Duke and Arizona tipped off last night late in the east, and by the time it was over the Blue Devils had nothing left in the tank and Arizona was on its way to the Elite Eight.
Sean Miller has done a phenomenal job pulling Arizona out of the doldrums and making them back into a powerful team. I can remember the days when Zona was a one seed almost every year. Now, they are rebuilding and a big part of that rebuilding was a win against Duke last night.
The Wildcats went into halftime losing by just a few points, but they came out in the second half with a mission — to win. They weren’t satisfied with just getting by on Duke, and they showed it.
This makes me rethink my whole bracket. See, I thought Duke was going to win the national title. Now, after they lost to Arizona, I have to wonder if Arizona is a team of destiny. I mean, you just beat the crap out of the defending national champs. Are you telling me you can’t go on a big run? Now we’ve got Arizona against UCONN.
I said Jim Calhoun was a difference-maker, and I was right, so now let’s see if Sean Miller is a difference-maker. Maybe this is HIS coming out party too.
So, to answer my question: Arizona stood up just as Duke was laying down. They were moving in opposite directions. I think Sean Miller found a way to do his thing in the tourney and Duke just ran out of gas and didn’t know what to do about it.
I can’t predict the Arizona/UCONN game yet, but I think we can all agree that it’s going to be a doozy. And, I’m just saying, what if the Cats do a number on UCONN too?
That could be cool!
photo credit: JMRosenfeld
