Um...yeah we've got a problem with this Duke club

[PeteCalvin]

I wish we had Fab Melo to draw charges on Zion. He’d get him in foul trouble within the first 10 minutes.

RIP Fab

 

[DonLightfoot]

Is Duke scary? You bet your bippy they are. They could very well be like the 1996 Kentucky team we lost to in the NC and I believe Coach Boeheim still feels that was the best team he has seen.

I see Coach K going zone against us which we always seem to have trouble with before some halftime adjustments. I think we lose badly at Cameron, but get revenge at the Dome before another record crowd (surely they can squeeze one more person in). In any event, the challenge is there and hopefully we will accept it and step up. This is why ACC basketball is so tough, but that is what you want (at least I do anyway).

 

[Briancuse]

Is Duke scary? You bet your bippy they are. They could very well be like the 1996 Kentucky team we lost to in the NC and I believe Coach Boeheim still feels that was the best team he has seen.

I see Coach K going zone against us which we always seem to have trouble with before some halftime adjustments. I think we lose badly at Cameron, but get revenge at the Dome before another record crowd (surely they can squeeze one more person in). In any event, the challenge is there and hopefully we will accept it and step up. This is why ACC basketball is so tough, but that is what you want (at least I do anyway).

Not even close that uk team was an all time great. They had like 9 guys that played in the pros. They were much better and deeper.

 

[HoustonCuse]

Not even close that uk team was an all time great. They had like 9 guys that played in the pros. They were much better and deeper.

I know they had some experienced guys too. Not all freshmen. I'm thrilled we get a few shots at this Duke team.

 

[Zelda Zonk]

We may all be playing for second place. Yikes

Pretty clear that pay for play works

I still despise them, but whenever i feel like they must be dirty, i read or hear about something like this:
Tre Jones Is Already Droppin' Dimes for Duke

There's a designed/contrived 'culture' and legacy there, and K is fantastic at working it. And somehow, it's not limited to the basketball team. I know a few people who went as students/grad students, and they all have a similar, 'programmed' attitude about the school. The only school where alums will tell you how great the school is. You meet someone from Harvard or Yale, and they're almost apologetic and shy if you ask them where they went. Duke? Not so much.

 

[realorange]

I still despise them, but whenever i feel like they must be dirty, i read or hear about something like this:
Tre Jones Is Already Droppin' Dimes for Duke

There's a designed/contrived 'culture' and legacy there, and K is fantastic at working it. And somehow, it's not limited to the basketball team. I know a few people who went as students/grad students, and they all have a similar, 'programmed' attitude about the school. The only school where alums will tell you how great the school is. You meet someone from Harvard or Yale, and they're almost apologetic and shy if you ask them where they went. Duke? Not so much.

I guess you never talked to any Notre Dame grads. They not only tell you how great the school is but how great it made them. At least a couple I've known.

 

[Zelda Zonk]

I guess you never talked to any Notre Dame grads. They not only tell you how great the school is but how great it made them. At least a couple I've known.

Yecch. Just lucky, I guess.

 

[shu 49]

I don’t get why we should fear Duke. Are they ridiculously talented? Yes. But so are we. I’ll gladly put what we have against what they have. Zion is a beast. So is Brissett. They have Reddish and Barrett. We have Battle and Howard and Hughes and Carey. We have experience. They don’t. And we will make them shoot over a very long zone and not drive the lane for dunks and layups. As far as I’m concerned bring Duke on. They have ridiculous talent. We have a ridiculous TEAM.

Well said

 

[obliterata]

It's a long season, let's see what they look like and how they're playing come March.

Also, Kentucky isn't the type of team that will challenge them, gotta play well on both sides of the court to compete with them.

 

[MadNY3]

We may all be playing for second place. Yikes

Pretty clear that pay for play works

Duck Fuke.

Zion is a wonderchild, but they will self inflict and have stretches of challenges.

(That said, wow was that electric last night.)

 

[TinyManInside]

I'd be surprised if they don't beat us by 15+ both games. This Duke team has incredible talent. I doubt they lose more than 4 games this year.

