I hate Duke

And I'm glad they lost!! I hate UNC a little more, but I derive significant, if not fleeting, pleasure from watching those pampered, crybaby Dukies go down. I've wasted a bit of time looking at how underachieving the Dukies have been in recent times. This is a good example of how undeserved they were in getting a #2 seed. If the NCAA, and the nation, generally hate the 'Cats, they have wet panties for the Dukies and the 'Heels. Following is their performance over the last 10 years in the tournament:

08 #2 l. #7 WVU 2nd round
07 #6 l. #11 VCU 1st round
06 #1 l. #4 LSU Sweet 16
05 #1 l. #5 MSU Sweet 16
04 #1 l. #2 Conn. Final Four
03 #3 l. #2 Kansas Sweet 16
02 #1 l. #5 Indiana Sweet 16
01 #1 Nat'l Chmp
00 #1 l. #5 Florida Sweet 16
99 #1 l. Conn. Nat'l Runner-up

'96-'98 was the magnanimous run of the Pitino/Tubby 'Cats who had 2 titles and a 3rd final. As you may notice, Duke has, in the last 10 years, had a Championship, a Runner-up, and a Final Four. All these performances are better than Tubby could muster in that time, Orlando being a coach who did not get past the Elite 8 in those years. Notice, though, that if you take the remaining 7 years, the Dukies were defeated by lower-seeded teams 6 times. Does that sound like seed inflation to you? Are the vaunted Devils more hyped than deserved? The last 2 years have been particularly abysmal, but look at the run of those underperforming, dare I say "choke artists", #1 Seeds from a couple years ago. My, I don't see many Elite 8s in that list even. Don't believe the hype. The Dukies are in decline. Their team is filled with small white guys who can't handle the greater amount of parity in the modern game. Inflated.

On a very different note, let's give the Hilltoppers some love for their amazing win over #5 Drake the other night. Often times forgotten in the land of the 'Cats, 'Cards, and Hoosiers, WKU has a long tradition of basketball excellence. They sandwiched between Big Ten stalwarts Purdue and Illinois at #16 on the all time wins list (through '04, crappy NCAA). My very good friend the Luv Dug (occasional commenter here) is a prof there (and well as is his lovely wife). I personally am super happy to see such a result and it's quite possible that they can get into the Sweet 16. Go Red!