Oct 14, 2011; Durham, NC, USA; Duke Blue Devils forward Marshall Plumlee (40) and forward Josh Hairston (15) celebrate after one of Plumlee

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Feb 11, 2013; Durham, NC, USA; Duke Blue Devils guard Chelsea Gray (12) reacts after scoring against the Maryland Terrapins during the second half at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark Dolejs-USA TODAY Sports

Gray, a junior, led the Duke Blue Devils to a 22-1 record, including a 12-0 ACC mark, before suffering a dislocated kneecap in the first half of Duke’s February 17th victory over Wake Forest. The point guard starred for the Blue Devils, putting up averages of 13.1 points, 5.6 assists, 3.7 steals and 5.4 rebounds per game over the 2012-13 campaign and, although Duke still managed to reach the Elite Eight without her, the team never seemed to fully recover after her injury.

This is delightful news for Blue Devil fans and is most certainly a bittersweet victory following their disappointing loss in the Elite Eight to Skylar Diggins and Notre Dame. Gray is one of the more entertaining players to watch in all of women’s college basketball and highly deserving of the award. Her well-rounded skills gave Duke a certain versatility that they lacked in her absence, and her ability to take control of and run the offense was as good as anyone other player I watched this year.

The award only adds to Gray’s impressive list of accolades, which already includes:

• 2012-13 ACC Co-Player of the Year
• 2012-13 ACC First-Team (Second Straight Year)
• John R. Wooden Award Finalist
• USBWA NPOY Finalist
• Naismith NPOY Finalist

Joining Gray on the WBCA All-America team is Delaware’s Elena Delle Donne, Notre Dame’s Skylar Diggins and Kayla McBride, UConn’s Stefanie Dolson and Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis, Baylor’s Brittney Griner and Odyssey Sims, Stanford’s Chiney Ogwumike and Maryland’s Alyssa Thomas.

Mar 21, 2013; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Duke Blue Devils forward Mason Plumlee (5) during press conference the day before the second round of the 2013 NCAA tournament at the Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Eileen Blass-USA TODAY Sports

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Mar 29, 2013; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Duke Blue Devils guard Seth Curry (30) brings the ball up court past Michigan State Spartans forward Branden Dawson (middle) and guard Gary Harris (right) in the second half during the semifinals of the Midwest regional of the 2013 NCAA tournament at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jamie Rhodes-USA TODAY Sports

Despite the impressive season Duke has put together, there haven’t been many games that have left me with a massive, satisfied smile on my face. It seemed that, in almost every contest, there was something that could be improved upon. Maybe Duke could’ve rebounded better. Maybe they could’ve played defense a little more efficiently. Maybe Mason Plumlee looked a little too weak.

Not today, though. Today, I analyzed the hell out of this game. I analyzed the game until my eyes started to burn a little and the feel-good, Pro-Duke vibe (which I rarely see in Southern California) had worn off entirely in the bar I was sitting in. I analyzed it until I could tell you nearly every stat every player could put up, regardless of how mundane of a category it was. I analyzed and analyzed and analyzed. And I can promise you this: not once, during the entire time, did the smile fade away from my face.

Duke was out-rebounded 33-26, but they never appeared overpowered or out-hustled. A few more balls bounced Michigan State’s way, but Duke still fought like hell on the boards for most of the game. When you start a lineup with three guys 6’4 or shorter, you aren’t going to win the rebounding battle often, but the Blue Devils fought like hell and didn’t give away too many opportunities.

They shot 40.8%, which isn’t that great, but no one ever shoots that great against Michigan State. They worked for open shots and ran a fluid and effective offense, only turning the ball over seven times in the entire contest. They scored 71 points against the Spartans, a mark that a team hadn’t reached since Illinois scored 80 against them on January 31st, a mark that has only been reached five times all year against Michigan State. They were about as good as you could’ve asked against Tom Izzo’s always-tough defense, and about as good as you could’ve asked was enough.

They had an intimidating force in the paint, with Senior Ryan Kelly blocking four shots and affecting a hell of a lot more. And don’t forget Plumlee, who overcame his Gumby-like strength and turned in an impressive effort. He didn’t dominate, but he never looked physically over-matched.

