This has got to be one of my favorite videos from our collective celebration on Monday. This really shows raw emotion and passion of the Cameron Crazies. Coach K was right, this is your title too.

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Duke was finally back where they belonged, the Sweet Sixteen.  Blue Devil fans were riding high all the way up to the late tip off.  And then it all fell apart.  Villanova simply took apart Duke in every single possession.  It didn’t help that every time Duke got a good shot up it didn’t go in.  It has been a long time since I have seen a team that really couldn’t “buy a basket”.  And this just led to about every other bad thing that happened.  The lose was an embarrassing end, to what was a terrific season.

Not to take away anything from Villanova, but the story of the night was Duke’s Big Three going a combined 9-45.  Not even half of these were forced shots in my opinion.  Just shots that couldn’t find the bottom of the rim.  It is hard not to throw your hands in the air when nothing seems to be going your way.

Gerald Henderson seemed to be the one suffering the most.  He was the one that was supposed to put Duke on his back.  1-14 is far from that.  Gerald looked more frustrated than anybody, and probably shouldered the blame for the lose.

In the end Duke fails to reach the Elite 8 again.  Not since 2004 have they been there.  Now Duke is left to figure out how to get back to what this team and its fans so desperately want and need.  Who knows what this off-season holds for Duke.  Gerald’s NBA aspirations, recruiting, player improvement.  They will all be the focus of Duke and its fan base.

Good luck to Greg, David, and Marty.  Congratulations to Duke on a really great season.  30-7 with a ACC Championship and Sweet Sixteen appearance, means that things are getting better if you consider the last two years.    Thank you for the memories, and here’s to next season.  As a fan, after your team loses, that is what you have.  Next season.

LETS GO DUKE!!!!

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Everyone in Duke nation didn’t think it would be easy to get to the Sweet Sixteen with Texas in the way.  They are big, and they matched up well with Duke in most positions.  The one factor that put Duke over the top?  They simply wanted it more, and worked their asses off to get it.  If you try to count the number of big plays that were made in this game, you would probably run out of fingers.  Sometimes in the tournament you need people to step up when the game is on the line if you want to advance.  And in the this one, there was no shortage of that.

What really set the tone for Duke was the defense.  Sure Texas shot 50% from the field, but they were 25% from 3pt.  And the player that Duke needed to stop the most, AJ Abrams, had a quiet 17 points and always had a hand in his face.  Duke wasn’t going to let the Texas star beat them, and they contained just about everyone else in a really superb effort.  And typical of most Duke victories, they had only 9 turnovers and forced 15.

The Big Three for Duke came up with some great plays, and really played solid the entire game.  Henderson had a rough night shooting, but was 10-13 from the charity stripe and hit the two free throws that sealed the game.  He finished with 24 points on 7-21 shooting.  Singler is really shooting the ball well from all spots on the floor.  He had 17 on 50% shooting, and an unbelievable clutch tip in that set the Devils up to win this one.  Scheyer once again was very solid.  He looked a little rough at the point a few possessions, but never let it hurt the team.  In the end he scored 13 on 4-9 shooting.  With him shooting the ball so well lately, he needs to be more aggressive and try to create for himself.  And in the play that saved the game for Duke, when the ball was going out of bounds, Scheyer with his back to the court threw the ball behind his back to the other end of the floor.  Elliot Williams showed great awareness running it down and drawing the foul that would lead to the final sequence.

Elliot missed the two free throws that would of sealed the game, but him and David McClure stepped up big time, tipping the ball back to Henderson who was more than capable of shutting this one out.

It was such a terrific team effort to gut this one out.  Duke probably could of put it away earlier, but give credit to Texas.  They were a tough team for Duke to match up against, and they fought to the bitter end.  Duke showed great poise, and gutted out a huge victory that sends them back to the Sweet Sixteen for the first time in two years.  I challenge anyone to find something not to love about this team.  They find ways to win big games, and that is how championships are one.

Duke moves on now to play a Villanova team that had a field day against UCLA.  Another tough team that Duke will have to face to advance.  No one every said that being a great team would be easy, and Duke will have to earn it by playing harder than anyone else.  But for a few days we get to celebrate getting past the first weekend that has plagued us in the past couple years.  Oh how I missed this feeling.

