Cinderella Stays At the Ball

It turns out that their preliminary round upset was not the end of this year's version of a Cinderella story. The Florida Gulf Coast Eagles, just in their second season of eligibility for the National Tournament, have advanced to the school's first ever Sweet 16, as well as becoming the first 15 seed to advance that far. Not agreeing with the history of double digit seeds beyond the Round of 64, the Eagles managed yet another upset, this time it was over seventh seeded, San Diego State. After overcoming a heavily favored Georgetown on Friday,  last night's matchup was a bit more favorable for the Eagles, but they were still viewed as underdogs

Bernard Thompson led the Eagles offensively, collecting 23 points, off of 5 steals.  Jamaal Franklin of San Diego State provided a double double with 20 points and 11 rebounds to lead the Aztecs, along with 4 steals.  After Gonzaga's elimination the night before, Florida Gulf's Sherwood Brown replaced Kelly Olynyk with the best hair in the tournament, while providing a big 17 points. Off the bench, Christophe Varidel hit 3 three pointers, which were crucial in the 81-71 win. The Aztecs were leading by one at the half, but were shut down completely until there were under 5 minutes left, good enough to eliminate the 7 seed.


Once again, the Eagles managed to establish dominance in lopsided runs and consistent shooting, all from their loose style of play. The way the crowds at the games and the entire sports world has accepted and viewed these players reminds me of the Little League World Series. Just like last year's Uganda team at Williamsport, FGCU has captured the hearts of everyone. The Eagles are interacting with the fans by putting on a show, contrasting to the drama that March basketball usually entails. Even head coach, Andy Enfield admits his team is loose, saying, "We don't take ourselves too seriously." Upon hearing Enfield's description of his team, it is hard to root against this team.

What makes the Florida Gulf story so remarkable, is that they are made up of walkons from an open tryout. It is not easy to find legitimate talent within a school. Except for a few, most of these players were likely passed up on by Division 3 teams, and somehow, they are beating some of the country's top teams. I am not sure if it is the coaching of Enfield, the free spirited, fun oriented style of play, or simply a hot team that has everything going right, but it is impossible to fathom a 15 seed is two wins away from a Final Four berth. Regardless of what happens in and beyond the Sweet 16, going this far is an accomplishment for any team, let alone a team of hometown high school heroes, resembling something out of The Replacements.

This Friday, Florida Gulf Coast will take on Big Brother, Florida Gators, in the Sweet 16, as Cinderella will try to stay at the ball just a little longer, before the clock strikes midnight for FGCU...

The Legacy Takes a Break

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.

The End of a Dynasty?

Last night's Duke win vs fellow ACC school, Boston College, may count as one in the standings, but it was not in any way a true win. The Blue Devils are leaving Boston with many setbacks, though that may not be completely apparent at the moment.  The unranked Golden Eagles kept up with the 4th ranked Blue Devils, and had a chance to win on the last shot, after Mason Plumlee could only convert on one of two foul shots. The main takeaway from last night's game is that Duke didn't win the game, Boston College lost. This isn't the season's first time Duke has failed to live up to their standards, including 2 road losses in 11 days to rivals, NC State and Miami. Though Duke is still a top 5 team, this leads me to wonder, what is going on in Cameron? How/why is Coach K's system all of a sudden not being as consistent as usual? Duke is still blowing out teams like Maryland by 20, but why can't they get it done within their conference? I no longer am viewing Duke as the safe bet for my March Madness bracket, with their seemingly instability at the moment. Duke is basically muscling the lesser teams, but are struggling versus more faceted teams or when they can't get on those 10-2 runs. This allows the Dukies to bluff their way into the Elite 8 or even Final Four. However, I am not at all confident that they can beat a complete team such as Indiana when the season is on the line.

Duke's decline began with last year's upset against Lehigh in the the first round of the NCAA tournament, and for now at least, I do not see them as the dominant force as they always have been. There is no question Coach K is up with John Wooden, as the top college coaches of all time, but is there something missing? I understand teams can't win every game, every year, but this is not characteristic of a program trademarked by excellence in college basketball, sometimes to a point where some players cannot succeed in the NBA. Though Duke has only lost 2 games this year, Duke has shown signs of the end of a dynasty.  When the opponent's schedule  read vs. Blue Devils, a chill would run down most team's spines. Though that same chill is still there, I do not think Duke is what it used to be, and these minor issues will eventually accumulate to form much bigger problems. I am not saying Duke is done, or Coach K's reign as the king of college basketball has ended, but basketball in Cameron is not what it used to be. I never thought I would ever have to say this, but Duke may have to rethink their system.