Duke's next 3 games are on the road and, IMO, will be as close to a barometer of this team's March ceiling as we'll get until the NCAA tournament starts (along with the UNC rematch).
Feb. 17 -- FSU, 86th on KenPom, 97th NET, 77th Barttorvik. FSU got rolling with 5 straight wins in January, have lost 4 of 6 since then. Still a dangerous because of their combination of length and depth; not as talented as FSU teams from like 2018-21, but certainly in a better spot than they've been the last two years.
Feb. 21 -- Miami, 73rd on KenPom, 69th NET, 65th Barttorvik. Just a confounding team. Talent is there, with Norchad Omier averaging almost a double-double (17.7, 9.9), Nijel Pack as a tough-shot-maker, Wooga Poplar in a standout role, Matthew Cleveland is familiar because of FSU, Kyshawn George is an impressive freshman. Not much depth, still talented enough to think a run is possible.
Feb. 24 -- Wake Forest, 29th on KenPom, 38th NET, 31st Barttorvik. Obviously just played last night. Depending on whether WF wins at UVA on Saturday, and if Florida and/or UVA move into the NET's top 30, WF has all of the makings of an NCAAT team without having a Quad-1 win. A home win against Duke would push them over the edge.
Just wanted to set the stage, of sorts. Would love to know if yall view this stretch in the same way I do, that Duke going 3-0 through these games would reset expectations of how far they can go in March.
Feb. 17 -- FSU, 86th on KenPom, 97th NET, 77th Barttorvik. FSU got rolling with 5 straight wins in January, have lost 4 of 6 since then. Still a dangerous because of their combination of length and depth; not as talented as FSU teams from like 2018-21, but certainly in a better spot than they've been the last two years.
Feb. 21 -- Miami, 73rd on KenPom, 69th NET, 65th Barttorvik. Just a confounding team. Talent is there, with Norchad Omier averaging almost a double-double (17.7, 9.9), Nijel Pack as a tough-shot-maker, Wooga Poplar in a standout role, Matthew Cleveland is familiar because of FSU, Kyshawn George is an impressive freshman. Not much depth, still talented enough to think a run is possible.
Feb. 24 -- Wake Forest, 29th on KenPom, 38th NET, 31st Barttorvik. Obviously just played last night. Depending on whether WF wins at UVA on Saturday, and if Florida and/or UVA move into the NET's top 30, WF has all of the makings of an NCAAT team without having a Quad-1 win. A home win against Duke would push them over the edge.
Just wanted to set the stage, of sorts. Would love to know if yall view this stretch in the same way I do, that Duke going 3-0 through these games would reset expectations of how far they can go in March.
