Hostile environment, and a team that is coming off their biggest win of the season against North Carolina.  Duke came in off a big win themselves.  You knew it was going to be a battle.  Till about eight minutes left, it looked like a 15 round boxing match, in which each team traded punches waiting for the other to fall.  In the end Duke threw a perfect combination of hay-makers in the form of Henderson, Scheyer, and Singler.  And for the second straight year Duke walks away with a regular season sweep of Maryland.

This game was physical.  And the refs couldn’t keep it under control, so it was the toughest team that was going to get the win.  After Nolan Smith ran in to a truck (David Neal) he fell to the ground.  On the bench he looked much like Blake Griffin on Saturday.  Nolan eventually went to the locker room and then to the hospital.  We all are waiting to hear the diagnosis, and hope to have Nolan back soon.  But while Nolan lay on the ground, Neal hit a open jumper ( I wonder why….5 on 4).  Maryland fans continued to cheer while trainers worked on Nolan.  That was the usual class by Maryland fans, but Gerald Henderson took offense.  In the next Duke possession, Gerald took the ball from the left wing drove the lane and with two guys on him leaped from mid free throw line and threw the ball down with one hand.  After that his emotions took over.  He looked at Neal, and almost felt like he gave the entire arena a big FU.  The very next possession Gerald made a sweet floater, and let Nolan know, “We got this man.”

Like the other games that are left on Duke’s schedule, this one was a must win game.  Much like the Wake game Duke let Maryland’s guards drive the lane and get into the paint for easy scores.  However, their style of play limits what the Terps could do on the perimeter, and no other team thrives from 3 like Maryland.  They only took 8 on the night, making only 3.  And Duke’s offense kept them in it until they forced Maryland into mistakes and finished them off.  To come away with a decisive victory against a tough opponent, in one of the toughest places to play in the country, is saying something about this team.  This team is showing a great confidence at the right time, and playing smart basketball.  That is how this team can do great things.  Don’t make mistakes and let the game come to you.  They did that the last two games and the result is two of the biggest wins all season.

What can you say about Elliot Williams.  After the Wake game, it could have been a one-hit-wonder situation.  Instead he had an even better encore.  He finished with 15 points, 6 rebounds and a lot of his great play came at crucial times in the game.  Teams are finding it hard to stop him once he gets into the lane, and good things continue to happen when he is playing like this.  He never looks lose out there, and that speaks to the brilliance of Coach K.  Instead of letting him play early and risk the possibility of him making mistakes that could of hurt his confidence, he has him play after practicing many months against great talent.  Sure you can’t substitute game time play in practice, but Elliot has come in not being scared to be a play maker.  His defense was once again very solid, even if he did pick up 4 fouls.

So many great things in this game, but the best is it provides Duke another boost of confidence going forward.  Going to Virginia Tech will be another tough contest, as they are coming off a huge win at Clemson.  Just three games left in the regular season and every single one of them are against great competition.  One game at a time, and let the rest play itself out.  Duke is playing some great basketball, and looks like they are having a ball doing it.

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Two teams that at one time or another were top teams in the nation, trying to find out how good they really are.  Round 1 was a heart breaker for Duke.  Round 2 was a offensive slug fest, that left Duke fans flat out giddy.  After suffering through a rough stretch of the ACC schedule, Duke had two games in one week that might show how they will finish.  The first one against St Johns was just a simple victory, but no one was convinced that this new Duke lineup was ready to compete against better teams.  And so it came down to one of the biggest games of the year.  A game that would show how tough Duke is.  101 points.  35 from Henderson.  30 from Scheyer.  4 steals from Williams.  Any questions?

Duke stormed out to an early lead and looked very dominate.  However, you knew Wake wasn’t done much like Duke wasn’t done when they lost at Wake.  Duke was ready.  Henderson, Scheyer, and Williams were ready.  Coach K was more than ready.  The end result was Duke walking off the floor with more confidence then they have had all year.  They faced a truly great opponent, that didn’t want to die.  They were up to the challenge.  They believed in themselves and in their Coach.

