Living in Toledo, I always loved the 40-minute trek up to Ann Arbor for those Duke-Michigan games. Went to several over the years in Crisler. The Battier days were much more pleasant visits than my most recent in 2008, though. Zach Novac could let it fly.

The series was stopped briefly after Tommy Amaker was hired in the early 2000s -- Coach K usually prefers not to compete against former assistants out of respect to them -- but I am not actually sure (or just don't remember) why the series was cancelled again after starting back up for two years in 2008 and 2009.

Remember when Michigan ended a 78 game home non-conference win streak?
Tractor Traylor broke a backboard in pregame and half the student section had to be cleared out so they could wheel in one of the portable rims from Card so they had a basket to play on.
Late in that same game he had a thunderous one handed dunk that sealed the game for the Wolverines.

Traylor was great. One of the truly memorable college basketball talents, with a sparkling spirit much bigger than his Santa Claus silhouette.

I do not recall the pre-game events regarding the broken backboard, and very little of the game. I can envision the dunk very vividly, however. Tractor was a devastating dunker.

With today's new rankings, Duke No. 1 in the AP poll at some point during the season for the 16th time in the last 27 seasons. That is more appearances as the nation's number one team than any other conference over that period of time. While early-season rankings aren't as impressive as end-of-season rankings, it's still a remarkable feat.

Personally, I like being the target at the top. It means you are winning each game you play, and you should always want to win.

swamisez;1343733 wrote:Duke just picked up a commitment from Sami Ojeleye, a 6'6" swingman from Kansas by way of Nigeria. With Matt Jones in fold, and Ojeleye they have a swing man an shooting guard, and hopefully Jabari Parker a PF to follow later this week.

What's the latest on Parker? I've been hearing that it's Duke or MSU, but mostly Duke in recent weeks.

He is announcing December 20th. I would be shocked if it isn't Duke to be honest.

Thanks for the info, swami. Through the mess of it all, I couldn't seem to find an exact date.

And I would share your astonishment if Jabari Parker were anything but a Blue Devil. Abjectly floored.

What a Christmas present this could be. With Parker, in addition to red-shirt Rodney Hood, elite scorer Matt Jones and the returning cast coming back next year, including a sophomore Rasheed Sulaimon, Duke will be a strong favorite for preseason No. 1 along with UK and Andew Wiggins.

Duke on a 42 to 6 run on Cornell to take control of the Fighting Andy Bernards in the second half. Cornell with just two second half points through 10 minutes. Duke's defense has been crazy good.

No. 1 Duke rolls, 88 to 47 over Cornell. Seth Curry leads the way for the Blue Devils with 20 points on 3-of-6 shooting from three, again on a bum leg. Gotta love this kid's ability to bring it on game day despite no practice and nagging injuries to both legs.

Very impressed with the Devils' solid performance after an 11-day layoff. On to Elon tomorrow night on ESPN. Love the back-to-back games before Christmas. Nice little present for me.

Jabari Parker is going to bring a lot of excitement to Duke.

Jabari Parker will pick up where Kyrie Irving left off when Irving went down against Butler, on a year that Duke was clearly the best team in college basketball. The universe always settles the score. It's going to be a wild ride. Duke will be a dangerously deep team, notably on the wing. It's going to be fun.

Duke put away Elon tonight. Living in Burlington I have still yet to ever watch Elon's basketball team despite the fact they play 5 minutes from my house. They were a scrappy bunch and despite the loss they still sit at 6-5.

Devils didn't have the spark they had in the second half last night, but they still managed a 20+ point win.

Marshall Plumlee was back in a boot for some reason. Will be another thing to watch over the next few weeks. Duke will need him down the stretch I figure.

reclegend22;1348247 wrote:Jabari Parker will pick up where Kyrie Irving left off when Irving went down against Butler, on a year that Duke was clearly the best team in college basketball. The universe always settles the score. It's going to be a wild ride. Duke will be a dangerously deep team, notably on the wing. It's going to be fun.

Kentucky, Kansas, and Indiana will all be loaded, as well. I'm not sure there will be a clear favorite.

GOONx19;1348410 wrote:Kentucky, Kansas, and Indiana will all be loaded, as well. I'm not sure there will be a clear favorite.

