It was a classic Big East meets ACC battle as number two Duke welcomed number twelve Georgetown to Durham, NC on Saturday, January 17th.  The traditional basketball powerhouses put on an impressive showing as Cameron rocked and rolled with its usual mix of energy and Cameron Crazy creativity.  The match-up of Greg Monroe of Georgetown and Gerald Henderson of Duke was clearly the most highly anticipated match-up of the season, as the freshman phenom was heavily recruited by Coach K.  However, Duke's power and experience proved to be too much for the Hoyas as Duke rolled to victory with a final score of 76 to 67. 

The key players for Duke were undoubtedly Greg Paulus and Gerald Henderson, with Henderson dropping twenty-three points, going ten for fifteen on the floor, along with four rebounds, three assists, two steals, and two blocks.  This spurt included two back-to-back threes that put Duke into a decisive lead with 4:28 left in the first half.  Paralleling this performance, Greg Paulus provided the defensive intensity and emotion that is a classic characteristic of the Duke basketball tradition.  Paulus, a previous three year starter, has come off the bench this season after battling injuries and and a series of poor performances.  However, this doesn't seem to bother him, and his performance has improved.  After the game according to AP/ESPN.com, Coach K stated, "What he showed was fight, he was attacking.  He was playing with emotion.  We don't win without Greg today."  

Continue reading "Welcome to the Jungle! The Big East Meets the ACC as Georgetown Battles Duke."

The nation's longest league home winning streak is an end.  Notre Dame lost to Connecticut Huskies 69-61 in South Bend on Saturday, January 24th.  The Huskies stayed true to their earlier media promise, effectively holding the Irish to thirty-three percent shooting from the floor, and an unusually how twenty-nine percent from the three point line.  According to ESPN.com/AP, Connecticut Coach Jim Calhoun was pleased with his team's impressive performance, stating "We contested every shot.  We got a piece of 15 balls at different times on passes and we ran and put pressure on teh offensively and defensively."  This approach worked, as the Irish looked equally frustrated on offense and on defense.  Connecticut's length and athleticism generated several turnovers and blocks, in addition to snagging fifty-three rebounds.  Luke Harangody, however, was not intimidated by UConn and nor was he bothered by rival Hasheem Thabeet's trash-talking, posting a solid twenty-four points and fifteen rebounds, in addition to several key defensive sequences.  Notre Dame Coach Mike Brey expressed obvious relief at the ending of the streak, stating "That's probably the tightest we've played during the streak.  I feel we played like the weight of teh world was on us" (ESPN.com/AP).  

Continue reading "Notre Dame Falls to Stingy Connecticut Defense"