Miami putting the hammer down on Duke

[zonacats8]

Originally Posted by screamingdc

don't think you'd be so cocky if Duke had a healthy Ryan Kelly.

bottom line is i'm loving college basketball this year without a one true dominant team. should make for some great games in March Madness.

Would I be as cocky?

No, probably not, obviously

But I'd still take us to win the game, I think even with him Duke is a very overrated team

[screamingdc]

Originally Posted by zonacats8

Would I be as cocky?

No, probably not, obviously

But I'd still take us to win the game, I think even with him Duke is a very overrated team

i think the stats and results speak for themselves. Duke with and without Kelly is a totally different team at the moment. Kelly's defense is vastly underrated and I think victories against Louisville and Ohio St. prove that. Maybe a more experienced Arizona team, but not this one.

[zonacats8]

Originally Posted by screamingdc

Maybe a more experienced Arizona team, but not this one.

I don't get this, what are you saying?

[screamingdc]

i'm saying a team with Tarczewski, Ashley, and Jarret would have a hard time dealing with Plumlee and Kelly together. i think Lyons, Johnson and Hill are great, but Ryan Kelly as a stretch 4 and his defense is the difference (as stated by Duke's success earlier in the year). don't let Curry's bad shooting night fool you, a fully loaded Duke team would probably beat Arizona this year.

[zonacats8]

Originally Posted by screamingdc

i'm saying a team with Tarczewski, Ashley, and Jarret would have a hard time dealing with Plumlee and Kelly together. i think Lyons, Johnson and Hill are great, but Ryan Kelly as a stretch 4 and his defense is the difference (as stated by Duke's success earlier in the year). don't let Curry's bad shooting night fool you, a fully loaded Duke team would probably beat Arizona this year.

Yea, I'm sure our bigs would struggle a bit with Duke's bigs, but you can't under estimate the leadership and experience that Hill, Lyons, and Parrom bring to this team. I also don't think there is a better all around starting backcourt in the nation than Lyons and Johnson.

And on top of all that, Kelly's defense doesn't really mean that much if going against Arizona as he'd be matched up with our 4th or 5th option on offense depending on who is in the game. Put him on Jerrett or Ashley, who cares when the majority if our offense comes from Lyons, Hill, Johnson, and Parrom.

Miller would know this and keep two of the three freshman on the court as much as possible to make sure Duke can't put Kelly on Hill. And even if he was on Hill, he isn't even our best offensive player this year as Lyons is a total stud

[screamingdc]

and Zona would struggle with Plumlee/Kelly, leading to more opportunities from Curry/Cook/Sulaimon later on.

listen, not trying to start too big an argument. I think Duke at full strength has proven itself more than Arizona against who they've played. my other favorite team is SDSU and they almost beat Zona. we may disagree on who'd win, but i'd still put my money on Duke 9 out of 10.

[zonacats8]

Originally Posted by screamingdc

and Zona would struggle with Plumlee/Kelly, leading to more opportunities from Curry/Cook/Sulaimon later on.

listen, not trying to start too big an argument. I think Duke at full strength has proven itself more than Arizona against who they've played. my other favorite team is SDSU and they almost beat Zona. we may disagree on who'd win, but i'd still put my money on Duke 9 out of 10.

It's not an "argument", it's a discussion, nothing wrong with that.

I also don't know how you can say Duke has proven itself more based on who they have played as going into tonight Duke and Arizona were 1 & 2 and 2 & 5 in RPI & SOS respectively.

And considering what happened tonight, along with Arizona having beat Miami already, we should be the #1 RPI come tomorrow, and should move up in SOS as well.

Arizona still has a lot of room to improve, specifically with the freshman bigs, but the fact remains that they've proven themselves in close games many times and keep coming out on top. That kind of experience in crunch time means a lot come tournament time, as well as Lyons being one of the best closers in college basketball this season as he's proven against Florida, SDSU, and others.

I'd put Duke and Arizona pretty even right now, but what tips it for me is that Duke is who they are, they aren't going to improve much come March (outside of getting Kelly back) while Arizona should improve A TON as the freshman gain more experience.

[screamingdc]

Originally Posted by zonacats8

It's not an "argument", it's a discussion, nothing wrong with that.

I also don't know how you can say Duke has proven itself more based on who they have played as going into tonight Duke and Arizona were 1 & 2 and 2 & 5 in RPI & SOS respectively.

And considering what happened tonight, along with Arizona having beat Miami already, we should be the #1 RPI come tomorrow, and should move up in SOS as well.

