Duke Game
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I can’t lie this is probably the least excited I’ve been for a Duke Matchup in my life.
No Darryn (unless some hamstring miracle happens). That means we are short our best player and best offensive weapon. Why does it matter? Well, for one, the supporting cast looks offensively challenged without him. Currently Kenpom/Torvik have this as somewhere near #50th best offense. If that trend continues this will mark the 3rd consecutive season finishing outside the Top 50 on offense which is very alarming. Scoring the ball has been the main issue in my eyes the past few seasons and so far it doesn’t look like we’ll break that trend with or without Peterson.
Duke is rated #2 on both sites mentioned above and Top 10 in both Offense/Defense. Vegas has Duke as a 10pt favorite (maybe more by tip) and that kind of feels low considering KU is down a 20+ pt scorer and its most important player. This a bad matchup for KU in just about every way possible. Boozer & Ngongba will really test the front court in similar ways UNC did, maybe more. We have undersized Tre White and a freshman Tiller to guard Boozer and that shouldn’t excite anyone.
It is an opportunity for the team to step up on a neutral court with all the eyes on them and being the underdog. KU has a 5-game win streak in this classic (9-5 overall record) so Self tends to have a prepared bunch so we’ll see if they can hang tonight. It seems unlikely but all we can do is hope for the team to come together and prove a point.
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@BeddieKU23 predictions: Flory will find himself in early foul trouble if he forces it, and we will get beaten on the boards. More importantly we need his rebounding. I believe this is a large task for Flory and I dont think he will be able to stay out of foul trouble without looking passive. We will struggle to get shots off inside the arc in sets. They will dare us to shoot initially. Hopefully Kohl comes out hot, and an unconscious Tiller from 3 could mitigate the lack of his big body in the paint. Maybe White and Kohl grab a few long boards and keeps our rebounding respectable.
If we can lock down the defensive end and get out on the break, we can get some transition buckets. I dont see us getting to “the third side” on offensive sets. This would be a nice game for Elmarko to show off his athleticism and strength in transition.
This would also be a nice game to fight through ball screens on the perimeter, dare some of their guys to shoot. Mbiya cant play in this game if we switch everything.
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Without DP we have almost 0% chance of winning this game. We just need to use this matchup for our other players to get some quality practice in. We just have to hope DP comes back eventually and that his handlers stop insisting that he is hurt.
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What are the odds that DP doesn’t play another game for Kansas? Hes got his NIL cash now and can just hang until the draft in theory
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I haven’t seen Duke play this year, so I don’t have that built in worry.
They are young, right? If so that could be to our benefit. And don’t they have one or two guys we were after? Sarr?
Hoping we’re at least competitive without DP on national TV!
I do think we’ll see some Mbiya tonight.
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Duke is young but from what I have seen they are disciplined beyond their years on defense. Boozer is also a freakishly talented player.
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Based on his recent usage it would seem Mbiya is an emergency use only. I expect foul trouble and his size to matchup as potentially using him for his 5 fouls. It is what it is there.
They are young just like we are. They have 5 stars as young’s though and a few returning 5 star guys that are now much improved.
Size wise they don’t have anyone under 6’4.
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@kjayhawks said in Duke Game:
What are the odds that DP doesn’t play another game for Kansas? Hes got his NIL cash now and can just hang until the draft in theory
Zero percent chance he willingly sits out until the draft. This is one of the strongest draft classes in recent history and plenty of players that would leapfrog Peterson if he sat out. Dybansta, Boozer, Koa Peat, Nate Ament, Caleb Wilson, and Mikel Brown would all likely jump Peterson in the draft costing him millions of dollars.
Current NBA players, scouts and execs have compared his game and work ethic to Kobe. Kobe was not a player who load managed, he wanted to be on the floor no matter what. That was a factor in him tearing his achilles because he came back too early from a calf strain.
Peterson would play if the decision was left to him because he is a competitor. He’s being held out by Self and the training staff to protect him from himself in the long term because as much as we all love KU, playing for a specific college isn’t the end goal or dream of 99% of basketball players, it’s to play professionally in the NBA.
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Yeah Boozer so far is looking like an exceptional leader for a freshman. Not missing a beat from last years freshman leader.
