View Poll Results: Who will win the East?

Voters
172. You may not vote on this poll
  • Duke

    165 95.93%
  • Michigan State

    3 1.74%
  • Louisiana State

    2 1.16%
  • Virginia Tech

    2 1.16%
  • Mississippi State

    0 0%
  • Maryland

    0 0%
  • Louisville

    0 0%
  • Virginia Commonwealth

    0 0%
  • Central Florida

    0 0%
  • Minnesota

    0 0%
  • Belmont

    0 0%
  • Temple

    0 0%
  • Liberty

    0 0%
  • St. Louis

    0 0%
  • Yale

    0 0%
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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Seattle, WA

    2019 East Region Thread (Duke #1)

    Discuss and vote on the winner here.
    Just be you. You is enough. - K, 4/5/10, 0:13.8 to play, 60-59 Duke.

    You're all jealous hypocrites. - Titus on Laettner

    You see those guys? Animals. They're animals. - SIU Coach Chris Lowery, on Duke

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
    Location
    Lewisville, NC
    If I read the crawl correctly, it looks like Duke's first game is at 7:10 PM (EDT) on Friday

    The Battle for the Bull City?

  3. #3
    The committee didn't do Duke any favors in this bracket.

    UCF is a potential second round team, along with their head coach Johnny Dawkins and the very tall Tacko Fall. I am probably too excited to see Zion matchup up against the 7'6" Fall.

    Virginia Tech as a 4 seed, with Justin Robinson cleared to return to play, looms as a potential Sweet 16 mathcup, should both teams make it that far. This presents a chance for Duke to exact revenge against an opponent, which would be nice. And Robinson has missed a lot of time and would be matched up with Tre Jones. The biggest difference in this game would be the presence of Zion against Kerry Blackshear in the paint. Duke wasn't able to counter Blackshear in the first matchup, but you have to think that Zion would change the equation in the paint quite a bit. Still, VA Tech is not a slouch of a team and could shoot its way to a win against nearly any team in a single game. Of all the teams in this bracket, this one gives me the most concern.

    On the other half of the bracket, Michigan State is a very good 2 seed and had an argument to be a 1 seed after winning a share of the regular season record in the B1G regular season and then winning the B1G Tournament. They might play Louisville in the second round, a team that absolutely destroyed Michigan State earlier in the season. And MSU has had some notable early round exits of late. I might have to think about that U of L/MSU matchup more.

    Also in that half of the bracket, Maryland is a 6 seed that could loom as a "home" team playing in DC. How much would Maryland fans love to see a rematch with Duke in the Elite 8?

    LSU is also a good team as a 3 seed, although the whole situation with their head coach Will Wade and the recruiting scandal makes you wonder just how focused that team will be in the NCAA Tournament.

  4. #4
    not to get too far ahead no jinx...

    would you rather us play vcu or ucf?

  5. #5
    Quote Originally Posted by DavidBenAkiva View Post
    The committee didn't do Duke any favors in this bracket.

    UCF is a potential second round team, along with their head coach Johnny Dawkins and the very tall Tacko Fall. I am probably too excited to see Zion matchup up against the 7'6" Fall.

    Virginia Tech as a 4 seed, with Justin Robinson cleared to return to play, looms as a potential Sweet 16 mathcup, should both teams make it that far. This presents a chance for Duke to exact revenge against an opponent, which would be nice. And Robinson has missed a lot of time and would be matched up with Tre Jones. The biggest difference in this game would be the presence of Zion against Kerry Blackshear in the paint. Duke wasn't able to counter Blackshear in the first matchup, but you have to think that Zion would change the equation in the paint quite a bit. Still, VA Tech is not a slouch of a team and could shoot its way to a win against nearly any team in a single game. Of all the teams in this bracket, this one gives me the most concern.

    On the other half of the bracket, Michigan State is a very good 2 seed and had an argument to be a 1 seed after winning a share of the regular season record in the B1G regular season and then winning the B1G Tournament. They might play Louisville in the second round, a team that absolutely destroyed Michigan State earlier in the season. And MSU has had some notable early round exits of late. I might have to think about that U of L/MSU matchup more.

    Also in that half of the bracket, Maryland is a 6 seed that could loom as a "home" team playing in DC. How much would Maryland fans love to see a rematch with Duke in the Elite 8?

    LSU is also a good team as a 3 seed, although the whole situation with their head coach Will Wade and the recruiting scandal makes you wonder just how focused that team will be in the NCAA Tournament.
    our Justin Robinson >>> their Justin Robinson

  6. #6
    Anybody else think Virginia Tech announced the impending return of Justin Robinson to try and improve their tournament seeding? Taking advantage of the NCAA factoring in returns from injury by key players?