 

[shu 49]

Our matchups are kinda good. Barrett against Tyus, Zion against Brissett, Reddish Marek or Hughes, Frank against I don’t know and c vs c but we will pack it in and they won’t have a clear path to basket. I truly think we play them extremely tough cause all our guys wanna go to the place they are leaving for next year. I can’t wait.

 

[alphaorange]

sounds like you are saying its a pretty even matchup? I don't see it. Sure anything can happen in any one game, but looking at it objectively, they should dispense with us rather handily...and that's not a snub on us..i think that Duke team is a truly top level team, the kind of team that you dont necessarily have each year in cbb anymore

Yep...any team that has potentially the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd pick in the draft should be dominant, and I think they will be. Chemistry for us (and them) will be the key to how good each team will be.

 

[realorange]

Our matchups are kinda good. Barrett against Tyus, Zion against Brissett, Reddish Marek or Hughes, Frank against I don’t know and c vs c but we will pack it in and they won’t have a clear path to basket. I truly think we play them extremely tough cause all our guys wanna go to the place they are leaving for next year. I can’t wait.

As good as our players are, the match ups you mention all go to Duke.

We only beat them with a well disciplined team effort on both ends of the court.

 

[ar inj]

The saying is "You are never as good as you look when you win and never as bad as you look when you lose." Duke made every shot and Kentucky played no defense. It was a game for about 5 minutes and then just an all star exhibition.

Duke will be a load to handle, but I am not ready to cancel the season. Bring it on!

 

[Orangezoo]

UK played defense like the Rockets. Let's not crown the blue devils just yet. That looked like a team ready to play and another, per usual who has talent but very little coaching substance to go with. This UK team ( need to see more first) looks like the teams Cal struggled to get into the tourney with vs a powerhouse. They have little to no decent PG play despite the assist numbers, just very little leadership.

Duke, similar to last year is looking to 3 guys to do most of it all. When they are all on, yeah it's a freight train. It won't be like that every night. They are a top 5 team. Once we get a healthy and more time for the guys who haven't practiced much we will look better on offense.

 

[SoBeCuse]

UK played defense like the Rockets. Let's not crown the blue devils just yet. That looked like a team ready to play and another, per usual who has talent but very little coaching substance to go with. This UK team ( need to see more first) looks like the teams Cal struggled to get into the tourney with vs a powerhouse. They have little to no decent PG play despite the assist numbers, just very little leadership.

Duke, similar to last year is looking to 3 guys to do most of it all. When they are all on, yeah it's a freight train. It won't be like that every night. They are a top 5 team. Once we get a healthy and more time for the guys who haven't practiced much we will look better on offense.

No doubt. Correct but I’m not willing to give up on UK or slow down on the Duke hype. We’ve seen UK look bad early on then Cal gets them going. SGA taking over last year and making them formidable. I don’t think many (if any) picked Kansas St to beat them last year when that matchup unfolded.

Looking forward to seeing how much Carey improved in practice this week. One can see all the raw talents are there. Defensively he’s good too so I don’t think Boeheim is going to worry about him there which is great for us. We need some real speed out there at the lead guard spot and he’ll bring that.

 

[jr4750]

I'd be surprised if they don't beat us by 15+ both games. This Duke team has incredible talent. I doubt they lose more than 4 games this year.

Mason you really think they are that much better than us? JB is gonna force them to shoot from the outside. Perhaps they light it up, but, I don't think Zion or RJ are getting to the rim at will on us like they did against UK. I was shocked at how soft UK played defense. Amazing to see Nick Richards and Quade struggle so badly, given how sought after they were by us. Also, having two 6'5 guards at the top of the zone will definitely create problems for Duke. Can we score on them, and shoot well enough? Will Hughes be able to man the back of the zone and rebound with Zion/Reddish? It will be a very interesting matchup. imo they will have to play like they did the other night to run us over. Otherwise we will be in that ballgame, and I like our chances at home.

btw: Zion outweighs Brissett by some poundage but that battle is gonna leave bruises on both of them. Gonna be epic!

