There was a lot of hype surrounding the Blue Devils-Knights match yesterday, and for reasons going beyond the presence of Zion Williamson, preemptive Wooden awardee and top pick in the 2019 National Basketball Association rookie draft. University of Central Florida head coach Johnny Dawkins was a star and former assistant under Duke counterpart Mike Krzyzewski, and their March Madness meeting induced plenty more speculation than any other 1-9 encounter would otherwise have.
Still, the numbers were clear. For all the news generated by the second-round set-to, the Blue Devils were not number one seeds for nothing. They held a win probability close to a hundred per cent before opening tip, and it stayed there until midway through the second half. Only when the relentless Knights battled back from a seemingly daunting deficit and then took the lead four-fifths into the payoff period did the line go against them. And for a while there, it looked as if they were ripe for an upset; down by four with just under two minutes left to play, they benefited from a turnover off a one-on-two situation that should have been a score for the opposition.
Who knows how Duke would have finished had UCF’s Dayon Griffin been more prudent and not gone for an alley-oop pass that Aubrey Dawkins couldn’t quite get a handle on? Instead, it got a new lease on life following the recovery by Javin DeLaurier and subsequent three pointer by Cam Reddish. Charity shots from B.J. Taylor came after misses on both ends, but offensive rebounds helped its cause, with the first leading to a Williamson and-one that sent Tacko Fall to the showers, and the second to a gimme by RJ Barrett that ultimately became the winning basket.
Considering the wild finish, Krzyzewski can be forgiven for deeming the Blue Devils lucky to still be alive in the tournament. After all, they survived two good — make that great — outcome-altering looks by the Knights that somehow failed to find the bottom of the net in the dying seconds. In truth, they deserved the victory; they were steadier under pressure, and not for one moment did they find their confidence shaken. Having a winning culture under a winning mentor with a winning player does that.
The path to the championship figures to be harder from here on, but Duke has been there and done that. No wonder it continues to have the best title odds at a shade under one in five. It went through the wringer yesterday, and how. But it’s still around, and it should be all the better for its experience. Never mind that UCF Knights showed others in the Sweet Sixteen the proper on-court counters for it. There can be no planning against heart, especially when superior talent is already a given.
Anthony L. Cuaycong has been writing Courtside since BusinessWorld introduced a Sports section in 1994.
