January 28

As per my usual entries, I'll begin with a short update on life: I've applied for two internships, both in the world of hockey. A far cry from my typical interests, each organization has intrigued me and left me wanting more. Those two teams: The Knoxville Ice Bears and the Nashville Predators, each in the broadcasting department. 

Now to business...

• Deacons defense dominates Devils

In a matchup that appeared more like a heavyweight bout than a basketball game, two premier ACC programs collided in Winston-Salem. After losing a 13 point lead, #4 Wake Forest handed #1 Duke it's second loss of the season, 70-68. After a traveling call on Duke's Gerald Henderson gave Wake the ball with 2.8 seconds remaining, James Johnson came clear off a screen for the Demon Deacons (17-1, 4-1 ACC) and hit an uncontested layup with 0.8 seconds remaining. A last ditch effort proved futile as Kyle Singler's full-court inbounds pass was knocked harmlessly to the floor, securing the win for the Demon Deacons.

Duke ( 18-2, 5-1 ACC), down by as much as 13 late in the second half, tied the game at 68 when Henderson hit a jumper over Johnson with 10 seconds left. Henderson finished with 20 points, and Singler added a game-high 22 points and 12 rebounds for the Blue Devils.

The story of the night was clearly the defensive effort on both sides of the ball. Wake held Duke to a mere 18% from beyond the three point line-- an area in which Duke usually excels in-- and the Devils returned the favor, keeping Wake to only 20%. Both teams shot under well under 50% from the field, with Duke only managing to hit 33% of it's shots and Wake a meager 40%. Duke also slowed down the ACC's second leading scorer in Jeff Teague, keeping him to 11 points- 10 below his average. 

The loss likely ends Duke's shortlived reign as the number one team in the nation, lasting only one week. 

• Tigers claw Vols

Undefeated at home for 2+ years, the Tennessee Volunteers have now lost their fourth home game of the season, dropping their 7th game of the season to LSU, 79-73. I only watched the last 2 minutes of this game, prompting me to say one thing: when will anyone on this team learn to hit a shot under the basket? Countless times the Vols have had opportunities to put teams away or come back, only to come up short both underneath the rim and in the game. It's downright pathetic. This team is full of athletes, just not necessarily basketball players. The athleticism is ridiculous, but they don't play as a team and rely too much on what will get them on SportsCenter rather than fundamentals.  

The Vols have now  lost two more games than all of last season combined and don't appear to be getting better any time soon. This game was billed as a "must-win" by coach Bruce Pearl, but it didn't seem to matter much. Tennessee was consistently down seven the entire game. With Florida on the horizon in a battle that doesn't seem worthy of the ESPN GameDay crew, the Vols looked lackluster at best. Perhaps this was a trap game combined with a letdown game after a heartbreaking loss to Memphis. Potentially, Tennessee could lose three games--all at the friendly confines of Thompson-Boling Arena-- in a row when Nick Calathes and the Gators visit Knoxville this Saturday.

That's it for tonight. By the way, you should all buy an oUTlive t-shirt if entirely possible. Proceeds go to cancer research and will be sold for the "white-out" game against Florida. It comes at a great time, as coaching legend Kay Yow was just lost to breast cancer. Former UT player Chris Lofton recently beat testicular cancer and Tyler Smith's father lost his battle with cancer last year.