Still a Man

Last night posed a difficult question to me, do I watch Duke/N.C. State, or The O.C.? Well it didn't take very long for me to remember I am a man and decide to watch the basketball game primarily and check in on The O.C. occasionally. I know this is even a little too much to do when watching a sporting event given the opportunity to miss plays, but as all men know, we have a sixth sense about the exact moment when to turn the channel. Needless to say I didn't miss a play and saw some justification to my ranking Duke ahead of Oklahoma State this week.

The game between N.C. State and Duke was a great opportunity for me to assess my number five team in the country. The Blue Devils were playing a quality opponent in a building where they have had tough games and were still without Shavlik Randolph (although he hasn't exactly been a stud this year). All Duke did was overcome a halftime deficit and defeat the Wolfpack 86-74 and improve their record to 12-0. With the new ACC this was the only meeting for the two teams and Duke got the better of it with help from some inexperienced players.

Lee Melchionni and freshman DeMarcus Nelson played very well and combined for 22 points to propel the Blue Devils to the victory. Not only did Duke win, but they looked better than they have looked all season to me. I will say that Duke being number five did have something to do with them being my favorite team (even though I tried to say it didn't). If Oklahoma State was my favorite team, they might be number five, but after Duke's performance last night, I can't take them out of the rankings just yet. When they only get 8 points from J.J. Redick and can still win at N.C. State, they have something good going on.

Even though I was only able to watch the second half (I was reffing basketball last night), the team still impressed me. If Sheldon Williams keeps playing at this level and doesn't get into foul trouble the lack of depth for the Duke team won't matter.

Sorry this post is so short, but I actually have things to do today before I ref again tonight. By the way, if you have any questions regarding a call or a rule in basketball, feel free to ask, and I will answer to the best of my ability (or at least what the WIAA has taught me). In the meantime, look for another post from me either later tonight or tomorrow morning. Oh yeah, so how smooth is Sandy Cohen?


-Until next time...