Duke has what all great teams possess: the ability to bounce back

The Duke Blue Devils had an opportunity to feel down on themselves after this past Saturday's loss to North Carolina.

Ranked or not, it's always a huge game when these two rivals meet on the hardwood, and UNC came into this game ranked No. 3 in the country, while Duke was No. 7. It was a huge game, and the Blue Devils ended up drawing the short straw, losing 93-84.

With a game just a few days away against a sub-average Notre Dame team, Duke had a chance to respond and start the climb right back up the mountain. That's what head coach Jon Scheyer's team did, beating the Fighting Irish, 71-53. 

It was all about hitting the mental switch, and that's something Scheyer said his team did immediately.

“Sunday is an off day. For me, it was important to bring them in as early as we could on Monday. I didn’t want to wait until practice at two,” Scheyer explained, via On3. “We brought them in early. Had a very honest, heartfelt meeting — I guess you could call it that. They had a great response.”

That's something good teams can do. Losses happen to even the best basketball teams, but the good ones — like an elite corner in the NFL — can put the bad feelings behind them and quickly move onto the next thing.

For Duke, it was a pretty impressive win against Notre Dame. The hits will keep coming for the No. 9 Blue Devils, though. Boston College and Wake Forest are up next on the ACC slate, and those are two above-average teams.

Duke will also face North Carolina one more time to end the season on March 9 at Cameron Indoor Stadium.