Originally Posted by
Jumbo
I think we tend to lose track of how many other teams blow big leads on a regular basis in the Tourney. In the last round alone, Tennessee and USC did it. Vandy had a handy lead over Georgetown. Butler was up early on Tennessee.
As far as that Duke-UConn game goes, there's no way I can second-guess Coach K because I was actively first-guessing Jim Calhoun the minute he sat Okafor. Seriously, there were just some ridiculous calls in the second half -- particularly against Shav and Shel -- that killed Duke. Otherwise, Calhoun allowed his team to get down by such a margin that they had to play an almost perfect last three minutes (and catch a few breaks from Duke) to win. Seriously, if any number of 10 plays goes another way (Ewing doesn't ignore his transition D responsibility and chase a rebound in the corner, leaving Anderson open for a transition three, Deng doesn't hoise a quick shot, etc.), UConn loses. That's way too close a margin, with way too much lucky involved, to consider Calhoun's strategy superior. I loved the way Coach K went for the jugular, believe that Calhoun never did make up for Okafor's lost minutes despite his finishing the game against Horvath, and, as I said, find that to be one of the most frustrating losses I've ever witnessed as a Duke fan.
The 1999 game? You can take Coach K to task for that one and I won't argue much. I thought UConn's game plan was better and K didn't adjust well, and his end-game play (one-on-one with Trajan) was a very poor choice. But I love the job he did in the 2004 game, and will always be bitter that he wasn't rewarded for it with a win.