Originally Posted by
PatZorro
It doesn't matter if you win the NCAA as a 1 seed or a 6 seed. It is a success looking backwards, not forwards.
A: I don't think we were a 1 seed, even if we beat UNC tomorrow, unless we blow them off the court, and that would've been highly unlikely.
B: I think all the elite teams understand that not everyone can be a 1 seed. Too many things go into seeding. Non-Conf play, Non-Con SOS, Conf record, Conf SOS, Conf RPI, and tourney play. Some of those things are beyond a team's control, no matter how well they play.
No one starts out as a 1 seed, or a 3 seed for that matter. Suppose that Duke lost a couple of non-conf games, and a couple of conf games, spread over the whole season, not sandwiched together at the end. We finish 2nd in the ACC, and lose to a talented Clemson team. Had we played well today, and Clemson played better, or even if we beat Clemson and drop a tight game to UNC, we end up at approximately the same place.
Only, instead of appearing to be limping to the end of the season, as we appear now, we are on something of an uptick, or are at least playing at or near the level we played at all year.
To make a deep tourney run, in either scenario, we would need strong perimeter shooting, quality D, and key contributions from several players. If we were on an uptick, that would seem more likely, both to us and to potential opponents. Athletes and coaches are like sharks. They can smell blood, and there is a definite sanguine odor about us right now.
And now for something completely different (and depressing). If we do not make the FF this year, it will be the second senior class since K came to Duke to not go to te FF. That class was Wojo's class, and the 99 year followed. I don't think next year is a 99 type year. Talk about trending.
PatZorro