The season remains to be simplest 9 days previous. No loss to a high quality opponent this early will topic a lot come March. So it could be an overstatement to counsel that No. 9 Duke had to win Tuesday vs. No. 18 Michigan State.
But are we able to be truthful about one thing?
Duke in point of fact needed to win Tuesday.
Because the simplest choice to a win — on this game, no less than — is a loss. And after shedding ultimate Friday at house to Arizona, it do not need been best for second-year trainer Jon Scheyer to drop to 1-2 in Year 2 with two losses as a favourite making an allowance for his Blue Devils had been ranked No. 2 in the preseason AP Top 25 ballot.
Again, Duke did not have to win Tuesday.
But Duke in point of fact did want to win Tuesday, if simplest to stay other people from asking questions on how Duke went from No. 2 to 1-2, and, sure, about whether or not its 36-year-old trainer goes to be in a position to supply the on-the-court good fortune that is anticipated while you inherit the greatest logo in school basketball and completely kill it on the recruiting path yr after yr to the level the place the Blue Devils’ roster is undeniably stacked.
That’s why Duke in point of fact needed to win Tuesday — and it did.
Final rating: Duke 74, Michigan State 65.
So the Blue Devils are 2-1 as a substitute of 1-2 — and Scheyer defined in his postgame press convention that the previous 5 days had been encouraging although he’d fairly be 3-0 with a win over Arizona than 2-1 with a loss to Arizona.
“We want to play this [kind of] schedule — you play Arizona and Michigan State in two of your first three games. Let’s see where we’re at,” Scheyer mentioned after successful the opening sport of the Champions Classic within the United Center in his fatherland of Chicago. “I’ve learned more about this team in the first three games than maybe any team I’ve ever been with.”
Now I do know what you are considering, Michigan State lovers: “But, hey, we’re also one of the biggest brands in the sport. And that loss that would’ve made Duke 1-2 did make us 1-2. Didn’t we need this win just as much as Duke needed this win?”
In a phrase, no.
That’s as a result of Michigan State’s trainer, Tom Izzo, is a Naismith Memorial Hall of Famer who has guided the Spartans to 25 directly NCAA Tournament appearances, together with 8 journeys to the Final Four and one nationwide championship. More to the level, Izzo has a historical past of completing robust after beginning sluggish.
To wit:
- Izzo began 2-2 in 2002-03 however nonetheless made the Elite Eight.
- Izzo began 0-3 in opposition to most sensible 50 KenPom groups in 2004-05 however nonetheless made the Final Four.
- Izzo misplaced to Maryland by way of 18 early in 2008-09 however nonetheless made the identify sport of the NCAA Tournament.
- Izzo began 0-2 in 2011-12 however nonetheless were given a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
Those 4 bullet issues are why no cheap Michigan State fan will have to be too afflicted with this 1-2 get started, which isn’t to counsel I do not perceive some frustration. It’s no longer amusing to get started 1-2 after being ranked No. 4 in the preseason AP Top 25 ballot. It’s no longer amusing to watch your workforce mix to shoot 16.0% from 3-point vary in its first 3 video games. It’s no longer amusing to watch your fourth-year start line guard, AJ Hoggard, omit 21 of his first 26 pictures this season after taking pictures above 41% from the box in each and every of the previous two.
Things are not swell.
But, in due time, Michigan State will be wonderful — at worst beautiful good and in all probability nice. That’s what Izzo’s quarter-century track-record suggests. It does not all the time occur briefly, but it surely all the time occurs.
Scheyer does not in point of fact have a song list, even though.
He’s clearly sensible and obviously able to protecting Duke’s campus stuffed with long term professionals. For a choice of causes, he is almost certainly the very best recruiter in the game at the moment. But till you win giant on the court docket, there’ll all the time be folks ready to yell that possibly you’ll’t. They frequently name into radio presentations and post on message forums. So it is not in point of fact controversial that Scheyer needed this win more than Izzo, and he were given it partially on account of an not likely efficiency from Caleb Foster, who took 8 pictures, made seven of them and completed with a team-high 18 issues after going scoreless ultimate Friday in opposition to Arizona.
Foster is the least-heralded recruit in Duke’s four-player freshman magnificence.
He took 0 pictures ultimate Friday.
“Caleb, he’s as hard as any worker we have on the team, and he’s coming off of a game on Friday … he didn’t like the way it went,” Scheyer mentioned. “Whether he’s pissed at me, pissed at how he played or the game … [when you go] to play at Duke, there’s gonna be ups and downs. There’s gonna be moments where you get knocked back. But the program that I know Duke to be, it’s all about how you respond. And for us as a team, coming off of Friday, but especially individually, like what Caleb did tonight, he won us the game.”
Scheyer then motioned towards Kyle Filipowski and Ryan Young.
Both had been seated to his proper.
“I mean, these guys did too,” Scheyer mentioned.
“Thanks,” Filipowski cracked.
The room stuffed with smiles — and I consider Duke’s campus did as smartly. No, 2-1 is not a highest get started; that loss to Arizona driven the Blue Devils down seven spots on this week’s AP Top 25 ballot. But 2-1 with a win over Michigan State is so significantly better than 1-2 with losses to Arizona and Michigan State, if simplest as a result of now no person will spend Wednesday wondering Duke’s second-year trainer. But at 1-2, boy, I guess they’d’ve.