Duke/Pitt Second Half Live Blog

Recap: A slugfest type of game ended up in a 65-64 win for #9 Pitt in overtime over #7 Duke. Levance Fields (21 pts) and DeJuan Blair (15 pts, 20 rebs) led the way for the Panthers, who are now 11-0. I think Pitt will win its next five games (@ Dayton, vs. Lafayette, @ Villanova, @ South Florida, vs. Seton Hall) before a huge January 14 ESPN Big Monday game vs #4 Georgetown. That will be another dogfight similar to the game tonight.

For Duke, Jon Scheyer was very disappointing tonight. Scheyer was only 1-10 from the floor, including 0-4 from downtown. There is a lot more talent on Duke's roster this year, and I suspect Scheyer will spend more time on the pine than on the floor for the rest of the season. Henderson, Singler, and Nelson led the way for Duke tonight, but nobody else really stepped up. Duke is still a very good team, and I expect them to contend for an elite eight spot (along with Pitt) come March.

This was the game of the year so far in college basketball, here's to hoping Saturday has its fair share of thrillers as well.

4.7 OT: Fields with the step back three pointer!! What a shot. Scheyer missed two desperation shots on the other end and the Panthers pick up a huge resume building win.

16.0 OT: What do you do here, go for the win with a three or go for the tie with a two? It would be a gutsy call, but I'd go for the win right here if I was Jamie Dixon considering they have lost Cook to injury and Blair to fouls.

34.5 OT: Wow, that's a game changing call right there. Fields gets called for the charge and the shot clock is off.

56.3 OT: Miami (OH) pulls the upset at Assembly Hall in Champaign. 61-58 was the final.

1:15 OT: Biggs picks up right where Blair left off with a big offensive rebound, but Levance Fields gets called for a walk. Duke has a chance to widen the lead.

1:36 OT: You have to think it's advantage Duke right now with Cook and Blair out of the game. Duke takes a one point lead after the Nelson free throw.

1:36 OT: Blair finishes with 15 and 20 rebounds, quite a night for him.

1:48 OT: Brown had a wide open look and couldn't knock it down. On the other end, Nelson takes it to the rim, gets the bump, and completes the layup. A huge play as DeJuan Blair has just fouled out.

2:19 OT: Henderson makes one of two and cuts the lead down to two again.

4:06 OT: DeJuan Blair has 18 rebounds in this game, a coming out party on national TV for the freshman.

4:28 OT: It looks like Mike Cook just tore a ligament in his left knee. Hope for the best.

4:50 OT: Duke wins the tip and quickly DeMarcus Nelson gets to the line after drawing the fourth foul on DeJuan Blair. Nelson is not a good free throw shooter, but he does manage to make one of two.

5:00 OT: Illinois with a nice comeback as they force OT at home vs. Miami (OH).

5:00 OT: Singler and Nelson each have four fouls for Duke, that could definetly be a factor.

5:00 OT: Good thing about overtime? No TV timeouts.

00.0 2nd: Henderson did get the ball, he took it into the lane, threw up a wild shot and missed. Ramon failed to box out Kyle Singler, but Singler missed the easy layup on the follow. We are headed to overtime!

16.6 2nd: Gerald Henderson has been hot this game. I'd go to him if I was Coach K.

16.6 2nd: Mike Cook was wide open on the wing and missed badly. Duke calls its final timeout and has a chance to hold for the last shot and win. Pitt has one timeout remaining.

40.1 2nd: Will the refs have an impact on the last 40 seconds? Let's hope not.

56.7 2nd: Henderson with another answer on the other end and we're tied. This game has the feel of an elite eight matchup.

1:10 2nd: Young with a big shot for Pitt, they're back up by two.

1:41 2nd: Sam Young shows his athleticism as he makes a nifty layup. Singler with a HUGE three point answer on the other end to tie it as Jay Bilas creams his pants.

2:12 2nd: Henderson sends it in on the other end and it's a one point game again.

2:24 2nd: Fields gets fouled after a strong drive to the hole. He knocks down both free throws and Pitt leads by 3 again.

2:34 2nd: Upset alert: Oral Roberts and Scott Sutton knock off Oklahoma State and Sean Sutton in Oklahoma City. 74-59 was the final.

