Duke's loss against Texas Tech was a giant letdown.

Ir's not just that the Blue Devils spoiled a 17-point lead at Madison Square Garden, which is better known as Cameron North in local circles. But it was also their first loss and occurred in the game before their ACC slate begins.

This means Duke has stewed over this defeat during its longest layoff of the season at a time that it should be celebrating a terrific start to the campaign. And yes, there is plenty to be optimistic about as the calendar prepares to flip.

The 11-1 Blue Devils have successfully replaced the entire starting lineup from last season's Final Four squad. They've also proven to be more reliable in crunch time than that team. 

The Cooper Flagg-led Devils were 1-4 in games decided by six points or fewer. That achilles heel was most apparent in their San Antonio meltdown against Houston to end the season. 

It's been a different story with the current Blue Devils, though. They have already played three games decided within a two-possession margin and they've won two of them. 

Despite fielding another young lineup, Duke has navigated an incredibly difficult non-conference slate very well. It ranks fifth nationally in strength of schedule.

Five of the opponents are currently ranked in the Top 25, including wins against No. 17 Kansas, No. 18 Arkansas and No. 22 Florida. But the signature win of the season came when the Blue Devils visited Breslin Center at Michigan State and beat Tom Izzo's ninth-ranked Spartans.

Freshman phenom Cameron Boozer is already making an early case for National Player of the Year.  He currently leads the nation in scoring by averaging 23.3 points per game to go along with 10.0 rebounds.

If he were to earn the NPOY award — as Flagg did last season — Duke would become the first school since 2002 to have consecutive winners. The last school to achieve the feat, fittingly, was also Duke with Shane Battier (2001) and Jay Williams (2002).

The  Blue Devils' 11-day layoff will conclude when Georgia Tech arrives at Cameron Indoor Stadium on New Years Eve.