In the Fayetteville Observer, Dan Wiederer suggests that with
a thin team, Duke
has to count on the help of the refs, and suggests that the difference
between the game in Durham and the game in Blacksburg was the officiating
crews. In Durham, it was Duke Edsall, Stephen Gordon, Terry Moore; in
Blacksburg, Jamie Luckie, Raymond Natili, John Cahill.
Well, maybe. Or maybe it was the emotional reaction to the
officiating in Durham.
There's no doubt Virginia Tech got the worst of it
there. But to suggest that simply because there were different officials
in Blacksburg, that that leveled the playing field, well, that seems simplistic.
Virginia Tech is not a team that normally rebounds well or
blocks a lot of shots. In Thursday's game they did both brilliantly.
It wasn't something they've done all year, and they might not do it again
(although a healthy Collins makes a big difference), and it wasn't something
they did because Duke was in foul trouble or anything like that. They did it
because they played an
inspired game. Was it a reaction to the game in Durham? Very
possibly. But it wasn't simply a question of the officiating. It was
a great effort by an inspired team - and Duke still had a chance to take the
game away at the end.