Texas Tech

[500HP_Devil]

They are #11 in the AP poll at 8-0 and will likely be 10-0 and top 10 when we meet them at MSG on Dec. 20. We have Princeton on 12/18 then a quick turnaround against the Red Raiders two days later with a day of travel mixed in. Hard to judge by their schedule if they are legit - anyone know anything about them?

 

[WI#1Dukie22]

This has very quietly become a monster show down. I admittedly don’t know much about them. They were incredibly skilled and athletic last year I recall, but I think they lost Atleast one key contributor to the league?? Obviously they are playing well..... I’ll wait to hear more from The guys in the loop.....

 

[Dukeman]

Beat a very good Nebraska team by eighteen. Also defeated Memphis and Southern Cal.

 

[skysdad]

And they will be wanting to beat some Blue Devil rear end so we need to take the wind out of their sails from the get go. No mercy. OFC

 

[FearTheBeard]

I’m hoping we jump out early against Princeton so we can keep the starters minutes under 25.

 

[dukiejay]

I’m hoping we jump out early against Princeton so we can keep the starters minutes under 25.

That’s not a concern of mine. And what I mean by that is, I don’t think it’s scary to stretch these guys out a bit again. We have two weeks off after the Texas Texh game and the kids will have a chance to spend the holidays with family and friends. K likes these every-other day turnarounds to simulate what his team will see down the road.

As for Texas Tech, they have a kid named Jarrett Culver. He’s a legitimate stud. Sophomore guard in that 6’6” range and skilled. Really nice player. They’ll primarily play three guards. They don’t have a ton of size, but the guys they do have are really good playing their role. Texas Tech is going to be a strong test heading into conference play. That’s good.

 

[FearTheBeard]

That’s not a concern of mine. And what I mean by that is, I don’t think it’s scary to stretch these guys out a bit again. We have two weeks off after the Texas Texh game and the kids will have a chance to spend the holidays with family and friends. K likes these every-other day turnarounds to simulate what his team will see down the road.

As for Texas Tech, they have a kid named Jarrett Culver. He’s a legitimate stud. Sophomore guard in that 6’6” range and skilled. Really nice player. They’ll primarily play three guards. They don’t have a ton of size, but the guys they do have are really good playing their role. Texas Tech is going to be a strong test heading into conference play. That’s good.

Those are good points. TT was legit last year and they brought a lot back. My concern is learning about Zion’s full body cramps (thanks to the 5 point play podcast) in Maui. That was 3 games in 3 days in Maui and this is 2 games in 3 days, but with added travel. Not exactly the same thing, but an extra day or two wouldn’t hurt. At the same time, we know K schedules early season to simulate a tourney experience as much as he can.

If it were reversed (play TT and then travel to NY to play Princeton), then I think player minutes wouldn’t matter. But, that’s what the tournament is like...play a lesser team and turnaround and hypothetically play a better team 48 hours later. It’s a balance between securing a regular season record that gives you the best possible seeding come March, but still preparing your players for what March is going to be like. A loss to TT puts us at 1-2 against presumably top 10 teams (not considering KY a top team right now, that could change).

The best solution is to go 2-0 the rest of December and enjoy the rest of the break.

 

[DukefanKY]

The best solution is to go 2-0 the rest of December and enjoy the rest of the break.

Sign me up for this.

 

[DukefanKY]

They have won every game by double digits, but haven't played a ranked team.
I haven't seen them play, but just looking at stats, we both shoot about the same FG%. They are a little higher from the stripe and 3 point line, but not a lot higher. Assists per game and turnovers is also about even.
And we have played a much tougher schedule.
That Memphis team they beat has four losses already, one of which was to charleston.
They have two guys averaging double figures.
The biggest gap I see in stats is rebounds per game and points per game, both advantage us. That can be a little misleading based on pace of play.
According to their roster, of the top 6 guys getting the most minutes, their two tallest are 6'10" and 6'5".

I know you can't draw too big of a conclusion just looking at schedule and stats, but I will be disappointed if this game isn't pretty much decided with 5' left. We'll see.

