Originally Posted by
TPowell
I have no clue with Duke. I think they could be vulnerable to a team that can body up Tatum and has quick guards to harass Kennard and Allen. Offensively, I just don't get what they do so well. They have great offensive players but they don't mesh well together IMO. Tatum is an animal and probably the best offensive player in the country when he gets going. The contested shots he makes are ridiculous and he's done it in hostile environments. Over the years, quick guards have given Duke worlds of trouble though and this year would be no different. Obviously they have a stupid easy draw compared to virtually ANY other team in the country. The top half of that bracket is loaded but the bottom has Duke, clueless Baylor, and a really good SMU team so maybe trouble there but still. Zero shot anybody else beats them IMO.
With Louisville, I didn't see much hope of making a Final 4 before the draw came out. Now, I feel pretty good about it. Michigan and OSU shoot the 3 well but they aren't that quick which is our Achilles heel (straight line drives past our guards). Oregon would be an interesting game but I think Pitino could figure a way to severely limit Brooks and stop Oregon in their tracks. Kansas is easily the worst 1 seed which is gravy for us. Even better, the majority of the other contenders in the MW are either hurt (Oregon and Creighton) or overachieved during the season (Iowa State and Purdue) and could fall early. It wouldn't shock me to see Rhode Island or Nevada in the Sweet 16. The problem with this Louisville team is they don't seal the deal very well. We haven't beaten ANY good teams away from home which is a red flag to me. Of course, you can say the same thing about UNC so maybe I'm overplaying that. When I watch them though, I see a team that has a lot of promise but they just do so many dumb things (poor shot selection, clock management, etc)