Pickle: Duke eliminated, NCAA Tournament canceled

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Hopefully you have a moment to review SFN’s Tweets tonight from Arizona’s ass-whipping of the Duke Blue Devils. You can click here to review the ponderings of how this game would have unfolded if Atlantic Coast Conference officials would have been calling the game.

Link to Sports Pickle: Rest of NCAA Tournament Canceled with Duke Successfully Eliminated in the Sweet 16.

The Duke Blue Devils were knocked out of the NCAA Tournament in the Sweet 16 on Thursday night, bringing the 2011 tournament to an early — but wildly successful — end.

“I’d like to thank all of the teams who participated in this year’s effort to have Duke’s season end hilariously in defeat on national television, or — as it’s better known: the NCAA Tournament,” said NCAA president Mark Emmert. “I think this will go down as one of the greatest tournaments of all-time. I mean, they got killed. It was great!”

Emmert also extended a special mention to the Arizona Wildcats for “putting a stake through the heart of the great satan.”

Arizona head coach Sean Miller said his team felt like champions.

“This is what any basketball player dreams about growing up: destroying Duke in the NCAA Tournament, repeatedly dunking on their heads and just humiliating them in front of the whole nation,” said Miller. “My guys are on top of the world. Because Duke is on the bottom.”

Miller said that he thought his team could have moved on and beaten more teams in the tournament, but didn’t see the point.

“That’s a weird question to ask,” he said. “Duke is eliminated. Why would we keep playing? College basketball season is over. Now is the time we all enjoy Duke losing and celebrate.”

With the NCAA Tournament at an end, CBS plans to air highlights shows of past Duke eliminations and clips of Arizona players dunking on Duke in place of the slots reserved for the Elite Eight and Final Four games. Those shows are expected to get equally high ratings.

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24 Responses to Pickle: Duke eliminated, NCAA Tournament canceled

  1. PackMan 03/25/2011 at 12:00 AM #

    Is is paranoid to think that with every passing Arizona win, it will get harder and harder to hire Sean Miller? (assuming we have a chance to begin with?)

  2. newt 03/25/2011 at 12:24 AM #

    UNC homer AJonesFoxSports immediately posts and tweets article on UNC matchup. What a laugh. All the attention on the Duke game must be killing him!

  3. freshmanin83 03/25/2011 at 12:29 AM #

    dook envy? not a pretty sight.

  4. mafpack 03/25/2011 at 12:33 AM #

    I have to admit, this made me laugh out loud. Combined with the GQ worst fans in America quote:

    ‘Here’s what the most reviled fans in college sports don’t understand: When everyone already resents you for being a perennial national champion, brainstorming new ways to make fun of people doesn’t make you clever. It makes you a dick.’

    Just too funny 🙂

  5. PackerInRussia 03/25/2011 at 1:07 AM #

    Well, good. I’m glad that’s over. Now we can get on to the REAL interesting stuff: our coaching search.

  6. wbnation 03/25/2011 at 1:08 AM #

    Just have a hard time seeing Miller come. He is only in his second season and has a really good young team. The real question is if D Williams wants to come back for his jr. year. If he does then no way State lands Miller. Now if Miller knows Williams is gone then there may be a crack of a chance. A lot may depend on Williams decision.

  7. wolfhouse1999 03/25/2011 at 3:24 AM #

    Here’s how the interview goes:

    Yow: Do you think you will have any trouble competing whith Duke or Carolina?

    Miller: I whipped Dukes Azz last night

    Yow: Hot diggidy Dog, BOOM your hired

  8. 61Packer 03/25/2011 at 4:59 AM #

    Last night did NOT help our chances of getting SM.

  9. Master 03/25/2011 at 5:17 AM #

    I just don’t get all the “harder to leave” pessimism with each passing victory. I think those wins are irrelevant. That does not mean I think he’s a lock to come to State. His decision to be at NC State is not and should not be based on how far he gets in this tournament. It will be a personal decision based on where he wants to work and who he wants to work for. These kinds of decisions are “LIFE” decisions and are not based on single games or single seasons.

  10. Avid109 03/25/2011 at 5:34 AM #

    Looks like it will be Arizona and Florida in the national championship game….

