Some don't like a Gameball poll when we lose and I do not always post one.
However, I thought this Duke team played hard, though very imperfect, in adverse conditions. While I do not subscribe to the "good loss" philosophy I do think this was not a "bad loss."
We lost our best defender in Jones, we were missing another starter, this forced us to play with a group with little in-game playing experience.
Syracuse played well above their normal level and that was not because the defense collapsed and we gave them open look after open look. They were making some really difficult shots - something they have been largely unsuccessful at this year. Yet, our team hung tough - they made some mistakes, and they fell short but they never gave up their fight.
However, I thought this Duke team played hard, though very imperfect, in adverse conditions. While I do not subscribe to the "good loss" philosophy I do think this was not a "bad loss."
We lost our best defender in Jones, we were missing another starter, this forced us to play with a group with little in-game playing experience.
Syracuse played well above their normal level and that was not because the defense collapsed and we gave them open look after open look. They were making some really difficult shots - something they have been largely unsuccessful at this year. Yet, our team hung tough - they made some mistakes, and they fell short but they never gave up their fight.
