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View Full Version : Which teams are peaking right now?



hurleyfor3
02-27-2007, 11:57 AM
Ucla, Kansas and.....? and Kansas let Oklahoma (led by Jeff Capel) back into their game last night.

Everyone else seems to be losing. I'll reserve judgement on us until the Maryland and unc games.

mapei
02-27-2007, 12:03 PM
Georgetown laid an egg last night at the Carrier Dome against a fired-up team that needed the win, in the Hoyas' third game in 3 cities and six days. But even with the loss they have won 11 of the last 12. They are a much more poised and cohesive team than the one that visited Cameron in December.

(BTW, as an aside, the DBR story on the St. John's game asked if any big-time team had ever before held an opponent to 3 field goals in a half. The answer is yes, and on a much bigger stage. Georgetown held Kentucky to 3-of-30 (or more?) shooting in the second half of the national semifinal in 1984, in what I think was the best single game of the Ewing era. They won the championship two nights later.)

Clipsfan
02-27-2007, 12:05 PM
I don't know that UCLA is peaking at the moment, they've been very solid all season. That said, they are a very good team.

I would like to think that Duke has been coming on strong and may be peaking at the right time. A lot of it has been due to the much stronger play of Paulus (some good playmaking, hitting his shots, fairly solid defense), although I wouldn't put even our current level of play on the same level as the top teams' play. I think that Texas A&M has been showing their improved offense to complement their stellar D. I would have said Georgetown, but I think they lost to 'cuse last night. Are there really any teams in the ACC which are peaking right now?

CMS2478
02-27-2007, 12:07 PM
Texas A & M is playing well...........I just wonder how they would stack up against some of the better ACC teams, bc I think our conference is tops this year.

MulletMan
02-27-2007, 12:37 PM
Duke

Maryland

Ohio State

Kansas (regardless of that showing last night)

Georgetown (ditto)

Washington State

UCLA (Although, yes, they've been the most consisitent team this season)

Texas A&M

Texas (They are, arguably, playing much better, and could be poised for a Mello-esque FF run)

Nevada (I mean, I had to put a mid-major on here, right? And it sure ain't the Butler)

Clipsfan
02-27-2007, 01:53 PM
As much as I do respect Durant's ability, I really hope that they don't make a run like Syracuse did. I just know that the media would beat the comparison between Carmelo and Durant into a bloody pulp, and I really just don't want to hear any more about it all. There is also a decent chance that Duke would have to play Texas at some point, which would be a very tough matchup. In another thread, someone mentioned that we don't have an answer for Durant. I think that we'd also struggle to guard Augustine, another quick guard with a good outside shot. Texas has a ton of talent, they just happen to be really really young. I'm not surprised that they're starting to win more games as all the freshmen learn their roles.

stals
02-27-2007, 02:59 PM
Barnes isn't the coach Boeheim is, either.

tux
02-27-2007, 03:40 PM
So a prerequisite of peaking is to not have lost your last game? It sorta makes sense, but can't a team peak and still get beat by a better team. Can Wake peak as a team in early March and still get beat in the first round of the ACC?

Someone needs to define "peak" for us...

Troublemaker
02-27-2007, 05:02 PM
So a prerequisite of peaking is to not have lost your last game? It sorta makes sense, but can't a team peak and still get beat by a better team. Can Wake peak as a team in early March and still get beat in the first round of the ACC?

Someone needs to define "peak" for us...

That's a good question. I don't believe in teams "peaking" as it's normally understood, where a team is better in January than it is in March. That rarely happen, and if it does, it's usually due to unusual circumstances like injuries or the players hating the coach (UNC 01). I think the vast majority of the time, teams will improve throughout the season, but their improvement plateaus like a log curve:

http://www.zoo.ufl.edu/bolker/emd/pix/log.png

"Peaking" may APPEAR to happen to a team because its schedule gets tougher or because it reaches its plateau period sooner than other teams (due to good coaching, not bad coaching) or because it has a lower ceiling than other teams, but rarely does a team actually regress. I mean, people point to last year's Duke team as a team that regressed, but that's just silly. Duke 06 played much better defense at the end of the season than at the beginning. It improved throughout. Florida won the championship while Duke lost in the Sweet 16 because Florida had the higher ceiling (more talent). Not because Florida continued to improve while Duke didn't.

mapei
02-27-2007, 05:06 PM
Now that has to be the wonkiest post on a sports board ever. :D