Depending on how many players jump to the pros from UK this year, I think Duke would be ahead of UK based on the experience the Devils would be bringing back in addition to a stud freshmen class next fall. However, there may be a few more UK players coming back than originally anticipated, so that may not prove to be true.

on a year that Duke was clearly the best team in college basketball.

I don't think a best team ever gets beat down the way that Arizona beat down duke on that magical day in Anaheim. Derrick Williams and his more athletic teammates went on an astounding 19-2 second half in that game and completely overwhelmed the dukies in the 2nd half by a score of 55-33. The best team in the country competes better than that.

When will the NCAA settle the score and make things right?

Prescott;1348542 wrote:on a year that Duke was clearly the best team in college basketball.

I don't think a best team ever gets beat down the way that Arizona beat down duke on that magical day in Anaheim. Derrick Williams and his more athletic teammates went on an astounding 19-2 second half in that game and completely overwhelmed the dukies in the 2nd half by a score of 55-33. The best team in the country competes better than that.

Duke was clearly the best team in the country before Kyrie's injury occurred in early December 2010. I think most reasonable college basketball analysts and fans agreed at that time. After Irving went down, Duke was still a very good team, going on to win the ACC and more than 30 games. They were no longer the clear favorite to win the title, but had a good shot. When Irving returned for the NCAA Tournament, however, the team lost all of its flow and cohesiveness and Nolan Smith, who had moved to point guard in Irving's absence, was totally lost when the reins were taken from him so abruptly. Overall, that Duke team never achieved what it could have due to Irving's injury.

reclegend22;1346327 wrote:Thanks for the info, swami. Through the mess of it all, I couldn't seem to find an exact date.

And I would share your astonishment if Jabari Parker were anything but a Blue Devil. Abjectly floored.

What a Christmas present this could be. With Parker, in addition to red-shirt Rodney Hood, elite scorer Matt Jones and the returning cast coming back next year, including a sophomore Rasheed Sulaimon, Duke will be a strong favorite for preseason No. 1 along with UK and Andew Wiggins.

Who says Wiggins is going to UK?

Honestly, that's probably where he ends up, but I've been hearing that it's not just a UK-FSU race anymore.

ironman02;1348917 wrote:Who says Wiggins is going to UK?

Honestly, that's probably where he ends up, but I've been hearing that it's not just a UK-FSU race anymore.

I have no idea. To be be honest, I stopped following this just because I became bored (since it doesn't involve Duke and it's taking forever). My apologies on affronting North Carolina. I am sure they still have a puncher's chance. Ha.

In all seriousness, is UNC closing in?

Duke was clearly the best team in the country before Kyrie's injury occurred in early December 2010.

Please!!! The dukies were dominated by a player they had no answer for. He was a man playing with boys. Derrick Williams dominated the game. Irving played well in that game and it didn't matter because Williams was unstoppable.

Prescott;1349040 wrote:Duke was clearly the best team in the country before Kyrie's injury occurred in early December 2010.

Please!!! The dukies were dominated by a player they had no answer for. He was a man playing with boys. Derrick Williams dominated the game. Irving played well in that game and it didn't matter because Williams was unstoppable.

Please. Duke also had an 11-point lead in that game against Arizona at one point. The Blue Devils could hang. Arizona got extremely hot in the second half, and Williams was hitting everything he put up from three. Those kinds of nights happen, and there is generally nothing that can be done about it.

Duke, however, couldn't solely depend on Irving, who finished with 28 points in that game against Arizona, to deliver a victory. He was only playing in his second game back from injury, and just didn't have the explosiveness nor staying power to hold up an entire 40 minutes. Duke needed Nolan Smith to perform at a high level, and unfortunately he was nonexistent during that tournament after Irving reclaimed point guard duties. The team was, frankly, a shell of its former self by that point in the year.

duke lost to a better team and got dominated in the process. Accept the reality.

*Dook

A better team on that day. I certainly agree with that.

National champion Connecticut lost by a score of 72 to 89 against St. John's midway through the 2010-11 season. Were they in reality 17 points worse than the Johnnies, or did the Huskies just have a different team by the time March rolled around??

I see some things never change.

Lol.