Holy Crap

Duke defeated Holy Cross last night 57-45 in a less than stellar performance. Luckily for them, their defense is still lights out and that's good considering they couldn't throw the ball into the Atlantic Ocean. In the 1st Half, the Blue Devils played uninspired and frankly stupid basketball, committing 12 turnovers. The 2nd Half was a much different story. The Blue Devils came out inspired, dove for loose balls, hit some big shots, and grabbed a number of key rebounds. It also helped that they got into the bonus with 12 minutes to go in the game. Also, they had a putrid night from the free-throw line. With all that said, they won and that's the most important thing.

Listen, they are coming off two good home wins against Indiana and Georgetown and they came out flat tonight and it cost them in the 1st Half. Also, this is their week before finals where projects, homework, and last minute tests are given so maybe, they were mentally out of it. Anyone who has went to college, knows that the week before finals week may actually be tougher than the finals week itself. Also, although Holy Cross isn't in the ilk of a North Carolina or a UCLA, they are a consistent, well-coached program which has enjoyed a great deal of success over the last decade. Remember, the Crusaders only lost to Syracuse by 8 in the Carrier Dome earlier in the year so this team does have some talent.

After a great 2nd Half against Georgetown, Greg Paulus had another tough game and when Duke went on a 20-4 run in the 2nd Half last night, he was on the bench. Even though Dickie V is grossly annoying, he's right about Paulus. The success of this team this year depends on how well Paulus plays. Josh McRoberts, although he had 13 points, was a virtual non-factor on the offensive end and he couldn't buy a free-throw in this game, shooting 3 for 10. However, the great thing about Josh is that he can impact a game in so many different ways when it's not there offensively and he did last night, playing great defense and distributing the ball nicely. To me, the MVP of the game was Gerald Henderson. Henderson hit two big-time 3-pointers during that 20-4 run and he sparked the biggest play of the game when he grabbed an offensive rebound off a Zoubek miss from the free-throw line and kicked it out to DeMarcus Nelson for a 3-pointer that made it 38-34.

I feel like I've been saying this an awful lot this year but a win is a win. People are going crazy down in Durham, reporters are questioning whether Coach K should be taking more timeouts and the team is 8-1! They've beaten two Top 25 teams, Air Force and Georgetown and they are playing the best defense in the nation right now, outside of Pasadena, but still this young team has come under scrutiny. Get over it! Like Coach K said, this will not be a smooth car ride this year, it will be a roller coaster, lots of peaks and valleys. This team is going to lose 8-10 games this year but they will make the tournament.

Next up is Cindarella, George Mason on Saturday. Listen, they shouldn't be taken lightly because Campbell and Thomas, both intricate parts of their Final 4 team last year, are back scoring 17 and 14 points a game respectively. Also, Jim Larranega established himself as a great motivator last year (just ask MSU, UNC, Wichita State, and UCONN). He convinced his players that the CAA stood for the "Connecticut Assassin Association" last year and it worked so this is not a lock by any means. In addition, this game is at noon on Saturday and any Blue Devil fan knows that they never play well at noon for whatever reason. Last year, they needed OT to beat Florida State 97-96 in a noon game after they played that gut-wrenching thriller against BC at BC when every Boston celebrity in history showed up. BUT, since Duke very rarely follows up an uninspired performance with another one, I look for the Blue Devils to win comfortably.

Prediction: Duke 62 George Mason 49