A Pie Bet Offer: Duke vs UVA in the ACC regular season standings

[Troublemaker]

The bet is simple.

If Duke finishes ahead of UVA in the ACC regular season, I win a pie.

If UVA finishes ahead of Duke in the ACC regular season, you win a pie.

If the teams tie, no pie gets transferred.

Let me know who wants this bet first of all, and then I will choose one (maybe two) of the respondents to be my opponent(s) on this bet.

Note: I can't do "first come, first served" because I do want to get paid if I win. For example, if you have a low spork count and/or are an infrequent poster, you could be the most honest person in the world, and unfortunately I wouldn't be able to know that. I will be more likely to trust someone who's been around for awhile.

[pfrduke]

Relevant to those considering this bet - the ACC schedules of each (roughly ordered by difficulty of opponent):

	Duke	UVA
Duke		x2
UVA	x2
UNC	x2	A
FSU	A	H
VT	A	x2
Syracuse	x2	A
Clemson	H	A
NC State	H	A
Miami	H	H
Louisville	A	x2
ND	A	x2
BC	H	A
GT	H	H
Pitt	A	H
WF	x2	H

[Troublemaker]

I have gotten one taker so far, by PM. Maybe that person wants to post in here with his thoughts.

But otherwise, nada.

Some possibilities:

(1) You don't want to be in a position where you have to root against Duke.

My take: It's called an emotional hedge. You're going to root for Duke regardless but if Duke finishes behind UVA once again, at least you get a delicious pie out of it. It's really me who's taking the raw end of the deal. If Duke finishes behind UVA, I get the double whammy of my team finishing lower than first place (at least) AND I have to cough up a pie.

(2) You actually think Duke will finish ahead of UVA this season (which in most cases probably means winning the regular season)

My take: That's hard to believe, considering some of the reaction to the Gonzaga loss.

(3) You like the bet but if it loses, you would hate losing to me.

My take: Muahahaha. Yeah, I get it.

[NSDukeFan]

I have gotten one taker so far, by PM. Maybe that person wants to post in here with his thoughts.

But otherwise, nada.

Some possibilities:

(1) You don't want to be in a position where you have to root against Duke.

My take: It's called an emotional hedge. You're going to root for Duke regardless but if Duke finishes behind UVA once again, at least you get a delicious pie out of it. It's really me who's taking the raw end of the deal. If Duke finishes behind UVA, I get the double whammy of my team finishing lower than first place (at least) AND I have to cough up a pie.

(2) You actually think Duke will finish ahead of UVA this season (which in most cases probably means winning the regular season)

My take: That's hard to believe, considering some of the reaction to the Gonzaga loss.

(3) You like the bet but if it loses, you would hate losing to me.

My take: Muahahaha. Yeah, I get it.

(4) Since the posts on this board can shift massively in the direction of the last data point, you may be making this post at the wrong time. Had you posted this after the Gonzaga game, when R.J. was a poor, inefficient ball hog and UVa wasn’t letting anyone get to 50, you would have had more takers. But now that Duke looked like world beaters who could challenge an NBA team (if that’s what we’re calling the Cavs, without Love ��) after the IU game and Virginia let Maryland score 70, it doesn’t look like the sure thing for UVa that it might have earlier.

[CameronBornAndBred]

I don't bet against Duke to succeed. Ever.
You could bet me a pie that Clemson would beat Duke in football, and I'd refuse it.

[MChambers]

I never bet against Duke and certainly wouldn't do it here.

More importantly, I watched the UVa-MD game and saw how Maryland ripped through the pack line defense at times. And I saw how small UVa's starting lineup is. I think UVa's very good, but I think Duke is better and has fewer weaknesses.

[Troublemaker]

(4) Since the posts on this board can shift massively in the direction of the last data point, you may be making this post at the wrong time. Had you posted this after the Gonzaga game, when R.J. was a poor, inefficient ball hog and UVa wasn’t letting anyone get to 50, you would have had more takers. But now that Duke looked like world beaters who could challenge an NBA team (if that’s what we’re calling the Cavs, without Love ) after the IU game and Virginia let Maryland score 70, it doesn’t look like the sure thing for UVa that it might have earlier.

