KU vs Duke Game Thread



  • An update to @Texas-Hawk-10 old post on the history of the matchup:

    Kansas and Duke have played 14 times all time. Duke leads the all time series with Kansas 8-6 with 12 of the 14 games being played on a neutral and each time only visiting the other once apiece. Kansas and Duke are tied 3-3 against each other in the NCAA Tournament and Kansas leads Duke 3-1 in the Champions Classic. Self is 4-2 vs Duke while at Kansas.

    Dec. 1, 1985- Preseason NIT in New York: (3)Duke 92, (5)Kansas 86 (1-0 Duke)

    Mar. 29, 1986- Final Four in Dallas: (1) Duke 71, (2) Kansas 67 (2-0 Duke)

    Feb. 20, 1988- Allen Fieldhouse: (6) Duke 74, Kansas 70 OT (3-0 Duke)

    Apr. 2, 1988- Final Four in Kansas City: Kansas 66, (5) Duke 59 (3-1 Duke)

    Feb. 18, 1989- Cameron Indoor: (11) Duke 102, Kansas 77 (4-1 Duke)

    Apr. 1, 1991- National Championship in Indianapolis: (6) Duke 72, (12) Kansas 65 (5-1 Duke)

    Mar. 19, 2000- NCAA Tournament 2nd Round in Winston-Salem: (1) Duke 69, Kansas 64 (6-1 Duke)

    Mar. 27, 2003- NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 in Anaheim: (6) Kansas 69, (7)Duke 65 (6-2 Duke)

    Nov. 23, 2011- Maui Invitational Finals: (6)Duke 68, (14) Kansas 61 (7-2 Duke)

    Nov. 12, 2013- Champions Classic in Chicago: (5)Kansas 94, (4)Duke 83 (7-3 Duke)

    Nov. 15, 2016- Champions Classic in New York: (7)Kansas 77, (1) Duke 75 (7-4 Duke)

    Mar. 25, 2018- NCAA Tournament Elite 8 in Omaha: (4)Kansas 85, (9)Duke 81 OT (7-5 Duke)

    Nov. 6, 2019- Champions Classic in New York: (4)Duke 68, (3) Kansas 66 (8-5 Duke)

    Nov. 15, 2022- Champions Classic in Indianapolis: (6) Kansas 69, (7) Duke 64 (8-6 Duke)

    Based on predictive sites, the line for the game should be around Duke -2/-3. Will be KU’s first game of the season where they aren’t favored, so excited to see how the team reacts.



  • Grrr, that 1986 game!



  • @rockchalkjayhawk My first year as a KU student and fan. That game was the first appearance of the coach K whistle.



  • F Duke



  • And I’ll see y’all in Vegas! Rock Chalk!



  • @wissox said in KU vs Duke PreGame:

    @rockchalkjayhawk My first year as a KU student and fan. That game was the first appearance of the coach K whistle.

    Memorable day for me. I was at KU at the time, too. I was a budding rock n roll star (ha), and we had a gig at a Kansas City bar that day. Well, that gig didn’t go well! Everybody was glued to the TVs!



  • @rockchalkjayhawk I was almost a rock star too! Except I couldn’t sing or play an instrument. And I had stage fright. But other than that I was right there!



  • Not favored as the #1 team on a neutral floor. boy they really got a hard one for Flagg



  • Bets on what excuse Scheyer will use after taking the L?



  • I remember a handful of years ago I was on nights at the drug plant so I stayed up late the day before I had to work all night. So I watch a lot of old games and such on YouTube. I got pissed watching the 91 title game because of bad the officiating favored Dook knowing we lost before turning it on.



  • Stop Flagg=Beat Duke. Flagg took 1/3 of the team’s shots against AZ and scored 24 of the team’s 69. Listed at 6’9", Coach Self needs his best defender(s) on Flagg like Karen on a skateboarder. Like Terry’s chocolate on a cherry. But in my experience, Coach doesn’t focus on an opponent’s top scorer and plays the same defense seeming to reason “hey, if one guy beats us, he beats us.” I sure hope Flory is available; I assume KJ and Flory are the most likely defenders on Flagg. Yikes, my anxiety just shot through my eyeballs. Senior Dickinson v. Fr 7’2" Maluach 9 pts., 18 min will be another matchup to watch.



  • @stoptheflop said in KU vs Duke PreGame:

    But in my experience, Coach doesn’t focus on an opponent’s top scorer

    Seems logical. If the one guy scores 1/3 of the points, he might be relatively unstoppable. The other guys score 2/3, so cutting their effectiveness may be easier and cut their scoring more than holding the star to half his usual which could well mean we are dbl teaming and leaving guys open.



