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Duke Basketball 2021-2022

Honestly this should be a 16-4 team given how downright pathetic the conference is this year. 3-1 means K ain’t sniffing the Final 4 IMO. These next 4 opponents are not good. Basically he has to win out until Selection Sunday if Duke is to be considered legit title contenders.
 
I don't see how we pull off beating Virginia. I didn't think we'd beat them at home. I certainly don't think we're beating them on the road.
 
Virginia would be the worst team to sweep Duke since the mid-90s and K has traditionally owned Bennett. We should win in Charlottesville.
 
God I hope so. It's the hardest game left of the regular season schedule IMO. We get by that one, I like our chances in the rest.
 
I think it’s Syracuse. They’re gonna pack 345,000 people into that shithole dome who have been cooped up in 0 degree weather all winter and who will be screaming their heads off for their last game against the legendary coach of their most hated “rival.”

Its a pure shooting contest on both sides of the ball given their offensive and defensive style in a dome that our players are unfamiliar with, so variance can kill us. It should be a Mark 20-15 game given their nothingness in the post but somehow it will be Paolo and Keels‘ 30 footers.
 
Also, a loss to Syracuse is starting to feel somewhat overdue. Last time we lost at the Carrier Dome was that buzzer-beater 2017, and I think we're 7-1 against them overall since then, with the only loss being that ridiculous OT game in Cameron in 2019 when Tre got hurt early and they made a 3/4-court shot at the halftime buzzer.
 
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The only saving grace is that Cuse is almost uniquely unqualified to beat us. They are, in theory, a good shooting team, but don't really have a single dude who can create. We can press out to the line without too much fear of them driving past, especially now that their big dump-off guy is out. They had no room to breath at Cameron. On the other side, even with the zone, without Edwards it would be criminal if Paolo and Mark didn't absolutely feast.
 
Yeah, Syracuse and ND have been the two ACC teams most bothered by our physicality and size.
 
Yeah, I certainly think Syracuse is capable of beating us, largely due to their shooting. But it's felt to me like K and Duke have figured out their zone really, really well over the last several years. Mark is a big help because he's such a big lob threat and I think we've done a better job of utilizing that threat against them than any other team I've watched them play. It forces them to be more aware and concerned about the weakside short corner, which stretches the zone a little more than they'd like to. And like mentioned above, they don't worry me much off the bounce against our defense. Their ability to shoot is a concern, though. If they get hot, it doesn't matter how much we've figured out the zone.

Also, am I crazy or did I read that they're missing their big dude (and by big I mean tall, because he's rain thin) for the rest of the season? Seems I recall he was the only one that played effectively against us in Cameron.
 
Paolo flashing in the middle seems like a solid option here to collapse the zone. They have to respect Paolo in that FT paint area as a threat to drive, shoot or pass. This is one game where I feel Paolo can quit being an asshole and make some plays on offense.
 
Also, their zone is unusually not scary this year because it is being manned by alarmingly unathletic perimeter players. When you have cat quick guards/forwards like Tyus Battle, MCW, Malachi Richardson, Jerami Grant and Michael Gbinije, that shit can be tough, especially for a team that plays boneheaded offense for long stretches like us.

Not sure AJ evens realizes Girard is in the building when he shoots over him. Edwards gave us a little bit off trouble last time, but he gone.
 
They’re basically doing a plug and play with another but now playing 35 min a game. Unclear if he’s that much worse and Cuse has been playing well.

I agree we should expect to beat them 8 to 9 times out of ten but this one has concerned me for awhile. Though as I see our shittiness at home more and more and the pressure of K’s last game I’d be lying if I wasn’t concerned about UNC given that we seem to be intent on playing one possession games with anyone in the top 75 or so in Cameron.
 
deeyoukayeee said:
Also, their zone is unusually not scary this year because it is being manned by alarmingly unathletic perimeter players. When you have cat quick guards/forwards like Tyus Battle, MCW, Malachi Richardson, Jerami Grant and Michael Gbinije, that shit can be tough, especially for a team that plays boneheaded offense for long stretches like us.

Not sure AJ evens realizes Girard is in the building when he shoots over him. Edwards gave us a little bit off trouble last time, but he gone.
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I'd like to see what kind of efficiency our zone offense has put up this year. It's seemed pretty great to me overall. Having a good passing team, a guy we can put in the middle like Paolo, and a lob threat on the back line helps. We're also 47th in 3pt percentage.
 
It is definitely encouraging that at least so far, this team has been blowout-proof. (Knock on wood, etc.) In the context of the general level of competition we've faced, though, these factoids kind of strike me as fairly reasonable expectations.
 
Also, am I an idiot for not understanding the difference between "10+ points" and "more than 10 points" in that tweet?
 
IIRC, the 2014 team never really got blown out either. And there are some similarities.

Edit: It does look like they lost a few by double digits, but I think they were in most of those games late.
 
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