  7. #7
    Quote Originally Posted by gofurman View Post
    not to get too far ahead no jinx...

    would you rather us play vcu or ucf?
    I'll go with VCU....they shoot the 3 ball almost worse than we do so not too much of a risk of them going off for a game of their lives.

    Conversely...UCF has two really good guards that definitely can go off almost any night. Add in Tacko and we might struggle scoring inside if he avoids foul trouble....also add in Dawkins and UCF scares me quite a bit.

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
    Location
    Lewisville, NC
    One of the things I like best about this Duke team's tournament chances is the lack of reliance on good 3-point shooting to win games. In previous years, we were terrified of what would happen (and sometimes did) if we were not hitting our 3-point shots.

    Now? It's not ideal, but it's not a catastrophe if we go 1-10 from 3-points in the first half, for example. This team scores in the paint, defends well, blocks shots, generates considerable offense from it's defense, and rebounds well. Those are traits that lessen the dependence on hot shooting.

    Shoot well from 3? Great; good luck trying to beat Duke in that case. Shoot poorly from 3? Duke will win in other ways.

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Richmond, Va
    If we can survive the 1st weekend I'll likely b in DC for the next weekend. Should b getting 4 tix from Dr. Feelgood. Will ask him tomorrow as I still have to pay for ACC tix I got from him. Worked today/tonite, just now getting to digest the brackets. Watch Jay and Jason now as I post.

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    New Jersey
    Quote Originally Posted by DavidBenAkiva View Post
    The committee didn't do Duke any favors in this bracket.

    UCF is a potential second round team, along with their head coach Johnny Dawkins and the very tall Tacko Fall. I am probably too excited to see Zion matchup up against the 7'6" Fall.

    Virginia Tech as a 4 seed, with Justin Robinson cleared to return to play, looms as a potential Sweet 16 mathcup, should both teams make it that far. This presents a chance for Duke to exact revenge against an opponent, which would be nice. And Robinson has missed a lot of time and would be matched up with Tre Jones. The biggest difference in this game would be the presence of Zion against Kerry Blackshear in the paint. Duke wasn't able to counter Blackshear in the first matchup, but you have to think that Zion would change the equation in the paint quite a bit. Still, VA Tech is not a slouch of a team and could shoot its way to a win against nearly any team in a single game. Of all the teams in this bracket, this one gives me the most concern.

    On the other half of the bracket, Michigan State is a very good 2 seed and had an argument to be a 1 seed after winning a share of the regular season record in the B1G regular season and then winning the B1G Tournament. They might play Louisville in the second round, a team that absolutely destroyed Michigan State earlier in the season. And MSU has had some notable early round exits of late. I might have to think about that U of L/MSU matchup more.

    Also in that half of the bracket, Maryland is a 6 seed that could loom as a "home" team playing in DC. How much would Maryland fans love to see a rematch with Duke in the Elite 8?

    LSU is also a good team as a 3 seed, although the whole situation with their head coach Will Wade and the recruiting scandal makes you wonder just how focused that team will be in the NCAA Tournament.
    I try not to look too far ahead so I'm not even thinking about the bottom half of the bracket. It's just too likely we have no idea who'll be playing in the Sweet 16. But as I've said, I generally prefer to play a team that is not familiar with our system so VT concerns me, particularly because I have respect for Buzz Williams (when he's not on the court) and a hot three point shooting team is the one thing that could negate our strength in the paint.

    That being said, they haven't seen Zion in person, RJ had a stomach bug when we played them, and Blacksburg has been a nightmare for us over the years. Another point, which I haven't seen mentioned, is that it's not going to be that easy for them to just re-integrate their point guard. He's a great talent but we have first hand experience with Kyrie that trying to do that come tourney time is really difficult.
    Rich
    "Failure is Not a Destination"
    Coach K on the Dan Patrick Show, December 22, 2016

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Mar 2007
    Location
    Huntington Beach, CA
    Quote Originally Posted by roywhite View Post
    One of the things I like best about this Duke team's tournament chances is the lack of reliance on good 3-point shooting to win games. In previous years, we were terrified of what would happen (and sometimes did) if we were not hitting our 3-point shots.

    Now? It's not ideal, but it's not a catastrophe if we go 1-10 from 3-points in the first half, for example. This team scores in the paint, defends well, blocks shots, generates considerable offense from it's defense, and rebounds well. Those are traits that lessen the dependence on hot shooting.

    Shoot well from 3? Great; good luck trying to beat Duke in that case. Shoot poorly from 3? Duke will win in other ways.
    I’ll echo with a twist: one of the things I like best is that the team generally doesn’t resort to jacking up 3s indiscriminately. I can think of only one game this year when I was really frustrated that no one was looking for a 2, and that has been a regular frustration in prior years.
    No soup for you!

  12. #12
    Join Date
    Mar 2009
    As with every year we’re a 1-seed, I immediately check to see who our 2 and our 4 is. It feels rare to me that we ever get one of those lucky years where we play a double digit seed in the E8 (I know we didn’t in 2010 and I’m almost positive we were chalk in 2015).

