Duke Pulls off Gutsy Comeback

After falling behind by as many as 12 points, the Blue Devils came roaring back in the final minutes to overtake the unranked Rhode Island Rams. URI came ever so close to snapping Duke's record of 61 straight non conference home victories led by Jimmy Baron's 8 3-pointers (7 of which came in the 2nd half). The Devils were led by Kyle Singler and Jon Scheyer, both hitting clutch free throws down the stretch.

As a proud URI alumni, this game was emotionally draining. If not for a few early NCAA tourney exits and general under performance over the past few years, I would have been all about a Rhody win. However, since 99.9% of the country is anti-Duke and loves nothing more than to see them suffer, the Blue Devil in me could not take the verbal abuse of a loss to an A10 team. Haters will hate so I am sure there will be plenty of laughs even with the win. Duke was at home playing an inferior team that has yet to see the NCAA tourney in the new millennium.

Being a glass half full kind of guy, I prefer to view this as a learning experience that the team can build off of as they head towards conference play. Singler and Scheyer both stepped up when they had to and it was refreshing to see the team with some go to scorers when the heat is on. I know it's early but this team has all the makings of a championship team. Expect to see them cutting down some nets come April.