Toughest matchup for this Duke team?

[FishStick]

I think the easy answer comes in as Ohio State. Jared Sullinger would be a tough one to stop. UConn with Walker and Ariakhi might be number two on that list but I have a hard time going much further. Granted any team in the top 25 could beat Duke if they're having a bad night (hard to imagine with all the weapons), but the difference between the Marquette and K State games really highlighted Duke's defensive strengths and perhaps some weaknesses. Thoughts?

[Kedsy]

I think the easy answer comes in as Ohio State. Jared Sullinger would be a tough one to stop. UConn with Walker and Ariakhi might be number two on that list but I have a hard time going much further. Granted any team in the top 25 could beat Duke if they're having a bad night (hard to imagine with all the weapons), but the difference between the Marquette and K State games really highlighted Duke's defensive strengths and perhaps some weaknesses. Thoughts?

Are you asking who the second best team in the country is? Or are you saying what team plays a style that can best take advantage of Duke's weaknesses?

If the former, at this juncture from what I read Ohio State might be the answer (I haven't yet seen them play). I can't imagine UConn is anywhere close.

If you're asking the latter, it seems to me UConn is a worse version of Kansas State; nothing about UConn's style seems likely to give Duke fits. I don't understand why you even mentioned them other than they happened to play a good game yesterday and it's fresh in your mind.

The team that will give Duke its best challenge will be a team who can avoid turnovers under Duke's pressure and take away our easy baskets. If we don't get a lot of points from turnovers and fast breaks, and they can force us to beat them with challenged three-point shots, we could lose if we have a bad shooting night. Who will that team be? I don't know, but it will probably be a better version of Marquette -- a veteran team who takes care of the ball and is athletic enough not to be overwhelmed by our fast pace. They might not be a top five team or even ranked. Or it might be someone like Michigan State, who has a lot of seniors and doesn't turn it over that much.

Who matches up best against us is not necessarily the same question as who is best.

[camion]

Are you asking who the second best team in the country is? Or are you saying what team plays a style that can best take advantage of Duke's weaknesses?

If the former, at this juncture from what I read Ohio State might be the answer (I haven't yet seen them play). I can't imagine UConn is anywhere close.

If you're asking the latter, it seems to me UConn is a worse version of Kansas State; nothing about UConn's style seems likely to give Duke fits. I don't understand why you even mentioned them other than they happened to play a good game yesterday and it's fresh in your mind.

The team that will give Duke its best challenge will be a team who can avoid turnovers under Duke's pressure and take away our easy baskets. If we don't get a lot of points from turnovers and fast breaks, and they can force us to beat them with challenged three-point shots, we could lose if we have a bad shooting night. Who will that team be? I don't know, but it will probably be a better version of Marquette -- a veteran team who takes care of the ball and is athletic enough not to be overwhelmed by our fast pace. They might not be a top five team or even ranked. Or it might be someone like Michigan State, who has a lot of seniors and doesn't turn it over that much.

Who matches up best against us is not necessarily the same question as who is best.

It sounds like Duke 2010 might be a tough matchup, except they were alarmingly uathletic. They did have a world class coach though.

[FishStick]

I was trying to ask who matches up against Duke best (but obviously I failed). Honestly I was having trouble coming up with a team other than Ohio State who may be #2 and our biggest potential challenge. Yes, UConn was fresh in my mind but they also only had 9 turnovers against MSU and have shown rebounding / big man success so far. It seems like UK-UConn might be a decent barometer.

Pitt was also close on my list as they seem to be playing smart basketball, a tough rebounding team, and a decent 1.5 A/TO ratio. I agree with your low TO assessment but having a good game under the rim seems critical as well to open up shooters although this didn't work to well for KSU.

Are you asking who the second best team in the country is? Or are you saying what team plays a style that can best take advantage of Duke's weaknesses?

If the former, at this juncture from what I read Ohio State might be the answer (I haven't yet seen them play). I can't imagine UConn is anywhere close.

If you're asking the latter, it seems to me UConn is a worse version of Kansas State; nothing about UConn's style seems likely to give Duke fits. I don't understand why you even mentioned them other than they happened to play a good game yesterday and it's fresh in your mind.

