Deal with the Devils
THERE is a distinct segment of the population for which this scene is a commonly accepted version of hell: a plume of blue and white confetti falling from the ceiling, forming a thick blue and white fog, amid which various devils — Blue Devils — frolic, around which pulses a deafening chorus of dread:
“LET’S GO, DUKE! LET’S GO DUKE! LET’S GO DUKE!”
Better to deal with it now, America, a couple of hours before the brackets of the NCAA Tournament will be revealed, a couple of days before the Duke Blue Devils will continue their assault on the rest of the sport, one that began across four remarkable days at Barclays Center, surviving the kind of gauntlet you aren’t supposed to come close to surviving in March.
“They always seemed to have a little more,” Notre Dame coach Mike Brey said when Duke’s 75-69 schooling of his Fighting Irish in this ACC final was complete. He meant enough of a reserve to overcome the exhausting weekend assignment, but of course, part of what makes Duke Duke is that the Blue Devils always seem to have a few more players than you do, too.
And though Notre Dame was terrific, fueled by Bonzie Colson’s monstrous 29-point, ninerebound tour de force and streetcorner-fighting point guard Matt Farrell’s 13 points and seven assists, the Irish didn’t have enough — same as North Carolina didn’t have enough, same as Louisville didn’t have enough, same as Clemson didn’t have enough.
It’s almost funny to think about now, but Duke was the fifth seed of this tournament, which is why they had the extra game — and that extra game, against a Clemson team that desperately needed to go on precisely this kind of four-day basketball bender, started off tied 33-33 at the half. And when Duke allowed the first points of the second half, it started a remarkable trend.
The Blue Devils trailed Clemson in the second half of the first round by as many as two – and won 79-72.
They trailed Louisville in the second half of the quarterfinal round by as many as 12 (with 13 minutes to go) — and won 81-77.
They trailed Carolina in the second half of the semifinal round by as many as 13 (with 14 minutes to go) — and won 93-83, ending the game on a 45-22 run at a time when their legs should have felt like Jell-O.
And on Saturday night, they trailed Notre Dame in the second half by as many as eight — with 11 ½ minutes to go — and won 75-69, ending the game on a 27-13 run when their lungs should have been ready to burst like so many New Year’s Eve balloons.
“My team has taken me on a journey this week that we couldn’t have planned,” Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said. “The caliber of the teams we beat, the deficits we had to overcome … they’re a close team. That closeness paid off for us here.”
What Duke did, winning four games in four nights — and, for kicks, the first 5 seed ever to win this tournament — might be unprecedented in the ACC, but it certainly is not unique in the annals of March in New York City. You’ll recall the five wins in five nights the 2011 Connecticut Huskies strung together behind Kemba Walker, a splurge they needed just to qualify for the NCAA Tournament — and then they won six more times there, capping what has to be the most improbable 11-game winning streak ever.
This wasn’t that. Duke already was guaranteed a slot in the Dance, with a comfortable seed, even if they had gone one-anddone. Still … the Blue Devils entered the tournament ranked No. 14 in the AP poll and in order across the last three days took out No. 10 (Louisville), No. 6 (Carolina) and No. 22 (Notre Dame).
And what they may have done in knocking the rest of the conference out is make what would have been considered an impossible climb from a No. 3 or 4 seed to, perhaps, a top-line seed. At the least, it could set up what would be a delicious 1-vs.-2 regional final at Madison Square Garden in two weeks between Duke and Villanova (which won the Big East Saturday in its own blaze of glory).
They always seem to have a little more. And they have some momentum now, too. Best to deal with this now, America.