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The notion of "confidence," and its inherent intangible value, is never far from college hoops coaches' lips. The chief struggle is instilling it. How do you do that, exactly? What does it mean to have confidence? Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski, now two wins away from his 1,000th all-time victory, offered his thoughts on the matter after the Blue Devils' 63-52 win at Louisville: "This was a confidence-builder, whatever the hell, offensively or defensively," Krzyzewski said. "Look, we played our butts off today, and we beat a really good team. You get confidence through accomplishment. No matter if you’re like, 'Have confidence, I believe in you,' that’s cool, but then when a kid does it, they’re going to have more confidence. Hopefully we can move on now, and use that and play really well Monday night and get more confidence."
Before Saturday's game, the chief question about the Blue Devils was far more tangible: Could a team that played utterly nonexistent perimeter defense in back-to-back losses to NC State and Miami somehow keep Louisville guards Chris Jones and Terry Rozier out of the lane? Could the Blue Devils's pressuring man-to-man defense turn the Cardinals into jump shooters? Turns out, that was the wrong question entirely. In a rare break from his Bob Knight-esque insistence on man-to-man, Coach K unveiled a zone defense Saturday that hid Duke's perimeter weaknesses (and Jahlil Okafor's ugly screen defense) and coaxed Louisville into an unceasing string of bricks. On Saturday, ESPN's Dana O'Neil placed Krzyzewski's decision into context: "Only 42 teams of the 351 in Division I basketball have played less zone this season than Duke, according to ESPN Stats & Info, and before their Saturday tip against Louisville, the Blue Devils had retreated from their man-to-man for all of 3.7 percent of the 840 minutes in their 16 games." When she asked Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim, who has worked on Krzyzewski's USA Basketball staff for years, if this was his doing, he replied: "Desperation!" On Monday's ACC coaches' teleconference, Boeheim said he was awaiting monetary compensation: "I did ask for a little royalty check this week," Boeheim joked. "I haven't received it yet. I think it's probably lost in the mail some place. ... We've worked it during the times we've been together, and he understands it's not that complicated." Meanwhile, maybe the only person not totally surprised by the zone look was Cardinals coach Rick Pitino: "I actually thought they would play zone, to be honest with you," Pitino said. "We're very much prepared for zone, because every single team plays us zone. That's the defense to play against us. No question." He has a point.
On Saturday, Michigan guard Caris LeVert suffered what John Beilein termed a "complete fracture" in his foot. The injury requires surgery, and it will keep LeVert out for the rest of Michigan's season -- a season now more likely than ever to end without a fifth-straight NCAA tournament appearance. Hopefully Michigan's brass wrote a mandatory student section appearance clause into Jim Harbaugh's contract, because the product on the Crisler Center floor is in a bad way.
The Wyoming Cowboys survived a triple-overtime game at Fresno State on Saturday, winning 70-65, which should tell you a little bit about the pace (78) and general offensive skill (not much) on display. Despite that, and despite last week's home loss to San Diego State, Wyoming is alone at 5-1 atop the Mountain West. That status is due in large part to the sheer quantity of athletes at coach Larry Shyatt's disposal, athletes that inspired the Wyoming athletics department to produce a highlight video titled "Welcome to Dunk City." Does Florida Gulf-Coast know a good trademark lawyer?
It's Monday, which means another attempt by the Associated Press to instill some heirarchical order to a somewhat chaotic weekend in a chaotic season of college basketball. Kentucky and Virginia still ranked No. 1 and No. 2, so no surprises there, but Monday's AP poll did offer a slight surprise. After Iowa's two wins at Minnesota and at home against Ohio State, the Hawkeyes jumped up into the No. 25 spot, joining in-state brethren Northern Iowa (No. 20) and Iowa State (No. 9). In doing so, Jan. 19, 2015 became a date for the ages -- the first time in college basketball history that three teams from my native heartland state have been ranked in the AP top 25.