UConn, Duke Losing Elite Status

They have combined for five national championships and 31 NCAA tournament berths since 1990. They have a total of 24 active players in the NBA. Their two coaches have won more than 700 games each. Without a doubt, UConn and Duke have dominated the college basketball scene in recent years. But with each passing moment, the Huskies and Blue Devils are slowly falling from the top of the basketball elite.

This past weekend was just another step in the wrong direction for both schools. Duke started the tournament by escaping past 15th-seeded Belmont with a fortunate one-point win. But the Blue Devils' flaws were exposed two days later in a loss to 7th-seeded West Virginia. And UConn was a worse disappointment this year after getting upset by 13th-seeded San Diego.

But this hasn't been the first year that the Huskies and Blue Devils have underachieved when it matters most. In fact, since their classic battle in the 2004 Final Four, both of these schools have been spiraling downward.

UConn has followed their 2004 National Championship with four consecutive disappointing seasons. In 2005, the Huskies were a No. 2 seed in the tournament, but lost in the second round to a much less talented N.C. State team. The next year, UConn had perhaps their most talented team ever, but became victim to one of the biggest upsets in college basketball history when they lost to George Mason, a No. 11 seed. And last year, the Huskies finished just three games over .500 and failed to reach any kind of postseason. Finally, let's not forget UConn's record in the Big East Tournament the last four years is just 1-4.

The question is, why have Jim Calhoun's teams gone just 5-7 in postseason play since 2004?

First off, there has been a clear lack of team chemistry among UConn players - most evident at the end of the 2006 season. The Huskies were a few measly minutes away from suffering the first-ever loss to a No. 16 seed in the first round of that tournament when they played Albany. Then, they barely beat a mediocre Kentucky team before getting outplayed by Washington in the following round. And their perplexing run was capped off with a loss to George Mason in the Elite Eight, where UConn was so bad on defense that they couldn't guard a chair. Why were the Huskies struggling against average teams when they were so much better on paper? Well, it just wasn't in their heart to out work the other team. They had size, speed and athleticism, but lacked toughness and tenacity.

When Calhoun lost all five starters that year to the NBA, he had no choice but to completely reload his team. And make no mistake - that hurts a program. Even if you are bringing in good players, a coach would much rather bring in three players each year than eight players every three years. When young guys are starting at every position, there isn't much a coach can do on the recruiting front. However, one thing Calhoun might want to start thinking about is recruiting smarter players and better shooters instead of just pure athletes.

While it looked like for some time this season that this group of UConn players would be able to get over that hump by fighting through adversity, the end of the season was a step backwards for this program. The Huskies finished the season 3-4, including a first-round tournament loss to a San Diego team who had no business playing on the same court as them. But once again, for some unknown reason, UConn came out of the gates flat as a pancake and let San Diego get the feeling that they could win. The Huskies, who had nine scholarship players who have never played a tournament game were, for some reason, listless and emotionless for much of the game.

Meanwhile, Duke has had similar struggles, but for different reasons. Since 2004 when they made the Final Four, the Blue Devils have lost in the Sweet 16 twice and the first and second round one time each. While this might not look terrible compared to most other programs, the expectations at Duke are different. And what's more alarming is the lack of recruiting from a school that used to be able to get almost any high school player it wanted.

Coach Mike Krzyzewski still gets big-time talent, but they just aren't working out for him like they used to. For instance, Josh McRoberts and Greg Paulus were both top five high players in their class, but have failed to live up to expectations - McRoberts left after two mediocre seasons and Paulus continues to struggle with being a playmaking guard.

Duke has failed to recruit good athletes and big men in the wake of Shelden Williams leaving and has thus had to rely on 3-point shooting. This year, the Blue Devils lived and died on the 3-point shot, and ended up dying on it in their loss to West Virginia in the tournament, when they shot 5-for-22 from beyond the arc. Their lack of athletes hurt them the previous two years as well, when they had no one to stop Virginia Commenwealth's Eric Maynor last season, and in 2006 when the more-athletic LSU Tigers stifled J.J. Redick to 3-for-18 shooting.

It's awfully hard for schools to stay at the top of the national scene for years upon years. These two programs, though, have certainly done that for quite some time. But they are now being surpassed by the likes of UCLA and Florida, to go along with the historic greats, like North Carolina and Kansas. It's not like UConn and Duke can't get back to that level - but it's going to take a lot of work on and off the court if we're going to see a rematch of the 2004 Final Four anytime soon.

Rajiv Leventhal's NCAA Basketball column runs every Tuesday. He can be contacted

at Rajiv.Leventhal@UConn.edu.