THE LITTLE THINGS

Belmont almost pulled off one of the biggest upsets in NCAA tournament history last night against Duke in their first round match-up.

I give Belmont all the credit in the world but three ‘little things’ hurt them last night. David Steele of the Baltimore Sun checks in.

1-With a one point lead they let the clock run down too far, not getting a good shot.

2-Getting back in transition, no one on Belmont stopped the ball as Duke’s Gerald Henderson drove the length of the floor for a lay-up. “I GOT BALL, I GOT BALL, I GOT BALL!”

“Coach [Mike Krzyzewski] said, ‘If you get the ball, just push the ball and get them off balance,’ ” Henderson recalled being told in the timeout before his steal and mad dash. “At the three-point line, I saw them in the lane, and I just took it strong.”

3-BLOB – Belmont failed to get the ball in-bounds under their own basket.

With four seconds left, when Renfroe tried to inbound from under his basket, threw the pass too far inside Henry Harris, and saw it picked off by Nelson.

All in all though, I give Belmont a lot of credit for hanging with Duke throughout the game.

“This is certainly a disappointing moment for our program and for our young men,” said Byrd of his team, in its third straight NCAA tournament. “To be this close, oh so close, to get a huge win for our school — you need to go in and talk to those kids who are crying. We lost by one point, but it’s unfair, because it doesn’t measure the effort those kids put into the game.”

PLAY THE RIGHT WAY!