Some upsets, that’s what happened. Three of the four lower seeds advanced to the quarterfinals. Of course, we warned you yesterday that something like this would happen. Not that I need to remind you, but since the league switched to 11 and 12 seeds, the bottom seeds have performed better than the higher seeds in the opening day.

With seeds #9-12 going 3-1 tonight, the lower seeds are now 13-10 against seeds #5-12.

No 9 VIRGINIA OVER No 8 BOSTON COLLEGE, 68-62
This is the one I missed and I still don’t understand it. Seriously, who saw the Cavaliers ending their nine-game slide tonight, without their best player, Sylven Landesberg?

The fact is, the Cavs returned to slow-mo ball, frustrating Boston College, while running a perfectly balanced offense. Sammy Zegliniski led the way with 21, but five Cavaliers scored in double figures.

For the Eagles, Joe Trapani picked a nice night to go cold. Did I say cold? I meant frozen. The “Ice Man” was 0-7 from the floor. Of course the turning point in the game was late in the first half. Up six, B.C. scored a total of four points in the finals 10 minutes of the half, allowing TIna Fey’s alma mater to turn a six-point deficit into a nine-point lead.

That’s it for Boston College…season is over. Time to go watch some re-runs of Doug Flutie’s hail mary.

MIAMI OVER WAKE FOREST, 83-62
I bet you thought I was crazy picking Miami. They’ve done nothing over the last two months to prove they even belong in this tournament (you put USC-Upstate on your schedule? Really? Still can’t believe that), but I just had a feeling. Maybe it was just hunger cramps, but either way, I got this one right.

The fact is, outside of Virginia, Wake Forest has looked terrible. Once teams figured out that they had ZERO outside shot, there was nothing Wake could do about it. Tonight, they made Miami look like a Final Four team…and that’s not easy to do.

The Canes jumped on the Demon Deacons early, building an early double-digit lead, taking a 14-pt cushion into halftime. No shame for Wake at this point though; bad teams get hot, good teams have bad halves. You go into the locker room, give a speech, make an adjustment, own the first four minutes of the second half and save your season. Or…

Let the Hurricanes start the half on an 8-0 run, turning a manageable 14-point deficit into a 22-point, “Hey, who do we have coming in next year?” moment.

Hopefully for Dino’s sake (he’s still never won any post-season game at Wake), they have someone coming in who can shoot some three’s. Wake again failed to crack 25% from behind the arch (4-17) and had zero chance to rally. Can someone finally agree with me…Ishmael Smith, most overrated player in the ACC?

Actually, that’s a little harsh. I’m just still a tad bit touchy about when ESPN’s Mark Jackson said Smith would be a great NBA player (or something to that effect).

Of course, the big question for Wake Forest is, now what? N.C.A.A. or N.I.T? Overall, they’re 19-10, 9-7 in the ACC. They have a RPI of 42 according to Ken Pom and an SOS of 10. Not bad. Yet, they’ve dropped five of six games now.

I still believe Wake Forest is in. However, they were once looking like a 4-5 seed, but now they’ll be lucky to be an 8-9 seed. Of course, does it really matter? They won’t win a game in the tournament.

NORTH CAROLINA STATE OVER CLEMSON, 59-57
I think everyone saw this one coming from a mile away. Not just because the Wolfpack under Sidney Lowe have a knack for winning a game or two in this tournament, it’s just that Clemson under Purnell have never won any meaningful game away from Littlejohn.

As for NC State, it was finally nice to see them put in a winning strategy, stick to it, and then actually win with it. Of course, I’m talking about getting the ball down-low to Tracy Smith, the conference’s most underrated player.

Tonight, Smith took 15 of State’s 44 shots (34%), making 39% of their made baskets. As a team, they hit 52%. Of course, what’s most shocking was the fact that the Wolfpack actually struggled with Clemson’s infamous press. They turned it over 19 times and point guard, Javier Gonzalez, was awful (which is actually pretty normal for him). He turned the ball over four times (to only one assist), hitting just 1-6 shots.

For Clemson, they’ll still get into the tournament. You don’t leave out the ACC’s fifth best team, no matter how quickly it stumbles in the conference tournament. The problem is, they’ll probably be a seven seed and will more than likely face a middle-of-the-pack Big East Team. Advantage: Not Clemson.

GEORGIA TECH OVER NORTH CAROLINA, 62-58
Clearly, this was my favorite game of the night. Heading into the 7PM showcase, I actually thought I would feel sorry for the Tar Heels when they lost this one (and yes, I knew they wouldn’t win this one), but I was wrong. I was full of glee until the end.

The best part though had to be the way they lost. Down four with a buck thirty on the clock, Larry Drew II, threw yet another lazy pass, D’Andre Bell picked it off and the game was over, no matter how hard Georgia Tech tried to lose it at the end by missing free throws.

There was just something fitting about watching Carolina’s dim NCAA hopes fade away with yet another turnover by a guard.

Of course there were other enjoyable moments. I wouldn’t be a Duke fan if I didn’t mention that in a do-or-die situation, Carolina’s starters shot only 13-48 from the floor tonight (1-13 from three). I’m no Will Hunting, but that’s wicked bad.

I could go on, but that would be disrespecting the Yellow Jackets. Ga Tech’s big boys, Lawal and Favors went off inside, combining to score 30 tonight (on 12-16 shooting). Favors in particular had maybe his strongest game of the year. He was 7-8 tonight, 4-5 from the line. He grabbed nine boards, blocking five shots along the way. Those were the kind of numbers I expected from the freshman this season.

LOOKING AHEAD – QUARTERFINALS

Okay lower seeds, I hope you had your fun. I hoped you celebrated your victories because it’s over. Like I said yesterday, while the lower seeds love to shock the world on Thursday, come Friday, reality steps in and bitch slaps them across the face. The big boys take care of business…at least 75% of them do.

From yesterday:

Since 1998, three of the top four seeds have advanced to the semis 10 times in 12 years.

So what do we got to look forward to?

No 9 VIRGINIA VS. No 1 DUKE
No chance. I’m saying it. There’s no denying it. Sorry Cavaliers, you’re not taking this one. In fact, I’ll go out on a limb here. If Virginia beats Duke tomorrow, I’ll change my blog’s name to “Big Virginia Balls” for the remainder of the season (including NCAA Tournament).

No 12 MIAMI VS No 5 VIRGINIA TECH
If the Canes want to play in the NCAA Tournament, they’re going to need to sweep the ACC tournament. Too bad they won’t beat Virginia Tech. How about a stat prediction? I bet Delaney hits more free throws by himself than the entire Miami team. Ballsy.

