Crazy start to the Duke vs. UNC game, with a knee injury to the player of the year on their first possession. I’ve never seen a shoe blow out like that.
Nike: Just Blew It
A Single Shade of Blue
Duke and North Carolina meet again tonight, which is arguably the greatest rivalry in sports.
I became a Duke fan somewhere around the Fab Five of Michigan years and I’ve been a fan of the program ever since. Fitting that this year’s Duke team is led by four fabulous freshman, three of which are projected as top five picks in the NBA draft. We’ve never seen a talent like Zion Williamson.
There have been a lot of great Duke teams over the years, but this 2018-2019 version is becoming one of my favorites. They don’t shoot the three as well as previous teams, but defense is back in Durham. According to ESPN stats, they are 2nd in rebounds (to North Carolina), 1st in steals per turnover, 1st in steals per personal foul, and 1st in blocks. Last week I wrote about their epic 23 point comeback win, which was sparked by dominating defense. We haven’t seen any floor slaps yet this season, but tonight is the type of game where it could happen.
GO DUKE!
Duke Comeback
What an incredible comeback last night. Louisville was outplaying Duke in every aspect of the game when they went up by 23 points with less than 10 minutes to go.
The effort by Duke was terrible. Here are some of the texts my brother and I were exchanging.
Coach K switched to a zone and then added a full court press, which changed the game. Check out that 0.1% chance of winning!
This ranks up there with the Miracle Minute against Maryland as one of the best comebacks I’ve watched. Duke was also ranked #2 in that game.
March Madness Thoughts
Random thoughts heading into the Elite 8.
- Did a 16 seed really beat the #1 team in the country? No, they embarrassed them! Still can’t believe it.
- I said Michigan State was overrated before the tournament and they proved it by losing to a poor Syracuse team. State’s strength of schedule this year was extremely weak and they lost both games to Michigan.
- Teams playing zone defence have done well.
- The ACC clearly was the best conference in the country.
- The SEC got way too many teams in the tournament.
- Loyola has won 3 games by a total of 4 points. I hope they pull off another win and make the Final Four.
- Duke has a tough road to the Championship game with Kansas tomorrow and potentially Villanova in the Final Four. Big win last night when they shot <20% from three, shot <40% overall, and were out rebounded.
- Michigan has the easiest road to the big one with a 9 seed tonight and either a 9 or 11 in the Final 4.
- I picked Duke to win it all 82-76 over Michigan.
State vs. ‘Cuse
I’ve always liked orange more than green.
2018 March Madness
Duke Game Flow
The game flow graph on ESPN.com is always fun to look at. I don’t know if I’ve ever watched a more dominating half of basketball than Duke just played.
C-Webb
Chris Webber is a terrible basketball announcer.
March Madness on PlayStation Vue
No problem watching the tournament without cable TV.
Here Comes Duke
It’s been an up-and-down year for the Duke Blue Devils. With Coach K back on the bench, Grayson Allen finding his game again, and a win over rival North Carolina last night they’re starting to look like the team we expected to see this year. These rivalry games with UNC are always the best games of the year.
