There’s nothing quite like Duke and UNC, with Dickie V. You can’t beat it, I have to admit I kind of missed Vitale. His blatant favoritism of all things Duke can grow tiring, and at times I wonder why he’s still on the air, but when he’s gone, you start to miss the old boy. Ok, maybe it’s just me, but anyways, this game was bigger than Vitale’s triumphant return from vocal chord sugery.
Coming into this thing, I questioned the integrity of the Devil’s lofty number two ranking. I don’t know how much this game really meant though, with Ty Lawson out with an ankle injury, what we saw on the court can’t really be used as an accurate measuring stick.
My initial feeling walking away from this game is that both of these teams are flawed. Put either one up against an athletic big man, and they will be in serious trouble. Why? Because neither side can defend in the post. Tyler Hansbrough was able to put up 28 points with 17 boards, which would be impressive figures if he wasn’t fighting it out against Kyle Singler. On the flipside, Duke’s quartet of 6-5 guards repeatedly got uncontested buckets in the paint. Call me crazy, but isn’t the type of matchup where the All-American, Physcho T, should earn his bones? He should dominated down low.
The other thing that stood out to me was Carolina’s defense. I don’t know how much of a difference maker Lawson would have been on the arc, but two minutes into the second half Duke had sunk 11 threes, 5 of those coming from Greg Paulas. There’s not much you can do when all five guys on the floor can shoot the lights out of the gym, but when the tallest guy on the floor is 6-8, they shouldn’t have gotten open look after open look. As a previously stated, Hansbrough should have been able to man the lane, while everyone else keyed on the arc.
After last night, both of these teams will probably march through conference play unscathed until they meet up again later in the year. The truth is, I wouldn’t feel comfortable putting my money on either team come March. If I had to pick one, I’d probably go with Duke because they can be downright scary when their shooters are on. It was a great game, as always, but it just affirmed what I already knew: Memphis is a class ahead of everyone else in the Nation. I fully expect them to become the first undeafted team since the UNLV Running Rebels’ last accomplished the feat in 1991.
Duke’s lack of size is eventually going to catch up to them; even a team like Kansas State could cause serious problems. At times, they don’t have a man that stands taller than 6-5. Look at what Tyler Hansbrough was able to do against them. Now imagine Michael Beasley posting on the lanky Singler, and if Bill Walker decided to show up, it’d be a wrap. Basically, if Duke is up against a team with a true inside presence, and the rims are unforgiving that night, it’s a formula for disaster.
As far as UNC is concerned, their defense needs to find another gear before the tournament. Chances are they will be able to coast into the Elite 8 with their guard play, but if they can’t stop a one dimensional team like Duke, what happens against Memphis and their dribble drive offense? Lawson certainly would have made a difference on the perimeter against Duke, so to be fair, it’s probably a little premature to write this team off and say they are overrated.
Still, it was a great game, but this was supposed to be a defining moment in the season, but we walk away knowing no more than what we went in with. At least they didn’t disappoint, there’s no rivalry like this in all of sports.
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Thermocaster 02.06.08 at 10:06 pm
I’m with you…it was a game that meant nothing, between two teams that will not be cutting the nets down in April.
I do think that of the two, Duke has the better chance at reaching the Final Four, but like all of Duke’s teams since 2001, they’re overreliant on the outside shot. And that kills you in the tournament.
We didn’t get to experience the return of Vitale down here in Miami, thanks to this bizarre ACC market rule. Instead of Vitale, we got…Billy Packer.
Nick Underhill 02.06.08 at 10:22 pm
ahhh Billy Packer, is there a more annoying man in sports. One of his hall-of-fame moments was in 2006 when he trashed the committee for picking all the mid-major schools, and then George Mason makes their triumpant final four run, gotta love that!
It’s a tough pick, UNC definately has their gunner too, but Wayne Ellington didn’t show up tonight. I really don’t know, tonight’s game just isn’t a fair measuring stick. They have the shooters, and (gulp) an inside presence with Tyler Hansbrough, unlike Duke. It’s a toss up. I personally think T is over rated, but he’s good enough at the collegiate level to make enough of a difference. At least they have a guy to go inside with if the shooters aren’t hitting.
Truitt 02.07.08 at 11:53 pm
All year all I heard is what is going to happen when duke plays a team with a big man down low, well guess what we did and we won! yeah he had a big game but in the end a three pointer means more than a dunk. all we had to do is penetrate the lane and than dish out for the open shoot. people keep saying what is going to happen when duke has an off night, well here’s the thing, we don’t rely on one guy, so if one is off the other guys will pick him up. its called having depth! I will see you in the final four, well tyler is sitting at home deciding whether or not he should join the nba and get dominated.
Make Online 02.08.08 at 3:22 am
Alright, I’m here to disagree with all of you.
First of all, the first commenter that said Duke has a better chance to go to the final four is obviously smoking something that isn’t FDA approved.
Duke has absolutely no shot to be a final four team. Teams that fare well in the tournament are usually deep teams that can play defense… Duke is neither of those.
And Nick, I disagree with you as well… had UNC had Lawson, this game is a double-digit loss by Duke… and I don’t mean after they started fouling late in the game… this game is a wash.
I don’t know why you are so against Psycho T… this guy is a DOMINATING college force. He doesn’t have the big body of a Roy Hibbert, but he’s definitely a game changer inside the post. You could see it in the game last night… when they put the ball in T’s hands, whether he drew a double, or the occasional triple team… he was still money. This kid plays with more heart than anybody I can remember in the last 10 years, and he’s got the skills to match. I won’t argue with anyone that says he’s not going to dominate in the Pro ranks, but he’s a force in college hoops. I know your retort will be that he matched up against Kyle Singler, but this guy is a ball player in his own right… Singler creates match-up problems because of his ability to shoot outside of the post… and I don’t think that you can argue 28 points and 17 boards, no matter who he matched up with. I don’t care if it’s Coach K himself, those are good numbera, and against a good team. Cut him some slack Underhill…
UNC isn’t a title contender just yet. but I can’t believe you are so high on Memphis either. They have beat all of two teams this year… Georgetown and Connecticut. Unless you want to count an overrated Arizona team (#18). Memphis simply hasn’t played anybody that matched up well against them. So, although they might go undefeated, they didn’t exactly have a tough schedule either. Look for Tennessee to give them a run when they match up.