Did Duke lose...?

OK so this is a little bit delayed... but I have to say a few words about Duke losing to Lehigh.

A little bit of humor to lighten the mood.

To be honest, I wasn't all that surprised. That might sound funny coming from a die-hard Duke fan, but I'm also a realistic fan more than an optimistic one. I knew Duke was not playing well at the end of the season. Even when they one games, they were just barely sneaking by and were not making it look pretty.

In my personal bracket, I picked Duke to make it to the Elite Eight before losing to Kentucky. Did I actually expect that to happen. Hell no. As a Duke fan, I felt an obligation to at least pick them that far even though I wasn't expecting it because if they happened to do well, I would look like an idiot. In all honesty I though they would either lose in the second round to Xavier or to Baylor in the Sweet Sixteen. Especially with junior forward Ryan Kelly sidelined with an injury, my hopes weren't too high.

So, a second round loss was pretty much in my mind in terms of expectations. No I didn't foresee an opening game loss to 15th-seeded Lehigh, but it was just one game earlier than what I had in my mind. Yeah it hurt at the time, but I was also glad I would never have to watch that Duke team again. Thanks fellas for putting me out of my misery early.

But that leads me to next year's team, which has major question marks. With Miles Plumlee graduating and Mason Plumlee and Austin Rivers most likely leaving for the NBA, they might be in some trouble. The Plumlees and Rivers were their most consistent and most valuable players this season. Seth Curry, Andre Dawkins, Tyler Thornton and Quinn Cook were all up and down all season. In big moments, it was usually the Plumlees and Rivers who kept Duke alive.

Luckily they will have the third Plumlee available next season, Marshall, replacing his two older brothers. But we haven't seen much of him yet and don't know if he can be a major contributor right away. And in terms of Rivers, there is no way to replace what he provides.