8 hours ago, mcpapa said:

Peaked too early. 

Carolina and Duke kept getting better...UK flattened out.

8 hours ago, mcpapa said:

I’m not certain that we will see the consistent level of excellence from Duke, post Coach K.  We will see. 

Duke will remain Duke. See below 

Jon Scheyer is going to continue to get the best players in the country post Coach K. 

 

That was a great game. Was torn throughout on who I wanted to win, but I think I am pleased it was the Tarheels.

Sure seemed like Hubert Davis threw Roy Williams under the bus in that post game interview.

Coming out of the 8 minute timeout, Banchero made a layup to give Duke a 3 point lead. From that point on to the end of the game, Duke was 4-13 from the field and Banchero never made another basket. He was 0-2 in that last 7:30.

Also, Duke went 1-4 from the foul line in the last minute while UNC hit 5-6 free throws in the last minute.  It can never be overstated the importance of hitting free throws in the last 4 minutes of a close game.

1 hour ago, Walter said:

Duke will remain Duke. See below 

Jon Scheyer is going to continue to get the best players in the country post Coach K. 

 

The top 3 are all possible lottery picks in the 2023 NBA draft.

Thanks for the ride Coach K, you are truly the man!!!!

10 minutes ago, nikeman49 said:

Thanks for the ride Coach K, you are truly the man!!!!

Agree.

However, I can't help wondering what this post would look like if Coach Cal had lost with a team with 5 first round NBA picks.

4 hours ago, 9068 said:

Carolina and Duke kept getting better...UK flattened out.

One of the biggest fallacies that annually come from the NCAA tournament is that teams that advance to the Final Four have been playing a high level the last several weeks. Nothing could be further from the truth. Duke played no ranked teams for four months and won the ACC by default underwhelming all year, got beat down their final regular season game, had it handed to them in the ACC tourney final, and were trailing late in three of their five NCAA tournament games. UNC was a bubble team up until their win at Duke the last game of the regular season.
 

I enjoy the NCAA tournament as much as the next guy, but it is a terrible barometer when it comes to evaluating teams.

2 hours ago, Walter said:

Duke will remain Duke. See below 

Jon Scheyer is going to continue to get the best players in the country post Coach K. 

 

Procuring talent and staying at the Duke level are two different things. We all think Scheyer will do great things, but he has coached as many games as I have.

10 hours ago, futurecoach said:

The Greatest coach of all time took his final timeout with 1:24 left in the game right after his team had just taken a one point lead. There is a few UK fans that would have thrown a fit if Cal had done the same. 
 

Coach K no doubt is the greatest coach ever IMO. If just goes to show there is no definite one right way to coach and make decisions. We have literally seen every possible way work before in winning and losing games. 
 

This was an absolutely great game! Big time plays and shots made by both teams. It was fun to watch! 
 

Now go Kansas!

The timeout(s) thing was weird. It’s been said on here a few times that K hasn’t looked or sounded himself for some time. The odder timeout was when Duke had went on a little mini-run to recapture the lead at just under 11 minutes, and he calls a timeout to stop their own momentum. That left only one timeout remaining, which you mentioned in your post.

33 minutes ago, Voice of Reason said:

Agree.

However, I can't help wondering what this post would look like if Coach Cal had lost with a team with 5 first round NBA picks.

You know that answer. That said, Duke has easily had the most talent in college basketball two of the past four years (by a mile) and came up short of the grand prize.

Wonderful game that lived up to the hype with some big shot making. That would have been cool to be in attendance.

Edit

12 hours ago, GrizzlyAdams said:

Pain

 

12 hours ago, Voice of Reason said:

Tough one for sure. But, would you preferred a loss to St. Peters?

 

11 hours ago, GrizzlyAdams said:

100% yes

 I have thought more about this and feel differently. I absolutely will take a final 4 loss to anybody, including my most hated rival, over a first round loss to anybody, including a 15 seed.