Why Duke Lost

Duke's NCAA Tournament loss to my sister's school, South Carolina, occurred for a plethora of reasons.  Even though the officiating was questionable, that is not one of the top reasons they lost.  Duke received a number two seed in the tournament, but because of House Bill 2, they had to play in Greenville, SC.  Originally, these games were supposed to be played in Greensboro, NC, but the NCAA sided politically, which is against their values, and removed championships from North Carolina.  Then, the selection committee put South Carolina in Duke's sub bracket, setting up an essential road game for the Blue Devils.  According to the commentators, the stadium was 90% rooting for South Carolina.  More South Carolina fans were able to go to the game than Duke fans, because Columbia is 100 miles from Greenville, while Durham is over 250 miles from Greenville.  The home-court advantage played a major factor in the upset and putting pressure on Duke.  Duke also got into foul trouble early in the second half, leading to tentative defense and easy buckets for the Gamecocks. 3 key Blue Devils also got injured at some point in the game including Amile Jefferson, Jayson Tatum, and Matt Jones.  Duke began the season as the preseason #1 and definitely had the best potential of any team in the Tournament, but because it took a long time to get their mojo, because of injuries, they had no continuancy with their mojo.  Grayson Allen, Jayson Tatum, Luke Kennard, and Frank Jackson all might leave after this year, but I think Jayson Tatum is the only likely player to leave, as a projected top-5 pick.