While there are plenty of examples of teams winning with a balanced attack, it often takes one or two guys stepping above and beyond their usual performances to pick up a victory. Duke received this effort from players both new and old, with Senior Seth Curry and Freshman Rasheed Sulaimon leading the way. It got to a point where it felt like every shot Curry threw up was going in, and his 29 points might as well be 31, considering the refs missed a blatant goaltending call at Curry’s expense at one point in the first half. When Curry is on, he is one of the more dangerous players in the nation, and he did a hell of a job showing it tonight.

Sulaimon, who has experienced his own share of inconsistency this season, turned in his second straight impressive performance, following up a 21-point outing against Creighton with a 16-point effort tonight. He only took six shots, but he consistently worked hard for a shot, getting to the line fourteen times and converting twelve of them. His effort seemed to exhaust the Spartans, and he could become the key to Duke’s deep tournament run.

Tyler Thornton adequately his role of Mr. Everything tonight, knocking down his only shot, a three-pointer early in the first half, and collecting three rebounds, two steals, two assists, and a never ending supply of hustle plays (one of which led to a Flagrant-One Foul).

It was one of the more complete efforts Duke has put together this season, and it couldn’t have come at a better time. Now, Duke moves on to face the Louisville Cardinals, a team they’ve already beaten once this season (a 76-71 victory in the Battle 4 Atlantis Tournament final). The experts will all tell you the same thing: it is very difficult for one team to beat an evenly-matched team twice in one season. In a game that is an essential 50/50 match-up, it is too difficult to grab two consecutive wins.

I agree entirely with this argument. Everyone has a chance to make adjustments, and the crapshoot that was the first Duke-Lousville game could have easily went the other way. For luck to swing in Duke’s favor two games in a row is a tall order.

However, Duke is playing some of their best basketball of the season right now, and they have a fairly decent shot at pulling off the feat. Perhaps I’m coming off as just another biased fan, but I’ve been more critical of this team over the course of this season than most. And now, finally, for the first team all year, I’m starting to believe this team is capable of winning a championship.

Tonight was an exciting game. On Sunday afternoon, we’re going to see another one. I can’t promise Duke will win, because Louisville is a heck of a team, but I can promise you this: Coach K’s squad is going to fight like hell. And, if they go down, they won’t be going down easy.

Bring it on, Louisville.

Mar 22, 2013; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Albany Great Danes guard Mike Black (10) passes the ball during the second half against the Duke Blue Devils during the second round of the 2013 NCAA tournament at the Wells Fargo Center. Duke defeated Albany 73-61. Mandatory Credit: Howard Smith-USA TODAY Sports

Leading the Blue Devils were Mason Plumlee, who scored 23 points with eight rebounds and two steals, and Seth Curry, who added 26 points. The two seniors combined to shoot 19-25, ensuring they would wear the Duke uniform for at least one more day. Sophomore Quinn Cook also carried the team, dishing out 11 assists against just one turnover.

It wasn’t the most impressive of opening round victories, but, considering how much the competitive gap has closed between top-tier teams and mid-major conference champions in recent years, you learn to take any victory you can in the tournament and move on. Would I have loved to have seen Duke run Albany out of the building? Of course. They didn’t, but they are advancing and Albany isn’t, and that is all that really matters at this stage in the season.

Besides, some teams make a habit out of hanging around in games, especially teams that excel on the defensive end. Albany is one of these teams and there defensive pressure resulted in 11 Duke turnovers, all of which helped keep the Great Danes hanging around until the very end. The result never appeared to be in doubt, not even when Albany closed the gap to 56-64 at the four-minute mark, but the pesky purple-shirted Danes refused to allow Duke to run away with it. They gave the Blue Devils an intriguing, possibly eye-opening challenge Friday morning and, for that, I salute them. Man, the NCAA Tournament is a lot of fun.

The game appeared to be headed towards a blowout in the early stages, with Duke racing out to a 24-14 lead at the 9:27 mark, but the seemingly star-struck Albany squad bounced back, playing to a near-even score the rest of the way. Jacob Iati carried the load, scoring 15 points to go along with six assists and six rebounds. Freshman guard Peter Hooley (13), senior Mike Black (10) and sophomore Sam Rowley (10) all scored in double-figures, as well.

