Duke Outhustled...

I think the title says it all. Duke lost to LSU in a game they were never really in. LSU's athletic overplay defense on Williams and Redick disrupted Duke's half-court set better than anyone has all season, and the rest of Duke's team was too young (McRoberts, Paulus) and too banged up (Dockery, Nelson) to compensate. Duke had some success in transition, but couldn't outrun a lightning fast and well-conditioned LSU team for long. What surprised me was the lack of emotion from the Duke side in this game – they just didn’t seem to want it as much as LSU. Maybe they were dog-tired after winning the ACC championship, but it was sad to see Redick and Williams end their careers with a whimper instead of a bang (and why, in the last couple of minutes, is Paulus launching 30 footers instead of banging it down low to Williams like they had all game? I know he’s got four fouls, but if you’re not going to give him the ball he might as well not be on the court. There were a lot of focus mistakes down the stretch for Duke – particularly during defensive rebounding). So there you have it. LSU played harder and smarter, and that usually wins you a game. John Wooden said that the champion this year would have to go through Duke to get it – LSU must feel pretty damn good about that.

As an aside – Big Baby has got to get more polished, but he is a fun player to watch. No one that big should be able to move that quickly! Congrats LSU, well fought game. For Duke, it’s time to reload and watch K work his magic one more time…