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Even when they were the number 1 overall seed in 2006, Duke couldn’t  muster a winning margin like last night.  You have to go back to the Final Four season of 2004 against Seton Hall to find a larger one.  Not the it matters how much you win by as long as you win, but Duke dissected its opponent all game long and for the first time in a long time came away with a decisive tournament victory.

Duke was coming into this tournament a different team as in years past, and last night Duke proved that it has a slew of talented players that can contribute.  And in this tournament, you need your stars to do their thing and the role players to contribute when needed.

Duke had six players in double figures.  That shows how efficient offensively Duke was, and no matter how well the other team shoots, it is usually a good sign that things are going good.  They played an early tournament game like the past Duke teams so famously do.  Come in with a business like approach, and just play your type of basketball.  There were little smiles from the Duke players during the game, because they knew they belonged here and when an easy basket came they did their business.  This is what you like to see out of a top seed team.  There was no overlooking inferior opponents this year.  Duke played loose and free.  And the occasional mistake was corrected quickly.

Binghamton had the much smaller team and Duke exploited it.  35-18 was the rebounding margin.  And Lance Thomas had a field day scoring 14 points on 5-5 shooting.

The big three didn’t have their greatest game, but the pressure really wasn’t there either.  They took shots when they had them and deferred when they didn’t.  They really didn’t force it, and never hurt the team.  They were a combined 10-29 from the field, but 5-13 from three even with Gerald going 0-3 from long range.

Binghamton had a very nice shooting day, but Duke still was able to win by 20+.  The reason was 25 trips to the free stripe and Binghamton only with 5.  The refs might of handed Duke most of these as they were in the bonus early in the first, but still something you like to see.

Duke now moves on with that same confidence they came into the tournament with.  Texas is going to be a tough opponent.  This team really took apart Minnesota, and has a great collection of players that they rely on.  Duke will have to play at a high level to compete, and the big three will have to be clicking this go around.  The combo of Smith/Williams will be a huge factor against the sharp-shooting Abrams.

But it simply comes down to “win and you move on, lose and you go home”.  It is time for Duke to step up and continue to prove how good they really are.

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Maybe I should blame the fans because they did the voting.  However, CBS sports has always been a favorite whipping boy of mine for years.  For the past couple of weeks CBS Sportsline has had a tournament for the greatest tournament teams in history.  The All-Duke team lost out to North Carolina in the elite eight.  The final four is UNC-UCLA and Indiana-Kentucky.  That might be a strong field however, I think Duke got a raw deal and the public voted with their feelings instead of true talent. The real travesty is the Worst Title team poll (1990-present) that they recently put up. Not only did they list 2001 Duke as an option, but they have 9% of the vote. As Duke fans we put up with a lot of shit, however how can the internet sports community possibly think that 2001 Duke in even in the discussion for worst championship teams.  Does everyone forget that 2001 Duke was the only team to beat every team by double digits.  Also coming back from twenty down to Maryland and still winning by double digits.  Come on people, lets get real.  You can hate Duke all you want, but to possibly think that 2001 Duke is a bad championship team is pure bullshit.

If you have voted this way, please do yourself a favor and never watch another college basketball game again.  Don’t even pick up a basketball.

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As Duke fans continue to smile from ear to ear over the Carolina loss, we seem to forget the exciting game tonight.  Most years after Duke is eliminated from the tournament, or I don’t have anyone to root against (Carolina, I’m looking at you), I just check the internet to see who was crowned the champion.  However, this year two very exciting teams, and in my opinion the two best teams in the nation, are going to be playing in the championship game.

Kansas vs Memphis is a college basketball fans dream.  Two highly athletic teams, with a great offense and defense.  Two coaches that haven’t been able to get over the hump in recent years.  One team trying to find the greatness that they once had, another trying to start a tradition other elite teams enjoy.

This looks to be one of the most exciting college games since the USC vs Texas BCS Championship game, and oddly enough for the same kind of prize.  Should be a great game to watch.

After the smoke clears from the college basketball season I hope to write my review of Duke’s season, with player evaluations.

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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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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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