Being the underdog is often easier than being the higher ranked team. They have nothing to lose and can go out calling a loss a win if they played well or if they got scored on less than previous teams. Duke felt that pressure. The Blue Devils were the undefeated No. 1 when they stepped on Florida State’s court in Tallahassee. Duke’s coach, Mike Krzyzewski, gave Florida credit. “Tonight wasn’t about us being bad. They were really good. They played with a verve.”
Seminoles player, Chris Singleton, explained that his tea raised their game to another level. He himself added 18 points for Florida State in a game in which his team made five free throws in the last 33 seconds to beat the defending national champions. “We came together tonight,” Singleton said. “It just feels good. If we can beat them we can beat anybody.” On the positive side, Duke seems to have learned something from the loss. They admit that “you just learn from the experience. We have a long way to go.”
