Duke vs. Boston College

I believe he was saying that they only matter after they play each other again.  Or was that just your way of being a smart a**?

I meant that Miami wasn't going to jump Duke in the rankings cause they were so far down in the polls, even though Duke got spanked. Miami has their chance when they go to Duke to show if that game was for real or a fluke. After that game we can rank Duke and Miami correctly on who should be higher.

The way Duke looked against BC, I can easily seeing them the first #1 Seed to get beat by a #16 Seed this year...

Unless UNC makes it to a 16th seed.

Didn't BC play Duke to 2 one pt games???? Pitiful.... These should be 20 pt wins minimum?!

No, zi was thinking of Miami, BC...Duke only played them once. Still shoulda been a double digit win if a duke is that great, honestly!

OhStman - Maybe.

Every team has good and bad days. Tonight was a bad one for Michigan, but they are still a good, potent ball club. Kansas, Indiana, Syracuse and Florida have all had bad days. Supposedly Kansas had the worst loss (based on RPI) in 20 years.  Yet they just detroyed a really good K-State squad.

If Duke's bad day is a 2 pt. win on the road in a blizzard which disrupted their travel I'll take it. The way the rankings go, they rate the season performance, not just 1 or 2 games. 

Anyway, the loss of Ryan Kelly so late in the season has caused them to change their scheme, and neither Hairston nor Jefferson has Ryan's skills, size, or experience. If he heals in time, I think the team will be stronger because they will have much more flexibility with different line-ups. That can make a huge difference in the NCAA tournament in case there is a team with weird match-ups.  Many upsets come from lower ranked teams which match up really well with a higher seed. Also, many blow-outs come when the higher seed has a match-up the lower seed can't handle.

That's my take on the close BC game. It does not mean the Blue Devils have not earned a high ranking.

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Sorry, Terps, but no top 5 team should get taken out by 30.....lets be real. I give you that EVERY good team has bad games, but we didn't see Indiana, Syracuse, or FL getting blown out by 30 to ANY team. Duke's best win was to the OSU by 5pts in Durham....we can pretty much say that if that was our home game, Duke would have 3 losses( including NC ST, reall?) Just because they can slide by (barely) winning these ACC games in a weak fashion, does that earn them a top spot. IMO, no. Why are other teams expected to destroy every unranked opponent, but a duke just has to " get by?" Because they are Duke....???? Hmmmmm

OhioSt, you make several mis-statements here. I am happy to debate with you, but let's agree to use facts to form the basis of our analysis. 

First point: If every ACC game was a squeaker, I would actually agree with you. However, there have been many wins which were not close, both against ACC and against other quality opponents. And although its a small point, Duke did not "lose by 30" and it was to an extremely strong team, now ranked in the Top 5. It was by 27, and is quite a large margin. But it was in the first game after an injury to a senior starter who played well at both ends of the court. Ryan Kelly was averaging like 20 minutes a game, and is a good shooter and shot blocker. My point was there are other major losses by highly ranked teams, some shocking because of a big margin, others shocking because of the very low ranking of the opponents. For instance:

1.) Michigan losing by 23 to MichSt (Closest example to Duke loss to Miami: 27 points vs. 23 points)
2.) Florida losing to Arkansas whose RPI is 100 (I was wrong about this being a blow-out loss)
3.) Kansas losing to TCU whose RPI is 221! (I was wrong about this being a blow-out loss)
4.) Syracuse lost to an unranked, but fairly stout, Temple team (I was wrong about this being a blow-out loss)
5.) Louisville lost 3 games in a row 
6.) Indiana lost 2 close games to Illinois and Wisconsin  

Here is a list games which were not even close to squeakers:

Against ACC teams:
- Wake Forest by 18
- Clemson by 28
- Georgia Tech by 16
- Maryland by 20
- Florida State by 19 
- In fact if "a squeaker" is defined as a one-possesion win or loss, the Boston College game is the ONLY squeaker Duke has had this year.

Second mis-statement: Certainly beating Ohio State is a feather in their cap, but I am not sure its Duke's best win. First, Louisville is ranked higher than Ohio State. Also, Louisville, Minnesota, and NC State all have higher RPI's than does Ohio State. Duke also beat VCU, Temple and Kentucky who are each just a few rungs below Ohio State in RPI. So I do not just "go by RPI", but it creates an argument for which of those 4 are the "best win". The main point is beating Ohio State is not a fluke win as there are more than a few comparable ones. 

Third mis-statement: Who in the world of basketball (besides you) say Duke has to "get by" and other teams "are expected to destroy every unranked opponent". I have been following college hoops for more than 40 years. I grew up just a few miles from U. of Maryland's College Park campus and listened, watched, and eventually attended Terps games from about age 10. I have been hearing for decades that close wins and blow-outs do not count the same. A "W is a W" but the quality of the win is also considered. Home Court vs. Opponents Court is considered. Illness and Injury are considered.  

Perhaps you should consider the opinions of those who are perhaps the best judge of the other teams. The other coaches voted Duke #1 this week: See the NCAA Coaches Poll. Do they "let Duke get by"? I think not.

"Unless UNC makes it to a 16th seed."



Hopefully Lehigh won't be in Duke's bracket....