No 7 GEORGIA TECH VS No 2 MARYLAND
I picked the Yellow Jackets to upset Maryland in my predictions last night, and I saw nothing from Tech tonight to change my mind. The fact is, the conference tournaments are where underachieving teams come to shine.

No 11 NORTH CAROLINA STATE VS No 3 FLORIDA STATE
The first one to 5o wins this one. That will be the Seminoles.

Look for Duke to pound the ball down low against Virginia and play a lot of players.  There is no doubt that the Cav’s will play with emotion but that shouldn’t be a major factor as the game wears on.  Unlike most teams, Duke elected not to have a practice in Greensboro, electing instead to train in Durham.

The Blue Devils will have an extended shoot around in the morning , but the Duke assistants are scouting the Wake Forest game which is about to tip off.  You can bet that the Duke coaching staff is already hard at work prepping the team for their first round game.

Not to look ahead, but it is highly likely Duke will face the winner of the Wake Forest-Virginia Tech game.  What does that mean for Duke?  Well, while Duke is 2-0 against the aforementioned, it was the two most physical ACC games they played all season.  One other thing, Duke will not have the Cameron Crazies to pull them through and we all know Duke set a team record by going 17-0 at home.  So, one thing to watch for is how Duke fares on a neutral court with most fans pulling against them.

The afternoon session of the tournament was not well attended, but that is somewhat tradition.  First off, a lot of people are still working and the night session is always the one where people will show up and that is especially true with local favorite North Carolina playing.  One must also consider that four teams had byes and many of those fans sit out the first day even if they have tickets.  FWIW, Wake fans are now helping fill the Coliseum.

Depending on the outcome of the rest of the days games, tickets could become available at good prices.  Should the Tar Heels lose, a lot of their fans will likely want to leave the pain of a disappointing season behind.  If Miami topples Wake in the next game, several tickets should loosen up.  FWIW, Miami has very few fans here and they would likely not come with a win over Wake.

Stay tuned for more updates here and I will be tweeting live from Blue Devil Nation during the Duke games and we will of course bring you all the happenings behind the scenes.

Of course I could sit here and tell you all about each team in detail, explain to you why so-and-so will suddenly get hot, why that guy will lose his jumper, how that coach will screw that up and guarantee you some mind blowing upset…but I’m not.

Pointless.

I’m an old-school gambler and one thing us old-timers love is history. So I’m going to look in the past to tell you the future. And yes, I’m going to deliver the same line I do every time I do this…these “predictions” should be completely ignored.

So What do we know about the ACC Tournament?

We know that Duke and North Carolina have won it a lot (17 times each), but that doesn’t really help us. They’re two original league members, of course they’re going to have a stack of conference titles.

Hell, if you just based it on team’s history, then you would have to argue that South Carolina, who won the ACC crown back in 1971, has a better shot than Florida State, Clemson, Miami and Virginia Tech.Of course this would be difficult since the Cocks play in the SEC (traitors!).

While I can certainly judge teams by their recent performances, the fact is, I believe in seeding and the history seeding results can tell us. And when I say history, I mean recent history. Sorry, I don’t care about who won what in 1962. They didn’t even let blacks in the league then. Nothing counts.

I am going to look back at the tournament dating back to 1985. This was the year the NCAA Tournament expanded to 64 teams, thus losing in the tournament no longer meant the end of the season (excluding the N.I.T.).

SO WHAT DO THE NUMBERS TELL ME?

- It’s good to be No 1. The top seed has made it to the finals in 16 of the last 25 tournaments, although, they’ve only won half of those games. Recently, the No 1 seed has won three-straight (2006-2008).

- Being the No 2 used to mean something. Over an 18-year period, the No 2 seed made it to the finals half of the time. Of those nine, the No 2 seed won seven championships.

- Lately though, the No 2 seed has been a curse. Since 2003, no No 2 seed has advanced to the ACC finals. The two seed is only 3-7 in the tournament since 2003, losing in the quarterfinals four times.

- Of course, the No 2 seed is not the norm, as the higher seeds tend to dominate in the finals. In fact, the high seed in the championship game has won seven out of the last eight (No 6 Maryland over No 1 Duke in 2004 was the lone upset).

- In the past though, upsets in the finals were more common. In fact, the high seed (prior to 2002) was just 9-8 in the champion game.

- Of course, all because the No 2 seed has been getting into the finals, that doesn’t mean that any of the little guy’s are stepping up to shock the league. In fact, the title game has featured No 4 seeds or higher in all title games, except seven. That’s 50 teams and only seven have been a five seed or lower.

- The most common title game match up has been a #3 seed vs. a #1 seed (seven times, compared to six #2 vs. #1).

- Of course, No 3 seeds may get to the title game, but that doesn’t mean they do much once they get there. In fact, the No 3 has lost in five of the last six title games they appeared in.

- One last note on title games. Of the 25 winners since 1985, 22 were three seeds or higher. The three times it didn’t happen? Each time the winning team was a No 6 seed (Maryland in 2004, Georgia Tech in 1993 and N.C. State in 1987). That basically means if you’re a 4/5 seed or seeds #7-12, you’re not winning this baby.

- Now I’ve spent a lot of time on the top seeds, but what about the bottom feeders? Since 2005, the ACC has had 12 seeds (technically in 2005 there were 11, followed by 12 in 2006) and they’re not terrible. In fact, Seeds #9-12 are 13-19 in the tournament overall since 2005.

- In round one, the bottom seeds are actually better. Seeds #9-12 are 10-9 since 2005 in the first round. The No 12 seed is an impressive 3-1 in round one.

- Of course after round one, the lower seeds usually fall by the wayside. They’re 10-9 in round one, but only 3-10 after that. Only three have advanced past the quarterfinals.

Okay, I’ve hit on the top seeds and I’ve walked you through the lower seeds, but I’ve focused mostly on the title game and the first-round games. Everyone knows all the action in a Oreo is in the middle, so what happens in the middle rounds?

- First, if you’re the top seed, you can punch your ticket to the semis. Over the last 25 years, only two No 1 seeds have lost in the quarterfinals. The last time it happened was in 1997, when Duke lost to N.C. State. Prior to that, it was N.C. State losing to Maryland in 1989.

- Like I said before, the No 12 seed and No 11 seeds have found some round one success, but joy joy, that’s about it for bragging rights. These two are just 1-5 in the semis, with Wake Forest (in 2006) being the only #12 seed to advance to the semis.

