1. Mike Krzyzewski is a good coach. – Yes, this is something that we’ve all known for a long time now. But his coaching ability was on full display on Sunday when he used some key lineup changes to spur the Blue Devils on to a come-from-behind 77-68 victory over St. Johns to earn his 1,000th win.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6QiMT508OvM
After the Duke spent the first 3/4ths of the game being outmuscled by the St. Johns, Krzyzewski made the decision to bring 7-foot backup center Marshall Plumlee into the frontcourt to play alongside freshman starter Jahlil Okafor, which provided the Blue Devils a defensive edge sorely lacking throughout the game previously, and it ended up getting them the win. It’s decisions like that that earned him 1,000 wins, and he’s bound to have a few hundred left before he finally sprouts some grey hairs and retires.
2. Kentucky will not lose. –
https://twitter.com/HasUKLost/status/559066922164420609
Sure, Vanderbilt and South Carolina aren’t exactly SEC powerhouses, but Kentucky played well against both, whether on the road or at home. Aaron Harrison has asserted himself as the top scorer of the two platoons, averaging 12.2 points per game in the last five, which is high for a team with so many shared minutes. Look for the above Twitter post to remain just as relevant by this time next week, after the Wildcats dispose of Missouri and Alabama.
3. The Big 12 is ridiculously tough. – Kanas has reasserted themselves as the team to beat in the conference, but that doesn’t mean last week was easy, as No.19 Oklahoma and No.17 Texas both provided some tough matchups. In other news, No.15 Iowa State lost to Texas Tech, who currently sit at the bottom of the ladder. The Cyclones would turn around and defeat Texas two nights later. Kansas State, who at one point had the worst non-conference record in the Big 12, has won 5 of 6 to move up to a 2nd place tie with Iowa State. No. 20 Baylor topped No.19 Oklahoma at home in last week’s action too. The cannibalization will continue to the very last game in this conference, and while Kansas looks like they might win the regular season title, the conference tournament should be considered entirely wide-open at this point.
4. Virginia still won’t lose either. – The Cavaliers followed a 29-point drubbing of Georgia Tech with a 50-47 win against lowly Virginia Tech three days later, but a win is a win. Virginia continues to get it done with defense, and junior guard Malcom Brogdon has emerged as a reliable scorer alongside Justin Anderson. The Cavaliers currently lead the country in points allowed with 49.2, despite ranking 320th in steals per game with 4.9. Virginia relies on a suffocating defense that forces opposing teams into bad shot rather than simply turning it over. They’ll need every bit of that defensive intensity this week, as they face No.4 Duke at home in what is essentially the game of the week in college basketball.
5. It was the week of crazy finishes. – There were plenty of close calls and wild finishes last week, with schools like Maryland, West Virginia, and Memphis winning on last-second buckets. Some of the smaller schools got in on the action too, such as this finish to a game between Central Connecticut and Wagner.
No. 16 Maryland edged Northwestern 68-67 after The Terrapins overcame a 10 point deficit in the final four seconds, which was capped this Dez Wells putback of a terrible three-pointer from Melo Trimble.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4WXXtd68DIE
The best finish of last week probably belongs to West Virginia, who beat TCU on some last-second heroics in overtime. The end of regulation was almost as eventful. After TCU pulled ahead 72-70 with eight seconds left, the Mountaineers Daxter Miles hit a shot at the other end of the floor to tie it up. TCU threw a long inbounds pass downcourt, but it bounced out of bounds as Kyan Anderson was basically tripped while trying to chase it down.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F9jZjaOAlZY
The no-call would force overtime, and then this happened:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yvzeHFo549I
