Duke WBB faces Kansas State on Monday 11/25 at 3pm ET on FloHoops (
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...I'll provide a game preview later this weekend.
At least a couple of people in this thread have expressed concerns about Duke's size this season, and their ability to handle opponents who are strong in the post, now that Kennedy Brown and Camilla Emsbo have graduated, and 6-4 freshman Arianna Roberson has a season-ending injury. I've replied by providing a
breakdown of the frontcourts on each ACC roster to show that Duke has no great disadvantage.
Well, that's conference play. The Ball Dawgs Classic presents a unique challenge because it will feature two of the nation's best centers: Ayoka Lee of Kansas State and Raegan Beers of Oklahoma. Depending on Monday's outcomes, Duke may or may not play Beers and Oklahoma on Wednesday, so let's focus on Lee and KSU.
In 2022, Ayoka Lee scored 61 points in a single game, which is an
NCAA Division I record (tracking games since 1982). To put that in context, here are some recognizable names on the all-time list: Kelsey Plum had 57, Jackie Stiles had 56, Elena Delle Donne had 54, and Sheryl Swoopes had 53. Brittney Griner previously held the Big 12 record with 50. (That slacker Caitlin Clark never scored more than 49.) And Lee wasn't tormenting some overmatched opponent; it was a Big 12 matchup against, of all teams, Oklahoma, which was ranked 14th at the time. Swish has her
highlights from that game:
The final score was 94-65, and looking at the
play-by-play, Lee herself was outscoring the entire Sooners team late into the third quarter (43-42) and last tied them with 6:49 left in the fourth quarter (53-53). ESPN's Charlie Creme
said, "Ayoka Lee probably can't outscore Oklahoma by herself, but the fact that she is close this deep in the game is incredible. What a performance in Manhattan."
The Wildcats had 28 assists for 33 made field goals in that game, and 8 of those assists came from point guard Serena Sundell, now a fifth-year senior.
Hoops HD spoke with Sundell to preview KSU's season:
"We are not shying away from anything: we want to win a Big 12 title. The rankings do not matter right now so we just block it out. We have a lot of experience/talent, so it is up to us as to what we want to do with it. We are continuing to push each other: when Ayoka Lee decided to return, that is what she texted all of us. It would be great to host a game in March Madness or make the Final 4 so we will set our goals high. I do not have any specific personal goals but will just try to make the right plays/reads. I want to limit my turnovers and make more free throws but mostly just win as a unit."
Jeff Mittie is in his 11th season as head coach of Kansas State. Last year his team finished 3rd in the Big 12, behind Oklahoma and Texas. Those two teams are now in the SEC, so it's not surprising to see KSU picked 1st in the Big 12
preseason poll. Meanwhile, Lee was named the league's preseason Player of the Year, and both she and Sundell made the 10-player All-Conference Team. When previewing the Big 12,
The Next pointed out that "the Wildcats return over 85% of their scoring and 87% of their rebounding from a team that was a No. 4 seed in the 2024 NCAA Tournament."
During the Big 12's Media Day, ESPN
interviewed Coach Mittie and Ayoka Lee:
KSU is 5-0 so far, playing all 5 games on their home floor, so Monday's game is their first away from friendly confines. Their best win is probably against Creighton, a team that ranked #21 in the preseason (86-68:
recap,
box score,
highlights). There's also a common opponent; they played Belmont before Duke did, and beat them without Lee in their lineup (82-56:
recap,
box score,
highlights).
Here's a breakdown of their
roster.
PROBABLE STARTERS
6-6 grad center Ayoka Lee (19.0 pts, 6.3 reb, 0.3 ast, 1.5 blk)
6-2 senior forward Temira Poindexter (12.6 pts, 3.4 reb, 2.6 ast, 1.8 stl, 1.6 blk)
5-11 sophomore guard Zyanna Walker (11.2 pts, 5.2 reb, 6.2 ast, 1.6 stl)
6-1 senior guard Jaelyn Glenn (10.0 pts, 4.6 reb, 3.2 ast, 1.6 stl)
6-2 senior guard Serena Sundell (10.0 pts, 4.6 reb, 4.6 ast, 1.2 stl)
TOP RESERVES
6-2 senior forward Kennedy Taylor (10.6 pts, 6.2 reb, 0.2 ast)
5-7 sophomore guard Taryn Sides (9.3 pts, 4.5 reb, 2.3 ast, 1.0 stl)
6-4 junior forward Gisela Sanchez (6.4 pts, 4.4 reb, 2.4 ast)
6-3 junior forward Eliza Maupin (3.6 pts, 4.2 reb, 0.4 ast
6-4 sophomore forward Imani Lester (1.8 pts, 4.0 reb, 0.6 ast)
BENCH PLAYERS
5-11 senior guard Brylee Glenn
6-1 redshirt freshman forward Alexis Hess
6-1 freshman guard Finley Ohnstad
5-10 redshirt sophomore guard Mikayla Parks
That's a tall team. Four of the starters return from last season, and the fifth, small forward Temira Poindexter, averaged 21 points for Tulsa in 2023-2024 and was named AAC Player of the Year. Sundell, Poindexter, and Lee were all named to the Top 20 preseason watch lists of the
Naismith Starting Five awards in their respective positions.
Now in her seventh year (!), Ayoka Lee is probably one of the most experienced collegians in the sport; she redshirted in 2018-2019 and 2022-2023 due to injuries, and will complete her eligibility in the spring.
Lee is usually a double-double machine, but this season the rebounding distribution is a bit more egalitarian. Nine of the ten players in their rotation average at least 4 rebounds a game, and the tenth one averages 3.4.
Minutes are also widespread, with 6 players averaging between 20-29 minutes per game, and none of them are Lee. She's getting her 19 point average at under 15 minutes per game.
Basketball Reference shows that the Wildcats shoot well from the field: 51.0 percent (7th nationally) and 35.4 percent from three (69th). Meanwhile, they are holding opponents to 31.4 percent overall (8th best) and 24.7 percent from outside (55th). They are 71.2 percent at the line, which is above average (137th). They are fairly elite at rebounds (4th), assists (5th), points and blocks (both 13th).
According to
GoDuke, these two teams have played each other just once before, almost exactly 20 years ago, in a 2004 game in the Bahamas shortly after Thanksgiving 2004. Duke won that game 61-53.
Bart Torvik had KSU ranked #11 in the preseason, and they are #7 now. It's close, but he is predicting the Cats to win, 70-68. (Actually, he has them favored in every remaining game in their schedule, with the only closer margin in their game at West Virginia.)