Duke!

Some columns on the champion Blue Devils:

• Joe Posnanski on why Duke is a great, not just good, team
• Andy Staples on Kyle's Singler's view of the final shot
• Stewart Mandel on how sweet the win is for Brian Zoubek
• Dennis Dodd on Coach K being the best ever

My favorite quote from the coverage appears in Dodd's story, where forward Lance Thomas says Duke "maxed" their season out. And that's the truth. Of all Duke teams, stuffed to the gills with college superstars and future NBA players, this was not a loaded team. They were just a team, a collection of guys who played to their full potential. Coach Mike Krzyzewski got the most out of each role player, shooter, and sub.

But the greatest thing about this championship game, which most people are now saying actually lived up to its hype, is that both sides were teams. They had their stars, sure, but both sides put complete squads on the floor. The magic of this year's NCAA championship was that the vaunted teams with one-and-done NBA prospects died in the early rounds. Yet the teams with four-year seniors, deep friendships, and a group work ethic ended up the final.

And that's why you watch college basketball.

A better reason to play

As much as I love the New York Yankees, I hate it when the players say a year was a failure because they didn't win the World Series (unless they are requisitely stacked, well-managed, and blow it...which many years of this past decade was not the case). Yes, they are paid a lot, and yes the goal is excellence, but you can be excellent without always winning it all; it's difficult to put together all the factors that equal a championship, and not winning it doesn't account to complete inferiority. (If Derek Jeter finishes with 10 World Series rings in 15 seasons, is he a 67% failure? Or 33%? No, he would be far beyond the modern standard. Lost seasons are part of the game; the Yankees just need to get all the different factors together to give them the best chance they can to win, and then do it.)

That's why coach Mike Krzyzewski's take on Duke not being to the Final Four since 2001 is so refreshing. He wants to win games, and he wants to be in the Final Four, but he knows it's difficult and not always a given. He considers 30-win seasons a success and measures his players by how much they fulfill their potential.

A national championship would be amazing (especially after North Carolina's dominance this past decade), but Duke has something better. Rather than a coach embroiled in recruiting scandals, academic ineligibility accusations, player violence, or demeaning attitudes, their coach supports playing the game, and seeing where it will take them. That's what will make a championship, or a Final Four, or even an Elite Eight, this year that much more fantastic.

A Zoubek sighting

I didn't have a lot of faith in Brian Zoubek earlier this season, but getting healthy and getting some game-time experience has turned this under-performing behemoth into a big-time player for Duke. Today he got to hone his skills against an eighth-seeded, weak-inside California team that couldn't handle the bigs that the Blue Devils rarely deploy for scoring purposes. (Duke's star trio of Jon Scheyer, Kyle Singler, and Nolan Smith regularly account for most of the Blue Devils' points.) Zoubek led the team to its 15-point victory with 14 points and 13 rebounds.

At the beginning of the season, Coach Mike Krzyzewski and analysts were predicting that Duke's new presence inside would be the difference for the Blue Devils this year, and they weren't kidding. After some terribly premature exits in the tournament over the last half-decade, Duke no longer has to depend on its 3-point shooting, and, as it went tonight, can even coast through games on the back of some strong rebounding guys.

Next up: A weak Purdue team that can be called a Cinderella just for surviving this far in the tournament without Robbie Hummel. Yes, Duke has an easy bracket (especially with Villanova falling), but with these decisive victories so far, you can't say the Blue Devils are taking anything for granted. By getting all their players valuable tournament time, they'll be ready for Friday's Sweet 16 matchup.

My picks for Friday:
(6) Tennessee vs. (2) Ohio State: The Vols have skills, but the Buckeyes have Evan Turner and Jon Diebler. This region is completely Ohio State's now with Kansas gone, and only a major choke will derail their deep crew.
(10) St. Mary's vs. (3) Baylor: The Gaels are obviously good enough after two quality victories to get to the Sweet 16, and classic big man (meaning he takes care of business under the basket with strong fundamentals) Omar Samhan is just ridiculous. His 32 points the other night came on 13-of-16 shooting. 13-of-16. And I've never had confidence in this Baylor team, or their guard named Tweety.
(9) Northern Iowa vs. (5) Michigan State: I think Northern Iowa capitalized on a weak Kansas effort, yet I'm still wary about Michigan State after two hideous, turnover-laden games that managed to come out as wins for Tom Izzo. Still, the Spartans are tourney-tested (and were in the national championship game last year, if anyone remembers). So we'll give them another try, with the winner of this game going to a smooshing at the hands of Ohio State as the Buckeyes race to the Final Four in the next round. Disclaimer: Kalin Lucas suffered an injury in the Spartans' narrow victory over Maryland; without him, Michigan State can still win, but it will be difficult.
(4) Purdue vs. (1) Duke: The Blue Devils are serious this time around, and with a #1 seed, depth inside, and an easy regional, they will end the Boilermakers' improbably run without star Robbie Hummel.

Excuse me, Mr. Zoubek

Duke's 7-foot-1 senior center, Brian Zoubek, may have heard my comments about Duke's uncomfortable win over North Carolina on Wednesday, because today he came to play.

Behind 16 points and 17 rebounds, Zoubek led a Duke team that slaughtered the second-place team in the ACC, Maryland, 77-56, giving the Blue Devils the top spot in the ACC and making me breathe easier about Duke's woes in the paint.

Yes, Maryland is a guard-dominated team, but Zoubek still did a good job fighting for rebounds, and he showed a certain adeptness for tipping balls in (and making foul shots). All these will be needed for an actual NCAA Tournament run.

The Terps were expected to make a stronger showing after being humiliated by 41 points the last time they matched up with Duke.

In a humorous turn to the afternoon, Coach Mike Krzyzewski (who was appearing in his 1000th game at Duke) refuted rumors he was jumping to the New Jersey Nets by invoking his Polishness.