Sorry for the delay ladies and gentlemen I had a very busy holiday season, but with the National Championship for football out of the way it is now time for college basketball, the greatest sport in all the land.
And right away with college basketball in the forefront the #1 team in the country, the Duke University Blue Devils goes down to Florida State, just further proof that it is gettin increasingly harder to go undefeated in college basketball.
So why did Duke lose you may ask, well here is a few reasons.
1. Duke shot 35 3's!!
Ok any team that shoots 35 threes in a game and only score 61 points is probably not going to win. Duke was settling way too much for the outside shot and not doing what got them to where they were, which is starting inside and then playing off the bigs to get three's that way. Duke is much better when they are playing inside out, and today they were playing just outside. This is not Duke basketball.
2. They didn't win the turnover battle.
They didn't techincally lose it either with each team turning it over 15 times, but Duke thrives on getting teams to rush their pace and commit silly turnovers. I thought Florida St. was very poised tonight and they fought throught the singature Blue Devil pressure. If their is a blueprint on how to beat Duke you have to have good guards, and Florida St proved that they do.
3. Derwin Kitchen played out of his mind!!
Speaking of Florida St guards, Mr. Kitchen, who averages 9.5 points/game had 22 points and 10 rebounds. That is a season high in points and tied for 2nd in rebounds for him and he was very efficient. Going 9-13 from the floor and only committing one turnover in 36 minutes of play. That is the type of performance you need if you are going to beat Duke, and he looked awfully good doing that. This kid is for real.
4. Duke bench did not perform.
With teh injury to Kyrie Irving the Blue Devils are thinner now, but only 11 points from your bench on 3-12 shooting. You have got to get more production from your bench. Duke had five playes play 30 minutes tonight, and this might be a problem come March if Singler or Nolan gets in foul trouble.
5. Florida St. hit their free throws at the end.
This can't be stated enough. Florida St. only went 12-18 from the free throw line but they made them when it mattered. 5-6 in the final minute helped them keep the lead and made Duke settle for outside shots.
All in all good work to Florida St. They played like a team should play the Blue Devils, slow, methodical and under control. Duke still is one of the top teams in the country but on this night FSU the heart of the lion and sent the Dukies to their first loss of the season!
Congrats FSU
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