I don’t think anyone in Duke nation wanted this win more than Coach Mike Krzyzewski.  We have seen him emotional before, but nothing like this.  Before the game, he was shown pleading with the fans, and telling his team to “fight”.  I can’t remember the last time Coach K ditched his jacket, but that is what happen when Wake started to make their run.  Every Duke player on the floor saw this, and responded.  I have never seen a team respond so well to how motivated their coach was to win.  Do you think Henderson was going to let Coach down?  Scheyer?  No, these players showed the exact fire that Coach K was exhibiting.  And their reward was two career games on the big stage.  When Henderson came out of the game Coach K was waiting to embrace his star.  Nothing had to be said.  Henderson knew he had brought emotion out of his Coach, that he hasn’t felt since he brought gold back to America.  Shortly after Scheyer would get the same result.  A Coach that was beaming at the performance, of a player that had been in a slump.  Coach K got everything good out of his players, and showed why he is one of the best.

Nothing was going to stop Henderson tonight.  He did everything he had to do to find the basket.  Instead of settling for the 3 pointer, he drove to the lane like he hasn’t before.  He shot 14 free throws, making 12 of them.  On any given night Gerald can score 20.  However, when he uses his best abilities like this, he will score 30.  And that is what separates Gereld Henderson from the great player to the elite player.  The turning point of the game, and the play that finally put Wake away, was Gerald’s unbelievable fade away three with a few seconds left on the shot clock.  Poetic justice would be an understatement.  Gerald took so many big shots this game, but this one considering the time and difficulty was amazing.

Jon Scheyer was in the middle of a slump like never seen before.  So what does Coach do?  He gives him the ball and wants him to lead the offense.  Everyone knows the result.  And considering Henderson took 15 shots, it is amazing Scheyer found a way to take 16, and score 30 points.  Jon is coming of his second big time scoring performance.  Both as point guard, and only committing 1 turnover in two games.  When he has the ball in his hands he is one of the smartest players in college basketball, and he is proving that now.

Elliot Williams is the new crush of every single Blue Devil fan.  Everyone wanted to see what this kid was capable of.  Coach K couldn’t hold the stud back any longer.  Thus, Coach has unleashed a serious compliment to the big three of this team, and Elliot is answering the call.  His defense in the first half was remarkable, considering Jeff Teague and Ishmael Smith are two of the better guards in the ACC.  And his second straight game in double figures shows why this kid is something special.  You never worry when he drives the lane, because time seems to stand still for him, and he makes a smart decision.  Most players you worry about them committing the offensives foul, but Elliot knows what to do, and for that he might have earned a starting spot for the rest of the year.

If you really want to focus on some bad things, then we can talk about the defense.  Kyle Singler shot the ball poorly, but was also terrible in defending James Johnson.  Singler couldn’t stop him in the lane, and looked out of position many times.  Duke got killed on the boards, but considering the height of this lineup that will happen.  And why in the hell would I waste my time talking about the cons, when the best pro is Duke won a big game when they needed it most.  Defense is a funny thing.  Sometimes even allowing a team score 91 can be looked at as good defense.  Because Duke forced 20 turnovers.  And in the late minutes of the game, Duke waited for Wake to make the first mistake, and when they did they made them pay.  They were more patient on both sides of the floor than in any game this season.

There are to many good things to talk about after this game.  Lance is playing good, Miles seems to be getting quality minutes, and the new lineup is playing good together.  But just sit back an take this victory in.  Take a short time to enjoy it.  Duke’s emotional celebration is already over, and they are probably watching the UNC-Maryland game right now.  Duke is ready to move on with a confidence that has been lacking.  They know where they are going on Wednesday.  They know that the season is far from over.  They are ready for the fight.  And the entire ACC is on alert.

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Two games.  Four days.  After all the struggles Duke has been experiencing lately, the season is not over.  Most fans seem like they want to crawl in a hole and just get it over with.  But Duke must continue to play, and play well if they want to turn this season around.

The first of the must wins, comes tonight at MSG.  St John’s hasn’t been the team they once were in a long time.  However, Duke can’t chalk this up to a W before they walk on the floor.  The team will have to play lights out to get back some much needed confidence.  Confidence hasn’t been around for a long time with this team.  And sometimes that is all you need to carry yourself to bigger things.  A win tonight would help ease the pain for the entire Duke nation, and put the focus back on winning basketball.

The end of this week features Wake Forest coming to Durham, in a very interesting contest.  Everyone remembers how Wake won the game in Winston-Salem, and both teams are hanging on to the second spot in the ACC.  This won’t be an easy game by any stretch, and the only advantage is being at home.

Two games, that could go a long way in deciding what Duke does from here on out.  A win tonight and then focus on the battle just a few short days away.  At this point, with the way they are playing it is best to focus on a game by game basis.  Don’t worry about the ACC, your seed, or championships.  Just focus on playing good quality basketball and the rest will work itself out.