 

[dukehokie]

They have won every game by double digits, but haven't played a ranked team.
I haven't seen them play, but just looking at stats, we both shoot about the same FG%. They are a little higher from the stripe and 3 point line, but not a lot higher. Assists per game and turnovers is also about even.
And we have played a much tougher schedule.
That Memphis team they beat has four losses already, one of which was to charleston.
They have two guys averaging double figures.
The biggest gap I see in stats is rebounds per game and points per game, both advantage us. That can be a little misleading based on pace of play.
According to their roster, of the top 6 guys getting the most minutes, their two tallest are 6'10" and 6'5".

I know you can't draw too big of a conclusion just looking at schedule and stats, but I will be disappointed if this game isn't pretty much decided with 5' left. We'll see.

Their pace is medium. They don’t slow you down on purpose but they also aren’t looking to run every possession. But they aren’t a markedly good scoring or rebounding team. Duke’s D can make them one dimensional. The question is will they? The matchups will be big here and staying out of foul trouble on the perimeter. I think RJ and Cam can both make life difficult for Culver, who is a POY candidate. He’ll get his, but how efficient will he be?

For those saying they bring a lot of back, they actually lost quite a few key contributors off that Elite Eight squad (6 of their top 8 players), but they obviously have a good system in place. Beard is a great up and coming coach. It’ll be a fun matchup and scoring will be difficult for both squads.

 

[Quavarius]

They rank 2nd in defense and 47th in offense.

They will hold Duke below their season average. Should be a dog fight and close in the first half, but Duke wins by 12.

 

[Showenuff]

Main issue, foul trouble. Smaller teams get calls vs our big guys. Sucks, but its true. Zion just bumps a perimeter midget and it's instant whistle.

 

[dukesince91]

Main issue, foul trouble. Smaller teams get calls vs our big guys. Sucks, but its true. Zion just bumps a perimeter midget and it's instant whistle.

That's always been the case. I told my son when he was growing up to just get use to it. The big man always gets whistled for breathing too hard on a smaller player.

 

[jwill133]

I think I read something where Texas Tech lost 4 starters and 90% of their scoring from last year?? And last year was essentially their best team ever.
Pretty incredible, their coach is a stud.

They are a bunch of unknown 3-star recruits who play EXTREMELY hard. They are tough, physical, and mean. We have a massive talent gap, but we better play tough and not come into the game thinking we will cruise.
They remind me a lot of the South Carolina team that punked us in the tournament....the difference is, I think this Duke team is A LOT tougher mentally and physically than that Duke team.

 

[skysdad]

Main issue, foul trouble. Smaller teams get calls vs our big guys. Sucks, but its true. Zion just bumps a perimeter midget and it's instant whistle.

Looking a little ahead that is my biggest concern when we play unccheat. hof coach roy williams will put big luke maye on him and tell him to flop whenever Zion gets close. It should be some sight to see. I just hope the officials are able to see what's going on.OFC

 

[AlanInNJ]

I'll be at this game, and I can't wait. If by some crazy reason we have a lousy showing you can blame me. My son and I will be eye level to the rim. I can't wait to see Zion throw one down right in front of us!

I watched some highlights and checked some stats. It does seem like TT are tough and athletic. We should win the rebounding battle. I look for Jack to have 10+ including some big ones on the offensive end. Yeah, TT looks similar to the S. Carolina team that beat us in 2017, but I think this Duke team is MUCH more physical and tougher than we were then. If we have a reasonable shooting night from outside I say we pull away in the last ten minutes and win by 15. If not, we still will grind out a win. I'm looking for Cam to have a breakout shooting night!

Go Duke!

Alan

 

[dukedevilz]

Jarrett Culver is playing like an All-American: 17.9 ppg, 5.6 reb, 4.6 ast, 53.8% fg, 43.6% 3-pt. ... and Tariq Owens is one of the best shot-blockers in the country. He has a block percentage of 18.1%, which is the second best in the country. Block percentage, for those that may not be aware, is the percentage of blocks a player has against an opposing team's two point field-goal attempts. So he's coming close to blocking 1 out of 5 two-point field goals while he's on the floor. Not bad.

 

[dukiejay]

Tariq Owens should be a familiar name to Duke fans. He scored 17 points and disrupted a number of shots last season when he played for the St. John's team that beat us in MSG. He's a grad transfer this season for the Red Raiders.

 

[skysdad]

We need to be ready to play that's sure. I expect it's gonna be close but we have Princeton first. OFC

 

[QC Dukie]

We need to be ready to play that's sure. I expect it's gonna be close but we have Princeton first. OFC

Amen Sky.....I’m worried about Princeton first. I’ll think about TT after that one.