To the bullet points:

• Duke (28-5) advances to the Round of 32, where they’ll face the Creighton Bluejays (28-7). The Bluejays went down to the wire with Cincinnati, but a 27-point outburst from star Doug McDermott proved too much as Creighton prevailed, 67-63.
• If you were hoping to see Josh Hairston’s role reduced in favor of Amile Jefferson, a possibility when you consider how poor Hairston has been performing recently, today was a letdown. Hairston received 13 minutes, managing only two rebounds and a charge, while Jefferson received four, uneventful minutes. I will never understand this.
• Mason Plumlee drained three sky hooks over the course of the game and shot 9-11 overall. It was nice, seeing Mr. Plumlee back in his dominant form. Of course, Albany isn’t exactly known for their post-play, but he looked as confident as ever and he used a variety of moves to put the ball in the basket. The re-emergence of the former NPOY candidate would be unbelievably huge for the Blue Devils.
• I want to devote a bullet point to the commentating that went on during the contest. Len Elmore, who has become well-known amongst fans for his anti-Duke/UNC attitude, took the word ‘bias’ to a whole different level today. He wasn’t THAT bad for the first half of the game, but somewhere around the midpoint of the second half, he threw professionalism to the wind and began openly cheering for Albany. If Albany hit a big shot, he would cheer in excitement, only to let out a groan when Duke answered on the other end. When Albany hit a tough shot, he would applaud the player, only to call Plumlee’s sky hooks ‘lucky’. By the end, he was only interested in talking about A) a possible Albany comeback and B) how poor Duke had looked. During Albany’s last comeback attempt, he gave a subtle, “ohhh” when a Great Danes’ three-point attempt sailed long, but continuously attempted to rally the troops with remarks of ‘there is plenty of time left’ and ‘this one isn’t over yet’. I never remark upon the performances of commentators, but the biased nature of the broadcast was atrocious. Elmore is the anti-Vitale (who, for the record, I can’t stand, either).

Mar 9, 2013; Chapel Hill, NC, USA; Duke Blue Devils guard Quinn Cook (2) dribbles in the first half at the Dean E. Smith Center. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports

Part 1 – General Resume

The one positive that comes along with playing in a mid-major conference is that if you can put together a fairly talented team, you have a very serious shot at making the tournament. Most mid-major conferences (excluding the Mountain West, A-10, and West Coast Conferences) are riddled with mediocrity, leaving two or three teams to fight it out for the automatic berth. Basically, if you can put together a team that doesn’t suck, you have a fairly decent shot. The downside? The lower level of competition doesn’t leave you with much room to put together an impressive resume, and a slip-up in your conference tournament could leave you on the wrong side of the bubble, despite your impressive record. Albany is one of those teams that dealt one of those unfortunate losses, knocking off unanimous favorite Stony Brook in the conference tournament, banishing the more impressive Seawolves to the NIT and sending the Great Danes sprinting into March Madness. The only way you can really explain Albany’s surge, which saw them knock off Vermont and Stony Brook, who they were a combined 0-4 against in the regular season, is that they got hot at the right time. Most of the time, though, that is all it takes.

As for Duke, they faced a consistently strong level of competition, loading up their resume with key victories over Florida Gulf Coast, Kentucky, Louisville, Ohio State, VCU, Minnesota, NC State, Miami, and North Carolina (twice!). The downside to this? The level of competition seemed to break them down, leading to a few ugly losses throughout the year. It comes with the territory, however, and it is one of the reasons why teams in major conferences receive far more respect than those from mid-major conferences (although that gap has begun to close in recent years).

So, with that said, let’s take a look at the team’s general resumes:

The Blue Devils were far more dominant against a far more dominant schedule. Not bad. Six of their first nine games were against teams that are in the NCAA Tournament and one of the three teams that isn’t was the Kentucky Wildcats, the defending national champs. Albany’s only game against a tournament team was a 82-60 blowout loss to Ohio State. Not exactly the prettiest of resumes.

