All the madness, all the upsets. In the end it doesn’t matter. This year the NCAA tournament is set to bring you the four best teams in America fighting for the chance to be called the true National Champions. This year’s tournament has been as exciting as always. Two second round games featuring a #12 vs #13 match up. A #10 Davidson team that was a shot away from going to the final four. And #2 seeds dropping early from the tournament. Yes, March Madness was alive and well. However, for the first time in the history of the modern day NCAA tournament, 1979-Present, there will be all #1 seeds in the Final Four.

Over at CBS Sports, they have a great history of all the final fours since 1979.  The closest to this year’s version was in 1993, when it was 1,1,1,2 in the Final Four.  Oddly enough North Carolina won the tournament that year.

So I guess all the experts, most of them picking these four teams to make it this far, can give themselves a pat on the back.  They of course love to be right.  After all these teams are without a doubt the four best teams in America.  Even with all the love I have for Duke, they don’t belong with these teams on this stage (Not this year at least).  So even though people love to see the underdog in the tournament, this year the Final Four could be one of the best in recent memory.  Four of the best teams in America will battle it out for it all.  The only problem this fan has?  No “Duke” on the front of the teams jerseys.

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Well you can’t come up with a lot of assumptions from any all star game. Especially the McDonald’s All-American Game. However, while watching it tonight it confirmed what I have been thinking all year. That the 2008 high school class is the weakest it has been in a long time. Now it is hard for them to be compared to the past two years, which have been two of the greatest in the history of high school. But if you compare the names, their are no Beasley types, no Durant types, no Oden or Mayo’s. The fact of the matter is, the one and done’s are few and far between. The talent and depth just aren’t their.

Just to clear it up, I don’t feel this way because Duke had a down recruiting year. If anything Duke’s recruiting shows you how weak this class is. Duke received commitments from Elliot Williams, who is a five star player, and Olek Czyz who is a three star player. Now this recruiting class which only has two players is ranked as how as a top 15 class. This just goes to show you that this entire class is weak.

Now I am not knocking these kids. There are a lot of good ones. But Brandon Jennings is probably the only definite one and done player. I am sure others will test the waters way to early, and fizzle out. Now I am not saying this is a bad thing for college basketball. This might mean that more players might stay around and develop. If they don’t then I don’t think it will be a great loss to the college basketball community. Because none of these players will totally change the teams they are going too.

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Not intentionally I am sure, but Greg Echenique has committed to Rutgers. Echenique was Duke’s most important target in the Class of 2009, because of his size and Duke’s lack there of.

After another early tournament exit, and Duke fans screaming for a big man to help out the struggling Blue Devils, everyone was looking for Greg E. to be that saving grace. Unfortunately, Duke will have to look somewhere else for help in the matter.

Scout.com Link

I really don’t understand how someone in Greg’s shoes can turn down Duke for Rutgers. No offense to Rutgers, but Duke needs a big man of Greg’s skill set right away. Playing time is there. National exposure, plenty of that. So why the choice? I really can’t be sure. I am sure that being around his family while he is in college was a plus. After that I really can’t think of any other reason.

For Duke and its loyal fans, it is time to forget about Echenique as the big man we needed. Duke will have to jump on board with other big men in the 2009 class. Here is the link to possible prospects for Duke in 2009.

Duke Prospect List
As you can see that list is getting pretty thin as far as big men.  We will see how it all works out.

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Two years, two early than usual exits.  For all the hope and excitment that Duke provided us this year, it all ended in one simple loss.  A loss that was no different than any other loss this year.  The old saying is “Live by the 3, Die by the 3″.  Not only did Duke die by the 3, Duke was murdered by it.  The 3 should be brought up on charges, and sentenced to death for the senseless slaying of Duke.  Seriously though, Duke’s entire post season was a horrific display of shooting the long ball.

After Duke started off with an unbelievable defensive display shutting down the West Virginia attack, they were very efficient in their offense and lead the Mountaineers at the half.  Whatever might have happened in the first half, didn’t matter.  Duke was a different team, West Virginia was a different team.  Duke would not make another 3 point shot until West Virginia already had the game pretty much locked up.  There was no suffocating defense for Duke, there was no one player who took over,and in the end all Duke could do is watch someone else celebrate victory.

DeMarcus Nelson had a senior year that showed what kind of talent he was capable of, and he really was a true leader for this team.  But when it counted Nelson was no where to be found.  Unfortunately, his unbelievably bad tournament play will most likely be what everyone remembers this year.  I don’t think I ever remember one person laying such a huge egg in the tournament.  I feel for Nelson, and wish him the best of luck on his future endeavors.

This tournament, even though how short it might have been shows two players who were so consistently good for Duke.  Gerald Henderson, of course from his outstanding play in the Belmont game had another solid game in the loss.  He finished with 18 points.  Jon Scheyer who has been the model of consistent play for Duke this year was Duke’s other bright spot finishing with 15 points.

