The Final Countdown

The NCAA Tournament starts to come to an end for another year, this year the final four is Louisville, Michigan, Wichita State, and Syracuse. The newest members are the Louisville Cardinals who defeated the Duke Blue Devils and the Michigan Wolverines who took down Florida in a landslide.

The Wolverines beat the Gators by exactly 20 points, 79-59. Nik Stauskas was the main reason that the Wolverines won, he 22 points and literally couldn't miss. He went 7-8 from the field and 6-6 from the 3 point arc. Trey Burke played just as well if not better, Burke had 7 assists, 8 rebounds, and 15 points, at point guard for the Wolverines of Michigan. Patric Young and his Gators were out of it almost the whole game and his 8 rebounds and 7 points couldn't do anything about it.

As for the Cardinals Russ Smith was probably the top performer in this game, his only competition was Mason Plumlee of Duke. Plumlee had 12 rebounds and 17 points, Smith had 23 points and a pair of steals. Gorgui Dieng played great for the Cardinals as well as Russ, maybe better. He had 14 points and 11 rebounds to push his team to a 22 points victory of 85-63.

Post who you think will win the tournament in the comments box as well as the runner-up!

By David B.

Upset

  Duke has sunk to Maryland in the ACC Tournament.  Maryland had the energy to start off, resulting in a 34-26 halftime score with Maryland on top.  Duke was upset by Miami early this season, and they were down big at halftime.  This game was similar to that until the second half.  Last season, Duke lost in the first round of the March Madness Tournament.  Duke isn't a very good road team, especially when something very important is on the line.  Whatever Coach K said to his team in the locker room really put some heart into Duke in the second half.  Duke didn't have enough heart to catch up.  Duke was outscored 49-48 in the second half.  The final score was 83-74 with Maryland on top.  Duke shouldn't be hanging their heads over this loss though.  Duke came out strong in the second half and if they could to that in the first half too, Duke would've had more of a chance to win.  This loss will wake Duke up and tell them that they won't win every game and it isn't going to be easy to win.  In every win, you have to find the bits of strength left in you.  After every game, there should be every players' skin on the court.  Dez Wells led Duke with 30 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, and 1 steal.  Mason Plumlee led Duke and had 19 points, 7 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals, and 1 block.  It doesn't matter whether you lead the team in scoring; it is if you do your job and help your team win.  Ryan Kelly for the Blue Devils only had 8 points, 1 assist, and 3 rebounds.  He needs to get back into his shooting groove to help Duke to more wins.

By Ameen I.

ACC

  The ACC is one of the toughest conferences in the country.  I think the two powerhouse teams in the ACC are Duke and Miami.  Most people are raving about Ryan Kelly's performance last night against the hurricanes, by dumping 36 points, 7 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals, and 1 block after missing almost 2 months with an injury.  However, I want to see more performances by Kelly like this for him to be a candidate for the ACC Player of the Year.  In my opinion, the ACC Player of the Year Award should go to there people; Shane Larkin, Kenny Kadji, and Mason Plumlee.  Shane Larkin puts up a significant amount of points every game and gets his team energized.  For example, when Miami upset Duke in January, Larkin slapped the floor in excitement and the rest of the team started to do so too.  Last night he scored 25 points, 4 rebounds, and 4 assists.  Kenny Kadji is a player who can do everything.  He can pass, shoot, and dribble.  i think the fact that shocks people the most is the fact that he is 6 feet 11 inches and can still bury deep threes.  He also runs the floor and dunks the ball, which also gets the team pumped up.  This May he is going to turn 25.  I think one of the reasons the hurricanes are doing so good is that they are a very experienced team, with 6 seniors and 3 juniors on their roster.  Mason Plumlee is a very good player, with only one downside.  He is only a 67% free-throw shooter.  Many spectators have pointed out that he gets the ball about 16 feet from the basket, then plows his way through to the basket to score.  He only has to take one dribble.  Also, the fact that he is more on the humble side proves that he won't make many mistakes while celebrating.  The only mistake mason Plumlee made yesterday was when he out-threw Seth Curry with :50 seconds left, turning it over.  Other than that, i think he is an amazing player.  All of these players are capable of scoring in big ways, and to lead their teams to victories when needed.  I am disappointed because I am not hearing much about C.J. Leslie from NC State.  Last year he was scarring the opposing team, just by being there.  Now, everyone is talking about Shane Larkin.  Leslie needs to step it up so he can be the player he used to be.

