I am going to mention a controversial topic right now. Not abortion, not the death penalty or even which FJM is truly better...but Duke basketball. I was surfing the Internet today viewing the previews of the NCAA Tournament and noticed a trend. Put down your guns, knives, pepper spray and pillows with bars of soap in them just for a minute. What other team is this universally hated in college basketball for no reason other than all the press they get? (Why UNC is not hated is beyond me. They even have the nerdy, douchy, white guy in Hansbrough...that is a different post though.) Now Duke looks vulnerable and only got a 2 Seed in the NCAA Tournament. If you hate Duke and are in the national media, HURRY UP AND WRITE AN ARTICLE ON HOW BAD THEY SUCK! Get a shot in now! But then predict they will advance far in the tournament.
Foxsports courtesy of Randy Hill: The most vulnerable high seeds...
Good teams with flaws or match-up issues that could send them home early.
Duke: The West's No. 2 seed lacks the inside presence to prevent a beat-down in the lane. If Arizona shows up to play against West Virginia, 6-foot-10 Jordan Hill may have fun against the Blue Devils in Round 2.
Duke has no inside presence, this is not news. So that is actually a good point. This has been happening for years now. Still, no mention of the fact Duke has superior depth and 6-foot-10 Jordan Hill (is he Randy's brother?) has to guard someone on defense, which would potentially be a mismatch. I do see the point though, but a Duke bash nonetheless. So I guess Duke won't advance past Arizona.
Duke vs. UCLA: If the second-seeded Blue Devils and top-seeded Bruins meet in the West finale, pay attention to Mike Krzyzewski's fast pace and spread tactics vs. Ben Howland's grind-'em-down Bruin philosophy.
So they will advance? To the Elite 8? Even without an inside presence? A team seeded in the 2 Spot is either the 5-8th best team in the country, so they would meet expectations. It does not make sense to say they have weaknesses that will take them out of the tournament early and then predict they may meet UCLA in the Elite Eight. I understand you are just giving potential matchups to watch for but I do love how you hedge your bets. I would love to see your bracket.
CNNSI.com courtesy of Stewart Mandel:
Overrated: Duke. As has been the case often in recent years, the Blue Devils peaked somewhere around mid-February, and their lack of frontcourt depth has caught up to them.
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/writers/stewart_mandel/02/21/duke/index.html
Mandel wrote a wonderful article and I linked it above. If you hate Duke, read it and laugh at them. Oh how true. So Duke has frontcourt depth problems. Again, nothing new here, so that is why they are overrated. Good Duke bash! Where are they gonna lose Stewie?
If these two meet in the Sweet 16, it will be fascinating to watch the Musketeers' senior backcourt duo of Drew Lavender and Stanley Burrell go up against more heralded counterparts Greg Paulus and Gerald Henderson.
Sweet 16? Not that overrated I guess. Two Points here:
1. Making the Sweet 16 is not bad. Granted, a 2 Seed should get further, but if they won this game, they would be in the Elite 8, which would be the expectation for them based on national rankings.
2. Paulus and Henderson are very heralded and that would be a fascinating matchup to view. I Googled it though Stewie (go to google.com and then type in "Duke Blue Devils 2007-2008 statistics") and found DeMarcus Nelson actually led the Blue Devils in PPG, Steals, and Rebounding. So I guess he would qualify as the best player on the team most nights. One of them would have to guard Nelson, who is also a Senior, I added that since you love senior backcourts. Not a big deal, but when you describe a matchup that could be fun to watch, be sure to include the best player on one of the teams. I am being nitpicky, I realize this, but that is like saying a team matches up well with UNC because they can guard Deon Thompson and Wayne Ellington.
CBS Sportsline courtesy of Dennis Dodd:
Most likely upset: West Virginia or Arizona over Duke in the second round. Because of the unending hype, you never know how good Duke really is. I'm saying the young Devils are not good enough to get through a quality second-round opponent.