- In fact, the quarterfinals have been pretty damn uneventful over the years. Since 1998, three of the top four seeds have advanced to the semis 10 times in 12 years (twice all four top seeds made it), but never has only just one made it. What I’m saying is, if you’re a betting man, take the top seed in all games and you’ll win three of four…most likely.

- Heading into the semifinals, there’s only one important stat to know. It’s splitsville, baby. In the ACC semis, one higher seed and one lower seed has won the past eight years. The last time both higher seeds advanced to the finals was in 2001 (#2 Duke & #1 North Carolina). For the record, the higher seed winner and lower seed winner has split the past eight seasons. The highest of the seeds has gone 4-4, the lowest seed in the semis has gone 4-4.

Okay, I’ve talked all about seeds, but what about teams. There’s got to be some helpful info, right?

- First, what about Duke as the top seed? At one point, it used to be a bad thing. In fact, prior to 1998, Duke had earned the top seed five times (since 1985), but only managed to win the conference tournament once. Now though, things have changed. Duke has won the title as the top seed four times in five tries since 1998.

- Maryland has the No 2 spot, but there isn’t too much history to look at. They’re not typically this high. What I can tell you is this, when the expectations are high, the Terps fall down. Since 2001, Maryland is a decent 5-2 as the lower seed (winning the ACC title in 2004), but when they are the higher seed, they are just 3-6.

- Florida State has never been a No 3 seed. They were a No 4 seed last season and advanced to the title game. Overall, they have won their first tournament game the last three years. Prior to that, they had lost three straight.

- Virginia Tech took a couple years getting use to the ACC, but for three straight seasons, they have won the first and lost their second. The last two seasons, they won as the higher seed, but lost as the lower seed. Overall, they are 3-1 as the higher seed.

- Poor Wake Forest, the ACC tournament has been unkind when they’re a good team. Since 2004, the Demon Deacons are 0-4 as the higher seed.

- Clemson has lost six of their last seven in the first round, including their last three. The one year they didn’t have to play in the opening round, they actually won two games and made it to the finals.This year, they’re playing in round one.

- Georgia Tech is hard to predict. They’re 6-9 since 2001. They’ve won in round one the past two season and have a habit of losing to Duke. The Blue Devils have eliminated Ga Tech three times over the last six years.

- Since joining the ACC, Boston College has never lost in their first game in the ACC Tournament. They’re 4-0. The past two seasons, they were the lower seed in the first round.

- For Virginia, I have an interesting stat. Since 1995, the Cavaliers are 3-4 in the ACC Tournament with Sean Singletary on the team, winning at least one game in three of his four seasons. Without him though, Virginia is 0-13.

- What about North Carolina? There’s not a lot to go on. They’ve been a top seed so often, it hurts. Well how’s this, between 2002-2004, Carolina was the lower seed and they only went 1-3.

- North Carolina State has been known to be sneaky. They’ve reached the finals three times in the last eight years. Only Duke and North Carolina have more appearances in that time. Over the last nine years, they’ve won their first game six times. What I’m saying is, beware of the Wolfpack.

- The Miami Hurricanes are a surprising 3-1 in opening games in the ACC tournament. Yes, I’m actually surprised by this stat. I can barely remember the last time I actually watched a Miami win.

So knowing all those numbers, what have I learned and what will I predict? Let’s get started.

ROUND ONE:

We learned that the lower seed has a 50/50 shot, so they’ll probably win two of these four games. We also learned that the No 12 seed knows how to win in round one. We know Boston College has a 4-game round one winning streak going, while Wake has a four-game slide as favorites. Miami has pulled off some upsets, State’s been known to go on a run, but Clemson hasn’t and Carolina never will. I’m still trying to figure out Ga Tech, but Virginia I know…sorry, no Singletary.

No 8 BOSTON COLLEGE OVER No 9 VIRGINIA
The Cavaliers have dropped nine-straight, while BC has pulled out three wins in their last five, one of which was against Virginia.

No 12 MIAMI OVER No 5 WAKE FOREST
The Canes struggle to stop the three. Luckily for them, Wake Forest couldn’t hit a three if you spotted them two.

#7 GEORGIA TECH OVER #10 NORTH CAROLINA
I know, the Yellow Jackets have struggled lately, losing six of eight. Yet, they’ve still beaten Carolina twice this season. Besides, the Tar Heels gave up on this season a long time ago.

No 11 NORTH CAROLINA STATE OVER #6 CLEMSON
Don’t look now, but State has won three of four. Of course Clemson has more to play for, which usually means disaster for the Tigers. Sorry, no No 6 seed shocker this season.

QUARTERFINALS

We know the lower seeds like to crash the party, but they almost never make it to the V.I.P. room. While teams like Boston College and Miami know how to escape the first round, two games in a row is asking too much. Of course both NC State and Georgia Tech could make a splash, but since the Wolfpack are the 11th seed, we know this is as far as they go because the 11th seed never goes to the semis. The fact is, The big boys are in town and three of four will win those quarterfinals. This leaves one team to lose and only one has a known track record of screwing things up when the expectations are high.

#1 DUKE OVER #8 BOSTON COLLEGE
The Blue Devils have had a six-day rest heading into the noon game against Boston College. Sorry, Eagles.

#4 VIRGINIA TECH OVER #12 MIAMI
Do you think Delaney is a little tired of hearing about Scheyer and Vasquez? It’s a Hokie with a chip on his shoulder, watch out!

#7 GEORGIA TECH OVER #2 MARYLAND
The Terps have had a full week of everyone telling them how great they are. They got the ACC player of the year and the coach of the year. Tech has spent the whole week being told how bad they are, about how they underachieved, all while their coach plays the silent treatment. This one should be Maryland, right? Wrong. Something just doesn’t smell right here.

#3 FLORIDA STATE OVER #11 NORTH CAROLINA STATE
The Seminoles know how to move along (they were in the ACC finals last year), while the Wolfpack are just grateful to be playing one more game.

SEMIFINALS

The semis are a bit harder to figure out. What we do know is, one higher seed is advancing, the other one isn’t. But which one? In this case, go with the team with a loooong track record.

#1 DUKE OVER #4 VIRGINIA TECH
With Maryland gone, Duke should cruise to the championship, but reality says, this will be their toughest remaining challenge. One day, the Hokies will reach the finals, but it won’t be against the No 4 team in the nation fighting for a No 1 seed in the NCAA.

#7 GEORGIA TECH OVER #3 FLORIDA STATE
The Noles are the higher seed and have beaten the Yellow Jackets twice this season, but we’re going to roll the dice here and go with the theory of, unless you’re a superior team, it’s tough to beat a decent team three times in one season.