    So, the 2 seed is a should-be one seed. Less than ideal. And the 4-seed is KenPom’s strongest 4, lesser than ideal.

    I think it’s pretty obvious UVA has the cleanest road to the final four; Tennessee doesn’t impress me and I don’t think Grant Williams will be able to flop his way through non-SEC-officiated games. The UVA/Wisconsin game will be a blast to watch if it happens; first to 40 wins.

    I’m happy that UNC seems to be in the toughest overall bracket. But that’s a different thread.

  13. #13
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Earth
    Quote Originally Posted by ndkjr70 View Post
    As with every year we’re a 1-seed, I immediately check to see who our 2 and our 4 is. It feels rare to me that we ever get one of those lucky years where we play a double digit seed in the E8 (I know we didn’t in 2010 and I’m almost positive we were chalk in 2015).

    So, the 2 seed is a should-be one seed. Less than ideal. And the 4-seed is KenPom’s strongest 4, lesser than ideal.
    We weren't close to chalk in 1999. We played #12 Steve Alford's SW MO State and #6 Temple. We didn't need it.
    We didn't have chalk in 2001. We played #4 UCLA (chalk) and #6 USC in Philly.

    VT scares me a lot. It's a hidden road game (Duke-IN 2002), and they are very confident because they beat us without their best player. It could help or be a Kyrie return for them.

    LSU plays everybody to the last possession. They could easily be a NIT team or a #1 seed. I don't think they will make the Elite 8 unless their coach is reinstated. MD is another hidden road game, but they seem more like the Bengals under Marvin Lewis trying to get to the Superbowl. Belmont might win that pod actually.

    If we can beat VT, I like the odds of making the Final 4. I'm not sold on MSU being better than KY, and I would rather play them than MI's 1-3-1 (if they still use it) on short rest.

  14. #14
    Join Date
    Mar 2008
    Location
    New Orleans, Louisiana
    Fun fact! Of the top 16 teams in this tournament (the top 4 seeds in each region), only two won their conference tournament: Duke and Michigan State. I'm not complaining about this 2 seed, mind you, but the Selection Committee's choice to reward the overall #1 seed with the ONLY OTHER power conference tournament champion in the top 16 is bizarre and nonsensical. If you're wondering, the next automatic bid in this region is 12 seed Liberty.

  15. #15
    Quote Originally Posted by 84Duke View Post
    Anybody else think Virginia Tech announced the impending return of Justin Robinson to try and improve their tournament seeding? Taking advantage of the NCAA factoring in returns from injury by key players?
    If they did, it sure as heck didn't work out too well for them! The committee seems to have ignored it completely.

    Which then leads on to the next question as to whether robinson is really ready to play at 100%?

  16. #16
    Join Date
    Mar 2009
    Location
    Seattle
    UCF is massive.

    If we advanced past our first round opponent, it'll be interesting to see how Zion fares against trees.

  17. #17
    Quote Originally Posted by proelitedota View Post
    UCF is massive.

    If we advanced past our first round opponent, it'll be interesting to see how Zion fares against trees.
    UCF is a 1 to 1.5 point underdog to VCU right now; we will see what is in store for us.

  18. #18
    Join Date
    Mar 2012
    Location
    Atlanta
    I understand that VT knows us but they are the 2nd 4th seed I would want to play. The first one is K State. K State is playing well this year but they haven't seen Duke before. I'd want to stay away from FSU and Kansas.

    UCF looks hard based on their record but their OOC schedule is mediocre. Their best OOC games were St Joes, Bama, and Missouri. They lost to Mizzou in overtime. They did beat Houston and Cincy but also lost to them. The AAC wasn't very good this year.

    In the end, Duke has to make 3s. I bet we see every team sagging the defense. They should play the FSU style defense. As long as opposing teams don't play FSU offense from the 2nd half and missed everything, the game should be close. If Duke makes 30-40% of their threes then they should win easily.

  19. #19
    Quote Originally Posted by proelitedota View Post
    UCF is massive.

    If we advanced past our first round opponent, it'll be interesting to see how Zion fares against trees.
    Zion is a tree made of rock. Regular trees make paper. However, in this case, rock > paper.

  20. #20
    Join Date
    Oct 2009
    Location
    Durham
    Quote Originally Posted by 84Duke View Post
    Anybody else think Virginia Tech announced the impending return of Justin Robinson to try and improve their tournament seeding? Taking advantage of the NCAA factoring in returns from injury by key players?
    afaik, committee only really considers players for seeding if they've already returned and demonstrated to be back to their prior level.

    Given VT is KP 11, having them at the 4 line is not out of line...and so if they were trying to game anything, they failed exceptionally at it.
    1200. DDMF.

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