Roanoke
| USA
Today | Richmond
| H-S
Well don't say we didn't warn you: it wasn't going to be an easy game no
matter what, and Virginia Tech's intensity was superb and elevated that team to
an amazing performance. They wanted it more, they played harder and
better, and there is no question they deserve the win.
Really, if you wanted to point to a play where desire really showed, you
couldn't do much better than when the kid from Tech was on his back, with three
Duke players around him, and still managed to get the pass off.
Really, any sporting event is about wanting to win, about having the desire
to do it, and in this game, Tech just had more.
Another example? The weakest rebounding team in the conference looks
like Lefty Driesell's Maryland, pounding the boards and dominating a much more
rugged Duke team.
There's really not much else to say. This is the second game in a row Duke
couldn't match an opponent's intensity, and Sunday, against Wake Forest, could
be a third.
Of course it's entirely possible that the heavy minutes are wearing everyone
down, which would be understandable if so.
There is another potential problem, which is that in this situation, usually,
Coach K has a couple of guys who are really ready to step up and start, and
he'll do that if necessary.
Right now, though, the only guys he could do that with are Melchionni and
Nelson, and both have been up and down and aren't necessarily an
improvement.
On the bright side, Reggie Love is back, and he'll be a big help all the way
around.
But be that as it may, things are not going to get any easier, and if Duke
wants to start winning consistently again - they're 3-4 in the last seven games-
they had better start matching their opponent's intensity. If the idea
that Duke is available for the kicking develops, they're going to get kicked a
lot. There are a lot of people who would love some payback, and if that
gets started, it's hard to stop.