Against Virginia, Duke never looked like it was gaining any momentum in the 68-73 loss. Mason Plumlee just couldn't get going. Joe Harris from Virginia was able to get whatever he wanted. It was one of those games where you kind of knew Duke was going to lose after about 5 minutes.
Against Miami, Ryan Kelly returned, 79-76. I was talking to a co-worker this past Friday about March Madness. I said I'd need to see Ryan Kelly play a few games with Duke before I decided how far Duke would go. I also said that I was considering picking Miami to win it all. Unexpectedly for me, I got to see Ryan Kelly play a game earlier than anticipated. Let's just say he played beyond expectations. My one concern: Duke went back to a 7 man rotation. There were no minutes for Amile Jefferson or Alex Murphy. Of course, this game was so close that perhaps having a tight bench is acceptable. On the other hand, Miami went 9 deep for the game (2 players only got sparse minutes, but Jefferson and Murphy could have also been given some sparse minutes). As for thinking about selecting Miami to win it all? They played a solid game. One game does not make Duke the best team in the nation, especially when that one game saw an unreal performance. We still need to see how Duke plays over the next 4 or 5 games (I'm assuming they at least make a semi-deep run in the ACC tourney). As for Miami, they're tough and good and March could be kind to them. Of course, one can always make various March Madness entries so I could still select both Duke and Miami to win it all.
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