Originally Posted by
kako
I'm really looking forward to this game. But my take, which I'm sure some (many?) will argue, is that Duke probably loses this game. I'll be the voice of the contrarian here. On the experience front in big games, I think Gonzaga has it all over Duke. Baker is the only historical Duke player on the team that's even stepped on a NCAA tourney court, and John has played one game (Marquette lost in the 1st round in 2019, a shellacking against Ja Morant and Murray State). The Zags run an extremely well-coached system, which is ingrained to them as Duke's is to Duke. Timme's no POY like Zion, but he's still damn, damn good. Nembhard, the former UF transfer, is a senior PG playing very well. He's NBA talent (not a star, but could play in the Association). And the Zags repeatedly have younger players "grow up" in their system, then shine in their upperclass years. Few has shown he's a great coach of such talent. The Zags are also setting up camp in Vegas and will be well-acclimated. Duke is still a very young team, coming off a no-tourney year (and therefore no extra practices, no neutral court experiences, etc.), and have shown weaknesses this to lesser teams with methodical systems. Gonzaga will not have any fear of Duke whatsoever. I'm sure they believe they are the better team. The last Zag game was at the Maui Invitational against the Zion/Barrett Duke game, and the Zags won then. No reason for them to think they can't so do now. And if UCLA beats the Zags tonight (which really could happen), look for Gonzaga to focus and seek retribution Friday.
That being said, once the ball goes up I will of course root hard for Duke. Duke has a chance to win, of course. And if they do, great! But if they do, then I worry about a let down versus Ohio State. The Buckeyes are good, and the game's in Columbus. And this could be accused of loser talk in advance, but really, losing to Gonzaga would be a good learning experience. It would show the players what work they need to do against the best. Winning in November is nice, but winning in March/April is what matters.
9F