
Pre-game: Whoa, Miles Plumlee got kind of hot. I think it is his spiffy haircut. (I am a hair-person). At the moment, having two classic-looking uniforms to choose from tonight, I am wondering who the Score Whisperer would go with; I would selfishly expect her to opt for Duke blue, but I think she would be quite attracted to the hunter green as well. Strangely, even though I just established that I am a hair-person, which I am, I would still have sex with Jay Bilas. Maybe it is his classy gray suit and black tie. Snarky combined with smart is sexy, what can I say? Such a combination apparently trumps the need for hair. Holy crap, but what is that insane pink tie that Digger is sporting? For the record, I would not have sex with him, hair or not.
It hasn’t even started and I already regret not going to the game. I should totally be in the midst of this intense craziness. That said, I would not be able to hear Bob Knight provide color commentary, as he is doing at the moment. I hope he throws out an f-bomb tonight or at the very least, a chair. Wait a second. This is the winner of America’s Got Talent?! I mean, really. This is the best we could do, America? He has a really adorable smile, even if his Star Spangled Banner sort of sucks. Also? I love Tom Izzo. Okay, here we go!
First Half
19:49: Brandon Wood hits a jumper in the first 10 seconds. But Seth Curry gets it right back, and Bob Knight stutters “Shot fake, shot fake, shot fake.” Dawson hits another easy shot for MSU, but in his first flash of brilliance, Austin Rivers drives hard to the hoop and is fouled. I am excited to watch him this season. He hits both shots. Lil Dre Dawkins follows with a sweet steal and an easy bucket. Maybe he will break out and fill Nolan’s shoes, but they are admittedly huge shoes to fill. 6-4, Duke.

15:46: I like that during commercials ESPN has different coaches giving anecdotes and thoughts about Coach K. Duke steals only to throw it away, leading to a wide-open three by a freshman named Trice or Thrice or something 3-sounding. We seem to be pushing the ball, which is great, because MSU is struggling to cover. Nix makes a nice move for two. Now the officials are reviewing a pathetic push by Mason Plumlee. Pathetic in that there was no contact made and it was harmless; think a sweep of the hand towards the player’s chest. Coach K is shaking his head. This has now been like a 45-minute board meeting. They are calling Mason for a two-shot technical foul. I guess he deserved it? If anything, he deserved it because it was so dumb. MSU hits both, gets the ball back, and draws another foul. They are on a 7-0 run. Finally Ryan Kelly nails a much-needed three. 13-12, MSU.
13:34: Christ, the Spartans come right back and hit a three. And now everyone is just…missing. Like a penis, some shots are long, some are short, some are so crooked they don’t hit anything at all. I do not think I have ever started a sentence “like a penis,” but I should probably do so more often. After a billion misses, blocks are exchanged and we head to a timeout. I need to drink more. 16-12, MSU.

8:44: Finally, Dawkins hits a three from the corner, which ties this bitch up. Wow, Miles Plumlee got a rebound and, with no one else around him except one player, is stripped of the ball for an easy bucket by Nix. Sigh, new haircut or not, it is nice to see that some things never change. But Middle Plumlee returns the favor with a sweet running hook shot. We are all tied up again in NYC. 20-20.
7:42: After a pair of free throws by Wood, a turnover by Duke, and a dunk by Green, we are down four again. But Dawkins gets two back. We just received a response from the Score Whisperer: “Hunter green does show up mighty fine against those pine beam floors!” And then Dawkins drains a three! (The Score Whisperer really is magic). He has three three-pointers already and we retake the lead. This is a great game so far, in terms of the back-and-forth scoring – I just wish there was more scoring. Austin Rivers drives and is fouled again. It is interesting that he keeps driving; I expected more jump shots. Not that I am complaining. It has been effective so far. I just think we are playing too much one-on-one ball and we need to pass more. Especially when he misses the front-end of a one-and-one. Spartans score to recapture the lead…again. 26-25, MSU.
4:48: With one second on the shot clock, Mason Plumlee makes a stupid move about 18-feet from the basket and a jump ball is called. Duke has to go for a tip-in or a catch-and-shoot…and it fails miserably. Shot clock violation. MSU has a lob for Dawson, a pretty bucket. But Dawkins follows with his fourth three! Dawkins and Dawson are talking shit to one another, which is amusing. And the ref is now reprimanding both of them for their antics. We are tied again. Green tries a four-footer, but Kelly rejects it hard! Dawkins finally misses a three-pointer, and Green makes us pay – the bucket and the foul. 30-28, MSU.

