Duke

Twitter reacts to, analyzes Duke’s 88-81 loss to South Carolina

From staff reports
Duke’s Grayson Allen (3) is surrounded by South Carolina’s Hassani Gravett (2), Sindarius Thornwell (0) and Duane Notice (10) as he loses the basketball during the Gamecocks’ 88-81 win over the Blue Devils in the second round of the NCAA tournament on Sunday.
Duke’s Grayson Allen (3) is surrounded by South Carolina’s Hassani Gravett (2), Sindarius Thornwell (0) and Duane Notice (10) as he loses the basketball during the Gamecocks’ 88-81 win over the Blue Devils in the second round of the NCAA tournament on Sunday. Robert Willett rwillett@newsobserver.com

Duke started the season the favorite to win the national championship.

After a regular season plagued by injuries, including senior forward Amile Jefferson, freshmen Marques Bolden and Jayson Tatum, junior guard Grayson Allen and coach Mike Krzyzewski, along with Allen’s one-game suspension, the Blue Devils seemed to put it all together just in time for the postseason. Duke entered the ACC tournament as a No. 5 seed, playing - and winning - four games in four days, something no other team had done in the league tournament.

The ACC title earned Duke a No. 2 seed in the NCAA tournament, where they played, along with North Carolina, in Greenville, S.C. instead of Greensboro. The NCAA moved the tournament site last year due to House Bill 2.

The Blue Devils cruised past Troy on Friday, 87-65, in the Round of 64. Sunday was a different story. Duke faced South Carolina in what was essentially a home game for the Gamecocks. South Carolina scored 65 points in the second half (Duke scored 51) to give the Gamecocks an 88-81 win over the Blue Devils, ending Duke’s season in the Round of 32.

Here’s what Twitter had to say:

This story was originally published March 20, 2017 at 12:04 PM with the headline "Twitter reacts to, analyzes Duke’s 88-81 loss to South Carolina."

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