(13) UConn vs. (7) Duke - NIT Season Tip-Off Championship

• reclegend22

  

  Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen ... welcome to Madison Square Garden ... here are the lineups ... number 13 ... Connecticut, number 13 ... versus number 7 ... Duke, number 7.
  
  Duke-UConn, tonight, 5 p.m., ESPN. Live from the world's most famous basketball arena.
  
  The Blue Devils are 5-0, while the Huskies are 4-0. The all-time series between these two bitter non-conference rivals is deadlocked at 4 wins apiece. The Huskies have won four in a row, however, including two straight games in the NCAA Final Four ('99 and '04). Connecticut also beat Duke in the regular season in the mid-'90s and in 1999 at the Coaches Vs. Cancer Classic in the Garden. In the '04 national semis match-up, Duke blew an eight-point lead with under three minutes to play, arguably costing the Devils their fourth NCAA championship.
  
  And I don't even have to mention '99, which, if not for Khalid and UConn, Duke would have ended as THE greatest team in college sports history.
  
  Duke's last win over Connecticut came in the 1990 NCAA Tournament, when the Blue Devils knocked off the top-seeded Huskies in the East Regional Final with Christian Laettner's 15-footer from the left elbow as the buzzer sounded.
  
  I want this win bad.
• reclegend22

  

  And let me tell you, there is as much hate in the Duke-UConn series as there is in the UNC series. To many Duke fans, UConn is their most detested team, considering the national championship implications the two clubs' meetings have had over the years. This series is somewhat comparable to the UConn-Tennessee women's NCAA Tournament match-ups, or vice versa. It's BIG when we meet. It's on the same level with Duke-UK, which is saying a ton.
  
  I'm still sick over Chris Duhon's final game, which he lost at the hands of UConn in '04. That game literally had me in tears at the end, which is quite frightening to admit actually. I HATE Connecticut, and have hated every single kid and the way all of their players have looked for as long as I've been a college basketball fan. I wanted Josh Boone DEAD in the '06 tournament. Thank y-o-u, Jimmy Larranaga. And f*** you, Josh. I won't even go into my disdain for Jim Calhoun and how shady I think he is.
  
  This should be a good one tonight. It won't bring back our fourth title, but it will be a small piece of retribution that I'm looking forward to.
• reclegend22

  

  ^^With that said, I'm actually a reasonable person once I take off my college basketball hat.
  
  
• ZeroCool

  i want duke to win this bad also. this SHOULD be a great game. it will give both teams fans some level of what to expect for the rest of the season as neither team is a cupcake. rec, i also detest calhoun and auriemma. if there is such a thing as college mafia, they would be part of it. lol. on a side note this might cheer you up, the announcers doing the maui invite game 2 nights ago said duke had the most nba players right now on rosters.
  
  keys to the game imo:
  defending dukes perimeter shooters
  stop the uconn dribble penetration
  duke's bigs need to stay out of foul trouble
• Mulva

  

  I think Duke wins this one by about 6.
• Phog Allen

  What makes the UConn-Duke series so fun is the stakes that these two teams play for every time they step on the court. Even tonight is for the NIT championship! Go back to Laenttner hitting the shot to send Duke to the Final Four in 90 over UConn. Then of course (sorry rec) Duke is upset in the 99 title game and 04 Final Four by UConn. I mean honestly if it wasn't for UConn Duke would have won 3 national championships in a span of 7 years. I know 04 sucked because Duke had that game won, honestly that is one of the few times I can remember a Coach K coached team falling apart late in the game to lose. If I remember correctly (correct me if I'm wrong rec) UConn ended that game on an incredible run as Duke was up like 9 with 3 min. to go. But, the one that still hurts the most is 99 when a great UConn team upset Duke for the national title. What most don't realize about that game is UConn was a great team and came into that game 33-2 and dominated the Big East. UConn was #2 pretty much all year. Despite all that they were a significant underdog to the 37-1 Duke team that dominated the ACC and was #1 all year long. That is how great Duke was that year. Even with UConn as a clear #2 nobody gave them a chance, but that is why they play the game.
  
  Honestly, I view Arizona (as a KU fan) the way most Duke fans probably view UConn. Rec knows I have my own "Almost Greatest Team Ever" in the 1997 Kansas Jayhawks who were upset by the eventual national champion Arizona Wildcats. I know how much that loss still stings despite all the success KU has had since including numerous wins over Arizona. You never forget as a fan.
  
  As for this game, I fear UConn is too athletic. Who guards Stanley Robinson? Not Singler. He would be in foul trouble by the 10 min mark of the first half. I'm a Duke fan (rec made me one!) but I'm still not understanding Coach K's substitution pattern. Play Dawkins Coach K. He is a bit of a liability on D but he is one of your most athletic players and he stretches the defense for Singler to mover in the lane. Dawkins should always play 25+ minutes a game for Duke yet he barely saw the floor in the 2nd half against ASU despite ASU sticking in a zone and Dawkins shooting well in the 1st half.
  