The team that will give Duke its best challenge will be a team who can avoid turnovers under Duke's pressure and take away our easy baskets. If we don't get a lot of points from turnovers and fast breaks, and they can force us to beat them with challenged three-point shots, we could lose if we have a bad shooting night. Who will that team be? I don't know, but it will probably be a better version of Marquette -- a veteran team who takes care of the ball and is athletic enough not to be overwhelmed by our fast pace. They might not be a top five team or even ranked. Or it might be someone like Michigan State, who has a lot of seniors and doesn't turn it over that much.

Who matches up best against us is not necessarily the same question as who is best.

[Kedsy]

I was trying to ask who matches up against Duke best (but obviously I failed). Honestly I was having trouble coming up with a team other than Ohio State who may be #2 and our biggest potential challenge. Yes, UConn was fresh in my mind but they also only had 9 turnovers against MSU and have shown rebounding / big man success so far. It seems like UK-UConn might be a decent barometer.

Pitt was also close on my list as they seem to be playing smart basketball, a tough rebounding team, and a decent 1.5 A/TO ratio. I agree with your low TO assessment but having a good game under the rim seems critical as well to open up shooters although this didn't work to well for KSU.

Well, I just checked Pomeroy and you're right UConn doesn't turn the ball over that much. I guess my real issue with UConn is they rely so much on Walker and we usually do well with one-man teams so I'd expect us to be able to contain him. They have a decent interior player but overall after Walker, UConn doesn't look all that good to me. I admit I haven't seen them that much, so I could be wrong about that, I suppose.

[PADukeMom]

This is a hypothetical game. We stand a 1 in 67 chance of playing Ohio State. Worry about Ohio State when/if we face them. My main focus is Oregon on Saturday. I just have to figure out how I am going to go Christmas shopping & watch the game at the same time.

[tylervinyard]

I understand this thread is a hypothetical, but I think people are already starting to overlook Michigan St. which is bad idea. They may have played like crap in Maui and Izzo's teams may not historically play well early in the season, but this will be a huge game for Mich. St. The Marquette and KState games showed that we still have some work to do regarding interior defense and rebounding which is something I could see Mich. St. (of all the teams we're actually playing this year) exploiting. They may be turning the ball over just as much as KState, but who knows if that will continue. They may not be shooting lights out at the free throw line, but they're much better than KState. They're just as physical, if not more physical than Butler last year, and Marquette and KState this year, and sometimes that gives us problems. Luckily for us, we've experienced that physicality in the last two games, so it shouldn't be the huge smack in the mouth that it could have been playing Mich. St. after a bunch of patsies. I can't wait to see how we play in another big game this early in the year. Hopefully we step up.

[Indoor66]

This is a hypothetical game. We stand a 1 in 67 chance of playing Ohio State. Worry about Ohio State when/if we face them. My main focus is Oregon on Saturday. I just have to figure out how I am going to go Christmas shopping & watch the game at the same time.

That's easy, finess Christmas.

[Duke: A Dynasty]

I would have to say from what I have seen of Ohio State (which is little) they will be tough to beat if we ever play them. But I think come tournament time it will be the Kansas Jayhawks. They are not quite ready yet but give em time and they should be up there, not Duke up there but about as close as it will get. I think they are kind of pissed off that K-State is getting all the love and Shelby at pg is the only guy I think could match Kyrie in a game. Not stop him but keep up in general.

[juise]

It sounds like Duke 2010 might be a tough matchup, except they were alarmingly uathletic. They did have a world class coach though.

As hard as it is to imagine, I think that the 2010/11 Duke coach is better than the 2009/10 coach. It's as mindblowing as it delightful.

[dukeballboy88]

Kentucky looks pretty good. michigan st will be in the final four along with Duke.

[NYC Duke Fan]

Probably The Lakers especially if Bynum gets healthy. Don't know who would guard Kobe.

[MarkD83]

This is a hypothetical game. We stand a 1 in 67 chance of playing Ohio State. Worry about Ohio State when/if we face them. My main focus is Oregon on Saturday. I just have to figure out how I am going to go Christmas shopping & watch the game at the same time.

I think most people on your list want a big screen TV that is good at displaying details from fast paced sporting events. You may need to check thos out for a couple of hours.

[flyingdutchdevil]

This is a hypothetical game. We stand a 1 in 67 chance of playing Ohio State. Worry about Ohio State when/if we face them. My main focus is Oregon on Saturday. I just have to figure out how I am going to go Christmas shopping & watch the game at the same time.

Slingbox to your iPhone. Or an Android smartphone. Or amazon.com shopping. Or just tell the kids that the Blue Devil is taking over Santa's responsibilities this Christmas.

