Duke and the Big 10

First of all, hats off to the Blue Devils. Love them or hate them, they're national champs -- again. It was certainly no fluke. Coach K and the pride of Durham earned every bit of it. Bravo, and well done indeed.

There were those in Big 10 country that crowed about having two of their teams (Wisconsin and Michigan State) make it to the Final Four. While others all season long had claimed the Big 10 was having a "down" year, the Rust Belters finally got their five minutes in the limelight. Look at us now, they boasted, before the festivities in Indianapolis started. It might be an all-big Ten final on Monday night, they claimed. Michigan State has always been tournament tough and was underrated as a mere #7 seed. And Wisconsin has been in the Top 5 nationally for pretty much the whole season. Look out Dukies and Wildcats -- here we come.

They had it half right. In somewhat of a surprise, the Badgers indeed dethroned the then 38-0 and presumed eventual champion Kentucky.

However, Michigan State was totally demolished by Duke in the other semi-final. The score of 81-61 was indicative of how the game played out. There was no doubt which team was vastly superior. The #7 Cinderella Spartans were put in their place by the #1 Dukies in most convincing fashion.

That left the Durham blue-bloods to slug it out with the Cheesers for all the marbles. We know how that turned out. In a very hard fought game, Duke eventually prevailed 68-63. Again, champs are champs, and credit where credit is due.

But really it was no surprise when one considers how the Blue Devils fared against Big 10 competition earlier in the season. Actually, they only squared off against two Big 10 teams. Ironically, they were -- yep -- Wisconsin and Michigan State.

Way back on Nov. 18, Duke beat MSU 81-71. In the same Indianapolis.
On Dec. 3, the Blue Devils knocked off Wisconsin 80-70. In Madison.
True, 10 point victories weren't exactly blow-outs, but given one was at a neutral site and the other in a hostile road arena, it was fairly impressive stuff.

Fast forward back to the events of the last couple days. As mentioned above, Duke blistered MSU by 20 points in the semis. Then went on to out-tough UW by 5 in the Finals.

So they played 4 games against the best competition the Big 10 had to offer, three of them at the same neutral site and one on the road, and won all four games by a combined 45 points. That's a bunch.

Whether or not the Big 10 had a "down" year is certainly debatable, given two of its teams made the Final Four.

But one thing is not. They're not in the same league as Duke, in more ways than one. The results speak for themselves.

On an unrelated note, here's a shout-out to CC. I still can't believe you parted with the best looking, most tricked-out sporty there ever was. Alas, an era has ended indeed. I hear it wound up in North Carolina somewhere. Wouldn't it be something if that bike ended up being owned and ridden by Coach K? Hey, one legend deserves another to carry it on. You never know...