  • I’m actually flying out to Vegas tomorrow to go to the game. Looking forward to the game, but not necessarily looking forward the disruptions on the strip from the F1 track being disassembled after the race tonight.

    As for the game, let KJ focus on guarding Flagg who has shown to be a bit mistake prone when pressured so far. If Duke wants to pressure, KU is going to tear that defense up. Two of Harris, Mayo, Coit, and Moore along with KJ who are all good enough ball handlers to beat pressure and press defense. Duke’s defense is pretty good this year so bottom line is if KU makes shots, they should be able to win.



  • @Texas-Hawk-10 you should’ve took me! Have a great time, but must secure a win!



  • @Texas-Hawk-10 Have fun!



  • @Texas-Hawk-10 that’s awesome buddy, don’t get into trouble out there



  • @Texas-Hawk-10 KJ needs to show why he’s a started

    I think this is a baddd matchup because we can’t guard Flagg and we aren’t quick enough on defensive rotations to double him and recover

    Duke he long, fairly athletic and well-drilled

    I think we lose by 6-8

    Diggy struggled against the length, Zeke’s cold streak comes to an end but ultimately our lack of going true 4 guards 1 big hurts us



  • Not a chance I’d put KJ on Flagg sorry he fouls out in 25 minutes if he does. I’d put Griffen on him and see how that goes to start.



  • @kjayhawks List your matchups for who guards who - curious what ur thinking



  • @kuballin10 their size is definitely scary and we have to crash the boards hard or they will make a living on the offense glass.

    Juan - Proctor

    Zeke - Foster

    Storr - Kneuppel (likely spelled wrong)

    Griffen - Flagg

    Hunt - Maluach

    Maluach hasn’t impressed me much this far from parts of the two games I have watched. Don’t believe he is in game shape at this point and likely won’t play more than 15-20 minutes. I don’t think I’d start KJ in this one, doesn’t seem to be a favorable match up for him. He has struggled in the past with stretch 4 type of players. I know Bill will regardless. Whom ever wins on the glass wins this game. Arizona gave up gobs of offensive rebounds and second chance points. I like us to win with how experienced we are Dook has a tendency to chuck it from the cheap seats. Which I think we did that a little much against UNCW.



  • @kjayhawks Alright so if KJ is in the starting lineup who does he guard?

    Also, doubt anyone noticed and all credit would go to Juan but the UNCW pg got shut down………but it was KJ who was guarding him. When I watched the replay I was loving that defensive X’s and O’s by Self

    I’m wondering if KJ he throws on Proctor or whoever is their lead ball handler to try to disrupt things



  • @kuballin10 he’ll likely be on Flagg or Kneuppel their Roster is weird from the stand point they only have 2 true big men. They have a lot of size but mostly taller guards.



  • Cooper Flagg will be the #1 pick next summer. KU isn’t stopping him. You put Adams on him as much as possible to force him into some turnovers because he’s averaging almost 3 per game and KJ can do that. Stopping Knueppel and Proctor from 3 should be the top priority on defense. Getting Hunter going on offense is KU’s biggest key to win.



  • @Texas-Hawk-10 I think you make Flagg earn everything he gets and don’t let someone else beat you by dropping 20 plus points.



  • @Texas-Hawk-10 Ding ding ding

    You and @kjayhawks nailed it

    Do what Uconn did to purdont in the title game. Let Edey/flagg go for 40 and go home with a L

    Bill is pretty stubborn and thinks Edy Sutton’s defending inside out is still relevant in 2024

    I think we get roasted from not defending the 3 point like - like we normally struggle with and that’s our demise



  • @kuballin10 I’m saying the opposite. I am saying don’t focus on shutting down Flagg’s scoring and with him, you do want to defend him inside out. He’s only shooting 26% from 3, those are the shots you want Flagg taking. Flagg’s also averaging 3 TO’s per game which is why you stick KJ on him to force so TO’s out of Flagg. Knueppel and Proctor are the two threats from 3 that need to be shut down since they’re each north of 40% on a high volume number of shots. That’s why I said shutting those two down is the biggest key for KU to win. If they slow down those two down, it’s not going to matter too much what Flagg does.



  • @Texas-Hawk-10 Correct let him go for 40 and stop everyone else….especially the 3 ball



  • Flagg isn’t very efficient yet has a sky high usage rate. Let him take bad shots from 3. He won’t be able to move KJ on a post up or drive, Flagg is thin and KJ is a tree trunk. Have to keep them off the boards too. Hunt needs to stay out of foul trouble and ideally get Maluach in some foul trouble. Neither guy is all that athletic so should be a fun matchup. At least to start I’d put Griffin on Kon and Mayo on Proctor. We might need to go bigger for stretches especially if Mayo’s shot still isn’t falling. Storr can play the 2 and is really quietly had a very good year. It’s the most efficient he’s ever been. Going to need his athleticism.



