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Duke vs. Syracuse - 9:37pm EST Friday

DukefanKY said:
I am convinced that we will play Villanova, and that the winner of that game wins it all.
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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. That being said maybe all the "madness" is over with and you are right. Nevertheless, I feel really good about our chances as long as we keep up the intensity and focus we had the first two games.
 
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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.
 
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The one player that still worries me in the field and who could be in our path if all goes as planned is Azuibuke. I know he's a bit inconsistent, but he's a wide body. Our interior players are strong, but that size is hard to deal with.

That being said, I don't want to overlook Cuse. Let's get the job done there first.
 
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WI#1Dukie22 said:
Am I crazy for thinking Trent would be deadly attacking that zone from the middle high post? I know it takes away from at the perimeter. But I would think it would pay.
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He has Duke's best mid-range game for sure, but I think he would have real problems playing over that length.
 
If our game against them last month, or their game against MSU tells us anything, it's that we should win this going away.

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.

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!!!!
 
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.
 
ioliva said:
There's no way we should lose this game unless we're unfocused. We crushed them last time with only Bagley being efficient. We have better size, guards, athleticism, scoring and depth. I just can't see a scenario where we lose this game.
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I would tend to agree with you. But look what happened to UVA..................
 
After seeing them play this weekend and how good they looked, I feel better, but still not overly confident. This year more than others, one game does not necessarily translate to another. Coach K did say the team was healthier now than any point this year so that's definitely positive. Hopefully we won't get upset this weekend.
 
well its an over used phrase but i think its more about how we play then how syracuse plays. i am expecting an ugly low scoring game that is determined by which team remains disciplined and takes the ball inside.....
 
Like the past two games, limit turnovers and rebound and we are good.
 
Hammertime57 said:
I would tend to agree with you. But look what happened to UVA..................
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you're right but virginia was a team that had a huge chance of flopping because they were just awful at offense. Duke doesn't have that problem. Although our defense has gotten better, it could stink friday....but your offense sucks too.... we have a chance that we lose but I like our matchup regardless
 
dbav said:
The one player that still worries me in the field and who could be in our path if all goes as planned is Azuibuke. I know he's a bit inconsistent, but he's a wide body. Our interior players are strong, but that size is hard to deal with.

That being said, I don't want to overlook Cuse. Let's get the job done there first.
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Wow Azubuike does not worry me at all compared to guards like Battle, Graham, Brunson, or Booth, or even wings like Newman or Bridges. Azubuike needs people to get him the ball to be effective and I’m not sure he will be getting the ball a whole lot in our zone. A dangerous guard or a hot shooting wing is what could spell trouble
 
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One advantage Duke, Cuse, and Clemson has over Kansas is that Kansas needs to spend a lot of time this week preparing for all 3 potential matchups. The ACC teams can all spend extra time prepping for Kansas since we know each other so well.
 
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.
 
Patience on O! We hurry, take quick bad shots that lead to turnouts or force passes that lead to rurnovers we are in trouble. Good shots within the offense. Let them hurry and get undisciplined
 
Duke Blu said:
I don’t think we played as much zone as we do now during our last matchup?
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We did, but we've changed our zone a little after the loss to unx in the ACCT. With their offensive ineptitude, our defense won't be the issue. It's getting the rest of the guys going, and not just Bagley, against their zone.
 
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sgrooms said:
We did, but we've changed our zone a little after the loss to unx in the ACCT. With their offensive ineptitude, our defense won't be the issue. It's getting the rest of the guys going, and not just Bagley, against their zone.
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I think that is what is making many feel "comfortable", or at least as comfortable as possible. 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.
 
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dbav said:
I think that is what is making many feel "comfortable", or at least as comfortable as possible. 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.
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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
 
Alaskan_Assassin_21 said:
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

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Was at this game. Cuse will be tough on Friday. Let’s hope the same duke team we saw last weekend is there on Friday.
 
The only way this is close is if we start 0-15 from 3 again. I think we roll, maintain a 15-20 pt lead throughout the 2nd half.

If we get out to a big lead, lets save some made 3's for Sunday, looking at you Trevon.
 
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jwill133 said:
The only way this is close is if we start 0-15 from 3 again. I think we roll, maintain a 15-20 pt lead throughout the 2nd half.

If we get out to a big lead, lets save some made 3's for Sunday, looking at you Trevon.
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This is how I feel too. I believe we win this in double digits, then beat Kansas or Clemson.....Nova scares me. I think whoever wins that game, wins the title.
 
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DukefanKY said:
This is how I feel too. I believe we win this in double digits, then beat Kansas or Clemson.....Nova scares me. I think whoever wins that game, wins the title.
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Agreed. Nova is obviously scary, they have made 31 three's in the opening 2 games. I don't think they can stay hot from 3 for much longer though.

We would abuse Nova inside. I definitely favor us against them, don't think they will be hot from 3 against our zone in the 65k seat AlamaDome. Think there is a good chance we see WVU in the Final 4 too.
 
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Nova absolutely comes down to whether they hit their 3's or not. If they are off against anyone going forward, they will be in trouble. If they are hitting, they are hard to keep up with scoring only 2's.
 
jwill133 said:
Agreed. Nova is obviously scary, they have made 31 three's in the opening 2 games. I don't think they can stay hot from 3 for much longer though.

We would abuse Nova inside. I definitely favor us against them, don't think they will be hot from 3 against our zone in the 65k seat AlamaDome. Think there is a good chance we see WVU in the Final 4 too.
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I am from WV and since I moved to Colorado, I've seen way more WVU games than I care to. I told my wife a month ago that I have a feeling we were heading toward a Duke/WVU game in the tourney.
 
jwill133 said:
Agreed. Nova is obviously scary, they have made 31 three's in the opening 2 games. I don't think they can stay hot from 3 for much longer though.

We would abuse Nova inside. I definitely favor us against them, don't think they will be hot from 3 against our zone in the 65k seat AlamaDome. Think there is a good chance we see WVU in the Final 4 too.
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I have west va picked on my bracket pool at work, but I didn't really believe in it....just looking for upsets. I have us over Michigan in the finals.
 
tripleb71 said:
I am from WV and since I moved to Colorado, I've seen way more WVU games than I care to. I told my wife a month ago that I have a feeling we were heading toward a Duke/WVU game in the tourney.
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Though I do think the build of Villanova gives them an advantage over WVU. WVU has struggled to defend the 3 ball when games are on the line.
 
Laettner said:
Put me down as one who is worried about playing Cuse. They won 3 in a row and have nothing to lose.
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we don't either though. that's the thing about a one and done tournament . we lose that's it. I think that's a big part of the reason this team has been dialed in. it's very easy to get bored and lazy during the regular season when you know there are more games to be played
 
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Laettner said:
Put me down as one who is worried about playing Cuse. They won 3 in a row and have nothing to lose.
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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.
 
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