Completed Event: Men's Basketball versus #7 UConn on March 29, 2026 , Loss , 72, to, 73
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Final
Men's Basketball
72
vs #7 UConn
73
Duke and USA Basketball: 1960's and 1970's
6/13/2016 5:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
From Tokyo to Rio and everywhere in between, Duke and USA Basketball have shared many of the moments that have shaped the nation's basketball identity.
Throughout the week on GoDuke.com, we'll take a closer look at the relationship between the two programs, beginning with today's examination of the 1960's and 1970's.
Today: 1960's and 1970's
Tuesday: 1980's
Wednesday: 1990's
Thursday: 2000's
Friday: 2010-present
DURHAM, N.C. -- Red, white and blue. Duke Blue and white.
USA Basketball and the Duke men's basketball program share more than a similar color scheme, however. For the better part of the last five-plus decades, the two have been linked by a shared excellence on the hardwood.
The story that got its start in Tokyo in the mid-1960s will see another chapter written in Rio de Janeiro this summer when Mike Krzyzewski commands an Olympic sideline for the third and final time.
1964
Duke's relationship with USA Basketball got off to a fast start in 1964 when Jeff Mullins helped the U.S. win its sixth consecutive Olympic gold medal in Tokyo. Mullins averaged 2.3 points per game and shot .667 from the floor for a U.S. team that averaged 78.2 points and outscored its opponents by an average of 30.0 points per game.
Mullins' best game during the gold medal run was a 14-point performance against Puerto Rico in the semifinals to help propel the U.S. to the championship game.
1976
Coming off of 1972's stinging defeat by the Soviet Union in the most controversial game in international basketball history, the U.S. got back atop the medal stand in 1976 in Montreal with the help of Duke star Tate Armstrong.
Armstrong played in six of the United States' seven games, averaging 2.7 points for a high-scoring squad that put up an average of 97.3 per contest.
1979
The summer of 1979 was significant for Duke's relationship with USA Basketball because it was the year that Mike Krzyzewski earned the first coaching appointment of what has become an illustrious international basketball career.
Serving as an assistant coach to mentor Bob Knight at the Pan American Games in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Krzyzewski helped lead a skilled U.S. squad to a 9-0 record and the gold medal. The Americans shot .575 from the floor and .799 from the free throw line for the tournament, defeating the host nation in the final to clinch a second consecutive Pan Ams gold for the U.S.
Coming Tomorrow: The 1980's
Hall of Fame basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski with a game plan for the country's future
Tuesday, March 31
Maliq Brown - Humble Beast
Tuesday, March 31
Sebastian Wilkins Big Dance Exclusive: Greenville, SC
Tuesday, March 31
Duke Press Conference After Round of 64 (3-19-26)
Tuesday, March 31