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While the game didn’t end how I would have liked.  You can’t totally talk bad about the way Duke played.  Aside from a 5 minute stretch that saw Duke miss every open look they had and Carolina making every play, they played like a team that could be something special.  However, Carolina was to much for the guys at the end.  It is one of the worse losses for a Duke team, but still just a loss.  The season can not be defined by one game, and it is up to the players to make that true.  To give up on this team, or expect anything less than 5-2 in the next seven games would be a mistake.  I still feel this team is good enough to play with a lot of teams in the country.  It is February 12th, and last time I checked that means there is a hell of a lot of basketball left to be played.  An emotional loss shouldn’t get in the way of certain aspects.  Singler, Scheyer, and Singler were all great for most of the game.  Paulus shot the ball well, but couldn’t make it happen when it mattered.  Smith drove to the basket but only a handful of times.  The defense couldn’t stop one of the best offensive teams in the country.  Not tonight anyway.

The remaining schedule is a tough one, but for a top team in the ACC it is doable.  This team needs to show themselves that they are capable of being that team we think they could be.  Take the game by game approach and see what happens.

Perusing the many Duke message boards is a fickle proposition.  You have the “sky is falling” people.  The “fire assistants now” people.  And to many more quotes to even mention.  It is hard as Duke fans to grasp losing.  I took it just as hard as anyone, but you still have to keep a positive outlook.  A new Duke point guard is not going to fall out of the sky.  So you work with what you got, and worry about everything else after the season.  You can’t blame the fans, because they just want this team to be great.  Just never forget that this team has talent, and if they put it all together special things will happen.

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As if you haven’t read enough about this game, I thought I would give you something else to spend your work time with.

For sports fans all around the country, they will be torn between watching Lost or Duke vs North Carolina.  Most of them will probably chose the latter.  However, ever single fan that bleeds two very different shades of blue will be waiting the whole day for one of the most anticipated games of the year.

Duke comes in with a odd few weeks.  This is their third Wednesday night game against a top ranked opponent in a row.  The last two were on the road and were losses.  In between those games were two blowouts and a game that featured one of the best 25 minutes of basketball I have seen.  But whatever momentum one team might have over the other it doesn’t matter.  Both these teams are national championship contenders, and at the top of the ACC.  Duke vs North Carolina is simply better and bigger when both teams are at their best.

In a little over 14 hours one school will be at the top of the ACC.  One school will get the covited “braggin rights”.  Until March that is.

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It might not have been what Duke fans wanted to see.  A three point victory at home against Miami isn’t something to be proud of.  However, the way Duke came back after being left for dead is inspiring and leads you to believe that some of the frustrating offensive funks might be on the way out.

It was an instant classic.  An unbelievable overtime game with the teams going back and forth with time running down in the second half.  For Miami, Jack McClinton made a case for All-ACC keeping his team in it.  For Duke, Greg Paulus proved that he could still lead this team to bigger things.

After the debacle at Clemson, that last thing Duke needed was to come out flat against Miami.  That is exactly what happened and everyone was wondering how far this team has fallen.  Singler and Henderson couldn’t find any offense, and Scheyer’s offensive woes were still evident.  And then the second half came and the next 25 minutes would be some of the best I have seen.  Suddenly, Henderson and Scheyer started to find the basket much easier.  Paulus was hitting shots and moving the offense with much confidence.  And David McClure was doing everything else.  Slowly, Duke crawled back and made some big shots to get the lead before McClinton’s late three pointer tied the game and eventually sent it to overtime.  In overtime it was pretty much all Duke.  They were hitting shots and grabbing the Miami misses, and just rode free throws to a very emotional victory.

The shooting percentages weren’t great.  Singler, who struggled much of the game, had 17 points and 10 rebounds on 5-23 shooting.  Scheyer had 22 on 5-13 from shooting.  No matter how bad they might of shot, Duke made key plays in the end to close out the game.

You can’t say enough about the play of Greg Paulus.  He got the start after Nolan Smith’s miserable game, and took advantage.  He had 18 points on some of the biggest shots of the game, and always seemed to be involved in every play.  He even drew a flagrant foul by simply making a lay-up.  He might of forgotten seating on the bench, but he isn’t the opposing players favorite guy.

