So as a #2 Seed...Whom Do You NOT Want in Our Bracket

[SCMatt33]

This goes for any seed, but I don't want to see fast paced teams. The Maryland game was the only one since Kelly came back to cross 70 possessions. UNC and Va Tech were way down at 61 and 59 possessions. With the injuries (Kelly, Curry) that are affecting speed and conditioning, plus the short rotation, Duke has had trouble playing its best in the last 5-10 minutes of games when the pace gets pushed. The good news is that many of the best teams play slow this year, but I wouldn't want to see a team (aside from obvious candidates like Kansas, L'ville, and Indiana) like Mizzou, Arizona, OKST, a rematch with VCU, or anyone else who plays fast.

[nmduke2001]

I’ll take a shot on scouting New Mexico in case we see them on our bracket.

I honestly think New Mexico could give us the same problems that Maryland did. We struggled with Maryland because they can play defense without double-teaming Mason. Without the double-team, they can stay home on the shooters. New Mexico can do the same things.

New Mexico has two very capable bigs. Alex Kirk is a 7-0 foot sophomore. He has a nice face up game and has range out to the three-point line. Kirk is basically the anti-Scheyer in that he doesn’t have much of a neck at all. He really is much more like a 7-2 player. Mason would have a quickness advantage but Kirk probably wouldn’t need a double-team to defend Mason in the half court. Kirk would also draw Mason away from the basket when Duke is on defense. The other big is a 6-9 Australian bruiser named Cameron Bairstow. Bairstow is a decent defender and opportune scorer. Ryan would likely win this matchup, but Bairstow can frustrate people with his physical play. Tony Snell is probably the best player New Mexico’s team. He’s a 6-8 small forward. At his best, he is a lottery pick but he isn’t always at his best. Snell plays a bit like Harrison Barnes with better handle. If he had the alpha dog gene to go with his talent, he could be very special. He is the exact type of player that gives Duke fits. We don’t have a player that could match up with him especially if Snell plays aggressively. Snell has made 22 of 39 three point shots in the month of March. The point guard is 6-3 sophomore Hugh Greenwood. Greenwood is another Australian. He played really well in the under 19 world championships against the likes of Austin Rivers and Anthony Davis a few years back. Luke Winn of Sports Illustrated stated that Greenwood was the best player in that tournament. Greenwood doesn’t do anything that will blow you away outside of rebounding, but he just seems to make all the plays. He is an incredible rebounder for a point guard and really tough defensively. The shooting guard is 6-4 Kendall Williams. Williams was the Mountain West Player of the Year. (For those that don’t know, the MWC is the number 1 RPI conference in the nation). Williams is my least favorite player on the team. He’s a bit of a hot head and tends to make poor decisions. Having said that, Williams obviously played well throughout the season to earn the MWC Player of the Year Award.

New Mexico is a great defensive team. They play an extremely physical style of play. That style of play can hurt them if the officials are calling a tight game. Offensively, they can struggle at times. They usually have one really long scoring drought per game. When their defense isn’t great, those scoring droughts kill them.

At our best, I think Duke wins pretty easily. However, New Mexico’s defense can keep them in any game. If Snell or Williams gets it going offensively, they are a really tough team to beat.

[hurleyfor3]

And soon it won't matter.