Eh, it's not ludicrous. The old "lie down with dogs, wake up with fleas" argument is at work here. Based on the unraveling of the story, my sympathies are with the players. But their own poor decisions got them into this mess to begin with.
An update on the attempted dorm search: Two detectives spent over an hour in a residence hall attempting to question students. I believe Edens is where McFayden lived. The police didn't have search warrants, but the Duke PD was notified beforehand.
http://www.wral.com/news/8690476/detail.html