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Arizona Basketball: Duke Basketball students chant ‘Check your sources’ to ESPN

By Shereen Rayan

DURHAM, NC - JANUARY 27: Cameron Crazies and fans of the Duke Blue Devils pose for a photo prior to their game against the Virginia Cavaliers at Cameron Indoor Stadium on January 27, 2018 in Durham, North Carolina. (Photo by Lance King/Getty Images)
DURHAM, NC - JANUARY 27: Cameron Crazies and fans of the Duke Blue Devils pose for a photo prior to their game against the Virginia Cavaliers at Cameron Indoor Stadium on January 27, 2018 in Durham, North Carolina. (Photo by Lance King/Getty Images) /
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The Duke Blue Devil student section surprised Arizona Basketball fans by razzing ESPN’s Rece Davis during a Sean Miller report on College Gameday.

On College Gameday on Saturday morning, March 3, 2018, something happened that you would never in a million years believe happened. Duke fans seemed to back Arizona Basketball and condemn ESPN.

The NCAA probably wanted to wait and complete their investigation until AFTER the NCAA Championship was over, then create new rules, then start fresh. But ESPN had other plans. There are hundreds of millions of dollars to be spent and made during March Madness. It just doesn’t make sense to upset the apple cart until next season.

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Arizona Basketball fans felt that ESPN was a national outlet and that they had something against Arizona. Either they were trying to divert attention from the Yahoo Sports reporting implicating Duke and Kentucky players, or they just wanted to make an example of Arizona Basketball so the whole thing would go away for every other program. The sacrificial lambs being Arizona and Louisville Basketball.

Vitale is still calling for calm on Michigan State’s program coached by Tom Izzo, and even more patience for Louisville’s Rick Pitino, but continues to state that the ESPN report includes facts against Miller and Ayton and continues to ask President Robbins to get rid of them. It’s all in this Periscope recording. On Friday, Vitale wanted to move past all this, and Tweeted as much on March 2nd: “What scandal / forget it & get in a Hoops Hysteria mood as it is surely @marchmadness & it will be #Aweomebaby.”

Something almost magical happened this morning. You know when they say, ‘Nothing binds people together more than a common enemy’? That’s what this is; the common enemy being ESPN. Duke University students on ESPN College GameDay chanted “Check your sources” over and over again during a news report Rece Davis was giving regarding the Sean Miller situation. Unbelievable but we will take it, there is strength in numbers.

This is ironic, no? Jay Bilas inferring that Davis has no friends right now?

Arizona Basketball fans and media were impressed:

https://twitter.com/RaeeRaee_/status/969985341519142912

For whatever it’s worth, Arizona Basketball fans will take the support.

Again, there is strength in numbers and this is a movement now. Who knows, maybe this will wake up all media, even in politics, that without facts, facts that can be proven, hearsay and “sources close to the situation” should no longer be grounds for drawing conclusions and spreading hearsay as fact.

Greg Hansen sure learned his lesson, not sure Jay Bilas, Rece Davis, Seth Greenberg or Dick Vitale have or ever will without a lawsuit. But the odds a lawsuit would be won in court are slim according to Sports Illustrated’s Michael McCann unless it can be proven that the reports were false and that the reports actually hurt Sean Miller or Deandre Ayton.

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Perhaps the University of Arizona has a case, because the report, if false, did hurt Arizona Basketball recruiting, and they have two witnesses, Shareef O’Neal and Brandon Williams along with the Duke commit who steered away from Arizona Basketball. Ironic that Duke fans seemed to have Arizona’s back this morning. Or maybe they just want to make sure Duke Basketball is not next on the list for ESPN.

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