in 30 years.

He said it

"After retirement, I'm coming after your job, Clark. I'm just letting you know. So you either have three more years or seven more years," -- Barack Obama to CBS basketball analyst Clark Kellogg. Obama watched Duke play at Georgetown on Saturday, and joined the CBS broadcast for seven minutes providing brief play-by-play.

Trav's take

--Clemson should be upset with the scheduling done by the ACC office. The year Clemson does not make a trip to Chapel Hill, the Tar Heels are as vulnerable as they have been in recent memory. Clemson has never won at Chapel Hill (0-54).

--In the category of Ruining a Good Thing: reports have the NCAA Tournament possibly nearing an expansion to 96 teams. Adding more teams only further rewards mediocrity in power conferences.

--If Michael Snaer continues to play like this (13 points against Duke and 10 against Boston College on 9-of-16 shooting), Florida State will be a team no one wants to face in the ACC or NCAA Tournament. FSU plays great defense, but they need someone to open up the perimeter.

Reach Travis Sawchik at tsawchik@postandcourier.com.