Duke Basketball vs Oregon: 68 - 82

I'm not sure this is how you want to go out in March Madness. Sure, I didn't think Duke was going to win it all. I've mentioned on my Duke blog posts that I just felt that Duke didn't have enough players. My problem with this game, I didn't feel like Duke went down fighting. To me, it felt like the Duke v Arizona game in 2011. Even down to a lone player -- a freshman -- playing strong while the rest of the team shrank. In 2011, it was Kyrie Irving. This year, it was Brandon Ingram. In this game against Oregon, the rest of the team should be feeling bad about how they played.

Yes, Duke took a brief lead, but it didn't look like they were ever going to win the game. Here's my observation in the 2nd half. Duke's defense either played great or Oregon went through stretches where they weren't hitting anything. Duke was rebounding great, but their offense couldn't do anything. Grayson Allen never got going. Marshall Plumlee couldn't use his size. Chase Jeter and Derryck Thornton appeared to be over-whelmed by the spotlight. Was the fact that Kobe Bryant and Tim Cook in the audience putting too much pressure on those two freshmen?

Either way, on to next year. Next year should look good for Duke. We should have Amile Jefferson, Matt Jones, Luke Kennard, Jeter and Thornton returning. Then with a solid recruiting class, Duke should be 8 to 9 deep. Not bad for a nice push.

Hopefully, unlike this year, we don't have any bad luck with major season ending injuries. Back to this year, I just wonder what would have happened if Amile Jefferson had returned in February.