The Duke Blue Devils have made it to the Sweet 16 for the 27th time in the program’s history. They beat a very good Creighton team who gave them everything they had. By the under 16 timeout in the second half, Duke had 3 players (Mason Plumlee, Ryan Kelly, and Josh Hairston) with four fouls. Plumlee and Hairston fouled out before the end of the game, though it was well in hand by that point.
The Devils will face their toughest test of the tournament Friday night when they take on the Michigan State Spartans in the Sweet 16. Many experts and analysts feel Michigan State will knock off Duke due to their size and physicality. Teams with size inside have given Duke problems this year. Mason Plumlee and Ryan Kelly should be able to go toe-to-toe with Derrick Nix and Adreian Payne as long as they stay out of foul trouble. We have the guards that can defend and keep Michigan State from penetrating. Michigan State is going to have to worry about our guards and Kelly being a stretch four. I believe this will be a tight game throughout with Duke pulling out the win 68-63 and moving on to the Regional Final.
Who will they face? I think Oregon’s upset run ends against Louisville. Louisville’s trap and guards will be too much for Oregon to handle, setting up a rematch of the Battle for Atlantis Championship. Louisville played that without Gorgui Dieng. I still think Duke would’ve won that matchup even with Dieng in the lineup. I see this game going to same way as the first one, which Duke won 76-71. I even believe the score will be the same as Duke marches on to the Final Four.
Chris Summerville is originally from Indian Trail, NC and currently resides in Monroe, NC. He has been a lifetime Duke fan and knows exactly what he was doing when Christian Laettner crushed the hopes and dreams of Kentucky fans (and Aminu Timberlake’s intestines). Chris graduated from UNC Asheville in 2003 with a degree in Multimedia Arts & Sciences. By day he is Creative Director for one of the major billiard companies in the US. By night he prowls the interwebs as the Duke of Hoops. Chris can often be found on Twitter arguing with UNC fans.
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