Heartbreaker: Duke Falls to Rutgers in the Sweet Sixteen

There's only one word that can describe what I've been feeling for the past five or so hours.

Ouch.

In stunning fashion, Duke's "dream" season ended 53-52 to Rutgers. I was worried about this game for a number of reasons (see my post previewing Duke's NCAA Tournament) and I was worried about this match up since it got set. Somewhere in me, however, I always hoped that I was just being pessimistic and we could pull this off. Heck, Duke's been able to pull it off numerous times this season.

As I was watching the livestats on my computer, I started getting a little worried because it seemed to me that our players were not hitting their shots. We were down early but Duke woke up and grabbed the halftime lead. At this point, I started telling myself that we were going to be okay.

Second half I was pacing and pulling my hair, biting my nails, waiting for the frigging game to end with us snatching the victory to move into the Elite Eight.

It was not to be. Late in the game, Rutgers grabbed a one point lead. However, Lindsey Harding was fouled with practically no time left on the clock. She had 2 free throws to steal the game from Rutgers. Heartbreakingly and shockingly, Harding missed both free throws pretty badly. Game over and season over for the Duke Blue Devils.

I was stunned for about half an hour. Kind of stunned now as well but more saddened. I was depressed for a bit about it but then it turned into a lesser version of disappointment. I saw the video of Harding lying on the court after the game. She was just covering her face and not moving. Her teammates were all around her, I guess trying to make her feel better. It honestly broke my heart. Lindsey was the engine of this team this year. Apart from this, she was the heart. I don't think anyone played with as much heart as she did, leading this Duke team to a remarkable season. She must feel like crap but I don't want her to. It could have happened to anyone. Sadly for her, it happened to her. Still, this 30-2 season, so unreal for so many reasons, can be attributed to Lindsey Harding. She's a Duke hero and I doubt anyone, apart from bandwagon fans, will be calling for her head for this. I know that she's still my hero. She's going to go on to the WNBA and the national team and blow up and become a spectacular professional player. She deserves it and she will take it. I know that I'm going to be cheering for whichever team is lucky enough to get her. Sadly it won't be my Storm who pick seventh.

Those freethrows don't tell the whole story. This whole game, the shots weren't falling, Rutgers seemed to be playing better. I honestly don't know what happened. To be honest, this seemed to be the way Duke was playing since the Temple game. I remember that they won over Temple but they didn't play convincingly enough for me.

Alison Bales, our other great senior, was a force today. And I mean a "damn she's not going to be in Dukie blue next year" kinda force. 21 pts, 4 blocks, 3 assists and 4 rebounds. I feel bad for her too because I think she left it all out there today. She did everything in her power to get this victory for her team and she just fell short. The good news is that she was probably the only Dukie to really play at championship caliber level today and, considering that the Phoenix Mercury are looking for a post player, she could just have played herself into a No. 1 Draft Pick. Again, like Lindsey, I'll instantly become a fan of whatever team Ali gets to play for. She's been a great Duke player, that's for sure.

As for the rest of the players, I think Carrem Gay had the best overall night (based on stats) among the rest. She looked pretty solid. Sadly, for me and obviously for her, Abby Waner did not play well today. She just wasn't shooting the ball very well. Was it a product of good defense? I know one thing. Abby's had some incredibly awesome shooting nights and some really oddly absent shooting nights. If this is a product of superb defense, I think she needs to work a little harder on trying to get open because we're going to need her to be hot every game next year to contend. I love Abby Waner and she's still my fave Devil but I'd love for her to be a little bit more consistent. I feel bad for Abby now as well because she always seems to take everything basketball-related very hard. I read somewhere that she couldn't really speak so much during the press conference because she was holding back tears or something. I know last year, after the loss to Maryland, she was inconsolable. I hope she wins one while at Duke. Two more years, girl. Hold your head up.

Now for the other variable: Gail Goestenkors and Duke. Now let the posturing begin. Which school will offer the highest prize? Is it going to be Texas, Florida, LSU? There are a lot of coaching vacancies this year, making this even more exciting. Okay, I'm hiding my anguish at the thought of her leaving Duke. I'd be one happy Devil fan if I find out that she's staying. I just don't see it happening. I kept asking myself and my sister before this loss whether Coach G would be more likely to leave if they won the national championship or not. Now I believe that she'll leave because of all the disappointment she's experienced at Duke. Maybe she feels like she can't win one while at Duke and she'd like to try something fresh and new. This would suck for Duke. Some people question her coaching style and her effectiveness during the big games. While these are meritous arguments, I'm going to make an emotion-driven statement. I'd like her to stay just because I respect her and I like her. Period. Well, okay, there's the fact that she's winning a whole lot of games every year, making it an awesome college basketball season for me. But there's the bigger picture here. I respect her and thus I respect her product, regardless of what it is. Still though, I believe she'll leave. The funny thing? I want her to be successful at her new school. I think she deserves the success and a national championship eventually. I just hope Duke finds a respectable, likable and effective coach to replace her.

Anyway, the stats don't really seem to matter to me too much right now. I'm not going to put them up.

UConn-NC State game going on right now. UConn is my second favorite team but I'd also like Kay Yow's great run to continue. Whoever gets out of this game will get my support.

Thank you to all the Blue Devils players and coaching staff. This was an amazing, amazing year. It was something that I'll always remember for the excitement and emotion. I'm proud to be a Blue Devil fan.