Part 2 – Offense

These teams are polar opposites on offense. Duke runs an efficient spread offense that lives from beyond the arc, with Mason Plumlee being the only player who seems to operate primarily inside the arc. Albany, meanwhile, runs a slower offense, a result of their lack of athleticism and scorers. This isn’t to say Albany is a poor offensive team, but the numbers never lie:

The only category Albany tops Duke in is free throw shooting, where they hold an advantage by a whopping 0.2%. Advantage: Blue Devils

Part 3 – Defense

Defense: Duke’s achilles’ heel. The Blue Devils played uncharacteristically bad defense last season and nothing has changed this year. While they aren’t miserable, they’re nothing more than average in nearly every aspect. Albany excelled on defense in the American East Conference, which can be seen either as A) them being a legitimately strong defensive team or B) a lack of competition in the American East Conference. I choose to view it as a mixture of both, but I suppose we won’t know for sure until Friday.

Yeah, Duke has been THAT bad this season. Coach K’s teams usually pride themselves on defense, but this hasn’t been the case at any point this year. Defense wins championships, and I feel this could ultimately lead to their downfall.

Part 4 – Players

Everyone likes seeing statistical leaders, so I threw in an extra table. You know, for funsies. (also because I was enjoying listening to lectures rather than focusing on my professor’s lecture on Thomas Kuhn this afternoon).

What are your predictions for the game, Duke (and Albany!) fans? Sound off in the comment section below.

Mar 15, 2013; Greensboro, NC, USA; Duke Blue Devils forward Ryan Kelly (34) and guard Seth Curry (30) leave the floor after the game. The Terrapins defeated the Blue Devils 83-74 during the quarterfinals of the ACC tournament at Greensboro Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports

The Blue Devils did their best to make it look like they weren’t throwing the game, having freshman Rasheed Sulaimon explode in the first half for 12 points to keep the game somewhat close.

“Oh my gosh,” Coach K could be heard exclaiming “I totally didn’t see this coming! He’s like, a struggling freshman. Oh my gosh!”

The rest of the team, however, struggled to keep up with the acting chops of Sulaimon. Ryan Kelly missed numerous wide-open three pointers, all of which were followed by Kelly shouting, “OOPS! I guess I am all thumbs today, guys! Sure hope Maryland doesn’t beat us!” At one point, Quinn Cook attempted to throw up a lob to Josh Hairston, causing a few Maryland players to question whether the Blue Devils were even trying. Hairston, however, shot down questions, saying that he had been putting in a ton of work at the squat machine, and now had the vertical prowess of Chicago Bulls star Nate Robinson.

Meanwhile, Mason Plumlee…

Okay, I can’t write this crap anymore. I want to believe this happened, because, outside of this, I’m not entirely sure how to explain what transpired in the quarterfinals of the ACC Tournament this Friday afternoon. The Blue Devils, appearing to be comfortable with their current resume, came out looking flat and largely uninspired.

Their defensive rotations were sloppy, as they often had two players crashing down on the ball-handler, resulting in numerous open looks for Maryland, both on the wing and around the basket. I’ve reached a point where I’m sick of watching this entire team rebound. They don’t fight and scrap for the ball, instead settling for those that bounce directly to them, opting to allow the opponent to grab the rest. On numerous occasions, Ryan Kelly watched as a rebound bounced right in front of him, leading to a Maryland player swooping in and grabbing it. Plumlee and Hairston didn’t help the cause, either, as both were pushed around like rag dolls for most of the game.

Offensively, the Blue Devils struggled to find open looks on a consistent basis and failed to convert when they did, shooting a combined 4-25 from beyond the arc. Plumlee and Sulaimon were the only consistent contributors, with Plumlee finishing with 19 points and Sulaimon tacking on 16. Most of the game, Duke was plagued by bad shots and bad decisions and, despite only turning the ball over six times, they always appeared to be a little on the lost side.

With a solid tourney run, Duke could’ve ensured a spot as a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. Now, however, all they can do is sit and wait.

Is Duke still a number one seed? Sound off in the comment section below.

Mar 5, 2013; Durham, NC, USA; Virginia Tech Hokies guard Erick Green (11) drives against Duke Blue Devils forward Mason Plumlee (5) during the first half at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark Dolejs-USA TODAY Sports

At first glance, it is tough to argue with the selection. Green carried a lifeless Virginia Tech team throughout the season, averaging 25.4ppg, 4.1rpg, and 3.9apg. Yes, the Hokies only managed a 13-18 record, including a 4-14 mark in conference play, but you could have inserted anyone in Green’s place and that team would’ve failed. They are, to say the least, a non-functioning mess on defense, rarely holding opposing teams to under 70 points, which isn’t a very dependable recipe for success when your entire offense revolves around one player.

