Duke, Illinois Negotiating To Play In The Garden

That could be a good one and in a special place too.

As Duke fans know, the Blue Devils have tried to schedule a game in Madison Square Garden annually for years now. It’s hard to remember the last time that didn’t happen.

It’s a great idea in a lot of ways: first, there are a lot of Duke alumni in New York and, unless Duke is playing St. John’s, it’s always sort of Cameron North. Secondly, a game in the Garden means immense media exposure and that’s a good thing. And third, the Garden just reeks of basketball history. To list the teams and players who have been in that building would take longer than most people would want to do but just for a few, and this is just collegiate, consider Syracuse’s six overtime game win over UConn in 2009, Bill Bradley’s amazing 41 point game against Michigan in 1964 and Oscar Robertson in 1958. Then you have Mike Krzyzewski playing for Army in the NIT, John Roche and South Carolina losing to that Cadet team, Dean Smith’s UNC teams and on and on. Heck, Mike Krzyzewski won his 1,000th game there - and against St. John’s, too.

So playing there a lot really is something special and it looks like Duke’s tradition will continue next season as the Blue Devils are trying to put together a game against Brad Underwood’s Illinois team.

Underwood looked like an idiot this past spring when he vowed to keep taking the ball in against UConn even though the strategy backfired spectacularly, but he’s not an idiot. He’s an excellent coach who has done very well with the Illini. It probably won’t be an easy game but that’s not what you go there for anyway.