MBB: Duke v Gardner-Webb (POSTPONED)

[DavidBenAkiva]

EDIT: Mods, please change title from (Ed 11/25) to (Wed 11/25)

Friends, family, and fanatics, there will (hopefully, thankfully) be basketball THIS WEEK!

The 2020-21 iteration of Duke men's basketball will begin a very unusual season against the Gardner-Webb Running Bulldogs. G-W will be playing their 19th season and 9th under head coach Tim Craft. The Running Bulldogs, from the Charlotte area, have played in the NCAA Tournament once in their history and lost as a 16 seed in the 2018-19 NCAA Tournament to eventual National Champion Virginia. Coincidently, G-W led that game at halftime 36-30 before Cavaliers put their 1-v-16 seed ghosts behind them. They have played twice at Cameron Indoor Stadium, most recently in December 2013 and hold an 0-2 record against the Duke Blue Devils. Last season, G-W put together a 16-16 record but were 11-7 in the Big South, good for 3rd in the conference. Their season ended in a loss on March 6th in the Big South tournament to Winthrop.

KenPom and T-Rank project Gardner-Webb to be a middle-of-the-pack group in the Big South for this upcoming season. Last season, G-W was a pretty good 3-point shooting team thanks to the combination of 6'0" G Jaheam Cornwall and 6'3" G Nate Johnson. Johnson transferred to Xavier during the offseason while Cornwall is set to return for the Running Bulldogs this year.

In the frontcourt, G-W will return a pair of tall but thin forwards in 6'9" Queens, NY native Kareem Reid and 6'8" Martinque native Ludovic Dufeal. Reed is more of the interior player and rim protector while Dufeal is more likely to take a jumper and has a decent 3-point shot. Neither is very beefy and should present a decent matchup for Duke's projected frontline of Matthew Hurt and Jalen Johnson.

Duke should have a fairly easy go of it on Wednesday to kick off the season. I expect the team to be chomping at the bit to someone, anyone else besides intra-squad scrimmages. Gardner-Webb played a fairly slow tempo, so getting out in transition, getting into the passing lanes, and forcing turnover should be an easy formula for Duke in this match. I'm excited to see the team in action for the first time. Let's go Duke!