Sleepers

[ehdg]

Well listening to Dickie V the pundit of pundits talking about the brackets and he brought up what he considers sleepers. Based on his rule a sleeper is a team seeded lower then 5. Well we are seeded 6th. What do y'all think of us as a sleeper. My thinking is if we can get back to playing Defense the way we where earlier in the year we might be able to make some noise in the tourney. Plus all we really need is for one guy to get hot offensively and maybe he could carry us to the sweet 16 or even elite 8 with some luck. So how bout any chance we could make some noise and surprise some folks? We do have the best active tournament coach is the business!!

ehdg

 

[Troublemaker]

I think the X-factor is that Duke hasn't played much of Henderson at the 4 all season long. Now that smallball will be the predominant lineup (imo), Duke could be a much different team, either much better or much worse. I'm excited to see how it shakes out.

Another reason to be optimistic is because Duke usually only loses to a Final Four participant or greater. Our losses the last nine seasons:

2006 - national semifinalist
2005 - national semifinalist
2004 - national champion
2003 - national finalist
2002 - national finalist
2001 - n/a
2000 - national finalist
1999 - national champion
1998 - national champion

Are any of VCU, Wright St, or Pittsburgh a threat to go to the Final Four? Probably not. I expect Duke to be in the Sweet 16 and then re-evaluate at that point depending on which teams remain.

 

[Cameron]

I really do think we could make some noise, and, with the way many ESPN and CBS guys are picking us to fall to VCU, I could see us surprising a lot of people as the "sleeper" team in the West. If we can handle the guard play and defensive pressure from VCU in round one, which I think we will, I like our chances in round two versus either Pitt or perhaps upset minded Wright State. Pitt is a pretty weak 3 IMO and I think our guard play, if playing to the level they are capable of, is much better than the Panters'. So, I do like us playing in our 10th straight Sweet 16!!! Which would then put us only 3 away from breaking Carolina's NCAA record of 13.

In my bracket, I do have us reaching the Regional Finals in San Jose before losing to my eventual national champion, Kansas. The reason I pick us to reach the Elite Eight is that I forsee a UCLA meltdown against Gonzaga in the Second Round. The Zags, though without the big 'shroom, are still a very, very tough team to beat. And I think for the seniors on the team, Ravio and Mallon, the game would be a very emotional experience considering how they were completely dominating the Bruins in last year's Sweet 16 before collapsing in the final seconds. I see a Bulldog upset. And if this happens, you can then insert the Blue Devils into the Elite Eight. If UCLA advances to the round of 16, however, we will go home early.

So, if UCLA goes down on the first weekend, I see us traveling as far as the Elite Eight, shocking the world (and sending the haters back into the woodworks)