Ten thoughts on two fantastic games in Atlanta that ended with Florida State and UNC winning by a combined five points:
1 -- After watching the replay numerous times, I think Kendall Marshall charged on the winning basket against N.C. State in UNC's 69-67 win. That one should have been waved off, as Marshall lowered his shoulder and made contact on the drive.
2 -- I don't think N.C. State's Richard Howell was clearly fouled, however, on the last play of the game. That was the correct no-call. It looked more like a scrum and Howell never had total possession of the ball.
3 -- Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said after his team lost 62-59 that Florida State's Michael Snaer was the best competitor in the ACC.
4 -- If I'm Roy Williams, I don't play John Henson against Florida State unless Henson is absolutely 100 percent without pain in that aching left wrist. Ultimately, I think the Tar Heels have a No.1 NCAA seed either way, and FSU is so physical the chance of re-injury is not out of the question.
5 -- How good is Duke anyway? That's the subject of my Sunday column. The Blue Devils need Ryan Kelly back and need to make some more shots -- they were 10-for-46 from three-point range in Atlanta.
6 -- If Seth Curry's 40-footer at the buzzer had gone in to tie that game and send it into overtime, he would have joined Christian Laettner, Austin Rivers, Jeff Capel and a couple of others on the short list of greatest Duke buzzer-beaters of all time.
7 -- How far off the radar has Duke's Andre Dawkins fallen? He played 17 minutes Saturday and had no points and no assists.
8 -- Florida State's 33-point win over UNC in the teams' only previous meeting will loom large Sunday, although everyone will say it doesn't matter. It does matter in that it has to give the Seminoles major confidence.
9 -- The Wolfpack would have had to call a timeout to get C.J. Leslie out of the game between his fourth and fifth fouls (which came 32 seconds apart -- the final one with 8:03 left). So while I blame the coaching staff for not keeping up with Leslie's fouls well enough and/or not communicating that to head coach Mark Gottfried, that was also Leslie's fault for committing a silly foul on an overly aggressive defensive play right after he had picked up his fourth one.
10 -- UNC and Duke both deserve to play in Greensboro next week for their first two games in the NCAA tournament. UNC as a No.1 seed and Duke as a No.2. I think N.C. State is in the tourney as well now and will get a seed around No.11 or so.
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