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If Duke loses on the road, you can bet fans are storming the court

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When No. 1 Duke fell to No. 20 NC State on the road Saturday, the Wolfpack faithful stormed the floor and celebrated the victory at center court. The practice of rushing onto the court might be common practice in college basketball, but it’s even more common to the Blue Devils.

An analysis by the Wall Street Journal found that Duke has lost 31 true road games over the past 10 seasons. Of those 31 losses, 25 times the fans of the opposing team stormed the court in celebration (80.6 percent of the time), most recently Saturday against NC State.

Between the 2008-09 and 2010-11 seasons, opposing fans stormed the floor a total of 12 times, choosing to not rush the floor just twice (Georgetown, North Carolina). So what does it all mean, besides being an interesting stat?

Likely it means respect. A win over the Blue Devils means an accomplishment or something worth storming the floor for. Even Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski calls it “a sign that it means something.”

After Duke’s loss to NC State, it fell from No. 1 to No. 3 in the national polls and are still without forward Ryan Kelly, who injured his foot against Clemson and is being held out indefinitely.

To see a visual breakdown of Duke’s court-storming losses, click here.

Daniel Martin is a writer and editor at JohnnyJungle.com, covering St. John’s. You can find him on Twitter:@DanielJMartin_