TITLE GAME

We’ve already pointed it out, the lower seeds just don’t win these. The higher seed has won five straight and the number one seed has won three of four in this tournament.

#1 DUKE OVER #7 GEORGIA TECH
By this point, Ga Tech has saved their season and are no longer sitting on the bubble. They’re in and this isn’t Atlanta. Duke rolls.

The Blue Devils were consistent through out their dominating win and that was demanded by Krzyzewski in that it was his way of preparing them for what is to come.   Duke knows it must put the fab weekend behind them and that all started in yesterday’s afternoon practice.  It a new start and everybody is 0-0, one loss and you’re done.

There will be no fabulous Cameron Crazies, who by the way were at their best this season in the Carolina game and I covered every game with them just behind me this season.  So, Duke will have to make their own way in predominately neutral environments.

By the time Duke takes to the court in this weeks ACC Tournament, a good amount of the boo birds could be gone.  A stumbling UNC squad must take on Georgia Tech on opening night and the Yellow Jackets are in need of a resume building win.  But Duke is still a marked team and if anyone thinks they wouldn’t covet a rematch with Maryland, you’ve got a bit too much spring fever.

Before Duke can think of Maryland, they will take on the Boston College-Virginia winner and while the Eagles seem the safe pick, the staff is preparing for either team in earnest.  In fact, they have all the teams scouted and covered by long time assistants.

Oddly, every time the ACC Tournament rolls around, good weather accompanies the event.  Over the years, I’ve attended many and it always seems to be in nearing the 70’s.  Okay, back on track …

You can almost pencil Duke into the semi’s where they will likely meet Wake Forest or Virginia Tech and FWIW, I feel Boston College would give Duke the most trouble, but looking ahead is dangerous in a tournament full of hungry teams in need of again, resume building wins.

Duke will likely have to win out to get a number one seed, but there are scenarios where if other mighties stumble, they could get it falling just short in the final should they reach that game.

A lot has been made of how easy it is to get reasonable ticket prices to this years tournament and that is due to two things.  First off the economy is still not flourishing and when North Carolina stumbles, a lot of faithful fans leave, but if Duke faces Maryland in the finals it could salvage the event.  It’ll be interesting to see how it plays out.

Well, I’m headed over to Cameron to interview selected Duke players and I will indeed be at the tournament and look forward to offering a few thoughts as the event goes on.  Check out my web site Blue Devil Nation later today and we’ll have audio interviews posted with players and be sure to check out Raycom Sports Blogs as the tournament progresses.

Let the games begin.

To put the game into perspective, it was the largest margin of victory by either side of the rivalry in Mike Krzyzewski’s 30 years at Duke.

Ouch.

While Saturday’s blowout has put even more focus on the current low point of North Carolina basketball, most overlook the fact that this Duke team is peaking at just the right time.

In fact, it’s not a stretch to say that this is the best Blue Devil team going into postseason play in a decade.

North Carolina coach Roy Williams would agree.  After Saturday’s game, he said that this Duke team is the best he’s coached against in his seven years at North Carolina.

Granted, this Duke squad isn’t as talented as, say, the 2001-02 Blue Devils.  The trio of Jason Williams, Mike Dunleavy, and Carlos Boozer would certainly best Jon Scheyer, Kyle Singler, and Nolan Smith in terms of talent.

The 2003-04 Blue Devils were also a more talented group.  Luol Deng, J.J. Redick and Shelden Williams all became lottery picks in the NBA drafts, and Chris Duhon wasn’t bad either.

But sometimes a team becomes something more than the collective talent of its players.  I believe that’s called “synergy,” and I’m certain this Duke team has it.

The undeniable fact is that this team, regardless of talent, is playing better basketball late in the season than any Blue Devil squad in a long while.

This is the first Duke team since 2001-02 to go into the postseason without suffering back-to-back losses the entire season.

This is the first Duke team to ever go 17-0 in Cameron Indoor Stadium.

This is the first Duke team since the 1998-1999 NCAA runner-up squad to win at least nine of its last 10 regular season games.

This might be the best rebounding Duke team in Krzyzewski’s career.

Without doubt, this is one of the most cohesive and consistent (they didn’t lose one game in February) Blue Devil teams in years.

What’s at the core of their success and momentum this season?

Two words—experience and toughness.

The Blue Devils start three seniors and two juniors.  That’s 18 years of combined college basketball experience in their starting five.

Because of how seasoned their core players are, the Blue Devils play with an amazing amount of poise.  It’s rare to see them panicked or struggling to focus.

Scheyer has probably played as many, if not more, minutes of college basketball in his career at Duke than any player on an NCAA tournament team this year.  The experience he brings into each game is one of the reasons he is one of the most mentally tough players in the game, and it’s a major reason the Blue Devils are such a difficult team to rattle.

On top of their experience, the Blue Devils play tough basketball.

Brian Zoubek played tougher than the entire North Carolina team on Saturday, and he’s not the only Duke player to bring fire and passion to each game.

Forwards Singler and Lance Thomas play hard each possession, consistently exerting more intensity than opponents night in and night out.

If you’ve watched many games, this is a team that has taken a fair amount of physical abuse.

How Singler and Mason Plumlee escaped the Wake Forest game without season-ending injuries is a mystery.  A few weeks ago, Nolan Smith took a hard screen eerily reminiscent of the Maryland screen that gave him a concussion last season.  Miles Plumlee had to have his head stapled shut against Florida State.   Thomas suffered a deep bone bruise in his knee at North Carolina, only to return for the next game.  Scheyer and Singler both spend significant amounts of time colliding with camera men as the take hard fouls inside or dive after lose balls.

The point is that Duke plays tough, and that toughness is a big reason they are looking at a No. 1 seed in the tournament.

This Blue Devil squad may not be the most talented group Krzyzewski has fielded in his tenure at Duke.  They may not even be as talented from top to bottom as they were last year.

But this team is experienced, tough, and playing at an incredibly high level at this point in the season.

Is this the best Duke team in a decade?

On paper, absolutely not.

On the court, certainly.

Wow. Wow. Wow. It’s the only word I  can come up with. I alm0st had pity on the Tar Heel players…almost.

The Duke Blue Devils wrapped up a perfect season (17-0) in Cameron Indoor Stadium, by crushing North Carolina, 82-50. It was the greatest butt-kicking of Carolina in my lifetime and it ended a very frustrating and embarrassing 4-game losing streak to UNC at home.