[davekay1971]

Anyone who's watched more of Mich State than me (ie: watched any at all): what do you think about the Maui performance? Izzo's teams have had some early season flops then gone on to Final Fours (last year's blowout by UNC comes to mind).

Some of Mich St's early season hype comes from returning just about every one off a final four team. But then, were they a final four team that was underseeded as a 5, or were they a 5 seed that overperformed to reach the final four?

Izzo's a great coach, and I have no doubt that Mich St will be a tough team to beat in March. But, if anyone's watched a fair amount of them, are they as good as the preseason ranking despite the loss to UConn?

[weezie]

Gotta feeling that NCSU is going to give us two whales of games.

Not quite what the thread was focusing on but I like to think locally, too.

[flyingdutchdevil]

Anyone who's watched more of Mich State than me (ie: watched any at all): what do you think about the Maui performance? Izzo's teams have had some early season flops then gone on to Final Fours (last year's blowout by UNC comes to mind).

Some of Mich St's early season hype comes from returning just about every one off a final four team. But then, were they a final four team that was underseeded as a 5, or were they a 5 seed that overperformed to reach the final four?

Izzo's a great coach, and I have no doubt that Mich St will be a tough team to beat in March. But, if anyone's watched a fair amount of them, are they as good as the preseason ranking despite the loss to UConn?

Has a Mich State team ever done well in the beginning of the season? I think better than any other coach today, Izzo is fantastic at developing his teams slowly throughout the year. They ALWAYS peak at the right time, which is why they always go so far in the tournament. The loss to UCON wasn't that surprising, and feel quite confident about next Wednesday's game. MSU in Nov/Dec vs MSU in Mar/Apr will be like playing two different animals. I remember in 2004/2005 when we crushed MSU in the ACC/Big 10 tourney but lost to them in the Sweet 16. I was so confident during that game and never believed in a million years that MSU would defeat us. Only bet against Izzo in March with caution.

[Oriole Way]

I think Ohio State and Kansas would give Duke the most problems nationally. In the ACC, I think the away games at Virginia Tech and Maryland will be tough, and NC State can hang with us if they play well.

[Oriole Way]

Has a Mich State team ever done well in the beginning of the season? I think better than any other coach today, Izzo is fantastic at developing his teams slowly throughout the year. They ALWAYS peak at the right time, which is why they always go so far in the tournament. The loss to UCON wasn't that surprising, and feel quite confident about next Wednesday's game. MSU in Nov/Dec vs MSU in Mar/Apr will be like playing two different animals. I remember in 2004/2005 when we crushed MSU in the ACC/Big 10 tourney but lost to them in the Sweet 16. I was so confident during that game and never believed in a million years that MSU would defeat us. Only bet against Izzo in March with caution.

You're right about Izzo, but in a strong Big 10 this season, getting off to another slow start could really hurt his team, hurt MSU's chances at a #1 seed, and greatly reduce their margin for error.

Losing at Duke would give them two early losses. They would have tough games against Purdue (#12 KenPom), Illinois (#11 KenPom), Wisconsin (#16), and Minnesota (#32) twice each, as well as at Ohio State (#2 KenPom) away. I wouldn't be surprised if they lost 3 of those 5 away games. They also have tough home games against Syracuse (#14) and Texas (#6).

Michigan State is only ranked 13th according to Pomeroy. They are yet to play a whopping 7 games against teams ranked higher than them (Duke, Ohio State, Texas, Illinois twice, Purdue twice). Their schedule is brutal. They can't afford ANY slip-ups against inferior teams if they want a #1 seed, and another unexpected loss could very well happen given Izzo's propensity for sluggish starts and a poor showing against Chaminade, which despite playing well at the moment, is still a division II school.

I believe Ohio State is the class of the Big 10. If Michigan State struggles as much as I expect them to, they won't get a #1 seed. Despite how well Izzo has his teams playing in March, he definitely does not want to take the 50% chance of being the #2 seed in either Duke's or Ohio State's region. I certainly don't want to see Michigan State as Duke's #2 seed, but I guarantee you Izzo would want Duke as his #1 seed much, much less.

[Devilsfan]

Toughest match up? The Orlando Magic looked pretty good last night. I think any physical team with a very strong interior might be a tough match up for us but if we're shooting well, running and playing good D, I like our chances.