tummydoc2000

BOSTON, MA -- Today was open practice day for each of the four teams participating in the East Regional. Each had an hour of practice, free and open to the public, held at TD Banknorth Garden. I happened to catch the last half of Pitt's practice and all of Duke's.

Matt Beck put it best when he called it "a waste of time for the team".

Because it was an open to everyone, clearly the teams weren't going to run an actual practice and reveal any strategies for their upcoming games. In reality, this was a glorified shootaround, like what we watch our team do in the hour before tipoff of a game. They did run some drills that were pretty cool to watch; then again there were other parts that weren't so pretty (mainly, Brian Zoubek dribbling and sprinting baseline-to-baseline in an end of game scenario).

Even so, it was fun. It was obvious that the teams weren't taking this too seriously -- at the end of Pitt's practice, the players lined up at the halfcourt line and practiced "buzzer beaters". At the end of Duke's practice, the players turned to the 1,000-or-so fans in attendance and threw out free Duke Basketball t-shirts.

Good stuff. Tomorrow is a big day. Go Devils!!

RALEIGH, NC -- (If Parrish can do datelines so can I) I'm sitting on the charter flight from RDU to Boston right now, with my fellow Pep Band members, anxiously awaiting the arrival of the Duke Blue Devils team on its way to their first Sweet 16 in 3 years. I can't wait.

Duke has been much maligned in the recent years as no longer being the dynasty it once was (two consecutive early exits from the Big Dance didn't help), Coach K's recruiting has been called into question, venomous Tar Hole fans have seen their team victorious against us in 3 of the last 4 contests...

None of that matters now. This team, this season, is different. In fact, this team is different than it was even a mere 6 weeks ago, before Coach K gave the starting lineup a facelift by inserting freshman Elliot Williams into the lineup and moving Jon Scheyer to point guard to provide an offensive spark. That lineup change has proven to be Coach K's best decision all year, as a team who had dropped 4 of their last 6 games prior to the change have since gone 10-1, earning an ACC Tournament title and a ticket to the Sweet 16 during that run.

The challenge awaiting this team in Boston is a Villanova squad who can match up extremely well with Duke, who plays a similar style of basketball, who is predicted by many experts to be the team to send Duke home...

Yesterday on the Dan Patrick Show, Coach K mentioned in an interview that the last two weeks have shown him that his team was a little tougher, mentally, and a little deeper than even he thought. We'll see if that toughness and depth can carry this team past the Sweet 16 for the first time since a Final Four appearance in 2004...

Here come the players onto the plane now -- Lance and Nolan are sitting a row behind me!! Coach K just came back to where we're sitting and gave us a hearty welcome -- wheels up soon!

Let's go Duke!!

In the words of Jake Kaplan, it is time for me to "rescind that doomsday blog post."

After a loss at Boston College, Duke had dropped their last 3 conference road games, and 4 of their last 6 total games. Even against a very mediocre St. John's team, the Blue Devils seemed to struggle, as they won by a mere 7 points in an ugly game inside Madison Square Garden.

It was not until this past Sunday, when the Devils returned to Cameron to play Wake Forest, that my confidence in this Duke team was restored, and in fact, boosted. Before the game had even tipped off, it was already clear to everyone that the players and coaches were treating this game as a must-win situation. They could not accept a second loss to Wake Forest in 4 weeks, a second defeat in Cameron Indoor Stadium in as many games, nor the loss of second place in the ACC. And so, when players and coaches were introduced, Coach K was seen pumping his fist and waving his arms at the crowd, and screaming encouragement at his players with more emotion than he normally shows for the entire season. He repeated these gestures several times over the course of the game, and even removed his jacket for most of the night as well, another rarity.

Clearly, in the Blue Devils' minds, the season was on the line for this game. Would they be swept by Wake for the first time in over a decade, continue their late season swoon, and drop to the middle ranks of the ACC? Or would they come off with an important win, something they had experienced too little of recently, and take their first step towards a season-ending clash in Chapel Hill with a potential ACC title on the line?

The game was memorable for its lack of defense. Emotions ran high, as did the scoreboard, but ultimately Duke took control and won its biggest game of the season to avenge their heartbreaker in Winston-Salem.

