Pitt Stop @ MSG

I've been gone for a while but I'm back for good. I apologize but the last few weeks have been crazy with a capital C baby. Speaking of that, I send out my best wishes to Dukie V recovering from throat surgery. Wow! Talk about being careful what you wish for...Sometimes listening to him makes you think "is there anything lower than mute" but now that Dukie V is out until at least February, I must admit, I'll miss him...Here's to a speedy recovery

I haven't had a post in a while. Let me touch for a little on the games that I missed and finally, move on to the all important Pitt matchup tomorrow, which I will be in attendance for so they better not freakin' lose.

Duke v. Wisconsin: I'll make this short and sweet. If Wisconsin knew what was good for them, before they got back on the Bus to go home, hopefully they bent over and let each and every Blue Devil spank them as each and every Badger called them Daddy. Duke absolutely spanked the Cheeseheads and continued its dominance in the ACC/Big Ten challenge.

Duke v. Davidson: Didn't see the game. I know, I know but I didn't have ESPNU. From what I hear, Greg Paulus really saved Duke at the end after they, in vintage Duke fashion, blew a large lead late and had to hold on. I'm not too worried about this game considering Davidson is an excellent squad and they took UNC down to the wire and were beating UCLA by 18 at one point before falling to the Bruins.

Duke. Michigan: The game started off slowly. It was about 16-14 when I went to make a sandwich. I came back and it was 32-14. Michigan, a team trying to adapt to Beilien's system of backcuts tried to pull the wool over Coach K's eyes and run with Duke. Unless you have Memphis or UNC written on the front of your jersey, running with Duke will be an immense mistake. Michigan will be relevant again with Beilien though but it may take a few years...

Duke v. Albany: 111 points from a team that couldn't throw the ball into the ocean last year, you got to love it. Will Brown is an excellent coach, almost pulled off the upset of the century against UCONN a few years back but in this one, they were clearly overmatched.

So, now we're pretty much up to date here and now we can focus on Pitt at the Garden. This is a battle of two Top 10 teams and really two of the best programs of the last decade or two in the NCAA's. I'm not sure who I favor in this game because of the contrasting styles. Pitt's gameplan will be simple: feed Blair and take advantage of Duke's lack of post depth and rebound well. Also their guards will undoubtedly be physical with the leaner Duke guards. However, Duke's spacing and shooting should present some real problems for the Panthers.

The Keys to the game:
First, Lance Thomas. Will he play or will he not play? That is the question. Duke will need Thomas and if he is absent from the lineup, Brian Zoubek will need to have an out of body experience to keep the Devils in it down low.

Second, will Duke continue their hot shooting? If Duke continues to stroke the 3 with the same type of efficiency, they could run away with this game.

Third, Blair is clearly the best post player they have played as of yet. How will the undersized Blue Devils react to someone of his caliber? Only time will tell...

Prediction: I am loving this team. I love their energy, I love the way they push the ball, I love their confidence, I love their swagger, I love that they took last year personal, and I think they will take one step further to solidifying this program as one of the elites again after a one year absence tomorrow night. Pittsburgh will be tough, Duke will come away with a ton of black and blues but I also think they will come away with a victory. Duke must play this game in the high 70's, 80's or even 90's to win...If they play in the 50' or 60's, it could be a long train ride home for me tomorrow night...

Duke 83 Pitt 75