reclegend22;979343 wrote:No. 5 Duke at No. 3 Ohio State - My heart says the Blue Devils, so I'm taking Duke. This game will be even until the final buzzer, and completely up for grabs.
reclegend22;979731 wrote:Ohio State is obviously very good, but it is not a dominant team, at least not at this point. A forty-point shellacking of Marching Band College is not indicative of anything. Duke is also a good team with elite talent of its own and will be as well prepared as any team possibly could heading into Columbus. I like the Blue Devils' chances with K at the helm and the experienced duo of stone-cold killers Seth Curry and Andre Dawkins with the ball in their hands in the final minutes of what I think will be a very close affair.
Ohio State has a clear advantage inside with Sullinger, but Mason Plumlee has improved by leaps and bounds his ability to provide a reliable interior presence for the Blue Devils defensively, so I am hopeful that Duke can hang tough inside and garner a victory on the shoulders of its (imo) superior backcourt.
It could be a classic.
reclegend22;980704 wrote:Obviously not. Haha.
Duke can definitely play with this Buckeye team. I have no reservations about that. As swami stated above, however, it just depends on which Duke team shows up. The Devils, although stocked with plenty of talent and one of the top backcourts in the country, are still trying to figure out their identity. I suspect we will learn a lot more about the potential of this group as the Maui Invitational unfolds. If Duke can overtake a field in Hawaii that includes Michigan, Memphis, Georgetown and Kansas and win the tournament, I like its confidence heading into Columbus.
As for Aaron "Little Dumars" Craft, it's quite easy to be a so-called turnover-creating machine when your brand of defense is I'll-just-foul. He's a solid player, but hopefully referees around the country this year will begin to call Craft's glaring hand-checking with more regularity. Also, I am looking forward to Coach K placing Tyler Thornton on Craft. A taste of his own medicine.
ccrunner609;981816 wrote:Tue, Nov 29
7 p.m.- No. 23 Michigan at Virginia - ESPN2
7:15 p.m. - Northwestern at Georgia Tech - ESPNU
7:30 p.m. - Illinois at Maryland - ESPN
9 p.m. - Miami at Purdue - ESPN2
9:15 p.m. - Clemson at Iowa - ESPNU
9:30 p.m. - No. 5 Duke at No. 3 Ohio State - ESPN
Wed, Nov 30
7:15 p.m. - Indiana at North Carolina State - ESPN2
7:15 p.m. - Penn State at Boston College - ESPNU
7:30 p.m. - No. 21 Florida State at Michigan State - ESPN
9:15 p.m. - Virginia Tech at Minnesota - ESPN2
9:15 p.m. - Wake Forest at Nebraska - ESPNU
9:30 p.m. - No. 11 Wisconsin at No. 1 North Carolina - ESPN
swamisez;981905 wrote:Got into this with Buckeye fans last year. Aaron Craft is good, but he is not Gary Payton. Teams will spread the offense and quicker players will drive past him. David Lighty was quicker and a better deny of wing penetration last year (Hence his higher defense rating). Without Lighty, Craft will be forced to limit guard penetration even more so. I believe there will be a game at some point in March that he will be put on an island of sorts, and he will be beaten more often than he will succeed.
ccrunner609;982900 wrote:no I wasnt, I knew that the B10 has won the last 2 and had a FEW years that it looked like it was close. Alot of those 1 game difference years the ACC was up by 2 or 3 and the B10 made it look closer by taking the last game.
Either way, to argue that this thing is USUALLY close is ignorant. History sais that ACC dominates the B10.
birddog23;984541 wrote:Duke by 6 over OSU. Craft can't guard Curry, Rivers, and Dawkins all at the same time can he? Dawkins, who has really came on defensively early this season limits Buford to 10 points. Sullinger does have a huge game though, just not enough. Kelly causes a matchup problem with Thomas by being an inside and outside threat(btw does he still take terrible shots?). The Blue Devils are a little deeper than the Bucks in my mind and get a bit worn down by the end of the game. And then at the end I walk out of the Schott proudly sporting my Duke Blue Devil attire! Go Duke!
PS - Anyone else going to this game Tuesday evening?
reclegend22;985350 wrote:The 6-11 Kelly's ability to step out and hit the three ball with regularity definitely can cause some matchup problems for opposing defenses. Playing the four or in some cases the five, he stretches the D considerably, allowing more freedom for guys like Curry and Rivers to find open gaps in the paint.
birddog23;985356 wrote:That's great that Buford can shoot from anywhere, I just think he'll score around 10 points. Which isn't that crazy IMO considering he is a 14 point per game guy for his career and the fact that Sullinger will probably score around 30-35 points. Ryan Kelly has been playing really well this year both inside and out.
ccrunner609;985953 wrote:Craft, Buford, Sullinger doesnt have enough for Rivers, Curry, Kelly, Dawkins, 2 Plumlees, Kelly.
Duke has 20 fouls to throw at Sully.
Mason Plumlee handled Kansas big men last night.....it was 2 on 1 half the night and he was still 7-9 from the floor and was taking the ball off the dribble. Kelly will pull any height they have 20 feet from the basket. Sully will be in foul trouble early cause he will be left alone to play defense agaisnt 3-4 other Duke players penetrating.
ccrunner609;986039 wrote:THe point is that they can play him hard. If you dont fully understand what I said then you arent that smart/
ccrunner609;986784 wrote:Keep thinking that.
LOL
reclegend22;979343 wrote:No. 5 Duke at No. 3 Ohio State - My heart says the Blue Devils, so I'm taking Duke. This game will be even until the final buzzer, and completely up for grabs.reclegend22;979731 wrote:Ohio State is obviously very good, but it is not a dominant team, at least not at this point. A forty-point shellacking of Marching Band College is not indicative of anything. Duke is also a good team with elite talent of its own and will be as well prepared as any team possibly could heading into Columbus. I like the Blue Devils' chances with K at the helm and the experienced duo of stone-cold killers Seth Curry and Andre Dawkins with the ball in their hands in the final minutes of what I think will be a very close affair.
Gametime. Get it done boys.
Oh shit.
I thought IU was supposed to be better this year?
This IU/State game has been solid. I could see either of these teams making the NCAA tourney, but neither of them doing more than maybe a 7-8 seed best case scenario.