Duke

[back east bum]

I am not really a fan of any of these teams but it seems Duke has really improved thruout the year. They have stepped it up defencivly when they have too,they seem to have that ability to put it into another gear when they have too. Offencivly they can go inside to different big men,they have slashers that can get to the rim and they have three point shooters when they need them.
Against Baylor it was like a warmup playing against the 1-3-1 zone that WV runs. They picked it apart most of the time and have all the tools offensivly to play against it. I think WV will have to play some man to man defencse.
West Virginia should have their hands full as they only beat Kentucky by 7 although they lead by more most of the game. Duke will not go 7-32 from 3 point land or whatever it was. Duke won't take 32 three's to begin with but if they did they can fill it up as they have better shooters. Butler will get his points but don't expect their point guard to get 17 points again.
I just think Duke is a more complete team than W Virg has played against in the tourney. They have improved all year long and Coach K knows how to push their buttons when he has too. Another thing I forgot to mention is foul shooting. WV let Kentucky back in it with their poor shooting. Duke seems to have big advantage there also wich is very important in a close game.
These are my thoughts,would be glad to here thoughts anybody else has!!!
I have already bet game at -1,130 for Duke.

[Romanowski]

Originally Posted by back east bum

I am not really a fan of any of these teams but it seems Duke has really improved thruout the year. They have stepped it up defencivly when they have too,they seem to have that ability to put it into another gear when they have too. Offencivly they can go inside to different big men,they have slashers that can get to the rim and they have three point shooters when they need them.
Against Baylor it was like a warmup playing against the 1-3-1 zone that WV runs. They picked it apart most of the time and have all the tools offensivly to play against it. I think WV will have to play some man to man defencse.
West Virginia should have their hands full as they only beat Kentucky by 7 although they lead by more most of the game. Duke will not go 7-32 from 3 point land or whatever it was. Duke won't take 32 three's to begin with but if they did they can fill it up as they have better shooters. Butler will get his points but don't expect their point guard to get 17 points again.
I just think Duke is a more complete team than W Virg has played against in the tourney. They have improved all year long and Coach K knows how to push their buttons when he has too. Another thing I forgot to mention is foul shooting. WV let Kentucky back in it with their poor shooting. Duke seems to have big advantage there also wich is very important in a close game.
These are my thoughts,would be glad to here thoughts anybody else has!!!
I have already bet game at -1,130 for Duke.

I didnt bother reading all of this, because it didnt take me long to get to huge mistakes

Duke DOES NOT have slashers, they have one player that can beat WVa defenders on the dribble and thats Nolan Smith

2nd bold, Baylor plays a 2-3 zone, and Wva can play 1-3-1, 2-3 or man to man just fine

in fact they have 6-9, and 6-8 players on the perimeter, defending much smaller guards for Duke

Duke has the harder defensive matchup there

[back east bum]

Romo,
Thanks for your input but there is only 5 players on the court at the same time. Smith is a great slasher and my point was they have a little bit of everything. If you take away one thing they can do something else because they have the pieces. I know Baylor played 2-3 zone and thought they played some 1-3-1 also. Baylor also had great length.
As for Duke witha greater defensive matchup,other than Butler I think baylor's was greater.

[Romanowski]

no dude

Baylor guards on the perimeter dont have the length Wva does guarding the same

Baylors height was inside...

and slashers implies more then one...fact is Duke only has one player that can create space, and his own shot not off screens

second point, no team plays better defense in the country than Wva, in any zone or man to man

they are all virtually the same height, so switching on screens will not create an advantage or mismatch for Duke

its not the same

If you watched Wva play this year, youd know they used the zone 50% at most, they stayed in it vs Kentucky

but that is one game

best of luck with the play

[Earl]

It will be Butler and Duke in the Championship

[back east bum]

All good Romo,
Just want some opinions. I take it your on W.Virg.
I know exactaly what your saying about their length and bigs playing the perimeter.
Just trying to get some opinions going.

[Romanowski]

it doesnt matter who im on, its your reasoning im pointing out that is flawed

this game will come down to who rebounds better, period

[back east bum]

My reasoning in the first writeup might of had some flaws but I think Duke is an all around better team. They have more weapons on offence,their defence seems to have improved every game. They have bigs that WV has to deal with that can rebound just fine. Rebounding is a big part of who is going to win but there are lots of other factors also such as turnovers,foulshooting,fg%. You must think WV is going to kill it on the glass. I don't know we will see. Thats why they play the game.

[Romanowski]

both teams are excellent rebounding...