  A line up of Scheyer, Smith, Singler, Dawkins, and Plumlee is a Final Four contender at Duke. Unfortunately, Plumlee (the younger more talented one) is hurt and Coach K is still using asinine substitution patterns. By the way I'm a huge Coach K fan so I'm not bashing him just stating the obvious. Rec will back me up on that. IMO this will allow UConn to win this game and the NIT title. Duke will be the better team in the long run and eventually win the ACC and contend for the Final Four IMO but UConn is the better team right now.
  
  UConn 75
  Duke 69
• reclegend22

  

  I back you on all your points, phog. And I agree with you whole heartedly. As I stated on the ACC thread, Duke is definitely a different team this year in terms of its bigs. For the first time in a LONG, long time, the Blue Devils are playing with a big lineup for major stretches of the game. BUT, Duke is still playing a short rotation. Part of that has to do with a lack of guard depth. At the same time, that can be remedied by what hank (phog!) said about playing Andre Dawkins more. The kid is a stud, with a silky jumper and killer hops. He's also underrated on the defensive end. He is going to turn into a fierce defender by the end of the year, I have a feeling.
  
  If given the chance.
  
  He did get some burn in the second half against ASU, nailing one big triple in the last 10 minutes of the game, but I agree that he was pulled too early. I'm not going to cause too much of a ruckus about this, though, as Duke ended the game pretty strong, winning by doubles after a tie game with about 10 minutes left. It was a strong finish.
  
  And, yes, hank, please don't remind me. Duke had an 8-point lead with 3:28 to play in that game. I will never forget that. I was celebrating our fourth national title, leaving Carolina behind with three (plus their fake 1924 championship). Like you say, though, that's why the games are played. Ask '91 Vegas, John Thompson and the '85 Hoyas, the '94 Seattle Sonics, the Soviets ... hell, ask Mike Tyson. That's what is beautiful about sports. As Ray Kinsella says, "baseball [sports] is better than life. Because it's fair."
  
  And I agree that Duke is going down tonight. I've accepted that. Still nervous for the game to start. Although, this is why I'm a fan.
• reclegend22

  

  And for those of you who didn't catch on, the opening introduction in this thread is a tribute to the great Bob Sheppard, who, yesterday at almost 100 years of age, stepped down as the public address announcer for the New York Yankees.
  
  Though I'm not a Yankees fan by any means, I always find it sad when one of the fixtures of your sports youth passes you by.
• Phog Allen

  I'm hoping for a Duke win just like you rec. I will never cheer for a Jim Calhoun coached team.
  
  I'm hoping Scheyer and Singler go nuts and get the win because that would be big come seeding for March.
  
  Why won't Coach K just listen to us. We need to set up a meeting with him ASAP! LOL! The dude may have 3 national titles and 94 Final Fours but he struggles with getting a good rotation going.
• reclegend22

  

  Phog Allen wrote:Why won't Coach K just listen to us. We need to set up a meeting with him ASAP! LOL! The dude may have 3 national titles and 94 Final Fours but he struggles with getting a good rotation going.

  Welcome to Blue Devil land.
  
  
• darbypitcher22

  

  I'm pretty sure Bob Shepard doesn't do games @ MSG lol, but nice try
• wildcats20

  

  A TON of intensity in the Garden right now.
• Phog Allen

  wildcats20 wrote: A TON of intensity in the Garden right now.

  Really does have a March feel to it doesn't it.
  
  UConn is very athletic. I think Duke is playing into UConn's hands by running up and down the floor the way they are. IMO if Duke is going to win they have to slow this game down and make the different in athleticism not that big of a deal.
  
  Good game thus far but if the up and down play continues UConn may win by 12-20 points.
• wildcats20

  

  The Garden is rocking with it's 2 adopted sons going head to head.
• burt07

  Well, considering Duke shot 29.5% for the first half, I'll take a 9 point lead.
• mattinctown

  God I can't wait until Mason comes back, Zoubek doing absolutely NOTHING. Note to Coach K: only play him against teams with losing records.
  Seven point lead early in the second half with the big three 8-29 from the field, looks good for Duke if they can shoot in the second half
• mattinctown

  This is SO fun to watch, like reclegend I HATE UConn with a passion since they kept Duke from potentially two more national titles.
• wildcats20

  

  If UConn can put a few stops together in a row, this game is going to get tight once again.
• mattinctown

  We'll see if K runs the spread, hopefully not.
• mattinctown

  Just saw Zoubek had 11 rebounds, I guess if you just stand there you can get a few. I liked this guy, but yeah, he's a stiff.
• burt07

  This has just been an ugly, ugly game for both teams, but a win is a win I guess. Wouldn't expect Duke to out-rebound a team like UConn so that much is a plus. UConn did their thing in terms of getting to the line plenty of times but shot a paltry 50%. They'll get better as the season goes on, and hopefully so will the Blue Devils as well.
• Puddle Jumper

  

  Uconn couldn't have played a worse game
• Phog Allen

  Neither team played all that well.
  
  Duke outplayed UConn and this will be a a great win on the resume come March.
• newarkcatholicfan

  

  Love seeing or reading about a Duke win over U.Conn.
• hoops23

  

  Solid win by Duke. They proved quite a bit to me in this early season match up. However, I still don't hold much weight to what happens in November.