2:34 2nd: A very physical slugfest type of game will most likely come down to free throws.

2:51 2nd: I hate when coaches call timeouts when they know the next whistle will result in a media timeout.

3:39 2nd: Fields with a beautiful drive and finish, Pitt has its largest lead of the game at 52-49. ESPN must really be desperate for people to watch this Utah/Navy football game. Nothing like a watered down college football bowl game!

5:00 2nd: Pitt is simply playing stronger, tougher, and better than Duke right now. Blair gets another rebound but misses the bunny. David McClure will go to the line after pulling down the rebound. He makes one of two.

5:28 2nd: Ramon misses a wide open three pointer, Cook misses the follow, but Blair picks up the board and gets to the line after drawing after the fourth foul on Singler. Blair makes one of two to tie it, but Sam Young gets the rebound and gets fouled. He goes to the line and makes two, Pitt leads 50-48. This is their first lead since it was 2-0.

5:51 2nd: Pitt is dominating in fast break points, 13-2.

6:50 2nd: Henderson pushes Biggs right out of the way, no call.

7:23 2nd: Henderson rejects Sam Young but DeMarcus Nelson turns it over on the other end. Another bad call by the refs.

8:15 2nd: A tremendous steal and athletic move to the basket by Blair and Pitt cuts it to one.

8:26 2nd: Levance Fields buries a three and we have a 3 point game after a 7-0 run by Pitt. Vitale would be going nuts right now if he were broadcasting.

8:54 2nd: Jay Bilas makes a great point, Pitt is playing very well in transition and staying in this ball game.

9:26 2nd: Paulus with a beautiful pass to Singler for the layup, but Blair answers on the other end for the Panthers off an offensive board.

9:56 2nd: A bunch of contact underneath the hoop, finally Jamie Luckie blows the whistle and makes the correct call. Blair locked his arm around Singler's neck and threw him to the floor. That's a big play in a close game like this.

10:42 2nd: Both teams are over the foul limit, but Pitt will have 2 shots the rest of the way. That should make a big impact on the final 10 minutes. Blair badly misses both, a golden opportunity blown for Pitt.

11:07 2nd: Pitt has played much better defense this half, and all of a sudden the lead is down to 5.

11:47 2nd: Blair gets a huge offensive board for Pitt and will go to the line with a chance to cut it to 6 points after the media timeout.

13:28 2nd: Sam Young finally makes a layup and gets a foul call to boot. This game is gonna get interesting.

13:43 2nd: Pitt just can't get anything to go from close range.

15:02 2nd: After two Gerald Henderson missed free throws, Pitt takes a horrible shot and gets bailed out on a bad foul call on the rebound. Pitt is already in the bonus and Blair knocks down both free throws to get the lead back under 10. Henderson answers on the other end for Duke.

15:51 2nd: ESPN interviews David Cutcliffe, Duke's new football coach. Does anyone really care about Duke football?

16:31 2nd: DeMarcus Nelson gets called for a charge by Mike Kitts, only to be overruled by Jamie Luckie. The refs got it wrong, I was afriad this crew of delinquents would screw something up. The officials go to the videotape and rule that Sam Young fouled Nelson before Cook took the charge. They counted the basket, and I'm still trying to determine why they did. A terrible call that pushed the lead back up to 13 for Duke.

17:46 2nd: Fields gets open with a wicked crossover but fails to convert. Mike Cook makes a nice move on the baseline after the ball goes off Duke. Lead down to 8.

18:54 2nd: Pitt cuts the lead to 10 following DeJuan Blair's free throws.

19:32 2nd: The officials tonight are Jamie Luckie, Jim Burr, and Mike Kitts. Two of them, Luckie and Burr, are among the worst in college basketball. They have been of little note so far tonight, and that is a good thing.

Halftime, Duke 34, Pittsburgh 22: It's a minor miracle that Pittsburgh is only down 12 points after turning the ball over 13 times in the first half. Both teams have been sloppy with the basketball, as Duke has 11 turnovers itself. Pittsburgh has missed three dunks so far, so that's six points they should have had. Sam Young has been killing the Panthers, but I expect this game to get tighter in the second half. Gerald Henderson and Kyle Singler lead the Blue Devils with 8 points apiece. Levance Fields leads Pitt with 9.