I think you may be right. I waited too long after the Gonzaga loss. That said, watching the ACC Big 10 Challenge gave me my first look at some of these ACC teams, which provided some insight (at least I hope so) into offering the bet.

I'm okay with one taker if that's all it is. I hope he reveals himself and posts in this thread. He's a veteran of pie bets.

[BandAlum83]

I have gotten one taker so far, by PM. Maybe that person wants to post in here with his thoughts.

But otherwise, nada.

Some possibilities:

(1) You don't want to be in a position where you have to root against Duke.

My take: It's called an emotional hedge. You're going to root for Duke regardless but if Duke finishes behind UVA once again, at least you get a delicious pie out of it. It's really me who's taking the raw end of the deal. If Duke finishes behind UVA, I get the double whammy of my team finishing lower than first place (at least) AND I have to cough up a pie.

(2) You actually think Duke will finish ahead of UVA this season (which in most cases probably means winning the regular season)

My take: That's hard to believe, considering some of the reaction to the Gonzaga loss.

(3) You like the bet but if it loses, you would hate losing to me.

My take: Muahahaha. Yeah, I get it.

I'm in group #2. But I am always optimistic, until it's over. (And not when a random DBRer declares it's over!)

[richardjackson199]

You know I love a good pie bet. But I'm really impressed with this Duke team and our prospects if we can stay healthy. Bennett is an incredible defensive coach. I also think Duke finishes ahead of UVA in the ACC race. Good luck!

[jv001]

I think you may be right. I waited too long after the Gonzaga loss. That said, watching the ACC Big 10 Challenge gave me my first look at some of these ACC teams, which provided some insight (at least I hope so) into offering the bet.

I'm okay with one taker if that's all it is. I hope he reveals himself and posts in this thread. He's a veteran of pie bets.

Oh no! GoDuke and GTHC

[UVa1981]

(4) Since the posts on this board can shift massively in the direction of the last data point, you may be making this post at the wrong time. Had you posted this after the Gonzaga game, when R.J. was a poor, inefficient ball hog and UVa wasn’t letting anyone get to 50, you would have had more takers. But now that Duke looked like world beaters who could challenge an NBA team (if that’s what we’re calling the Cavs, without Love ��) after the IU game and Virginia let Maryland score 70, it doesn’t look like the sure thing for UVa that it might have earlier.

(5) you may be a Virginia fan/alumnus, and (6) you may not eat sweets. (5) and (6) are both true for me.

More to the point, I don't really know what to make of either Duke or Virginia yet.

Earlier this season, I wrote that I thought this Virginia team could be better than last year's team. I still think that, but some things have come into sharper focus. First, Virginia is not yet the defensive team it was last year: the team is missing Hall on the perimeter and Wilkins all over the court; Kihei Clark adds a new on-ball defensive wrinkle to the team and Hunter's defense has definitely improved. The issue is whether Bennett can pull all the threads of the defense together so that the packline functions as intended. Lots of breakdowns leading to lay-ups so far. Lots of games and practices between now and January too.

On offense, Hunter is vastly improved, particularly beyond the arc. I've seen some modest improvement from Guy and Jerome, some flashes from Diakite and Salt, and some paint-touching from Clark (which should not be downplayed). The Maryland game gives me some hope that, when the defense is not at flood tide, Virginia can still find a way to win with offense.

Duke? Tons of talent, to be sure, but I generally scratch my head at the start of every year, given all the new faces. Can Krzyzewski bring them all together as a team? On the offensive side of the ball, I think it'll happen. (My personal inclination would to be to get Williamson more touches and to get Barrett to choose his shots a little more carefully.)

Defense is a tougher call. Back in Krzyzewski's early years, you could see where he was going with the passlane jamming, ball-hawking, push-the-other-team's-offense out way beyond the 3-point line defense. But it took more than one season for it to all come together. What would really help Duke right now would be seasoned junior/senior leadership.