The other surprise guy who stepped up was David McClure.  He has been always known as a role guy, but in this game his stats speak loudly to his place on this team.  13 rebounds and 7 of them were offensive.  The entire Miami team could only grab 4 of those.  McClure was a huge part of this victory.

This team had to be worn out after this game, as the starters played practically the whole game.  But after a win like this, they have got to be fired up to get back on the floor.  And it doesn’t take a lot to get a Duke team fired up when they are playing North Carolina.  I think this is exactly what this team needed.  One great half to get rid of the memory of the last three.  No matter what anyone says about this victory, it was exactly that.  A victory, which they absolutely earned and played like a team to achieve.  Hopefully the fire is there for the entire game on Wednesday.

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This is usually what you hear if you are standing around a murder scene.  Not totally unlike what happen to Duke last night at the hands of Clemson.  As the Comic Book Guy from The Simpsons would say, “Worse Game Ever”.  27 points was the margin of victory.  And Duke could only muster 47 points in one of the worse efforts I have ever seen a Duke team come out with.  Not since 1998 (I was in the eighth grade) has a Duke team lost so bad.

There is simply no good points you can make out of this one.  Scratch that, Lance Thomas had a very solid game.  But everything else was embarrassing.  In the first half, it seemed like every possession was interrupted by a turnover and a Clemson basket.  Even when Duke wasn’t turning the ball over in the second, they would make a basket but then lay an egg on defense and Clemson would keep the margin over twenty.  Everything went right for Clemson.  Absolutely nothing went right for Duke.

Kyle Singler had one of the worse games I have ever seen for a star.  6 points, 5 turnovers, 4 fouls, and most of the turnovers in the first half were do to his inbounds passes against the press.  Nolan Smith had 3 points and 4 turnovers, and was the point guard of one of the worse Duke performances in recent memory.  Jon Scheyer just continued his poor play with another stinker.  Where are you Jon?  Please come back soon.  It is getting a little painful to watch you throw up shot after shot, with nothing to show for it.

What makes this loss so bad is that this isn’t a young team that is still trying to find themselves.  This team is supposed to be championship caliber.  Even on the road against a top ten team, a good team doesn’t get humiliated.  The way they played was not representative of Duke basketball.  They were beaten from the beginning tip, and Clemson never let them forget what was happen as they continued to poor it on.  With a few seconds left on the clock, the Duke players simply walked off the floor.

It is hard to take something like this, but that wasn’t the last game of the season.  Far from it in fact.  And even though the margin of victory was so high, it only counts as one lose.  And Duke is still at the top of the ACC along with Carolina.  The next few games are critical to how Duke will finish this season.  Will they crumble like the past couple years or will they regroup and get back the fire that they had against Maryland and Virginia?  A veteran, Coach K led team usually takes the latter approach.  However, I am going to have to see it to believe it.

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After the heartbreaking lose to Wake Forest, for now #1 Duke needed a little pick me up.  A home game against one of the worse teams in the ACC did the trick.  In the first half, Duke’s infamous defense provided many scoring opportunities for Duke.  Causing an unbelievable 17 turnovers, the young Virginia team could only watch as Gerald Henderson and Duke stormed out to a 20+ lead.  All it took was a solid effort by the Duke bench and Duke goes on to win by 25.

The usual star, Henderson was quiet in the second, perhaps letting others find their game.  The two players that Duke has been needing to step up had great games.  Nolan Smith, who has been struggling at the PG spot, had a terrific shooting game scoring 15 on 7-10 from the field.  Most of his shots were 15 foot jumpers or slashes through the lane.  He looked like the point guard Coach K and the rest of the fan base want him to be.  And Jon Scheyer, who has been in his biggest slump in a long time, looked very solid.  11 points on 4-9 shooting and 7 rebounds.  Quality play from two players Duke needs to step up as the season goes on.

The highlight on the game, after in was pretty much in the books, was the unbelievable alley-oop from two freshmen.  Elliot Williams, who was practically at half court throwing in the ball, effortlessly threw it up for Miles Plumlee.  Plumlee was in perfect position as was the ball, and he threw it down.  If you can watch the replay, focus on Williams who looks to barely throw the ball in the air.  It was a thing of beauty.

Now that the Wake game, and the inevitable loss of the #1 ranking is past, it is time for Duke to focus on another elite team in the ACC.  They go on the road to play a Clemson team, that has given Duke problems in the past.  Particularly in the semi finals of last years ACC tournament.

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