<p>I'm a Cornell hopeful, but have been probably the biggest Duke bball fan since i was 4.</p>
<p>Duke thumped Texas by 31 points, 97-66 this afternoon. They've had a lot of close calls this year (Drexel, Virginia Tech, Memphis, and Indiana) but this shows that they deserve their number 1 ranking. Demolishing Aldridge and company, not to mention JJ Redick's 41 points was certainly a message sender to the rest of the bball world.</p>
<p>yes we are going 39-0 and winning the national championship
today just proves that DUKE is the best team in the nation</p>
<p>ahhh best basketball team in the nation
some of the smartest ppl in the nation</p>
<p>duke=bliss</p>
<p>duke owns my soul.</p>
<p>Duke causes orgasms.....umm.....ya......disregard this message. Replied at 2 AM while typing a paper for AP English........sooooooooooo......borinn....g.g.g.g.............</p>
<p>great game - we played like a #1 team for sure this time</p>
<p>Definitely did- hopefully the Devils can just keep up the romping of teams. Drexel, Virginia Tech, and Indiana (and UPenn for a good 25 mins) games did crazy things to my blood pressure (not to mention Duke pretty much lost to VT). Memphis was a close call too, but they're number 5 in the nation now, so beating them i guess was good for RPI's. </p>
<p>And i hope i'm not being a fool/loser for saying this, but every time Sheldon Williams blocks a shot i have to stand up and throw something. He's a monster- the greatest big man in college sports right now.</p>
<p>
[quote]
He's a monster- the greatest big man in college sports right now.
[/quote]
I would agree with you except that I still can't get over the way Killingsworth dominated him throughout the Indiana game; Williams couldn't defend him to save his life. I still respect Shelden though, he's definitely a great player, one of the best.</p>
<p>Killingsworth had a great game, but that has to be taken in context. Shelden was in foul trouble from the start, and from 12 minutes left in the first half through the rest of the game he had to play soft. Even under these circumstances, he managed 5 blocks on Killingsworth (the only 5 shots he missed!). Killingsworth had a superior overall game, but those facts are still impressive as heck.</p>
<p>Shelden only had one foul in the first half of the Indiana game. It looked like he was gonna step up and be a lot more aggressive in the second half, but he got 2 quick fouls. And I remember a few Killingsworth misses that weren't blocked. He blocked other people as well.</p>
<p>yeah I agree that Shelden is one of the best, but the fact that teams can get him into foul trouble rather easily and then take advantage of that is his weakness, and over the past seasons it has become an issue quite a few times. If he can get over that foul-proneness (pronity?) then he's pretty much the undisputed best in my eyes (which aren't biased at all...)</p>
<p>I really hope that if I make it to Duke, the basketball team won't be owned by UNC once Redick and Williams leave, not to mention the maturation of those freshmen UNC players. It would be just my luck too. But then again, Paulus and those other freshmen also have tons of potential.</p>
<p>The team i'm worried about this year is UConn. They always find a way to beat us.</p>
<p>thats cause uconn is the best team in the country. they would crush duke with their depth and athleticism.</p>
<p>Just like everyone thought Texas would?</p>
<p>Let's wait till they meet head on. If both are really the best then they're gonna meet in the tournament.</p>
<p>Shelden's foul problems are going away this year. Last year and the year before he had major problems, but he's only averaging like 2.8 fouls per game this year according to the announcer guy during the Texas game. UConn is relatively untested so far, they did well in the Maui invitational in Hawaii but could have easily lost both the semifinal and final games. </p>
<p>They're athletic, but so are almost all Div I teams- basketball is a sport of hops, speed, agility, and rhythm. They are deep but so is Duke (and they are even without they're most athletic guy right now- DeMarcus Nelson). It would be a great battle and I hope it happens! but saying they would crush Duke is a definite stretch- even Army gave UConn a battle. </p>
<p>UConn and Duke don't play in the regular season, so us Duke fans have to worry about Maryland and UNC for now- but you guys really gotta watch your hide. Take care of 3 Villanova and 5 Louisville (good luck w/ that) in the big east before you declare you can romp duke.</p>
<p>yeah, Uconn struggled against an excellent Gonzaga team... but I have two words for you: VIRGINIA TECH. (perennial bottom feeder of the big east)
and how is duke deep when you basically have a 2 man team???</p>
<p>funny you mentin virginia tech and depth; depth is having many good and crucial, additional players on your squad that you can rely on in game situations. That mentioned, I think you can look at Sean Dockery (VT!), Greg Paulus, Josh McRoberts, Lee Melchionni, as well as great helpers players such as Boateng, Boykin, and Pocius, and see what variety and versaitility they have on their team besides the two consensus first team all americans- It's not all about scoring.</p>
<p>Some teams just match up with other teams better. Virginia Tech, for whatever reason, matches up well with Duke; they beat us in Blacksburg last year and they almost beat us this year. Connecticut lost to Massachusetts last year even though Massachusetts is clearly an inferior team. Villanova and Penn usually match up well, Villanova only won by 7 the other night, not exactly a huge margin, but there's really no doubt which team is better. It's just something that happens throughout sports, certain teams have close games no matter what the outside circumstances are. One game is hardly something you can really evaluate a team with.</p>