Duke (31-4) vs. Utah (26-8)
Fri, March 27, 7:45 pm MST
NRG Stadium - Houston, Texas
Line: Duke -5
TV: CBS
Radio: ESPN 700
A Battle of two Coach K's, Red vs. Blue and upstarts vs. well established kicks of tonight when the Utes take on Duke in Houston. This is the game a lot of us had circled on our brackets when we first saw the potential matchup. I for one think that the Utes, with their depth and stingy defense, can actually win this game. Duke relies heavily on their starting 5 and only goes 6 players deep, max.
The obvious things need to happen in order for this to occur of course. Poeltl must stay out of foul trouble and demand the opposing defenses to game plan for his effectiveness. The Utes must also get contributions from their bench and really take advantage of their depth. Duke has one of the best starting 5's in all of college basketball but the Utes have been consistently dominant on defense this season. Utah has held their opponents to 38% shooting so far on the season while Duke is averaging 80 ppg. Something has to give here. Utah needs a complete performance on offense and defense tonight if they stand any chance. If the Utes struggle to score for large portions of the game, (like they have been accustomed to doing this year) Duke will pounce and the game could get out of hand.
Everyone knows about Jalil Okafor and his top 5 pick abilities but don't sleep on Senior guard Quinn Cook and his abilities to mix things up in the paint. They have three freshmen in their starting 5. Justise Winslow is another potential letter pick and Tyus Jones rounds out an impressive back court.
Post your thoughts and opinions here and let's get this party rolling. Go UTES
Fri, March 27, 7:45 pm MST
NRG Stadium - Houston, Texas
Line: Duke -5
TV: CBS
Radio: ESPN 700
A Battle of two Coach K's, Red vs. Blue and upstarts vs. well established kicks of tonight when the Utes take on Duke in Houston. This is the game a lot of us had circled on our brackets when we first saw the potential matchup. I for one think that the Utes, with their depth and stingy defense, can actually win this game. Duke relies heavily on their starting 5 and only goes 6 players deep, max.
The obvious things need to happen in order for this to occur of course. Poeltl must stay out of foul trouble and demand the opposing defenses to game plan for his effectiveness. The Utes must also get contributions from their bench and really take advantage of their depth. Duke has one of the best starting 5's in all of college basketball but the Utes have been consistently dominant on defense this season. Utah has held their opponents to 38% shooting so far on the season while Duke is averaging 80 ppg. Something has to give here. Utah needs a complete performance on offense and defense tonight if they stand any chance. If the Utes struggle to score for large portions of the game, (like they have been accustomed to doing this year) Duke will pounce and the game could get out of hand.
Everyone knows about Jalil Okafor and his top 5 pick abilities but don't sleep on Senior guard Quinn Cook and his abilities to mix things up in the paint. They have three freshmen in their starting 5. Justise Winslow is another potential letter pick and Tyus Jones rounds out an impressive back court.
Post your thoughts and opinions here and let's get this party rolling. Go UTES