Dennis Dodd has balls enough to actually make a Duke bashing prediction. I wonder why he feels this way? No analysis huh? Good reasoning at least in saying they are young. If you can get through the unending hype, you can actually see how good Duke is. I will help you Dennis Douche (can I call you that?). Teams play games and get a "record" which shows how many games that team has lost. Duke has a "record" that includes 5 losses. They have beaten 7 teams that are in the NCAA tournament and lost to 4 of the teams. They are 7-4 against NCAA Tournament teams. Including a victory over UNC and Wisconsin. Given that information, you can evaluate how good Duke is a little better. They were also second in the nation's toughest conference, based on RPI, so that may help also. I don't want to confuse you though.
Here is the coup de grace and honestly, I had to bitch about the lousy Duke comments before I could get to this. What is an article about the NCAA Tournament without a cheap shot at a Hall of Fame coach?
1. Lute looms: Regarding the, uh, "relationship" between former/future coach Lute Olsen and current/soon-to-be former coach Kevin O'Neill at Arizona: These guys aren't exactly on the same page. Wouldn't it be great if O'Neill got the Wildcats to the Final Four, something the 73-year-old Olsen doesn't have the time or chops to do anymore?
Maybe I am missing something and please tell me if I am. (By the way, who are you, that person who reads this blog?) O'Neill was the interim coach, Olson announced he was coming back. Therefore interim coach is not coach anymore. Did I simplify that too much for you Dennis Douche? How is Lute Olson not an effective coach anymore? What has he done to make you think this? Two questions:
1. Why do you hate Lute Olson?
2. Why would it be great if the Arizona Wildcats made the Final Four? Did Lute Olson molest you at a summer camp or did his grandson give you a wedgie at some point? Lute Olson coming back to coach for most humans is exciting because he is a sort of legend at Arizona.
(Dennis Douche waking up in the morning) Damn that 73 year old legend of a coach who has won a National Championship! Damn him all to Hell! How dare he attempt to take time off to get his personal life together! Damn him for trying to prevent a divorce 7 years after his wife of many years died of cancer. I bet his 1st wife would have been cured if he had the time or chops to take care of her appropriately. Damn him all to Hell! If there is nothing else I do in this world before I die, I will make sure Lute Olson gets what is coming to him!
Just for shits and giggles on how dumb this Dennis Douche fellow is, here is a later quote in this "article" Dennis Douche wrote.
That would be back when Jim Harrick (gag reflex inserted) was coaching.
How exactly do you insert a gag reflex? It is a reflex, I am not exactly sure you can insert it anywhere. Are you secretly RoboCop Dennis Douche?
(Dennis Douche at his annual physical that he has the time and chops to go to) "Go ahead and strike my knee doc!"
(Doctor striking knee violently) "Why did your knee not jerk? Why are you not blinking at all? Tyler Hansbrough is that you? Are you human or an android sent from Hell to annoy Internet readers everywhere?"
(Dennis Douche) "Sorry doc, I forgot to insert my gag reflex this morning. Therefore none of my reflexes work."
(Doctor laughs furiously in a hearty way) "Dennis, never forget to do that again. You have to insert your reflexes every morning."
(Dennis Douche) "Sorry doc, I apologize. I am just the type of person who takes cheap shots at Hall of Fame coaches for no reason."
I think Duke will lose in the Sweet 16 because I believe the team is tired from the long season and will run into a team that is just playing a little better. Duke is overhyped and over-loved and probably did not deserve a 2 Seed. I think it is hilarious that columnists predict their demise in the second round but then preview interesting matchups involving them in the later rounds. At least Dennis Douche had the balls to make a prediction and stick with it. Unfortunately he irritated me by not devoting a sentence to why he believed what he did, which would have helped his credibility a bit. We are not really sure how good of a writer Dennis Douche is based on this article and it's anger towards Lute Olson. I am saying Dennis Douche is a not good enough to write for the school newspaper.
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