 

[Showenuff]

We will beat Princeton. We will beat Texas Tech. Boom goes the dynamite.

 

[dukehokie]

Amen Sky.....I’m worried about Princeton first. I’ll think about TT after that one.

I get that. But with a two day game break and a 10 day lay off, there’s no way the team hasn’t done prep work for both teams. That would be irresponsible on K’s part. You don’t assume a victory but you play the numbers and hypothesize that your talent mixed with some good strategy gets you past Princeton. Besides, most of what the team has been doing thus far, will get them past the Tigers anyway.

Texas Tech has had some practice time dedicated to them this week for sure. There’s no foul in discussing a top 10 matchup even with a game upcoming, in my opinion.

 

[HuffyJB]

I get that. But with a two day game break and a 10 day lay off, there’s no way the team hasn’t done prep work for both teams. That would be irresponsible on K’s part. You don’t assume a victory but you play the numbers and hypothesize that your talent mixed with some good strategy gets you past Princeton. Besides, most of what the team has been doing thus far, will get them past the Tigers anyway.

Texas Tech has had some practice time dedicated to them this week for sure. There’s no foul in discussing a top 10 matchup even with a game upcoming, in my opinion.

In addition to that, it would be bad if the actual players were looking ahead, but what us idiots on a message board talk about isn't going to make any kind of difference!

 

[PixelDevil]

but what us idiots on a message board talk about isn't going to make any kind of difference!

I disagree. There’s a rumor going around that duke will look outside of its immediate family and into its extended one (is) for K’s replacement. We have some of the most knowledgeful 96 year olds on this board.

 

[Showenuff]

Haha where’s DukefanKY with his HELL YES PIC?

 

[DukefanKY]

Haha where’s DukefanKY with his HELL YES PIC?

 

[jwill133]

https://kenpom.com/

Ken Pom has Texas Tech at #12, 48th offense and 2nd defense.
Something crazy with Ken Pom......we are #1 with a +30.60 efficiency margin. The 2nd team Kansas is +26.45. The gap between us and #2 is as wide as the gap between #2 Kansas and #11 Virginia Tech. Essentially, Ken Pom is saying we are much better than everyone else.

Oh..and 6 ACC teams are in the top 20.

 

[timo0402]

https://kenpom.com/

Ken Pom has Texas Tech at #12, 48th offense and 2nd defense.
Something crazy with Ken Pom......we are #1 with a +30.60 efficiency margin. The 2nd team Kansas is +26.45. The gap between us and #2 is as wide as the gap between #2 Kansas and #11 Virginia Tech. Essentially, Ken Pom is saying we are much better than everyone else.

Oh..and 6 ACC teams are in the top 20.

But does that take into account that our coach is afraid to play an OOC Road game at Elon?

 

[hart2chesson]

Anybody know if TT has faced the acid test of playing Wofford and/or Elon on the road. According to holes fans, that measures a team's TRUE BAROMETER.

#HofCoachRoyKnew
(Changed that just for you Sky, lol!)

OFC

 

[jwill133]

But does that take into account that our coach is afraid to play an OOC Road game at Elon?

That AP voter was on One Shining Podcast (suppose that's your podcast competition) and he was much cooler about everything than I expected. Essentially he thinks the AP vote is stupid till January (I agree) and one of the main reasons he did this vote was he actually wants to get his vote taken away.
Still think he went a bit extreme, but the guy was not what I thought, I was expecting some computer dork who knows nothing about basketball.

 

[skysdad]

Anybody know if TT has faced the acid test of playing Wofford and/or Elon on the road. According to holes fans, that measures a team's TRUE BAROMETER.

#HofCoachRoyKnew
(Changed that just for you Sky, lol!)

OFC

Yes we must always respect hof coach roy williams. A few years ago when I could still post and lurk over at thr I read where one of their posters had an issue with me because I made fun of hof coach roy williams and would not give him his due respect. I think it was during the NIT season when I was making fun of his butt ugly ties. I decided to honor him by referring to him as hof coach roy williams. Isn't that the utmost respect. He's the only coach I refer to as a Hall of Fame. I don't even do that for Coach K. OFC

 

[OldasdirtDevil]

We'll win. And if not, I'm transferring.