Everything worked for Duke tonight, like it has all season long at home. Nothing worked for Carolina, just like everywhere all season long. The fact is, Carolina should be embarrassed. Yes, I know they have injury issues, but there is still plenty of talent on that floor wearing baby blue. Yet, everyone knew at the first TV timeout this game was…O.V.E.R. Hell, eight minutes in and Duke had a 20-point lead.

SO WHAT DID I SEE?

KYLE LOOKING LIKE A FIRST-TEAM ALL ACC PLAYER
After struggling for most of the season, Kyle Singler is now playing his best ball and at the right time too. Tonight, he scored 25 easily and i say easily because he sort of put on the breaks in the second half, helping to get other teammates involved. The biggest improvement has come from the three-point line. Since February 4th, he’s hit 30-63 (48%) from three. There are two reasons for the improvement.

First, Coach K did a better job of trying to free up Singler with back screens and double screens. Also, early in the season, Singler was running off high screens into the paint, looking for drives or mid-range shots. The change simply moved his “spot” to behind the three line.

Second, Singler has done a better job of driving the lane from the three line. Defenders are now leaning off him, worried about his drive, thus opening up the shot from deep.

THANK YOU JON SCHEYER
While some think I was premature to hand Vasquez the ACC Player of the Year award, that doesn’t mean I don’t appreciate how important Scheyer has been to this team. Tonight, he had a solid game, scoring 20 (although on 4-14 shooting), dishing out seven assists and turning the ball over zero times (that will help the conference leading assist-to-turnover ratio).

THANK YOU BRIAN ZOUBEK
Whatever the reason is (he’s healthy, he’s finally starting to understand, whatever), Brian is a force in the middle right now. He scored eight and grabbed 13 boards tonight, which is more amazing when you consider he did nothing after the 10-minute mark in the second half. He only played 20 freaking minutes. Carolina as a team, only out-rebounded Zoubek 24-13.

While you might not be overwhelmed by his scoring, it’s about production value. He scored eight on 4-4 shooting. Since becoming a starter in the first Maryland game, he’s 22-31 from the floor. That’s 71%. The last time I checked, that’s a pretty good shooting percentage.

The best had to be in the second half, with Zeller on his back, he dribbled right, swung left and threw up a hook from the side. Swoosh. Jesus, we’ve all been waiting four years for this guy to create his own shot.

THANK YOU LANCE THOMAS
While Lance Thomas didn’t have a big night, two points, six boards, fouling out way too early, I’m not about to forget to mention him in his last night in Cameron. On the defensive side, it is his abilities that allow Duke to do what it does.

The Devils are all about switching. You want to run a screen? Fine, we’ll just switch off. One reason Duke can do this is because everyone is 6′4 or bigger. However, it helps to have a player like Lance, who’s long and tall and athletic enough to switch from a center to a forward and even to a guard.

NOLAN SMITH, THE GLUE
I know, I know, Lance Thomas is technically the glue guy. It’s supposed to be a supporting player, not a star, who does the little stuff, but I’m changing the definition at least for now. While Singler and Scheyer have had their up’s and down’s this season, Nolan just keeps doing his thing…scoring (20 tonight), passing (5 assists) and not turning the ball over (none tonight). This is an overlooked stat for Smith. He’s turned it over only once or less in nine of his last 13 games.

DAWKINS IS FEELING IT
We’re not going to get too excited. We’re not about to rush out and print up some “Dawkins, All-American” bumper stickers, but the kid is starting to get some of his confidence back. He’s hit two baskets in three straight games (6-10 overall).

PLUMLEE’S STILL CAN’T PLAY DEFENSE
It wasn’t all golden sh**s tonight. The Plumlee’s again struggled on the defensive end, particularly in the simple task of getting back in transition.

Here’s the problem. Often when Duke misses a shot and they failed to get the rebound, both Mason and Miles have a habit of standing around, looking for a sneaky steal. Of course meanwhile, the person they’re suppose to be guarding is racing down the court.

Now Mason has been known to get one of these steals every other game, but it’s not worth it. Get back! If North Carolina wants to find anything positive tonight, both Henson and Zeller actually looked good when they faced the two Plumlee brothers.

FAVORITE STAT OF THE NIGHT: Duke’s FT shooting, 22-23. Carolina, who actually took more, was just 17-26.

SECOND FAVORITE STAT OF THE NIGHT: Duke could have scored nothing in the second half and still won by three.

FAVORITE TWITTER OF THE NIGHT: Quincy Miller, a Duke target for next year (and one of the best high school players in the nation), was in Louisville tonight, but he was watching the Duke game, twice posting about the Duke/UNC game.

LOSER AWARD FOR THE EVENING:
John Henson. The guy gets a dunk and actually talks trash to Miles Plumlee. Carolina was down by 29 at the time. And you wonder why they’re on the NIT Bubble.

SAY HUH?
Dick Vitale (I’m a big fan, mostly because I grew up in Sarasota as a teenager and young adult) had plenty to say tonight about North Carolina’s troubles. Yet the one person he laid zero blame on was Coach Roy Williams.

Sorry, Dick…but this team gave up long before the injury bug took a big bite. That’s the coaches fault. That’s Roy’s fault. He also never, ever made an adjustment from his “style.” What makes Coach K so great is his ability to adjust to the line up he has. He’s got Jay Williams, no problem, Duke is a dribble-drive offense. No true point guard, again no problem, we’ll become a motion team.

That’s it, folks. It’s on to Greensboro. Duke has to be considered the heavy favorite. Sure they don’t play as well on the road, but that can be said about all the ACC teams. Hell, Maryland was only up one with 38 seconds to go at Virginia, who’s lost like 35 in a row (give or take a few loses).

The fact is, Duke is a superior neutral court team. They’re 3-0 this season, with two of those wins coming against teams ranked in the top-15 at the time. Duke has also proven itself in this tournament, winning it eight out of the last 11 times.

In the end, the Blue Devils will get some love from me. They walked into a Maryland Monsoon tonight and went toe-to-toe with a solid team (trust me, we refused all season to sell Maryland short). This was the biggest game in over seven years at Maryland. It was senior night. On top of that, the Terps rolled out of the gate, shooting 60%. The fans were rocking the yellow, emotions were blowing the roof off, everything said blowout in the making, but…

Duke didn’t bend. They didn’t break. They rallied and made a game of it. In the end, Duke made the mistakes, Maryland didn’t. Let’s not forget, these two exact teams played three weeks ago in Durham and the Terps walked away 21-point losers.

SO WHAT DID I SEE?

