That'll put the Dukies back on top barring a loss this week!
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That'll put the Dukies back on top barring a loss this week!
Hate to burst your bubble, but I see Nova being #1.
That can't happen as long as DUKE wins this week, there is no way to logically explain that.
I agree Beast, alot of the "experts" thought Duke should have remained #1 even after getting beat by Georgetown. But there is no way Nova will jump over Duke to take the #1 slot.
the thing that may have beat uconn was williams gettin in early foul trouble. nova did an excellent job taking uconn's big guys out of the game. however i don't understand one thing. once you beat the full court pressure of nova why not run the offense through Rudy Gay. They have a superstar on that team and every play needs to involve him. sure they have a bunch of big guys that block shots all the time but somewhere or another you have to get the ball into u're playmakers hands.
The problem I believe is that their gameplan and what they had practiced didn't involve Gay as they expected Nova to have their game plan to shut him down and it backfired or Nova's coach was able to adjust to what uconn was doing better.
i'm not sure what uconn's game plan was haha. nova pick and rolled them to death and they never did stop it they're still pickin and rollin right now. they still need to give the rock to rudy though. he has a height advantage and an athletic advantage on whoever is guarding him. gotta get him more involved. sure he had his points but thats only when he got the ball. i think nova was just to quick for them. and once you take the big guys out of the game for uconn they aren't going to be as good. don't get me wrong they are still a very good team but they rely on their big men to carry the load.
I don't know that is what uconn's game plan was but it seemed that way. When all you have is big men you have to rely on them.
Just a note to all, I said this in the Duke/Maryland thread...you don't have to tell me how right I was... [img]/LDPforum/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]
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That's okay--Nova will give YouCon what's coming to them tonight.
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And just like TheBeast said--no way, no way do they give Nova #1 though they did knock off #1. Duke will be #1, Nova #2, YouCon #3, and Memphis will dip down to #4, if all is fair. I think that Duke doesn't get all the first place votes though--Nova will get about 10-15, and about 5 more will be split between Memphis & Gonzaga. YouCon will still have enough overall points in the polls to stay above Gonzaga even though they won't get a first place vote--IMO.
And all I've ever heard this year is that Duke couldn't beat YouCon because of Rudy Gay this, Rudy Gay that. Well, Rudy really couldn't have that much of a say if Duke went on a run of 3's like Nova did last night. Sure 19 & 10's a really good night, but if JJ puts up the usual 28-35 and gets help from everyone else on the floor, especially defensively & Williams down low--then Duke ROLLS YouCon. I saw that much last night as they played Nova.
And also, in that 19 & 10 that Gay got--there's a stat that jumps out at me...he had ZERO assists. I dunno much, but if I were Rudy and I knew people were going to come at me defensively, I'd draw the double team someway, somehow, and kick it to someone for the wide open shot--should be a layup. I didn't see him do that one time last night. Gay's a great player, will do well in the pros, but if he can't make his teammates better--how good is he, really? Especially with his size and ability to go to the bucket hard, Boone and Armstrong should average 12-15 a game, just off of dishes from Rudy if he's that good. The formula to beat YouCon is in: push the tempo, shoot well from 3, play solid defense but most of all--force turnovers and get more possessions--also you don't have to outrebound them, just don't get killed on the boards. If you can make YouCon uncomfortable and not allow them to start their halfcourt offense that pounds the ball inside to the big men, lets Gay slash and shoot, and lastly lets Rashad Anderson & Denham Brown get free for open 3's, then that makes them have to improvise, which they're not good at.
By the way--one other breakdown--what absolutely KILLED YouCon besides all the stuff I just mentioned? Anybody? That's right--the pick & roll. What's Duke's MAIN offensive set? The high pick & roll w/JJ & either McRoberts or Shelden. If you can shoot and play good D, then you can stay with YouCon's athletes...Duke can do all of that--I think it'd take a very solid to perfect game, but Duke can do that.