Today will be the last win of Mason Plumlee and Seth Curry's careers at Duke. At 12:15, the 2 seeded Blue Devils will tip off with 15 seeded Albany in Philadelphia. Despite last year's bracket busting first round loss to Lehigh, I will give Duke the benefit of the doubt, for today at least. However, Coach K's team will not go past the Round of 32. With either Creighton or Cincinnati, Cincy in my bracket, as their next opponent, I cannot see Duke beating either team, mostly because of their pyrite season.
This season, Duke has failed to get it done numerous times, uncharacteristic to the product longtime coach, Mike Krzyzewski, has put on the court for what seems like forever. Dating back to last year's preliminary round loss, Duke has struggled on big stages. Losing to intrastate rival, NC State, to end their run for a perfect season, a blowout loss against Miami just eleven days later, and an almost upset versus a weak Boston College team in a game that should have ended in the first half, Duke's magic is gone. Not to mention two losses to Maryland, including losing 83-74 in the ACC championship game last weekend.
It is not clear to me what exactly happened to the Cameron Crazies, they are still a great team, aside from its rich past, they were able to beat Louisville and Ohio State, while sweeping UNC in their season series, and splitting with Miami, NC State, and Maryland. The Blue Devils are just too inconsistent. Day to day, I am not sure what we will see from them. Duke has the talent to win it all, but this year, the boot just does not fit and I do not think they will make it. This uncertainty about what will be showcased each game will prevent Coach K from cutting the net, like he has grown so accustomed to, almost as an annual tradition for him.
Not even Dickie V could convince me to change my mind on the Devils, even though I myself am a Dukie. Vitale's confusing rants did not do much to sway my opinion, except for the fact that with Ryan Kelly in the lineup, Duke has gone 18-1, but in March that one loss is enough to be eliminated.
This season, Duke has failed to get it done numerous times, uncharacteristic to the product longtime coach, Mike Krzyzewski, has put on the court for what seems like forever. Dating back to last year's preliminary round loss, Duke has struggled on big stages. Losing to intrastate rival, NC State, to end their run for a perfect season, a blowout loss against Miami just eleven days later, and an almost upset versus a weak Boston College team in a game that should have ended in the first half, Duke's magic is gone. Not to mention two losses to Maryland, including losing 83-74 in the ACC championship game last weekend.
It is not clear to me what exactly happened to the Cameron Crazies, they are still a great team, aside from its rich past, they were able to beat Louisville and Ohio State, while sweeping UNC in their season series, and splitting with Miami, NC State, and Maryland. The Blue Devils are just too inconsistent. Day to day, I am not sure what we will see from them. Duke has the talent to win it all, but this year, the boot just does not fit and I do not think they will make it. This uncertainty about what will be showcased each game will prevent Coach K from cutting the net, like he has grown so accustomed to, almost as an annual tradition for him.
Not even Dickie V could convince me to change my mind on the Devils, even though I myself am a Dukie. Vitale's confusing rants did not do much to sway my opinion, except for the fact that with Ryan Kelly in the lineup, Duke has gone 18-1, but in March that one loss is enough to be eliminated.
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