In the end the big players for Duke couldn’t step up and take over the game.  Nelson, Singler, Paulus.  All of them couldn’t overcome their shooting woes.  Duke has been a beaten team when they have stepped out on the floor these past few games.  No confidence, no talent.  They needed to out work the other team, and they couldn’t do it.

Duke finishes the year at 28-6.

*After the season I will write my review of Duke and their season.

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West Virginia is coming off a convincing win over Arizona.  Duke is coming off the biggest scare in Duke history and is walking instead of running into next game.  West Virginia has to be looking at Duke and seeing a very vunerable team.  And why shouldn’t they.  Duke has struggled at the end of the regular season, and in the post season has been far less than the #2 ranked team that we show earlier in the year.  However, the confidence that West Virginia has might be an advantage for Duke.  Most teams go into a game with Duke and see the juggernauts of college basketball.  I am not saying that West Virginia will be over looking Duke, but underestimating Duke might be a terrible mistake by the Mountaineers.

West Virginia has a very solid team with a slew of top contributers.  WV has four players who average above 11 points per game.  Two that average over six rebounds per game.  Joe Alexander is the main guy for WV.  At 6’8″ 240 LBS, he will be the focal point of WV’s offense because of his size, and Duke’s lack there of.

The bright spot for Duke is the emergence of Gerald Henderson, of course the only reason Duke got past Belmont.  Kyle Singler also looked good in the game last night finally showing some signs of life.  In the game against Belmont, Duke looked tired on defense.  Letting Belmont run all over the floor.  Of course the entire Duke team seems to be flighting the flu, and hopefully a day of rest will cure this, because they will need fresh legs going up against WV.

Many people are predicting the end to Duke’s season in this game, and you can see why a unbiased observer would think that.  However, this is a tough game for both teams and I expect an absolute battle between to quality teams.

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It was a few bounces away from being the biggest blow to the Duke empire in recent memory. Forget last year, a loss to a number 15 seed would have been the defining moment in a downfall of the “Royal Empire” we call Duke.

Belmont not only got all the bounces in this game, but Duke was giving it to them. However, one man stood above all the rest. His name is Gerald Henderson, and he single handedly won the game for Duke.

Belmont looked to have everything going there way for the entire game. The entire second half they were better than Duke in every stretch of the imagination. And with two minutes left, it looked like the improbable was going to happen and Duke, who is known for excelling in the Tournament, was going to be forever remembered as the team who got beat by a number 15 seed.

Belmont was better than Duke for 49:30 of the game. Duke was the best when it counted. They will move on. And hopefully with an important lesson. Never take any team for granted, and winning is not a birthright. You show up to play every single game or you lose.

PLAYER OF THE GAME
Gerald Henderson
In no other game this season has there been a more clearer player of the game. Gerald won the game by himself. Everything he did helped Duke win this game. I will never forget the coast to coast layup to put us up by one. Thank you, Gerald, THANK YOU!!!

Some quick observations before I go for the Tums. Singler looked like he was back, in the first half. He had a round second, but still showing signs that he is finally coming around. Hopefully this is a good sign for him. Nelson was horrible. He was in no way a captain tonight, and hasn’t been for a long time. Aside from the steal from the out of bounds pass that sealed the game, worse game I have ever seen from him.

So Duke lives to fight another day. I don’t want to analyze this game to death, because there is no need. They will be playing on Saturday and that is exactly want we all wanted. We will find out who our opponent will be tonight, then talk about them tomorrow.

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If I was writing this a little over a month ago, then I might be talking about a final four possibly a championship.  However, Duke’s play to close out the regular season has changed the expectations of Duke fans.  As far as the media goes, many are predicting a second round exit for Duke.  Some think that the last game Duke will play this year will be in the sweet sixteen.  Hardly any “experts” say that Duke will make it to the elite eight.

This of course is all expected after Duke’s rough stretch at the end of the season.

Around Duke nation there are mixed feelings.  I think that after last year, most fans feel fortunate to have a much better team, and one that at least has the possibility of going deep into the tournament.  However, since the feelings at one part of the season it was national championship or bust, Duke fans have a little trouble excepting that Duke might have trouble as soon as the second round.

Duke does have the luxury of starting the tournament with Belmont, which is a 15 seed.  Now, even though you shouldn’t take any opponent lightly, Duke should be able to get a nice workout against an inferior opponent.  After this game, then Duke has an opportunity to prove all of its critics wrong, or for the second year in a row go home way to early for Duke standards.  Only time will tell….

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Well considering last year we were fighting for are tounrment lives and ended up with a six seed, I would say this ain’t to bad. Of course we all had higher hopes a couple weeks ago.

