Photo Courtesy Getty Images by Susan Walsh

Duke got a little lucky last night. For a second consecutive year, Coach Krzyzewski’s Blue Devils were ripe for the picking early in the Big Dance.

This time though, they were able to make a great escape thanks to a last second end to end hoop from Gerald Henderson along with a costly turnover by Belmont in the waning seconds, it didn’t happen.

On a mostly disappointing Day One in which most games lacked late dramatics with even the much anticipated freshman match-up between Kansas State’s Michael Beasley (23 pts, 8 rebs despite foul trouble in his team’s win with Pat Riley drooling after his team scored only 54 in a loss to Toronto) and USC’s O.J. Mayo (20 pts, 5 dishes but a poor shooting night) fizzling, here was one great game which had you on the edge of your seat.

A gutsy 15 seed trying to make history and take down one of the most successful programs who entered as a No.2 seed having lost just five times despite playing in the ACC. Even if it was down this season, that’s still a heck of a conference. Especially when you’re splitting with North Carolina, Clemson and Miami (Fla).

Here was Belmont out of the Atlantic Sun getting a whole lot closer to its first ever NCAA tournament win after being blown out the past couple of first rounds by UCLA and Georgetown. Sure. Anyone who watched Duke knew they weren’t a strong 2 seed and could be had but in Round One again?

Despite stretching a seven-point half time lead to 10 early in the second half, the Blue Devils just couldn’t shake the gritty Bruins on this night in the nation’s cap on the Georgetown home floor. Not with many rooting on the heavy underdog who was trying to become only the fifth 15 seed to knock off a 2 in men’s Div. I history.

Instead, they came right back on Duke running off nine straight to slice a 10-point deficit to one. Before that run, I told my brother Justin that the Blue Devils would wind up winning by 15 or 16. You just had to figure that Belmont would run out of gas.

Could they still keep making these shots to stay around? You betcha! There was Andy Wicke draining a three to suddenly slice the deficit to one with under three minutes to play. They had hung around all night. Finally after a Duke misfire, Justin Hare was fouled and sank both free throws to give his team the lead!

Belmont 70 Duke 69 with 2:02 to go.

“The last two or three minutes, I was sitting there thinking, ‘We’re really in this game.’ We were so close to winning,” Belmont reserve Henry Harris said after contributing three points and four rebounds in the memorable first round game.

“There’s a bit of amazement in your brain, just sitting there: ‘Wow!”’

The crowd at this point was going crazy and why not. Another Duke miss gave Belmont a chance to increase the margin. At that point, I was thinking, ‘They score here, they win.’

But that basket never came. Instead, Henderson grabbed the rebound and dribbled the ball with time winding down. I could tell right there what was about to happen because the Belmont defenders were backing off. Cardinal rule in basketball late. Never back off. Yes. You don’t want to foul. But at the same time, you have to play aggressive and at least contest the shot. That’s now what happened for poor Rick Byrd’s team. Unfortunately, they allowed Henderson to go coast to coast for a lay-in.

Duke 71 Drake 70 11.5 seconds left.

The Bruins still had a chance to pull it off but instead a steal by Duke senior leader Demarcus Nelson following a poorly executed in bounds put the ACC Defensive Player of The Year at the line with just 2.2 ticks left. A Nelson miss on the front end allowed Belmont to use its final timeout to setup one last desperation attempt.

They were able to get the ball into Hare near halfcourt along the left sideline. He took a couple of dribbles and then fired one up from 35 feet out but his prayer wasn’t answered as it fell to the left off the iron. Just a tad off the mark. Otherwise, the pesky Bruins pull it off and send Duke to a third consecutive defeat in the NCAA’s.

Instead, there was no glass slipper for the 15 seed who made Duke and Dick Vitale sweat it out.

So, were they surprised?

“Watching them on tape, they looked really good,” Coach K pointed out after adding to his own tournament record with career win No.69. “Watching them in person, they’re even better.”

“That was really the most exhilarating feeling that I’ve ever had coaching. That’s when I thought we were going to go all the way,” expressed Byrd afterwards.

“At first, you hope to be competitive. Then you hope, ‘Don’t beat us by 20.’ And that never really happened. It became like a regular-season Atlantic Sun game, really.”

No. It became even better. An NCAA Tourney epic which will be remembered for a while with both teams trading buckets and doing what makes this tournament so great.

Or as Gus Johnson might say, “College BASKET—BALL!”

The first of many in this year’s tournament as a more exciting Day Two has unfolded. Just ask Dell Curry about his son’s amazing second half performance in Davidson’s first round win over Gonzaga. And if you didn’t see it, then boy did you miss one hell of a show. Thirty of Stephen Curry’s 40 came after the half including a ridiculous 8-for-10 from downtown including the go-ahead bucket from the right key which put them ahead to stay.

Ask anyone who saw the wild finish between Western Kentucky and Drake. A game which fifth seeded Drake fought so hard to get back in coming from 16 down to force overtime and be within one defensive stop of advancing only to have their dreams dashed by a 28-foot Ty Rogers buzzer beater.

Classic basketball where you got the feeling whoever had the ball last would prevail. After Jonathan Cox hit both free throws with 5.7 left to put Drake up 99-98, Western Kentucky’s Tyrone Brazelton did an outstanding job dribbling the ball up the court out of a timeout before dropping a bounce pass for trailer Rogers who stepped into the long trifecta which hit nothing but net.

As soon as he released it, it was good. You could tell. The amazing thing about the buzzer beater was the degree of difficulty because Rogers didn’t have much room to work with firing maybe a couple of feet inside the right sideline. That’s not an easy shot to pull off.

It was a great play which was executed to perfection.

Classic stuff.

Who says college hoops is dead?