  11. leewolf 03/25/2011 at 6:34 AM #

    Master is right. At first I was very pesimistic just like everyone else, about AZ winning another game.

    But of course, at the moment, our situation and returning team are not as good at Arizona’s. It all depends on how important it is to Sean to 1) get back to the East Coast and closer to family 2) the amount of raise that we are going to offer 3) whether or not he feels like this is a good fit and is a place he can succeed.

    We’ll see what happens. Obviously, the worst part about it is that it makes this process drag out longer.

  12. Thompson44 03/25/2011 at 6:38 AM #

    After the games last night I believe that our chances of landing Miller are over and I feel the same way about Donovan. Just my thoughts but I would be shocked if either of them left their respective programs.

    Sucks for us but we are WolfPack fans and we will continue to love our team……

  13. graywolf 03/25/2011 at 6:39 AM #

    One can only hope that Miller and FAMILY want to come back east (Raleigh) no matter what happens but it also looks like many will need to pony up a few more dollars to the wolfpack club for his salary. It will get bigger with every AU win.

  14. swamppack 03/25/2011 at 6:41 AM #

    In an overly-optomistic thought(maybe), I visualize Arizona winning it all and SM saying to himself “mission accomplished, now show me the money N.C. State, i’m ready to start the first day of the last job I hope i’ll ever have”.

  15. frankiepack 03/25/2011 at 7:05 AM #

    That W killed us no way now Arizona lets him walk.

  16. El Lobo Loco! 03/25/2011 at 7:15 AM #

    Good for Miller, his chips just went up a few dollars!
    With this UNx and FSU are the remaining ACC chimps in the NCAAt,
    So when do the ACC-sucks comments begin in ExPN and company?

  17. TOBtime 03/25/2011 at 7:43 AM #

    AS good as this was watching Duke get a royal beat-down it sucks for us. As pointed out in other threads if there was any tie at all to money going up as his team advanced in the tourney then we are really going to be talking big bucks. Would UA match? Would it matter? What happens if UA wins it all? This type scenario could only happen to us.

    Go Marquette. ABC.

  18. blpack 03/25/2011 at 7:45 AM #

    Arizona looked amazing and Duke looked slow. Zona did to them what Duke usually does to other teams. I still think we have a chance at Miller. Makes a lot of sense for him to come if the timing is right. That part no one knows. Now if we could just get the ‘Warriors’ to play a great game tonight in the spirit of the late great Al M.

  19. wolfpackdawg 03/25/2011 at 8:08 AM #

    When is the last time a Coach left a great team and situation for another?
    Zona is not a mid-major.

  20. Sweet jumper 03/25/2011 at 8:19 AM #

    Wolfpackdawg, Ol’ Roy to (I don’t give a s&%t about North Carolina) to UNX after losing with Kansas in NCAA Finals.

  21. NSFwolf37 03/25/2011 at 8:20 AM #

    Miller is going to get a Brad Stevens like extension at Arizona. I can’t possibly see him leaving now.

  22. bradleyb123 03/25/2011 at 9:48 AM #

    I don’t think this is a bad omen for our chances at Miller (yet). Of course, the further they go, the harder it will be to pry him away.

    If we offer Sean what I think we will, Arizona’s offer can surely top it. But I don’t think it will be a crazy figure compared to ours. I think both would be comparable amounts. So unless he wins the championship or something, I still think we have a shot. Because it sounds like money won’t be the deciding factor. Our offer shouldn’t be prohibitively low like it was with Rick Barnes in 2006. Hopefully, Miller will have two good offers, and will make the choice based on OTHER factors… like real estate — location, location, location.

  23. tann84 03/25/2011 at 10:49 AM #

    Good point bradley and good perspective SweetJumper.

    I personally think we have an advantage to Arizona if it comes down to location. I’ve lived in Arizona for one summer working for Intel and I can say those 95 degree nights got old real quick. I don’t know if it just because I grew up in NC but our humidity is nothing to how stupid hot it gets there, its like you’re giving the Sun a piggy back ride. And I wasn’t even there for record highs it was 115 during the day.

    I couldn’t wait to get back to NC.

  24. PackerInRussia 03/25/2011 at 1:44 PM #

    Yes, but it’s a dry 115.

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