Duke will be playing their first games in Washington DC. In my opinion, get us out of that Tar Heel hotbed of Raleigh. I am tired of watching Duke tournament games with UNC fans cheering against us. And maybe the change of scenery will be good for Duke. There might be a stink about Duke getting a 2 and Wisconsin getting the 3. However, I simply look back to the game in which Duke manhandled the Badgers. If that doesn’t suffice, then go f**k yourself.

I always like to look at the first two rounds as far as match ups. Of course Duke will be playing a #15 seed, Belmont. I am sure they will be thinking of VCU last year, and dreaming. The second round could be very interesting with Duke/Belmont playing the winner of West Virginia/Arizona. Both West Virginia and Arizona are scary teams, that ACC fans might not know a whole lot about. I myself will have to do some studying. Either way Duke will have to pick it up if they want take a trip to Phoenix.

More as the week continues.

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Despite shooting the worse they have all year, Duke managed to stay with Clemson throughout the game.  But with about two minutes left, every Duke fan knew it was over.  No storied comeback.  No great story to tell.  And no rematch with North Carolina, for a chance at a number one seed.

Duke didn’t seem in control for really any part of the game.  Clemson seemed to be doing whatever they wanted on the offensive end, and forced Duke into tough shots on the defensive end.  Duke shot a 6-26 from beyond on the arc.  True that Duke does rely on the three for success, however I really thought they could of pulled this one out if they were able to make the right adjustments.  I hate to question Coach K, but I really think if he would of put the red light on the three pointers early enough and told everyone to try to drive the lane and create, it would have made a huge difference.  If the shots aren’t falling then we have adjust appropriately.  I can understand letting the players try to shoot out of a slump, but the next game they try to do that it could be their last.

One of the biggest disappointment this tournament has been the play of Kyle Singler.  Every Duke fan loves what Singler has down for us this year, but the last two games he has been a none factor.  And unfortunately this time it cost us a win.  Singler needs to find what he had in the Maui Tournament, where he put the team on his back, before the tournament starts.

Scheyer who has been one of the most consistent players in the past few games was a horrendous 3-11.  He still managed 13 points, but he has to be more efficient.  Nelson almost had a double-double, but went 0-4 from three point range.  Paulus was the best player finishing with 17 points, and shooting great from everywhere.

Quick Thoughts
-Duke only had 12 assists against 16 turnovers.
-Paulus was the bright spot, but didn’t have one assist.
-Duke needs to have much better defense if they want to get past the first weekend.

This definitely doesn’t do anything good for Duke’s confidence, the only plus is that the are at worse a 3 seed.  Definitely an improvement from last year.  And also Duke should have plenty of rest, since this game seemed like they weren’t playing at a high level, or near a 100%.

Should be interesting to see what seed the actually get, and what region they will be in.  All I know is they have a lot of work to do, but luckily they have plenty of time to get ready.

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Georgia Tech was able to put a scare in Duke mid second half.  After blowing out Georgia Tech in the first half Duke took a little time off, and before they knew it were leading by just two.  That was all the excitement the Yellow Jackets would have as Duke went on a final run that put the game away for good.  The reason for Duke’s let up, was a lack of defense.  This team relies so much on what their defense does, when it is down their offense suffers.  However, when Duke was good they were really good.

An unbelievable scoring distribution for Duke tonight.  Nine players scored for Duke, five were in double figures.  The proof is in the numbers as Duke shot 51.9% FG, and 45% 3PT.

Georgia Tech was running all over the floor, and I think that caught up with them late in the second when Duke was able to put it away.  When Duke was still playing at a high level, Tech was just trying to keep up.  The depth of this team really helped out in this one.  Nelson filled up the stat sheet like I have never seen him do.  He had a typical 17 points, 9 rebounds.  But he also finished with a career high 7 assists.  Duke was executing so beautifully at times.  They played their style of basketball, and it shows as the great shooting numbers were some of the best of the season.  No one player had a bad game.

Quick Thoughts
-Hopefully Nolan Smith will break out of his funk.  If he does, Duke will be that much better.
-Jon Scheyer went  10-11 from the free stripe.  He was more aggressive driving then I have ever seen him.
-Matt Causey had one 3 pointer in the game.  At least he looked recovered from his concussion.

PLAYER OF THE GAME
Jon Scheyer
With apologizes to Nelson, Scheyer was so good in this game I just couldn’t deny him.  Even though he went 0-3, he did so many other things that he always does.  How Danny Green beat him out for the Sixth Man Award, I will never know.  He is just so fun to watch play.

Duke did exactly what they needed to do, and I don’t think any player looked to tired at the end.  They will get the winner of the Clemson, BC game, which by time you read this will probably already be decided.  Either way it will be another tough game for Duke.

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