OFC

 

[FearTheBeard]

We'll win. And if not, I'm transferring.

OFC

How much eligibility do you have left? Are you transferring to UNC bc Roy promised you could live in one of his rental homes and smoke pot all day? If the NCAA finds out about this they’re gonna give UNC* the death penalty.

*-Wilmington

 

[bmbritt]

That’s not a concern of mine. And what I mean by that is, I don’t think it’s scary to stretch these guys out a bit again. We have two weeks off after the Texas Texh game and the kids will have a chance to spend the holidays with family and friends. K likes these every-other day turnarounds to simulate what his team will see down the road.

As for Texas Tech, they have a kid named Jarrett Culver. He’s a legitimate stud. Sophomore guard in that 6’6” range and skilled. Really nice player. They’ll primarily play three guards. They don’t have a ton of size, but the guys they do have are really good playing their role. Texas Tech is going to be a strong test heading into conference play. That’s good.

Really good defense and one of the best offensive players and teams that we will play this year. Culver is in top 10 with regards to the conversation for national POY. He will be the 2nd best individual player that we’ve gone against this year behind Hachimura at Gonzaga. Definitely is a concern that we will haven’t played in 10 days by the time Princeton rolls in, and then we have such a tight turnaround between then and Texas Tech game. It’s a situation that we’ve struggled at multiple times, as we get off to slow starts period and especially with tight turnarounds.

Add into the fact that Texas Tech can really play Defense and Culver can go get 25-30 points on a good night. Be curious to see how we guard him, as RJ would take him on normally most of the game but we can’t afford to get him into foul trouble early. Think K may put several players on him including AOC, Reddish, Tre, and possibly Zion depending on where he’s hurting us the most and who’s in FT. Think that K will have RJ guard him for around 7-10 minutes in the 1st half, and then depending on fouls, have him go after Culver the entire 2nd half on defense.

 

[bmbritt]

https://kenpom.com/

Ken Pom has Texas Tech at #12, 48th offense and 2nd defense.
Something crazy with Ken Pom......we are #1 with a +30.60 efficiency margin. The 2nd team Kansas is +26.45. The gap between us and #2 is as wide as the gap between #2 Kansas and #11 Virginia Tech. Essentially, Ken Pom is saying we are much better than everyone else.

Oh..and 6 ACC teams are in the top 20.

Loving me some Kenpom this year.

 

[OldasdirtDevil]

How much eligibility do you have left? Are you transferring to UNC bc Roy promised you could live in one of his rental homes and smoke pot all day? If the NCAA finds out about this they’re gonna give UNC* the death penalty.

*-Wilmington

I think UNC Wilmington is safe, FTB. Eligibility is no problem, but I don't think Roy will offer up free board & joints when he gets a look at these worn out knees, bum back, and a bad case of the slows. I know he likes seniors, but senior citizens are more like none and done.

I'm thinking my only option of transferring is to THR! Do you think they would let bygones be bygones and welcome me with open arms (hahaha)? Make me sit out a year, while writing 'I love Roy' on the chalkboard one million times? Or maybe just lock me up in a room with DSouth and Guru Gary waterboarding me while regurgitating the party line? And which of those would be worse, the waterboarding, or listening to those two? Maybe I'd better stay.

OFC

 

[Dad2ze]

I’m hoping we jump out early against Princeton so we can keep the starters minutes under 25.

Don’t care about minutes or fatigue....please no injuries!!! That worries me more than anything.

 

[skysdad]

We'll win. And if not, I'm transferring.

OFC

I knew it. I can tell by your posting language. OFC

 

[hart2chesson]

Don’t care about minutes or fatigue....please no injuries!!! That worries me more than anything.

Dad you're so right....Things are going so well and there's so much harmony and chemistry amongst this group. For instance Zion has said this squad draws its MAN TO MAN defensive intensity from Tre out on the perimeter defending his man. An injury for instance to Tre could stifle the team of some of its tenacity. Share your views "please no injuries!"

OFC

 

[OldasdirtDevil]

I knew it. I can tell by your posting language. OFC

Yep, I knew a crafty OFC'er like you would catch it Sky. And if you really get into the weeds reading between the lines, you can tell my high 5's are a little lackadaisical too.

OFC