The next test was potentially just as critical: tonight's showdown in College Park with a Maryland team that had just knocked off the ACC-leading Tar Heels in OT. The Devils desperately needed this victory to prove to themselves and all the doubters that they could, indeed, handle a tough ACC road challenge. It didn't come easily, the fact notwithstanding that this was the same Maryland team that had been brutalized by 41 points in Cameron, but no amount of obscenity from the Terps fans nor violence from the Terp players was enough to rattle Duke tonight.

Stepping off the court in College Park, freshman Elliot Williams must have felt proud of his newly-cemented role as a starter, and how well his presence has benefitted his team's performance. After a serviceable first start in New York City, Williams has since had 2 very impressive performances in 2 very crucial games as starting SG. This new roster shift, placing Jon Scheyer at point and Williams at 2, has proven to be an effective move; giving Scheyer control of the ball has allowed him to step up his game, and giving Williams the starting role has allowed for his athleticism to bolster the Devils' overall game.

After these two critical wins and a few timely losses by Florida State (to BC) and Clemson (to VT), Duke now commands sole possession of second place in the ACC, a week after finding itself in a 4-way tie. With a new roster and a new outlook on their success, it seems as though the Devils couldn't have timed this season revitalization any more perfectly. This newly-energized team could be poised to make their post-season campaign a memorable one.

What a difference 2 games makes. Go to hell Carolina.

Jan 28: James Johnson muscles his way to a game-winning layup with under 1 second to go, and Wake Forest holds on to tackle #1 Duke, handing them their first ACC loss of the season. The students storm the floor in Winston-Salem as Duke's 10-game winning streak comes to a halt. Final score: Wake Forest 70, Duke 68.

Feb 4: In the worst blowout they've seen since 1990, #4 Duke shoots a paltry 30% and gets trampled by Clemson. With as many field goals as turnovers (16), this is a game that no Blue Devil will soon forget. The Clemson fans celebrate en masse on the court at Littlejohn Coliseum. Final score: Clemson 74, Duke 47.

Feb 15: #6 Duke blows another second-half lead in Chestnut Hill, MA. Hundreds of Boston College students flood the court to celebrate. The black and blue of the Devils' uniforms today matches their bruised and beaten egos, as the weight of their third straight ACC road loss begins to sink in. Final score: Boston College 80, Duke 74.

Duke has now lost 4 of their last 6 games, in an all-too-familiar late-season slump. Just like last season, what appeared to be a tremendously-talented and perhaps Final Four-caliber team through January has since gone soft, dropping consecutive road games in conference play and looking more vulnerable than ever. 

These Blue Devils could very well lose 5 of their final 6 games of the season. It sickens me to even consider the possibility, but it's true. There is at least one game left on the schedule that should be a given: If they go to Cameron Indoor Stadium North (aka Madison Square Garden) to play St. John's and lose there, then all hope is lost.

That being said, after St. John's, Duke has 3 more road ACC games. 2 are against opponents that the Devils throttled in impressive fashion in Cameron (Maryland, Virginia Tech), and the final game is, of course, up the road in Chapel Hill. Maryland and Virginia Tech will both be playing for redemption on their home courts, and the Tar Heels would love nothing more than a regular season sweep of Duke, to amend for their loss in the Dean Dome last February. The only remaining home games on Duke's schedule are Wake Forest and Florida State, and both teams are capable of putting up a real fight in Cameron.

It's a damn shame that Duke hardly plays any tough non-conference games on the road, because they obviously need the practice for conference play. Aside from a nice win at Purdue in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge, their only true pre-ACC road game this season was a loss at Michigan. Sure, there were some neutral-site games away from Cameron, but playing in Madison Square Garden or the Izod Center (East Rutherford, NJ) is fully incomparable to playing on an opponent's campus.

The bottom line is that Duke needs to learn how to play on the road, in front of a hostile crowd. They feed off the energy of the Cameron Crazies when they are at home, but they must be able to win away from the comfort of Durham. If they can't, then this painstaking slide through the ACC will continue this season, and will likely  become a trend in the future.

Go to hell Carolina.