Public is all over Duke especially after their upset win at UNC. Unfortunately the majority of the public doesn't look at things objectively and doesn't realize that Duke really isn't all that great. Don't get me wrong, they are a solid team with good shooters but their number 5 ranking is not a true indication of this team.
Looking at Duke's recent schedule...
- They took care of a mediocre Maryland squad at home after struggling in the first half.
- Made an improbable comeback when in reality they were trailing by double digits for basically the entire second half at Carolina.
- Lost at home to a decent Miami team.
- Took care of business with a 15 point win at Virginia Tech.
- Almost squandered a big lead to a crappy St. John's team at home.
- Pulled away late at Maryland in an otherwise tight game.
- Lost to a good Florida State team at home in a game that came down to the wire.
What I take from this recent schedule is two things:
1) Duke has gotten the W's they should against weak competition and showed some real fight to rally against UNC.
2) Cameron indoor hasn't been quite the homecourt advantage as in past years.
The home crowd is always the same year in and year out so the only thing I can attribute these home losses to is the fact that Duke is much closer to even with teams like Miami, FSU, etc. than people realize. They face another one of those teams in NC State and to me 10.5 is too many points to lay. On top of that, the Wolfpack are a bubble team fighting to get into the tourney - a win in this game would be HUGE.
I don't think Duke will surrender another loss at home but I do think this game will be tight from start to finish.
Looking at Duke's recent schedule...
- They took care of a mediocre Maryland squad at home after struggling in the first half.
- Made an improbable comeback when in reality they were trailing by double digits for basically the entire second half at Carolina.
- Lost at home to a decent Miami team.
- Took care of business with a 15 point win at Virginia Tech.
- Almost squandered a big lead to a crappy St. John's team at home.
- Pulled away late at Maryland in an otherwise tight game.
- Lost to a good Florida State team at home in a game that came down to the wire.
What I take from this recent schedule is two things:
1) Duke has gotten the W's they should against weak competition and showed some real fight to rally against UNC.
2) Cameron indoor hasn't been quite the homecourt advantage as in past years.
The home crowd is always the same year in and year out so the only thing I can attribute these home losses to is the fact that Duke is much closer to even with teams like Miami, FSU, etc. than people realize. They face another one of those teams in NC State and to me 10.5 is too many points to lay. On top of that, the Wolfpack are a bubble team fighting to get into the tourney - a win in this game would be HUGE.
I don't think Duke will surrender another loss at home but I do think this game will be tight from start to finish.