SCHEYER FUMBLES AWAY THE ACC POY
Wow, talk about a rough ending for the man who is reason number one for Duke’s success this year. Just look at the last two minutes. Jon hits a two-pointer that ties it at 69-69. After Jordan Williams gets a put back, giving Maryland the lead, Scheyer brings the ball down and before anyone can get back with him, he fires up a three with Vasquez in his face. Missed badly.

Vasquez then takes it back down and lays up a huge two, giving Maryland the lead. Then Scheyer follows that up by driving way too deep into the trees, throwing up an awful shot. He misses, Maryland sinks two free throws. Down six, Scheyer again drives deep into the lane, gets stuck and throws it away/missed a bad shot…who cares, really.

It was such a shame too, because after a rough start, Scheyer was playing great. In fact, he was out-playing Vasquez. Yet those two final minutes are going to stick in my head for a while only because it’s exactly what I was talking about last week:

Scheyer’s problem hasn’t been tired legs, the issue is simple, he’s taking bad shots inside the paint. Too often Scheyer has driven the ball way too deep inside, gotten caught among the trees and thrown up a ton of bad shots/lay ups. That’s it. Instead of shooting smart like a senior, he’s shooting dumb like a sophomore.

Tonight, in the final two minutes, he played like a freshman.

ZOUBEK DIDN’T GRAB THE ONE REBOUND HE NEEDED
Again, lots of props for Zoubek tonight. The man dislocates his finger, comes back and owns the glass. He finished with 13 boards and you can’t help but be impressed with those numbers, yet…

He failed to grab the one rebound the team needed. With the game tied with a 1:44 on the clock, Mosley missed a jumper. Zoubek was in great position, but the freshman, Williams, took it away from him and put it back for a deuce.

However, it wasn’t just that final rebound. After dominating in the paint in the first 10-12 minutes of the second half, Zoubek disappears from the stat sheet. In fact, he failed to grab a single rebound in the final eight minutes. I appreciate the finger, but it’s those final eight minutes when we need the Big Z.

STATS TO END ALL STATS
There are plenty of numbers you can point to when tying to figure out how Duke lost this game, but I’m going to give you the one that counts. Duke pulled down an impressive 14 offensive rebounds (11 of which were in the first half).Good, right?

In total, Duke produced a total of six points off those 14 offensive rebounds. Yet, it’s even worse. Three of those points came from Dawkins with 13 seconds on the clock.

Breakdown: 14 offensive rebounds, two made shots, one trip to the free throw line (Smith went 1-2), nine missed shots and two turnovers, both committed by Jon Scheyer (although one was that bullsh*t traveling call).

10:20, TWO BASKETS…ALL FOR NOTHING
You would think the most frustrating part of the game was the beginning when Maryland jumped out to a 33-19 lead, but it wasn’t. I knew Maryland, a good team, was riding high with emotion. I knew we’d probably get back into it. The worse part was in the beginning of the second half.

Duke had shutdown Maryland. They made only two baskets in ten minutes. Yet in the second half, Duke couldn’t hit a shot. They were shutting Maryland down, but Duke couldn’t hit an open look. That was the moment I knew Duke might be in trouble. You have to put these teams way when they’re ice cold, especially on the road.

PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Is there any doubt? While neither Vasquez or Scheyer dominated this game, in the end, Vasquez nailed the most important shot of the year, while Jon Scheyer fumbled his away. It depresses me to say it, but Greivis Vasquez is my ACC player of the Year.

The fact is, the award was Jon’s all season long. But down the stretch, he started making mistakes and got himself into a slump (even while Duke kept winning). Vasquez though, he just got better after a awful start to the season.

MARYLAND FANS REALLY DO SUCK
I love passionate fans and I appreciate Maryland fans’ passion. I really do and I have no problem with opposing fans taunting college players. It’s part of the game, but Maryland fans, could you really be any lamer?

First, the only chants they could come up with all night was, “Fuck Jon Schyer.” and “Fuck Duke.” That’s really the best you can do? My nine-year-old nephew can curse. At least last year the “Scheyer faces” were funny.

Secondly, has Maryland ever beaten Duke and not stormed the court? Seriously, you’re a top-25 team. And Maryland wonders why we don’t see them as rivals, no matter how hard they want to be. Do you ever see Carolina fans storming the court when they beat Duke?

We’ll start treating you like equals when you start acting like you actually belong.

I guess we’ll see you in the ACC Finals.

The race has come down to two; Duke’s Jon Scheyer and Maryland’s Greivis Vasquez. Of course, according to some, there really is no contest.

Here’s Michael Wilbon in The Chat House:

Barno, Md.: Is Greivis Vasquez your ACC player of the year? You going to be at the Duke-Md. game on Wednesday?

Michael Wilbon: I think he has to be, right. Jon Scheyer of Duke would be the other guy to seriously consider. But Vasquez had 41 in a game on the road (Saturday at Va. Tech) and 25 in a half to lead a rout of Virginia. You NEVER see that kind of scoring in college hoops. Okay, Michael Beasley and Kevin Durant had those kinds of games. But it’s rare in the time since Chris Jackson at LSU to see that kind of scoring

This guy at the Bleacher Report says if Vasquez doesn’t win it, it would be a crime.

Can the ACC deny  his supremacy of any of the following skills? Passing,  is there anyone better in the ACC or even the whole country? The Fast break, is there a better commander on the floor than Vasquez, can anyone see the floor better? Assist, is there a better guard in college basketball at getting  other player involved in the game? Rebounding, at 6’7” he can rebound at a  five per game average, who’s better? Smart, understands the game and his coach loves him for it. Fun to watch, undeniable a great flair on the court! Oh I almost forget, a great scorer, who can at anytime kill you by burning the nets. Can we all agree on that?

Yes, we can agree on all that. Yet does that mean he’s the player of the year in this conference? For most of the season, I had Jon Scheyer penciled in as the POY. However, Scheyer has struggled with his shot lately, while Vasquez has gotten better and better, after a rough start to the season.

I could understand anyone who gives it to Vasquez, but I certainly don’t think it would be a crime to hand it to Scheyer.

In tight situations like these, Big Duke Balls likes to go to the stats. Let’s compare this season’s numbers between Scheyer and Vasquez.

SCORING
Vasquez (19.5), Scheyer (18.8)

FIELD GOAL PERCENTAGE
Vasquez (43.7), Scheyer (41.7%)

THOUGHTS: Scheyer led Vasquez in scoring and shooting percentage all season long, until just this week, when Jon’s five-game shooting slump allowed Vasquez to jump ahead. Ironically, while everyone is giving Vasquez weekly awards for his 41-pt effort against Virginia Tech, I can’t help but notice he shot 13-33 from the floor that night. 41 is a nice number, but 20 missed shots? Still, he’s shot the ball well in the ACC this season.