I am willing to bet on two things: Duke and Virginia will both be better by ACC season. Duh, you could say, but it's too early for me yet; I want to wait until the start of the first ACC game of the season to take a swipe at prognostication.

Back to pies: just because I don't eat sweets doesn't mean I don't cook and taste them. So here is a favorite from Edna Lewis, who was born in Freetown, VA, and migrated to NY City to become one of the country's (IMO) great chefs. (Her fried chicken is the best this world has ever seen or, at least, that I've ever tasted.) And here is a url from Food & Wine about Lewis, if you want to read something about her: https://www.foodandwine.com/chefs/ed...rican-original.

1.1. Edna Lewis’ Lemon Chess Pie

4 large eggs, at room temperature

1½ cups sugar

1 tablespoon fine white cornmeal

1 tablespoon unbleached all-purpose flour

½ teaspoon salt

⅓ c unsalted melted butter, at room temperature

½ cup buttermilk, at room temperature

⅓ c lemon juice, at room temperature

1 tablespoon finely grated lemon zest

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 unbaked 9-inch pie shell

(a) About an hour before assembling, take your cold ingredients out of the fridge to bring up to room temperature (buttermilk, eggs, lemon juice). Be sure and also melt your butter ahead of time and let it cool a bit (1/2 hour).

(b) Piecrust does not have to be pre-baked.

(c) Put the eggs a large mixing bowl, and whisk briefly to blend. One at a time, whisk in the following, blending until each ingredient has been incorporated before proceeding to the next: the sugar, cornmeal, flour, salt, melted butter, buttermilk, lemon juice, lemon zest, and vanilla.

(d) Pour the filling into the unbaked pie crust, and bake in the middle of the preheated oven for 30 to 40 minutes, until the pie is golden brown on top and almost set. The center of the pie should remain slightly loose; it will set as it cools.

(e) Remove to a cooling rack, and cool completely before serving. Serve at room temperature.

[CDu]

For me, I am in the camp that I just don't have a strong feeling either way. I think both teams will be REALLY good. I think both teams may lose games that they "shouldn't". I think they'll be 1-2 in the standings by season's end. But don't feel strongly that one team will clearly outdo the other. I trust that UVa, with their talent, experience, and consistency, will probably grind out a ~15-win ACC season. I just don't know whether it will be 14, 15, or 16 wins. And for Duke, I just don't know how many hiccups we'll have along the way against a pretty good conference schedule. We've yet to have a team in the one-and-done era to navigate the season smoothly. This could be the group that does it, or not. I just don't know which.

It's an interesting bet for sure, but not one that I feel strongly enough about either way to pick a side with money (even a small amount) on the line.

[richardjackson199]

I hate to admit it. But the cheats could also make some noise in the conference race. Roy Williams coaching did suck in the Michigan game, but sadly it probably won't in conference play.

Coby White is not a pass-first point guard which hurts them some in his ability to set up Cam Johnson, Williams, and Maye for spot up 3's. But Coby White is scary good. He is much better than I thought. At times he looks like he has some Ty Lawson / Kyrie Irving level skills. Maybe not Kyrie Irving, but not as far off as I would like. Little can be a beast when Roy figures out how to use him. Williams, Maye, and Johnson are outstanding experienced talent. I hope Roy keeps playing Platek, Woods, Brooks, Black, Manley, Huffman, etc. huge minutes. But I suspect that won't be the case. Little is going pro after this season regardless of how much Roy tries to hold him back. I think White is gone OAD too.

But I think that a pie bet of Duke wins ACC regular season vs. either UVA/Cheats win ACC would have to swing probability bet in favor of the latter. But I still have no clue. It's too soon. It's too soon to see how these teams will come together as season progresses into conference play. I hope the cheats continue to stink and Roy continues to suck. I just doubt it.

I do think this is one of the most exciting Duke teams I've ever seen. Our ceiling (like Zion) flies well, well above the .. roof. I wouldn't want to bet against this Duke team and expect some epic conference battles.

Will be fun.