Just as soon as Duke took the No. 1 spot in the college basketball rankings, they may be giving it back up.
The Blue Devils beat Gonzaga on Friday to hand the Bulldogs their first loss of the season. That helped Duke earn the No. 1 spot in the country. But on Tuesday night, the Blue Devils lost to Ohio State 71-66.
Duke had an off shooting night, going 25-65 (38.5 percent) on field goals and 4-14 (28.6 percent) on threes. By comparison, Ohio State shot 26-54 (48.1 percent) and 8-20 (40 percent) on threes.
Duke led 43-30 at the half but got outscored 41-23 in the second half. Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said after the game that he thought his players wore out.
Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski on Ohio State: “I thought they wore us out. We were really worn out at the end … They’re well-coached. They’re well-balanced.”
— Dan Hope (@Dan_Hope) December 1, 2021
That’s a nice way of Coach K saying his team choked a 15-point lead against the Buckeyes. Ohio State didn’t actually take the lead until a minute left in the game, so it took a long time for Duke to get worn out.
Coach K’s comment about them being worn out have an interesting meaning in light of the note about Paolo Banchero and his sweating.
Photo: Joshua S. Kelly-USA TODAY Sports
