March Madness: Ky. store has 'Duke got the hell kicked out of them' sale

April 4 (UPI) -- A Kentucky furniture store is celebrating Duke's exit from the 2019 NCAA basketball tournament by having a "Duke got the hell kicked out of them" sale.

Hazard Furniture in Hazard, Ky., began the sale Monday, the day after Michigan State eliminated the Blue Devils with a 68-67 win in the Elite Eight. Kentucky also lost in the Elite Eight, falling to Auburn on Sunday in Kansas City.

The furniture sale celebrated Duke's tournament departure by advertising the "Duke got the hell kicked out of them" sale on the radio and social media.

"We have done some March Madness sales in the past," said John Napier, who handles advertising for Hazard Furniture. "I was planning on doing just another typical March Madness Final Four week sale with Kentucky in it, because I had no idea they would lose to Auburn."

"Thank you Michigan State," Hazard Furniture wrote on a Facebook advertisement for the sale, which  featured a photo of Duke star Zion Williamson crying after the loss. The ad also featured Rocky, with a Michigan State logo on his body, punching Ivan Drago, who had a Duke logo on his body.

"Celebrate Duke's loss and get up to 48 months interest free," the company added.

Hazard Furniture posted another advertisement for the "Duke lost sale" Thursday. This time the store wrote "I still hate Laettner" on the Facebook ad. The Laettner line was in reference to Duke legend Christian Laettner, who hit a game-winning shot against the Wildcats in the 1992 Elite Eight. Duke went on to win the national championship that season.

"Come on out to Hazard Furniture and help us celebrate Duke getting the [expletive] kicked out of them," the store said in its radio advertisement.

Napier said he doesn't think the commercial would have been created if Kentucky had beaten Auburn. He also said the store has gotten calls from Lexington, Ky., to California since the advertisements began.

The store plans to run the sale until Sunday. The Final Four is set for Saturday, with Auburn battling Virginia and Texas Tech facing Michigan State at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis.

Kentucky is 12-10 all-time against Duke. The Blue Devils beat the Wildcats 118-84 during a regular-season matchup Nov. 6 at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.

"We all bleed blue," Napier said.