Paulus saves Blue Devils

ON COLLEGE BASKETBALL

It was beginning to look very, very familiar.

A 17-point lead was out the window. So was all momentum. To add to the fire, a raucous crowd was cheering against them, heckling them every time down the court.

Late in the second half of Duke's game at Florida State Wednesday night, the Blue Devils were getting bullied around. They couldn't hang onto the ball, they turned the ball over, and on the defensive end, the Seminoles were driving to the basket at will.

After FSU took its first lead since early in the game, it appeared the Blue Devils were headed for their second loss of the season — again, because of being out-muscled, out-toughed down the stretch.

But after precocious freshman Kyle Singler drained a 3-pointer for a 57-55 lead, Duke got tough, got nasty. When feisty point guard Greg Paulus came up with a big rebound in the final two minutes, a scramble ensued as FSU players piled on and Paulus kicked his feet outward. It wasn't a pretty sight, but it was what the Devils needed on the way to their 70-57 victory.

Until the end, Duke had played too finesse of a game. With Duke holding onto a 54-53 lead, ESPN analyst Jay Bilas said, "These last four minutes, it’s going to be about which team is tougher."

Bilas was right. I was wrong. I thought FSU was the tougher team. I thought the Seminoles would pull off yet another comeback victory over the Devils. Everything was pointing in their direction.

But then something changed. That something was the play of Paulus.

First Paulus got a steal and a layup to give Duke a five-point lead. Then he iced the game a minute later, after running down the shot clock, by taking the ball strong and laying it up over a taller defender.

The junior point guard had played poorly the game's first 35 minutes. But when the Seminoles made their big push, he stepped up and toughed out a win.

Wednesday's game was Duke's first real road test of the season. In the ACC, it'll face several more. Just look at how difficult it was for No. 1 North Carolina to beat last-place Georgia Tech 83-82 on the same night.

The Devils will need to play stronger as the ACC slate progresses. Led by Paulus, who received a big hug from coach Mike Krzyzewski afterward, the Devils landed a meaty right hook Wednesday.

These Blue Devils are scary good

ON COLLEGE BASKETBALL

DURHAM — First off, let me just say that there is no experience akin to watching a game inside Cameron Indoor Stadium. Not only is the product on the floor usually good, the atmosphere is unbelievable. Fellow writers weren't kidding when they described the noise level inside Cameron as "earsplitting" at times during Duke's 82-58 route of 20th-ranked Wisconsin Tuesday night.

And now (read: segue) to the basketball.

This year's Duke team is not just good. Not just an NCAA Tournament team. No, it's a national title contender. Seriously.

There were questions prior to Tuesday's game about how Duke's undersized lineup would handle Wisconsin's trio of 6-foot-10-plus trees. The resounding answer is, just fine.

Offensively, Duke decimated the Badgers in several ways. In the first half, the Blue Devils shot a lot of 3-pointers ... and made a lot of 3-pointers. Using dribble-drive penetration against the slower Badgers, the Blue Devils found open shooters early and often to connect on 9-of-16 triples and build a 48-25 halftime advantage.

Freshman Taylor King was especially efficient, knocking down four of his five 3-pointers in the half. He has unlimited range and, at 6-foot-6, can shoot over most defenders. He's quickly allowing Duke fans to forget about J.J. Redick, the school's all-time leader for 3-pointers.

In the second half, with Wisconsin closing out more on Duke's outside shooters, the Blue Devils spread the floor and drove right by the Badgers. Senior captain forward DeMarcus Nelson, who stands just 6-4, made a couple of nice, twisting drives to the hoop.

And he made the loudest statement of the night, slamming down a one-handed dunk over 6-7 Marcus Landry on a fastbreak.

The play was indicative of how the Blue Devils soared above the Badgers all night. Despite its size advantage, Wisconsin held just a 42-40 rebounding edge. Smaller Duke players rose up to reject five Wisconsin shots.

And most importantly, Duke came away with nearly every loose ball. It was quicker than Wisconsin and, often times, it was stronger as well, stripping the ball from the grasp of a Badger.

All this adds up to a team that doesn't have any noticeable weaknesses.

Duke has great depth (no player regularly plays more than 30 minutes). Duke has balanced scoring (after Greg Paulus' game-high 18 points, five players have led the Blue Devils in scoring during their 7-0 start).

Duke loves to run, and can finish on transition. But as we saw in the second half Tuesday, it can also slow the game down and score in the halfcourt. It has several players capable of getting to the basket and scoring or creating for their teammates.

Defensively, Duke — with its playing rotation of at least eight players — can tirelessly pressure its opponents up and down the 94 feet, causing turnovers and generally keeping opponents from getting comfortable in their offenses.

The Blue Devils forced Wisconsin into 18 turnovers, which they turned into 31 easy points. Ten of those miscues were steals by Duke.

And, as witnessed by Nelson and 6-5 guard Jon Scheyer leading Duke with nine rebounds apiece (a career-high for Scheyer), everyone helps out on the glass, alleviating any disadvantage Duke faces because of its lack of a formidable player taller than 6-8.

What does all of the above add up to? Well, did you see the game?

If so, you know that Duke is back near the top of the college basketball ranks. There will be no No. 6 seed this season, and there more than likely will not be a first-round loss.

What there will be is plenty more craziness inside Cameron.