THREE-POINTERS MADE
Scheyer (79), Vasquez (58)

THREE-POINT PERCENTAGE
Scheyer (40.1%), Vasquez (37.9)

FREE THROWS MADE/ATTEMPT
Scheyer (141-198), Vasquez (113-134)

FREE THROW PERCENTAGE
Scheyer (88.7), Vasquez (84.3)

THOUGHTS: Scheyer has the edge in both three-point shooting and free shooting, but both margins are slim and there’s not a lot of bragging room. However, if I had to give props about something, it’s the fact that Scheyer has done a much better job of getting to the charity stripe.

Scheyer has taken 64 more free throws than Vasquez, which is a bit odd considering Vasquez is better at driving into the paint.

REBOUNDS
Vasquez (4.8), Scheyer (3.4)

THOUGHTS: Both are pretty good at getting rebounds, but that’s not surprising since Vasquez is 6′7 and Scheyer is 6′5. Of course Vasquez grabs nearly five per game, which he’s averaged in his entire career.

ASSISTS
Vasquez (6.4), Scheyer (5.4)

ASSIST-TO-TURNOVER
Scheyer (3.1), Vasquez (1.9)

THOUGHTS: Clearly, Vasquez has the edge in assists. In fact, he leads the ACC. Yet, his problem has always been turnovers (more on this below). He is having his best year at 1.9/1, but that’s still well below Scheyer’s ACC leading, 3.1/1.

STEALS
Scheyer (1.6), Vasquez (1.5)

THOUGHTS: Jon’s got the slight lead, but it’s so close, I’ll have to call this category a draw.

SO WHAT DID WE LEARN?
Well, if you want to just stick with the simply numbers; points, rebounds and assists, you have to give the POY to Vasquez. He’s 3-0 in those three categories.

If you believe in digging deeper, then you have to look at the other numbers. Vasquez has a slight advantage in FG percentage, but Scheyer leads in 3-point percentage, FT percentage, FT attempts/made, assists-to-turnover ratio and steals. If those things matter to you, then Scheyer has the slight edge.

One important factor I like to look at is, has this player cost his team wins? This is where Scheyer gets major props. I can’t think of any game where a loss can be pined on Jon.

As for Vasquez, let’s look at the loses:
LOSS TO CINCY: Vasquez shot 5-17, including 0-5 from three.
LOSS TO WISCONSIN: He scored 18, but turned the ball over five times (to two assists).
LOSS TO VILLANOVA: Only 12 points and seven turnovers.
LOSS TO W&M: He scored 26, but need 23 shots, turning the ball over four times.
LOSS TO WAKE: Again, he scored (30 points), but turned it over six times.
LOSS TO CLEMSON: He scored only 11, turning it over a stunning nine times.
LOSS TO DUKE: Not too bad, 17 points, four assists, three turnovers. Of course 15 of his 17 points came in the second half with Duke up 20.

I’m certainly not going to blame those loses on Vasquez, but as any honest Terp fan will admit, there’s a lot to love about Vasquez, but there’s also plenty to hate too. When he has played bad this year, he’s really stunk up the joint.

This to me is what separates these two players. Of course, you can argue that Vasquez is more important to his team. Maybe you’re right, but take both Scheyer and Vasquez off their respected teams and both teams would suddenly have a lot of problems.

So…having said ALL that, if I had to vote right now, I’d give the ACC “Player of the Year” award to Jon Scheyer. But…and there’s always a “but”…

My decision is really going to come down to Wednesday night’s match up. If Maryland wins, it’s going to be because of the play of Vasquez. If Duke wins, Scheyer is going to be a main reason. The winner of that game will be my POY.

The simple fact is, if Maryland wins, Vasquez’s run down the stretch will propel him over Scheyer. If Duke wins though, that would be a sweep (again) and if Vasquez can’t beat Duke at home, then we have nothing to talk about.

Duke rolled out early to a 20-4 lead and never looked back, crushing the struggling Cavaliers by 18. Fact is, it should/could/would have been much worse, but Coach K sat his starters with about five minutes left to play. Virginia was able to go on a 13-5 run against Duke’s bench, to make the score look a bit less lopsided.

In reality, Virginia had no shot with star guard, Sylven Landesberg, sitting on the bench with a deep-thigh bruise. The Cavs weren’t going to win with his 17.4ppg (5th in the ACC) stuck on the pine.

SO WHAT DID I SEE?

THREE MINUS ONE = VICTORY
Tonight the Big Three (Singler, Schyer and Smith) were reduced to the Big Two, as Nolan Smith had his worst game of the year (and of course he did it three days after I wrote that he was the most consistent player on the team). Tonight he finished 1-8 from the floor, scoring a season low five points.

Of course it was bound to happen. Everyone has an off night, even Nolan Smith. At the very least, if you’re going to have a bad game, do it against a team riding a six-game slide.

The good news is, it didn’t matter at all. That’s the beauty of having a “Big Three.” One can have an off shooting night, but the others can pick up the slack. Singler and Scheyer both had solid nights. They combined to score 41 on only 24 shots (Vasquez scored 41 against Tech Saturday night, but he needed 33 shots to get it done).

SCHEYER PLAYS LIKE A SENIOR
Thursday night, I wrote about Jon Scheyer’s recent slump. While we expected most “experts” to declare it tired legs, I knew that wasn’t the case. The simple fact was, Scheyer was taking bad shots. The stats don’t lie, folks. If he had tired legs, he wouldn’t be shooting an impressive 44% from downtown (better known as three-point land). The fact was, he was shooting an awful 19% from two-point range because he was taking a ton of bad shots.

He needed to stop getting trapped among the trees and hit some open mid-range jumpers or a runner or two. Obviously he reads this blog (he doesn’t) because he listened.

Tonight, I decided to watch every shot he took. He took 14 total, seven were three pointers, seven were two pointers. Of the seven two-point shots, all but one were drives to the basket. The one that wasn’t was a long range shot he took right in front of the three-point line (which in my books is the worst shot you can take in basketball, but let’s move on).

Of the six “drive” shots, I counted two bad shots and four good shots. Of the two bad shots (one was a wacky lay up he threw up in trouble, the other was a jump shot, but he did it on the run with the defender right in his face), he made the former and missed the latter. I can deal with that.

Of the four good shots though (meaning he pulled up in the open spot in the paint), he hit three of four.

That’s what we’re talking about when we’re talking about taking “smart shots.”