1:24: MSU promptly misses a three, before Curry knocks one down on the other end. After a miss, the Spartans stupidly foul under their own basket with 14.7 seconds left. Coach K, soon to be the GOAT, calls timeout. Aaaand we repay him with an offensive foul by Austin Rivers. With all of these turnovers, it is like Sharing is Caring Night at the Garden. Sigh. Brandon Wood hits a floater at the buzzer, making this a one-point game. 34-33, Duke.Second Half
19:37: Thank god for Andre Dawkins, where would we be without his 14 first-half points? And because of him, Coach K is 20 minutes away from history. These onion rings are crunchy and delicious. MSU immediately takes the lead, but we get it right back. Austin Rivers banks it high off the backboard. Another MSU turnover, this time with an offensive foul. Kelly kicks it out, gets the offensive rebound, and then Rivers bricks a three. He proceeds to foul Green, which is his third. He hits one, but Dawkins hits another three. MSU misses and we get it back. I would really like some breathing room here, fellas. This is much too close for comfort. 39-38, Duke.

15:52: Wow, Nix keeps missing easy buckets under the rim. It is rather embarrassing for him. Curry knocks down a three, falling afterwards in a dramatic display of flair. But no foul is called. Another MSU turnover. We are now 10 for 18 from behind the arc. Other stuff happens while I eat a frozen Kit Kat, and Dawkins drives, hits a leaner, and scores two more points. He now has 22 points, Duke is on a 14-2 run, but there is still a ton of time left. Michigan State comes back with a lob that bricks off the backboard. Some turnovers happen and then a stupid technical by Miles Plumlee. Hopefully Marshall will get one, too. How many times have three brothers, all from the same team, received three technicals in one game? Maybe we will make history tonight in multiple ways. 53-40, Duke.
11:28: Grant Hill looks as fabulous as ever. In fact, I think he has gotten better looking with age. Even with the technical, MSU only scores one point. And then we come right back and score two. Not bad. WTF?! Nix just landed on Tyler Thornton’s head. He looked like he was purposely trying to fall and knee him in the face. How is that not a technical? Jay Bilas agrees with me. Behind the back, sweet pass by Mason Plumlee to Ryan Kelly, who may or may not have been intentionally fouled. This MSU team is dirty. Or, they are simply out of control. And now they are reviewing a play by Nix to see if he threw an elbow on the free-throw box-out. He did. Which is his fourth. We hit both, making this an 18-1 run. I smell the winningest coach in history. And he smells fantastic. 59-41, Duke.

6:55: MSU hits back-to-back-to-back buckets, the last one including a foul. We have played sloppy for the past few minutes, allowing MSU to go on a 7-1 run. As I type that, they steal the inbounds pass and get the ball back. Whew, to (almost) airball a three. We immediately take a terrible shot, which is so dumb. We need to kill the clock here, not give the ball right back. Frustrating. It is now 63-50. Beautiful block from behind by Mason Plumlee. Thornton just got bumped and apparently injured. He did have his shoulder/face landed on earlier by Nix, who just got fouled out. He contributed a whopping two points. But after a few Duke misses, MSU drains a three. It is now an 11-point game. Curry hits a much-needed lay-up and we are in our final TV timeout, three minutes from history. 67-54, Duke.
3:04: ESPN is speaking with Shane Battier, who is dressed identically to Grant Hill, like they coordinated. They are both wearing blue collared shirts with blue v-neck sweaters and look terrific. Rivers is blocked on the drive, as Appling then hits a lay-up. Rivers looks like he is pressing, trying to create one-on-one situations for himself. It is great that he is confident and trying to take control, but it isn’t working tonight. He needs to start dishing it more. Oh fuck. Tyler Thornton slipped on the State Farm decal-sticker-thingy at mid-court and Coach K is livid. This is the same problem that Izzo complained about the other night. I do not blame them. When college sports have become so obsessed with money/big business, to the point that players are becoming injured from advertising purposes, it is ridiculous. 67-56, Duke.

1:00: We are playing sloppy, throwing it around carelessly and turning over the ball. Do not buckle under pressure now, guys. The Spartans drain a three! A six point game! How the hell did this happen?! MSU fouls Kelly immediately, but at least we are inbounding to someone who can actually make free throws. He hits both. MSU gets a quick two and then fouls Seth Curry. He hits only one, and then Appling runs down the court to get another two points for MSU. Now it is a five-point game! We call a time-out. And then come out of it only to get a five-second call. You have got to be kidding me. Green tries for the three and good god, thankfully, it misses. Precious seconds ticking. My heart is pounding harder than I expected or wanted. But Tom Izzo tells his team to stop fouling. And that is it! Duke wins! And Coach K gets #903, surpassing Bob Knight for the all-time record in Division I wins! Final Score: 74-69, Duke.
