Duke Loses to Florida State

Last night was no different then any other night lately as I plopped myself down in front of the tube and got my daily dose of college basketball. The scene in Tallahassee, Florida was quite raucous as the Seminoles hosted the # 1 ranked Duke Blue Devils. Now if this was football season we would not have been that pumped as obviously Florida State and Duke are at other ends of the spectrum, but when it comes to hoops, Duke is the villain!

What became very apparent early in the game was the athletic ability that the Seminole players possess, as they beat Duke up on the boards and on penetration. Superstar Blue Devil guard J. J. Redick was cold early, but just before the half, he and his mates sunk four three point shots in a row and suddenly Duke was taking over.

The second half was a seesaw affair as Duke pulled ahead, but their big men McRoberts and Williams got in foul trouble and that is where the game turned. Now is you take a quick glance at the box score this morning, you would have noticed that 50 of the 74 points that Duke scored was courtesy of Redick and Williams and that will not get it done in the tournament. Unless McRoberts who is an outstanding young talent and Lou Melchionni get untracked, I could see them making an early exit.

Another team that is showing some major flaws in their game is the Texas Longhorns who got beat at the buzzer by the Aggies of Texas A & M. When your leading scorer Tucker only has 11 points and you only get 40 on the night, you are not exactly sending a message to the rest of the nation that you are an intimidating force.

There are some excellent schools in the hunt for an invitation such as Arkansas, Alabama, Miami and Florida State and if they get in they are more then capable of knocking off the two teams I have just mentioned.

I noticed today that Duke’s odds have suddenly risen to 5-2 whereas the team I urged people to grab at 4-1 and that would be the Connecticut Huskies are now down to 5-2. Snooze you lose!