The final phase begins on Thursday. We have the talent to win the whole thing. Iona is step one.
The final phase begins on Thursday. We have the talent to win the whole thing. Iona is step one.
Jeff Ruland ain't walkin' through that door . . . thank heavens.Quote:
Originally Posted by subzero02
This is all that matters , well hopefully this and Rhode Island. I want no part of OklahomaQuote:
Originally Posted by subzero02
CDu? Thoughts on Iona ? Rhode Island and Oklahoma?
Not sure Jeff would fit through the doorQuote:
Originally Posted by Tripping William
FIFY. One step at a time (from someone who watched 2012 and 2014 live-and-in-person). :eek:Quote:
Originally Posted by gofurman
You’re watching on TV this year, right? :)Quote:
Originally Posted by Tripping William
Why not Oklahoma? They aren't very good-the only reason there are in the tournament is marketing--the committee couldn't bear to leave Trae Young at home.Quote:
Originally Posted by gofurman
It is coming. Gotta get the kid to bed.Quote:
Originally Posted by gofurman
Iona won the MAAC tournament but had a lot of help. The 1, 2 and 3 seeds were all knocked out in the quarterfinals, leaving #4 Iona as the highest seed in the semis.
Yes. But I was in Charlotte in 2015, too.Quote:
Originally Posted by Ultrarunner
Iona's main three guys on the front line rotation are 6'6", 6'7" and 6'8". If any of them can defend Bagley and Carter without ending up on a poster I'd be shocked. And now with the zone, I'm not worried about them getting dragged out into pick and pop type ball screens.
I'd rather have Oklahoma, stop one player and we win. Rhody is a top 25 team.Quote:
Originally Posted by gofurman
If you look at Iona's schedule, they didn't really beat anyone of note.
As for common Duke opponents:
- Lost to Syracuse 71-62
- Lost to St John's 69-59
They also lost to potential 2nd round opponent Rhode Island 80-74.
Iona's offensive efficiency in KenPom is 110.3 (80th) and defensive efficiency of 107.4 (212th) with a tempo of 70.7 (56th).
So, they play a decent pace and aren't terrible offensively, but are pretty bad defensively.
They also give up a TON of offensive rebounds, don't turn it over much and don't force a ton of turnovers. They also don't get to the line a lot and give up a decent amount of free throws.
I think Duke rolls them over pretty easily.
Vegas lines are out : we’re currently 20-pt fav.
I'm of the opinion you rest Duval most of the game, provided he's still injured by then.Quote:
Originally Posted by arnie
In general, I agree with that assessment. I also think Trae Young would struggle against our fall back zone, given Duke's length. So on general match ups, I agree. That said, the downside of playing Oklahoma to me is that all week those guys are going to hear how they don't belong, how they shouldn't be there. Motivations like this, and Arizona's with the pay the player accusation, can absolutely become huge factors in the NCAA. Teams can simply play above their heads. How many times do we see an unexpected run in the tourney, and come to find out a team is 'on a mission' due to this that or the other thing. Well we know what those things could be with Zona and Oklahoma.Quote:
Originally Posted by ipatent
Sometimes my radar on these things is right on the money. Sometimes I"m just paranoid...
A few quick kenpom hits:Quote:
Originally Posted by SCMatt33
- Iona is kenpom #134.
- No wins vs. kenpom top 100.
- One win vs. kenpom top 150: Rider (#139)
- Better than D1-average offensive efficiency (#80); worse than average defensive efficiency (#212)
- Very poor rebounding team (#303 offensive reb efficiency); #253 defensive rebounding efficiency
- Good 3-pt shooting - 38.8% (#33) vs. Duke 37.8% (#49)
- Stifling free throw shooting defense at 66.2% (#3) vs. Duke at 73.9% (#308)
- Notable results: @Cuse (L, -9 pts), @St. John's (L, -10), @Rhode Island (L, -6).
- kenpom projects a 19-point Duke win.
Edit: I see FerryFor50 beat me to it on some of this...
Does anyone know what the point spreads were against Mercer and Lehigh?Quote:
Originally Posted by arnie
Mercer was 13. Lehigh was 11.Quote:
Originally Posted by subzero02
It's not comparable because Duke is a computer darling this season, and computers are integral to how spreads are created. On digital paper, we are a much stronger team than 2014 and 2012. (And in reality, too, imo).
13.5 for MercerQuote:
Originally Posted by subzero02
https://www.oddsshark.com/ncaab/merc...-march-21-2014
12.5 for Lehigh
https://www.oddsshark.com/ncaab/poin...-march-16-2012
A couple things:
- The Duke team that lost to Mercer was pretty bad defensively (86th). This year's team is #7 in effective defense.
- The Duke team that lost to Lehigh was also bad on defense (79) and were facing a future NBA star in CJ McCollum.
Iona has no NBA players, most likely. CJ McCollum averaged 22ppg for Lehigh. Iona has 2 guys averaging around 13ppg.