By Ameen I.

Cook and Plumlee Lead Duke

The Duke Blue Devils were very sloppy in the beggining of the game, actually the whole first half. But they would come back to win the game. They were lead by two of the best players in the nation, Quinn Cook and Mason Plumlee. Plumlee had a double double with 11 rebounds and 18 points. Also, Cook had 18 points plus some of his best defense with 4 steals.

UNC (University of North Carolina) Tar Heals had some great players of their own, especially P.J Hairston who had 23 points, 2 blocks, and 8 boards. Also, James Micheal McAdoo, Reggie Bullock, and Dexter Strickland. Bullock and Strickland both had double digits, with 15 for Bullock, and 14 for Strickland. Plus, Bullock had 8 rebounds and McAdoo had 8 rebounds as well, but only 9 points. For the Blue Devils Seth Curry played good enough with 11 points and 6 boards.

Do you think Duke will be number 1 in the AP Poll? I do. Post your answer in the comments!

By David B.

Long Lasting Rivalry: Continues

A long lasting rivalry has continued to go up and up, the Duke Blue Devils and North Carolina Tar Heels. They will continue their seasons tonight a 9:00 EST.

The two players I can see exploding for big games are James Micheal McAdoo and Mason Plumlee. Plumlee is arguably the best player in the country being able to score and rebound the ball. Also, McAdoo does those things as well as anybody else,l except he doesn't get half as much recognition as Plumlee. McAdoo has an average of 14.9 points per game and 8.2 rebounds. So, why isn't he as well known? The Answer is because he can't lead his team to wins. Also, the Tar Heels have an extremely good forward or guard, Reggie Bullock. Bullock averages 14 points and he has an average of 5.6 boards. For Duke they have lots of talent around Plumlee. They have Quinn Cook, Seth Curry, and Ryan Kelly. Cook leads the Devils in steals and assists. He has 6 assists per game and 1.6 steals. Plus, he gets 11.8 points per game, an all around player. Seth Curry and Kelly are added bonuses they get 16.8 and 13.4 points per game while Kelly has 5.4 rebounds to match his 13.4 points.

I think that the (4) Blue Devils have to much talent to not beat this unranked Tar Heel team. That is my opinion, what is yours? Post who you think will win in the comments!

By David B.

Upset Alert

The Duke Blue Devils would play what they thought would be an easy team the Miami Hurricanes , but they were wrong. Even though Miami has been on a defensive roll, giving up less than 60 points in their past 3 games. They would not hold Duke to less than 60 points, but their offense was amazing and they only ended up giving away 63 points to Duke. This would be the first win for coach, Jim Larranaga over a number 1 team. Also, it would be the third highest margin of victory over a number 1 team all time.

The key to winning this game would be holding Duke to 19 points total in the first half. While the Hurricanes put up 42 points. Which is 23 more points. Mason Plumlee was not slowed down a bit though, he had 15 points and 11 rebounds for Duke. The key to victory for Miami would not be held in what people would think, stopping Mason Plumlee. It would be a combination of Shane Larkin, Kenny Kadji, and Durand Scott. Scott and Kadji would both have 20 point games. Scott ended with 6 rebounds and 25 points. Kadji had 22 points, 2 blocks and 2 steals. Plus Larkin would have 10 rebounds to make a double double with his 18 points.

After this game what do you think Duke's number 1 Ap poll turn into. Plus what will Miami's 25 turn into. Post what you think In the comments!

       By David B.

NCAA Men's POY

NCAA Men's Player of the Year award candidates, Plunmlee, Burke, McDermott. ESPN.com