Arizona still has a lot of room to improve, specifically with the freshman bigs, but the fact remains that they've proven themselves in close games many times and keep coming out on top. That kind of experience in crunch time means a lot come tournament time, as well as Lyons being one of the best closers in college basketball this season as he's proven against Florida, SDSU, and others.

I'd put Duke and Arizona pretty even right now, but what tips it for me is that Duke is who they are, they aren't going to improve much come March (outside of getting Kelly back) while Arizona should improve A TON as the freshman gain more experience.

where can't Duke improve? outside of the two seniors, you're saying Cook (soph), Sulaimon (fresh), Jefferson (fresh), Murphy (rs fresh), Marshall Plumlee (rs fresh), and two juniors in Thornton/Hairston are at their peak? please?!?

Duke is playing their underclassmen more now out of necessity with a senior out. and Duke played some close games winning against Louisville (who's better than anybody Arizona has played this year), and a tough Ohio St. team. Arizona's best victories are against Florida and SDSU by 1 point. are you guys top 10, yes. and pile on Duke all you want after tonight, but on a neutral court and everyone healthy, I'd take Duke still. without Kelly, I'd say 50-50.

[zonacats8]

Originally Posted by screamingdc

where can't Duke improve? outside of the two seniors, you're saying Cook (soph), Sulaimon (fresh), Jefferson (fresh), Murphy (rs fresh), Marshall Plumlee (rs fresh), and two juniors in Thornton/Hairston are at their peak? please?!?

Duke is playing their underclassmen more now out of necessity with a senior out. and Duke played some close games winning against Louisville (who's better than anybody Arizona has played this year), and a tough Ohio St. team. Arizona's best victories are against Florida and SDSU by 1 point. are you guys top 10, yes. and pile on Duke all you want after tonight, but on a neutral court and everyone healthy, I'd take Duke still. without Kelly, I'd say 50-50.

Arizona has much more room to grow during this season than Duke

And for you to say is 50/50 without Kelly is just a joke, without him they just lost by 30 to a team that Arizona beat by 20. Against a healthy Arizona, no team in the nation is beating them when said team is missing one of their best players.

Given Arizona's record, RPI, SOS, and wins over Florida, SDSU, Miami, (and UCLA after tomorrow) the argument could easily be made that Arizona has the best resume in the nation right now.

Nobody is going to want to play an Arizona game in staples in the sweet 16 and elite 8, it would basically be a home game for us. I'll take our chances against anyone in that scenario and be happy with it

[alexcampos]

It's ALL About "the U"!!!!

[zonacats8]

Oh yea, that was also the 3rd worst loss by a #1 ranked team in NCAA history, hahahaha

[alexcampos]

Probably the best win I have EVER seen as a Hurricane fan!

Wow, I can't believe this.....we might actually do something in March!

This is very exciting!

Basketball Town = Miami!

The Heat and now "the U"!

[BsHaDy]

Just face it....Arizona is not a good team...LMMFAO

[screamingdc]

Originally Posted by zonacats8

Arizona has much more room to grow during this season than Duke

And for you to say is 50/50 without Kelly is just a joke, without him they just lost by 30 to a team that Arizona beat by 20. Against a healthy Arizona, no team in the nation is beating them when said team is missing one of their best players.

Given Arizona's record, RPI, SOS, and wins over Florida, SDSU, Miami, (and UCLA after tomorrow) the argument could easily be made that Arizona has the best resume in the nation right now.

Nobody is going to want to play an Arizona game in staples in the sweet 16 and elite 8, it would basically be a home game for us. I'll take our chances against anyone in that scenario and be happy with it

agree to disagree i guess. i still think that the number of Duke freshmen/red shirt freshmen can improve just as easily as Arizona's freshmen. Duke has beaten 3 top 5 teams this year. without a senior Ryan Kelly, this team is struggling, and many people would love to have a shot at Duke right now. but believe me when I say that Coach K will have this team ready to play the rest of the year.

Sure, nobody would want to play Arizona out west, but when Kelly comes back, nobody would want to play Duke out east. and a fully healthy Duke team would scare people more than Arizona would, looking at both resumes right now.

i'm trying to make my point with a healthy Kelly. you're trying to make your point with a Duke team without one of it's senior starters. big difference.

[zonacats8]

Originally Posted by BsHaDy

Just face it....Arizona is not a good team...LMMFAO

Uh.............

What?

LOL