Quote Originally Posted by ZonaCats:
u guys are all idiots.
trends, past results, situational angles, etc... throw them all out the window in these games. home court barely matters.
it comes down to matchups. which coach is going to maximize strengths and minimize weaknesses better for 2 hours.
UNC comes and goes with it's PG. Duke knows this and will try it's best to cut the head off the monster. They were successful last year in the ACC Champ. If they can do that again, Duke wins. If they can't, they lose and probably by DD.
Any combination of Rivers, Curry, Thornton, Dawkins, Cook has not consistently shut down opposing teams' lead guard(s) yet this season.
However, they have shown signs of doing it. Coach K will have a scheme (that will probably involve trapping Kendall before midcourt) to shut down UNC's PG and win this game.
A homers take...Disagree with a few things here, agree on one thing...
Throw out that ACC win. It's quoted and documented that Williams doesnt really care about the ACC tourney...Williams HATES it. No motivation to win it outta the players and coach. The only ones who care are the fans...
I agree with the fact that K and the guards will try to limit Marshall's effectiveness in advancing the ball at the pace that he thrives in. However, its going to be tough. Even the bigs run the floor as well as Marshall. It just isnt Duke's style of play to try Big 10 hoops here imo...Duke runs. It's what they do. We shall see, but I dont see opps for trapping unless they bring two back after every made Duke basket. This is just so risky with Barnes on the floor. You are going to have to have defenders back ready to neutralize him (not to mention the trees down low)...
Totally disagree with home court. If you've ever been to a UNC/Duke game you would know. Its gonna be a scene. This Duke team doesent have the chemistry of a team with the likes of Wojo, J Williams, etc...They are an easy flustered bunch. We've already seen Duke fall face down in front of a hostile crowd in Columbus...Home court is a huge factor
As for throwing out situations and basing it on matchups is just silly. This team just hates Duke more than past UNC teams. Hell, past UNC teams used to hang with Duke players. Barnes loathes Duke, and they loathe him after the recruitment shananigans. Same with Henson. Zeller cant stand the cheap physical play of the Plum boys. He's gonna look to exploit that and get them in foul trouble. He can run circles around those donks. Bottom line, UNC rises to its competition. Blew out rival NCSU when everyone predicted a close game and took Kentucky to the absolute wire in a heavily contested match-up at Rupp...
As for matchups its a mismatch. Down low supremacy wins this. Throw in Barnes and how he usually rises to the occasion in big time games. Marshall is a floor general, who I agree that if "shut down" UNC could be in serious trouble...
The main factor UNC wins this and covers is defense. The one thing that no one mentions when talking about the Heels are that they are leading the ACC (in league games) in defense holding the opp to 40.5 ppg in league play...Since the VT game UNC has allowed conference opponents to shoot 38.1 percent (102-of-268) from the floor and 31.8 percent (28-of-88) from 3 range...If Duke shoot poorly, they can trap.
Heels smell blood. They have the talent level to run them outta the gym. Just my humble opinion, we shall see...
Just my $00.2
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