PAGING MR. ZOUBEK
After having a stunning two-week run, Brian Zoubek disappeared tonight, picking up some fouls and never finding a groove tonight. He finished with four boards, no offensive and he took zero shots. The fact was, Coach Bennett’s game plan was to shut down Zoubek and Duke’s offensive board production. You can say it worked. Duke only grabbed two offensive boards. That’s one way to look at it. You can also say it left a lot of open paint because Duke’s guards were able to find some open looks at the mid-range spots. You can make your own decisions, this isn’t Russia.

Of course, I’ve always argued, it’s easy for Duke to be a good offensive rebounding team, simply because they’re really not a good shooting team, i.e. plenty of offensive rebound opportunities.

LOVIN’ THE TREY
Did you notice how much the Duke team celebrates when Andre Dawkins hits a three? Obviously he’s playing through a tough situation right now because of the death of his sister, so you have to believe his teammates are really pulling for him. Of course they also know how important he is. If he plays, he’s going to get open looks and if he can hit ‘em, it can only make this team better. It also makes my wife happy because then I’ll stop yelling at cats. Everyone wins.

ONE PLUMEE, TWO PLUMLEE
Overall, not a bad game by the brothers. It’s clear they’re coming off the bench for the remainder of the season and that’s a good thing. I really (am I saying “really” a lot tonight?) believe once a player knows his role and knows his minutes, it’s easier for them to just go out and play their game.

Tonight the dynamic duo scored nine and grabbed nine boards. For Miles, both of his scoring opportunities (one made basket, the other time he was fouled), came from high-low passes from his brother. His other two shots were both misses.

The problem the brothers continue to have, as well as freshman Dawkins (and Kelly for that matter) is on the defensive end. They just don’t have to know-how like Zoubek and Thomas to play smart, effective defense.

The one particular thing I saw tonight with Mason and Miles was their work on the high-screens. When the opponent’s big man goes up top to set a screen for the point guard, Duke’s big men are suppose to ride with the ball handler, force him out away from the basket and allowing the guard/defender to get back in front of the ball handler. The trick is knowing when to release from the ball and jump back onto your big man, who should be sliding back down towards the basket.

Both Plumlee’s struggled tonight getting back. Again, it’s not an athletic problem, they’re both more athletic than Zoubek and he’s figured it out. The problem is they tend to stay on the guard, both stopping our guard from getting back into position and of course leaving their man open underneath.

BACKDOOR JOHNSON
We saw a rare Steve Johnson sighting tonight, coming in late for some garbage time. And what’s the kid do (he’s not really a kid, I think he’s like in his late 30’s, give or take a few years)? he runs a perfect back door, Dawkins drives and finds him for an easy lay up.

It was Steve’s fifth point of the season and his first made basket of the year. That may not impress you, but you know what, it’s one more basket than I’ll ever make in a Duke uniform.

WINNING IT WITH DEFENSE
The one thing about this Duke team, they’re not going to simply out score you. In fact, during this current 8-game winning streak, Duke has failed to score 70 in half of those games. They’ve hit 80+ only twice during the eight-game span.

On the flip side, only Virginia Tech was able to break 70 points in a game against Duke.

NO 1 SEED
It’s all the talk now, thanks to Robbie Hummel’s injury and Purdue’s loss at home to Michigan State. The fact is, both teams have four loses now and if you added up the other important numbers (RPI, SOS, Wins against top-50, top-100), Duke sweeps Purdue. In fact, Duke’s nine wins against the top-50, leads the NCAA. If Duke beats Maryland Wednesday, the No 1 seed should be theirs.

DEEP THOUGHTS BY B.D.B.
Over the past couple weeks, the television announcers keep telling us that Coach K “tweaked” the offense to help Singler get better shots and it’s worked because Singler’s numbers are all up. Yet, the funny part is, they never tells us what exactly Coach K changed. Do you think they really (there’s that word again) don’t know?

Duke is now atop the conference with a 12-2 record going into the Maryland game and the team has already won 25 games this season.  Add to that Kryzyzewski now has over 1000 victories and as of last evening, he passed Dean Smith of UNC as having the most all time road wins in the ACC.

I mean were we not just hearing how bad Duke is on the road, yet they are now a respectable 5-2 in hostile environments?

Instead of anyone talking of how great a job Krzyzewski has done with a team shy in guard depth or that his team has won eight straight games, we worry about Jon Scheyer’s legs or we state how Duke has not played anybody and the first athletic team will send them packing come March Madness.

I can understand some of the local media taking shots at Duke, especially the shock journalist of the radio world, but it seems to be in vogue to bash Duke or always and I do mean always see the glass as half full as some of my fellow bloggers seem to do.

I mean enough is enough!  I feel like I need a shower after reading all of the gloominess is coming stuff.

Nobody is claiming that Duke is a clear cut favorite nor that they do not have their faults as a team, but to miss what this team has done to date is to show just how jaded some of us have become.

I love humor as much as the next person, but it seems that media is becoming more about entertainment than to actually look at tangible facts or study the subject matter more closely.  It’s easy to appeal to a certain faction of the fan base by drudging up the same old arguments like Duke has tired legs and needs to play more people or else doom and gloom and same old, well, you’ve heard it all before.

I mean, Syracuse is ranked number one as of today and they play how many players?  They play seven for those who take the time to look it up.

So pardon me if I exclaim that Duke is having a helluva year and that I am personally excited to cover Duke versus Maryland and North Carolina this week from press row.  Hey, I am chomping at the bit to attend the ACC Tournament as well.  I am just plain excited that this is March 1st and that Duke has an opportunity to win the ACC regular season championship if they can defeat Maryland on Wednesday evening.

Talk about a huge game in the ACC or pick Duke apart if that is your schtick, but do not spill my glass which is half full with whiny rants and loosely researched accusations stated  as if it was an authoritative fact.

It’s cool to be in the entertainment business but is is also cool to sometimes appreciate the positives  instead of digging up the oh-so overused usual gripes from spoiled Duke fans.

Take a deep breath and enjoy the season if you are a Blue Devil fan and quit assuming the worst is bound to happen  in order to enjoy the team you pull for.

Or buy into the “negative Nellies,” that permeate the web these days and sit there finding faults after every win.

The bottom line is that until Wednesday, Duke is the best the ACC has to offer and that in itself is a situation most fans would die to be in.

So enjoy the coming week where Duke has ESPN’s Gameday in for the UNC game and the contest on Wednesday?  It’s simply the biggest game in the ACC season to date.

And for positive and accurate coverage of all things Duke, visit my website Blue Devil Nation.  You will find that we cover the Duke Athletic beat in a most hands on manner.