  • I’m surprised that Duke is a 3.5 favorite tonight. Got to win this.



  • @FarmerJayhawk ya think everyone is putting too much stock in him at this point. He has a lot of potential no question but he ain’t ready at 17 years old to go nuts and drop 40 on us. I’m probably getting more worried about their guards as the match draws near.



  • This is a game that will be won by who controls the style… the tempo. That and rebounds. Total possessions.

    We are playing a team full of freshmen… and a coach who is basically a freshman. This would be a great time for Self to pull something out of the bag of tricks. I’ll never forget what he did to Memphis in '08, putting Rush out at point to disrupt the flow. Pure brilliance!

    Disrupt this group of freshmen and lets not only win, but embarrass them in the process!

    There is only ONE major factor in this game… Duke’s Achilles heel… FRESHMEN!

    @Texas-Hawk-10 Enjoy yourself! 10 years ago I would be jealous. Now, I’m old and will settle for bbq and a big screen TV! lol



  • Flagg won’t like KJ because Flagg likes to push off and act tough in the lane and KJ can force off balance shots and if KJ gets his hackles up and I think he just might from Flagg’s antics things could get contentious which will be fun to watch. Duke is elite on defense and unless Griffen and Storr finally get with it we may get stuck in the sixties. How Mayo will show up and if he is big then we can settle into the game and our experienced guys can be effective near the end of the game. Flagg is anointed by Bilas and the rest and touches the ball a lot so Juan may be able to intercept passes to Flagg when he is being fed. Duke bullied Arizona successfully.



  • I will be shocked if we dont win tonight. Only way is if we are ice cold, they are not, and the refs screw us with the whistle.



  • @approxinfinity

    These games are why we follow KU and our reactions state we are serious about it.



  • @Zabudda 💯 pretty sweet we get a chance to kick unc and dukes ass in the same season. Put a little smudge on “the greatest rivalry in all of sports” BS about those 2



  • I just don’t get a good feel about this game tonight. Maybe if it was later in the year, I just think watching play so far this year Duke has played better- - so talented- - -Hope I’m wrong but could see high single to low double digit loss

    Sorry to feel this way and again hope I’m wrong -their deeeep and very talented , I think they will take advantage of Hunters liabilities on our defensive end again hope I’m wrong , the one thing we have in our favor is they are young, but these aren’t your typical Freshmen

    I just think AJ & Rylan still haven’t really settled in yet , just doesn’t look like they still aren’t really comfortable , makes a big difference in a game like this

    The key in this would to be let Flagg get his but make the others work to get theirs don’t let others have career days - -for sure hope I’m wrong



  • I have to laugh at ESPNs analytics predictor giving Dook at 70.4% chance of winning. Even their number are bias towards them. I think we have better than a 29.6% chance of winning every time we hit the court lol



  • @approxinfinity

    You can at least bank on the ref part. Hopefully it won’t be a deciding factor though.



  • Control the boards and make shots. I know we have left a bunch of points off the board by missing good open looks so far but I guess that’s to be expected with so many new pieces.

    This is a game we need both Griffen and Storr to be impactful and consistent. Not sure we have seen that yet from both at the same time but those are the two guys we need their athletic and playmaking ability to come through playing Duke



  • @BeddieKU23 I’m curious to see the minutes distribution.

    First half Self will play 9 but second half he will really tighten it up if it is close….



  • No Shak until maybe Christmas so that’s a bummer



  • @FarmerJayhawk Great- -seems like every yr always something or someone that can effect the roster



  • @FarmerJayhawk

    Wow his impact for the season just took a nosedive



  • @FarmerJayhawk because?



  • @FarmerJayhawk ya not practicing or playing til after Christmas he may as well redshirt



  • @kjayhawks said in KU vs Duke PreGame:

    @FarmerJayhawk ya not practicing or playing til after Christmas he may as well redshirt

    Can’t do a traditional, would have to try for a medical.



  • Looking like close to a 50/50 split in the crowd from what I can tell. Hard to definitively say since both schools are blue.



  • @Texas-Hawk-10 right which is silly because I believe he has played 11 minutes



  • Cooper Flagg is touted as a/the generational talent. A generation is about 30 years in the real world. It’s a tall task to live up to that in one season. who has been hyped like this? Zion? Greg Oden? Anthony Davis? Willie Mays Hayes?



  • @Zabudda wiggins (not embiid)

    Oh yeah Jabari Parker. Lol


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