 

[orangecuse]

The saying is "You are never as good as you look when you win and never as bad as you look when you lose." Duke made every shot and Kentucky played no defense. It was a game for about 5 minutes and then just an all star exhibition.

Duke will be a load to handle, but I am not ready to cancel the season. Bring it on!

I think you left out "big" on both ends...just saying.

 

[SoBeCuse]

I can’t really comment on our offense yet until we see Carey more there and when Frank comes back but we still have a long way to go there, IMO.

Back end would have to be very sound against them. Threes are irrelevant. I think they beat us twice without threes. Once was a slaughter. We still don’t have much physicality down low. What if Duke screens the top of the zone (if they need to) then get any lob potential going? If Chewy or Sid (Sid still isn’t ready) come up too fast then we’re dead in that situation. Zion and Barrett could foul out the whole SU frontline even if they aren’t getting the FGs on the initial attempt.

 

[Melancer46]

Maybe they struggle with our zone, but I'm not sure I've ever been more impressed by a freshman's debut as I was for both Zion and Barrett. That display was horrifying to watch if you're a fan of any other team.

 

[Cusefan0307]

That was Dukes toughest game until January. We won’t know anything sure until then.

Also for reference the 2014-15 UK team beat number 5 Kansas by 32 in November and their games got much closer later in the year in a weaker conference until they ultimately lost to Wisconsin.

 

[OttoMets]

Mason you really think they are that much better than us? JB is gonna force them to shoot from the outside. Perhaps they light it up, but, I don't think Zion or RJ are getting to the rim at will on us like they did against UK. I was shocked at how soft UK played defense. Amazing to see Nick Richards and Quade struggle so badly, given how sought after they were by us. Also, having two 6'5 guards at the top of the zone will definitely create problems for Duke. Can we score on them, and shoot well enough? Will Hughes be able to man the back of the zone and rebound with Zion/Reddish? It will be a very interesting matchup. imo they will have to play like they did the other night to run us over. Otherwise we will be in that ballgame, and I like our chances at home.

btw: Zion outweighs Brissett by some poundage but that battle is gonna leave bruises on both of them. Gonna be epic!

Mason knows all, but for all Boeheim's Pitino/Dixon problems, it's really rare for him to lose by 15+ to a team once, much less twice, unless there's an absurd talent deficit (like with the Kaleb Joseph team a couple years back). Against K and Williams, Boeheim's coaching acumen is the great equalizer.

You make a good point about Hughes on the back line, btw.

 

[OttoMets]

I can’t really comment on our offense yet until we see Carey more there and when Frank comes back but we still have a long way to go there, IMO.

Back end would have to be very sound against them. Threes are irrelevant. I think they beat us twice without threes. Once was a slaughter. We still don’t have much physicality down low. What if Duke screens the top of the zone (if they need to) then get any lob potential going? If Chewy or Sid (Sid still isn’t ready) come up too fast then we’re dead in that situation. Zion and Barrett could foul out the whole SU frontline even if they aren’t getting the FGs on the initial attempt.

That hasn't been the problem thusfar. Those two have been slow stepping up.

Also, I still fear Dolezaj's gonna be playing 20 minutes at the 5 by ACC time.

 

[SoBeCuse]

That hasn't been the problem thusfar. Those two have been slow stepping up.

Also, I still fear Dolezaj's gonna be playing 20 minutes at the 5 by ACC time.

True. It’s tough against the smaller teams for them to get there fast enough to contest the foul line stuff against those capable of making it. Against Duke they must stay back.

Yeah Marek at the 5 in ACC play is something I don’t want to see. Hopefully Sidibe’s rust comes off soon because he looks lost at times and he’s getting himself into trouble down low offensively with extra moves. Those weak layup attempts must stop. There was one time where JB summoned Chewy to get back in the game but he kept sitting on the bench in a fog. JB got so mad and ran over to him and nearly picked him up himself to put him back in. I noticed that on TV. It was hilarious.