From the Duke Fan Forum...

[EastCoast2]

Higher powers pulling for Duke to win? You mean like every single Duke game?

 

[Lucid]

Post was probably written by a fan who started watching cbb and duke in college. Clueless bandwagoners.

Certainly none of those to be found here.

 

[Knicks411]

I mean Duke probably is the best team for ratings. Not sure how much of a drop off there'd be though. There are still some name brand schools left if they lose, and Loyola is a hell of an underdog story

 

[gbo]

Clemson and Syracuse beg to differ

Yes I agree.

 

[Cuseroc]

I dont know which board these quotes are from but I read the first 2 pages of Dukes 24/7 forum and they have a 5 or 6 page thread discussing the Syracuse game, and not one poster gives SU much of a chance. A couple did say anything can happen during the tourney, but still expect to win. They are ecstatic being favored by 11.5 points.

 

[Trueblue25]

Yes I agree.

Best of luck in your matchup! Definitely rooting for the tigers

 

[AZOrange]

Duke by 30 minimum tonight. We’re lucky to be on the same court. I hope we don’t get them banged up for Kansas

 

[OttoMets]

A selection of quotes from their Duke vs. Syracuse pre-game thread...

This is the first game of the tourney that worries me...I hate playing conference foes in the tourney!... Agreed. Don't think there's an advantage here for either team.

After this past weekend I'm almost afraid to be convinced of anything. I feel confident in saying not one person that posts or reads these boards ever contemplated or considered that we'd be playing Syracuse in the Sweet 16 game this weekend. Same - this didn't cross my mind until midway through the second half on Sunday. I think the odds of SU losing to Arizona State must have been higher than the odds of SU playng this weekend.

I just don't see them scoring more than us. Let's say both of our defenses are even. We have a huge edge on offense. Last sentence: obviously. Both defenses even? I think not.

It's our game to lose, really. I guess. Hi, cliches.

Syracuse is an adopted child from the Big East. So to me they are especially dangerous.

Is this Boeheim's swan song victory? I think no, that was last week over Izzo.

Blue Devils fight our way into the Elite 8. Meh, this post was weird.

Put me down as one who is worried about playing Cuse. They won 3 in a row and have nothing to lose. More cliches and numbers that have no bearing on tonight's game.

I think you have to be worried about anyone at this point as they are here for a reason. Our best is better than Syracuse's best, though. That's very fair.

Syracuse has struggled offensively and our defense has improved throughout the season. If they find a scoring option or two outside of Battle, then it can be worrisome. If not, then I think we are in pretty good shape. Yep, that's about where I am.

THE good news is we know zone well. The bad news is they know zone well. But we have more talent so that “ should” tip the scales in our favor. But in the NCAAT who can ever truly know what will happen. I see a lot of people in here saying us by 10-15 no problem... I wonder how the same ppl did picking all the upsets we’ve seen. Re: 'bad news is that they know zone well.' Uh, have you watched Syracuse? Have you seen Syracuse operate against Duke's zone (or anyone else's)?

Michigan State should have kicked their butts, but that didn't happen. Duke should kick their butts. That better happen. Syracuse's bigs are all so skinny and like to foul. It's hard to imagine us not scoring 40 in the paint. All we need is some threes to fall and we should win by 10. Simple, but not unreasonable.

Man Syracuse has no chance. They won't be able to score more than us. They take bad shots and can't rebound. They are among the worst shooting teams in the nation. For the season they shot 41%. In the tournament it's down to 38%. Michigan State is just dumb and doesn't have the shooting to beat Syracuse. All Izzo had to do was play Ward and Jackson. He chokes against hall of fame coaches though. Carter and Bagley can eat that zone alive. Plus we will convert on our offensive rebounds. Go away.

If our game against them last month, or their game against MSU tells us anything, it's that we should win this going away. Not a crazy thought. But 'should' doesn't put numbers in the win column.

Obviously it's madness and a lot of crazy stuff happened in the opening weekend, but we aren't like any of those other teams. All we ever needed was 40 minutes of focus and we accomplished that in both games. I think the guys have bought in, and give Coach K a week to prepare for a team much less talented in March?... We win, and probably going away. The guys have bought in? Well that settles it! Unlike all those other teams who lost to the likes of Lehigh, these kids have 'bought in.' SU might as well just stay at the hotel tonight and not bother to play the game.

We can put Bagley or Carter in the high post of that zone and they will eat it up. If our guys play solid defensively and turn it over less than 15 times, there is no way we lose this. You can see the confidence and togetherness growing with every game from this team. The only team that seems to be on par with us right now is Nova, so that would be a helluva match up in Texas. SI6HTS!!! He got the 'confidence' part right.

 

[Trueblue25]

Duke by 30 minimum tonight. We’re lucky to be on the same court. I hope we don’t get them banged up for Kansas

Is this some reverse bad juju nonsense?

 

[NorSyr66]

I love the Duke comment "The good news is we know zone well" Reminds me of the old joke - "Yesterday I couldn't even spell ingener and now I are one"!!

 

[stuckinbig11]

they are not dumb

 

[andyw715]

The worst one is the nickname “Sorryexcuse Orange”

 

[Capt. Tuttle]

I don't know if you just had a very small sample size in evaluating his talent, or if he just so happened to play poorly in the games you did watch. I'm hoping the latter, as I know you'll be tuned in tonight.

Bagley is a legit NBA talent. In fact, I will go on record and forecast that he makes at least 2 NBA All-Star games in his career. He's not Kareem, I'll agree with that.

He won't get the Dukie calls in the NBA. I can't remember the last Duke big guy to be a really good NBA player. Brand or Boozer?

 

[AZOrange]

Is this some reverse bad juju nonsense?

Wouldn’t you like to know...