Eleven down, one to go, and the last one should be a goodie.
College hoops tip-off marathon: No. 4 Duke vs. No. 5 Kansas
Pregame reading:
Let’s finish strong, boys and girls.
10:22 - I’m all for televised starting lineups before any and every neutral court game. I’m way less for these Kansas warm-ups.
10:38 - Hey look, another really fun game between two teams that probbaly shouldn’t be this good in mid-November. Kansas leads early, 11-10.
10:48 - Everyone’s still talking about the Michigan State/Kentucky game, and deservedly so, but this game is being played at a level you don’t expect to see this early in the season.
10:58 - Jabari Parker has the polish of a three or four year starter. He’s more than capable of becoming a Player of the Year type guy AND leading the Blue Devils to the promised land in the process.
11:10 - Parker now has 19 first half points and Duke reclaims a 40-38 lead. All due respect to Sparty and UK, but this has been much cleaner and slightly more entertaining.
11:17 - The Blue Devils head into the locker room clinging to a 42-40 lead. Parker (19 pts) is the only Blue Devil in double figures, while Perry Ellis leads the Jayhawks with 10 points. Andrew Wiggins spent most of the half on the bench with foul trouble, and has six points and four rebounds.
11:36 - Jabari Parker finishes a one-handed alley-oop. This is becoming quite the introduction to the college basketball world.
11:39 - Sooo tired, but don’t want to leave this brand of basketball behind. One thing is for sure, this season is going to be a hell of a ride. So much has happened already, and we’re just (almost) five days in.
11:42 - This guy:
11:46 - This Duke team is about 34 times more athletic than last year’s Blue Devil squad, and that team was good enough to be one game (or one non-Louisville region) away from a trip to the Final Four. Amile Jefferson has looked fantastic.
11:53 - Duke needs to stop letting Perry Ellis dunk, because it’s apparent that it’s a feat he’s capable of accomplishing. The Blue Devils still lead, 56-55. Neither team has led by more than six.
12:01 - Kansas edges out in front, 62-60, and then an Amile Jefferson cram ties it back up. Crazy fun.
12:14 - Wiggins heads to the bench after picking up his 4th foul. Kansas still clinging to a 70-69 lead without him. We have 6:24 left to play.
12:17 - Kansas goes ahead by three before Parker hits back-to-back contested shots to put Duke back on top. So, so good.
12:21 - Kansas back ahead by three after four free-throws and then Rasheed Sulaimon scores and gets fouled. A missed free-throw later and it’s 76-75 Kansas with just over four minutes remaining.
12:22 - The whistles are taking a little bit of the shine off this one. That’s five foul calls in the last six total possessions.
12:24 - Kansas now has one field goal attempt wedged in the middle of 13 free-throw attempts. I am very tired.
12:32 - Andrew Wigginis hits a step-back jumper, finishes a dunk and fouls Parker out of the game in about 10 seconds. Suddenly Kansas leads by seven and the freshman is the best player in the world again.
12:36 - Referring to the big three freshmen as “Jabandrulius.” That’s mine. Trademarked. Not even sure if it works. Not thinking straight.
12:37 - FINAL: No. 5 Kansas 94, No. 4 Duke 83
Final score is not at all indicative of the first 39 minutes, which is a shame, but what can you do?
It’s been real, y’all. I’m off to figure out what day it is and then get under the sheets.
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