That one player, by the way, did nothing to help on the defensive side, either.

Yes, Mr. Erick Green, the ACC Player of the Year (a symbol of the conferences most-impactful player), was awful on defense, as well. Over the course of the entire season, Green was worth a mere 0.9 Defensive Win Shares. For reference, Josh Hairston, Duke’s below-average, backup power-forward who looked lost whenever he stepped on the court, even managed to rack up a 0.7 DWS in just 395 minutes of playing time, as opposed to Green’s 1128 minutes. Lee Melchionni, a three-point specialist for the Blue Devils from 2002-2006, racked up an average of 1.1 DWS over his four seasons. However, you spin it, a 0.9 DWS in 1,128 minutes is a miserable defensive performance.

Does this mean they voted for the wrong guy? No, because value isn’t tied entirely into defense. Achievements on the offensive end are far sexier to voters, and Green was as good as anyone in that department. His 32.6 PER was 5th in the nation, and ranked 1st amongst players in a major conference. His 5.1 OWS ranks 4th in the nation and 1st amongst players in a major conference. He led the entire nation in points produced and points produced per game. In all honesty, Virginia Tech may not reach 10 wins if he doesn’t play as well as he did. Offensively, they were nothing without him.

As far as second place goes, I definitely feel Mason Plumlee was robbed, as he owns a higher PER, OWS, DWS, ORtg, DRtg, and points produced, but none of that really matters. What matters is that Erick Green was awarded for one of the more impressive offensive seasons in the ACC in awhile, and Blue Devils fans and Hurricanes fans should have no problem with that.

Mar 9, 2013; Chapel Hill, NC, USA; Duke Blue Devils head coach Mike Kyzyzewski reacts in the second half. The Blue Devils defeated the Tar Heels 69-53 at the Dean E. Smith Center. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports

Mason Plumlee received 73 first-place votes, leading the ACC and landing the power-forward on the All-ACC First Team. The senior averaged 17.2 ppg, 10.3rpg, and 1.5 bpg, leading the Blue Devils to an impressive 27-4 regular season.

Seth Curry found himself on the second All-ACC team, an impressive feat for a guard who played the entire season with a leg injury, which often limited his mobility and comfort. The senior, who you could easily argue should’ve been a part of the first-team squad, averaged 17.1ppg, 1.6apg, and shot .435 from beyond the arc.

Quinn Cook, who may have been the most pleasant surprise this season, was named to the third-team All-ACC. Cook will likely find himself in the running for first-team next year, as the point guard developed into one of Duke’s most dangerous weapons throughout the season. The sophomore from Washington, DC ended the season with averages of 12.5ppg, 3.9rpg, and 5.3apg.

Rasheed Sulaimon received a spot on the All-ACC Freshman team. There was a point this season where I was worried that Sulaimon was playing so well that he would leave for the draft, but inconsistency slowed his progress, and he saw his minutes take a hit when Ryan Kelly returned from injury. Sulaimon is awfully good when he is on, and awfully bad when he is off. I am fine with him making only the freshman team. He ended the season with averages of 11.4ppg, 3.3rpg, and 2.1apg.

Ryan Kelly, Duke’s knight in shining armor, earned himself a spot on the Honorable Mention All-ACC team, which I think is the ‘Man, people are going to be pissed if we don’t put these guys’ names SOMEWHERE’ team. Kelly’s return from injury boosted Duke back into one of the favorites to win a National Championship in most people’s eyes, bringing a wide-range of skills that the Blue Devils had been missing from their lineup. Kelly likely would’ve found himself on the second-team or higher if he had been healthy the entire season, but injuries took him out for a large chunk of ACC play, limiting him to just five ACC contests.

The complete list of All-ACC teams can be found here.

Mar 5, 2013; Durham, NC, USA; Duke Blue Devils head coach Mike Krzyzewski greets senior forward Ryan Kelly (34) as he comes out of the game late in the fourth quarter against the Virginia Tech Hokies during the second half at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark Dolejs-USA TODAY Sports

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