Duke men’s basketball fell out of the top 10 of this week’s AP Poll, dropping to No. 12 following last week’s loss to Kentucky. The Blue Zone gives it thoughts on the changes in the both the men’s and women’s weekly rankings:
Freshmen falter, experience excels
Had it not been for two possessions late in the game against Kentucky Tuesday night, the Blue Devils would likely be sitting in the top five of this week’s poll. Instead Duke fell six spots to No. 12, even after a massive 86-35 win over Wofford Saturday. Last week, it was the freshmen’s play that bumped the Blue Devils up one spot. This week, it was the same crew’s inexperience that showed in the Champions Classic and caused Duke to fall.
Projected lottery pick Kon Knueppel struggled with his shot for the entirety of the second half, finishing the game 5-of-20 from the field, including 1-of-8 from 3-point land. Preseason All-American Cooper Flagg played phenomenally for 39 minutes and 30 seconds, but he turned the ball over on back-to-back possessions at the end of the game, allowing the Wildcats to escape with a 77-72 victory in Atlanta. On the other side of the ball, Kentucky was anchored down the stretch by Wake Forest transfer Andrew Carr, who hit big bucket after big bucket in the last few minutes against freshman Khaman Maluach.
This is not an anomaly among the teams ranked above the Blue Devils in this week’s poll. North Carolina returns All-American RJ Davis for his fifth year, Kansas returns fifth-year senior Hunter Dickinson and UConn returns Alex Karaban and Hassan Diarra, who both started on last year’s national championship team.
The good news for Duke, however, is that this crop of freshmen will have no shortage of big games to gain experience before the tournament. Just in the next three weeks, Duke plays three teams ranked in the top 25, two of which are in the top five. Additionally, veteran guards Tyrese Proctor and Caleb Foster will likely begin to have bigger roles down the stretch in games, similar to Jeremy Roach a season ago. Head coach Jon Scheyer also brought in graduate transfer Mason Gillis, who played significant minutes in last season’s Final Four. While Scheyer will certainly want the freshmen to go through pressure situations, look for him to increasingly rely on the experience in his lineup in close games.
Dominating down south
Leading all conferences in this week’s poll was the SEC with a whopping seven teams in the top 25. While the conference has undoubtedly underperformed in recent NCAA tournaments, it has been impressive thus far against non-conference opponents. Last week, No. 4 Auburn traveled to No. 7 Houston and downed the Cougars, and this week, No. 9 Kentucky toppled the Blue Devils. Meanwhile, No. 11 Tennessee and No. 21 Florida have been dominant against weaker opponents. It is still early in the season, and there is no telling how the poll will look even two weeks from now, but the SEC will certainly boast many teams near the top throughout this season.
Alabama, now No. 8, takes on No. 25 Illinois this week, before facing off against Houston, No. 24 Rutgers, No. 10 North Carolina and No. 14 Creighton. The Crimson Tide’s eternal rivals, Auburn, travel to Cameron Indoor Stadium in two weeks for as difficult of a road test as they come. Until March, however, the question will remain: Will this season be more of the same for the SEC, with strong regular season performances and duds in the tournament, or is the conference truly legit this season?
Duke women’s basketball rebounds (literally)
After a tough loss last Sunday against Maryland that saw the Blue Devils slide to No. 16, Duke picked up two victories this week against Dayton and South Dakota State, moving back up to No. 14. The latter was a close win in which a narrow edge on the glass gave the Blue Devils the slight advantage they needed. Head coach Kara Lawson’s squad outrebounded the Jackrabbits 40 to 34 by snagging 14 offensive rebounds. Despite shooting just 42.9% from the field, Duke put up 75 points. Lawson’s team shot the ball 63 times in comparison to South Dakota State’s 57, a small disparity that makes all the difference in a close game like this one.
For Lawson, however, the defense, her pride and joy, must come under scrutiny thus far this season. Duke has given up over 70 points twice already this campaign, a number reached just six times all of last year. In Sunday’s game, the Jackrabbits shot 50% from three, which could either signify an outlier or laxed defense on the perimeter. This week, the Blue Devils only play unranked Belmont, but face No. 10 Kansas State next Monday, a game which should make the picture clearer about the state of the defense.
Staley’s squad stays slaying
South Carolina women’s basketball has now won 42 straight games. Fresh off an undefeated national championship campaign, there were some questions about how the team would look without first round draft pick Kamilla Cardoso, although expectations were still high with the amount of returning talent. After a slow start to the first game against Michigan, the Gamecocks have rolled, crushing No. 20 N.C. State before two massive wins over Coppin St. and East Carolina.
South Carolina’s offense has simply been dominant, led by junior Chloe Kitts and sophomore MiLaysia Fulwiley, putting up 17.3 and 14.3 points per game respectively. The team looks ahead to a rivalry matchup against unranked Clemson, before a brutal gauntlet over the next three weeks — head coach Dawn Staley’s team will face off against No. 5 UCLA Sunday and No. 8 Iowa State on Thanksgiving. If South Carolina remains undefeated through those games, it will set up a massive matchup against Duke Dec. 5.
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