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Happy Thanksgiving everyone!! I hope everyone reading this has a pleasant, food-filled day with lots of basketball & football (Go Bears, ugh). I'm eating dinner today then escaping to the solitude of a nice fireplace, a lake view and minimal technology. Doing this now for that reason, and because I'll be more concerned about my food coma than B-ball stats by tomorrow afternoon.
The Duke Blue Devils (6-0) have arrived in Vegas to play on Friday against our Zags (6-0). Duke is rated #5 in the AP poll, #8 on KenPom (#8 offense, #20 defense), #11 on Barttorvik, and #12 on ESPN's BPI. Meanwhile, the Zags sit at an impressive #1 offense, #7 defense.
I haven't watched more than a minute or two of Duke this season (mostly, if not all, intentionally). I'm told they have big and tall guys and that we should watch out. I heard they have a good Koach. They did beat Kentucky, #16 KPom) by 8. Otherwise, they haven't played anyone notable, and not away from the confines of home court. So, they're somewhat hard to evaluate at this point from the eyeball, but everyone knows Duke is traditionally tough, especially vs. the Zags. Hopefully their in-flight entertainment yesterday on the way to Vegas wasn't too terrifying.
On paper, they do look worse than UCLA, by statistical rankings (KenPom, etc.), and by in-game ratings. But...a lot of the ranking systems this early account for last year's play. UCLA did well in the Tourney, and Duke didn't. So, there's a tilt against Duke at this point by the numbers, suggesting they might be better than they look. Duke may very well be floating above its statistical persona. It's all about individual matchups, and honestly I don't think we'll be winning by 20, but we do look more than competitive. Have a look at the stats, and judge for yourself:
Basic Stats:
Efficiency Stats:
Seems to me there are a lot of arrows pointing to the Zag's side of those graphics. Advantage: Gonzaga. Duke has a low turnover rate though, meaning they pass well and take care of the ball. The Zags lead on 3 of the 4 "Factors for Winning Basketball," but it's close overall.
Whether it plays out that way, we will see. Barttorvik scores it as an 82-72 win for AMERICA'S TEAM.
Either way, I'm thankful we have a team that's performed like no one would have expected even five years ago. I remember the days of Pepperdine and LMU kicking our butts in the conference tourney, and we were all down there just for the parties, the beer, the beach sand, and didn't care about the score. We've come so far.
Very thankful.
credit to Teamrankings for the data.
The Duke Blue Devils (6-0) have arrived in Vegas to play on Friday against our Zags (6-0). Duke is rated #5 in the AP poll, #8 on KenPom (#8 offense, #20 defense), #11 on Barttorvik, and #12 on ESPN's BPI. Meanwhile, the Zags sit at an impressive #1 offense, #7 defense.
I haven't watched more than a minute or two of Duke this season (mostly, if not all, intentionally). I'm told they have big and tall guys and that we should watch out. I heard they have a good Koach. They did beat Kentucky, #16 KPom) by 8. Otherwise, they haven't played anyone notable, and not away from the confines of home court. So, they're somewhat hard to evaluate at this point from the eyeball, but everyone knows Duke is traditionally tough, especially vs. the Zags. Hopefully their in-flight entertainment yesterday on the way to Vegas wasn't too terrifying.
On paper, they do look worse than UCLA, by statistical rankings (KenPom, etc.), and by in-game ratings. But...a lot of the ranking systems this early account for last year's play. UCLA did well in the Tourney, and Duke didn't. So, there's a tilt against Duke at this point by the numbers, suggesting they might be better than they look. Duke may very well be floating above its statistical persona. It's all about individual matchups, and honestly I don't think we'll be winning by 20, but we do look more than competitive. Have a look at the stats, and judge for yourself:
Basic Stats:
Efficiency Stats:
Seems to me there are a lot of arrows pointing to the Zag's side of those graphics. Advantage: Gonzaga. Duke has a low turnover rate though, meaning they pass well and take care of the ball. The Zags lead on 3 of the 4 "Factors for Winning Basketball," but it's close overall.
Whether it plays out that way, we will see. Barttorvik scores it as an 82-72 win for AMERICA'S TEAM.
Either way, I'm thankful we have a team that's performed like no one would have expected even five years ago. I remember the days of Pepperdine and LMU kicking our butts in the conference tourney, and we were all down there just for the parties, the beer, the beach sand, and didn't care about the score. We've come so far.
Very thankful.
credit to Teamrankings for the data.
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