tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22972768.post5065883219803050499..comments2023-09-01T06:51:04.030-04:00Comments on Basketball Predictions: ACC/Big Ten Challenge, Part IJeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12767101715737129123noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22972768.post-61867454400288959042008-12-07T00:10:00.000-05:002008-12-07T00:10:00.000-05:00Oh sure, UNC will win the ACC. I don't doubt ...Oh sure, UNC will win the ACC. I don't doubt that, and I wouldn't have picked Duke for a 1 seed even if they had beaten Michigan today. I'm partial to Gonzaga for a 1 seed, who is playing great in the non-conference, and will have a gaudy record by selection time. I'm just saying that outside UNC & UConn, Duke's bigs look just fine.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16077389764102507390noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22972768.post-28969464859437429142008-12-06T13:24:00.000-05:002008-12-06T13:24:00.000-05:00I will agree that as far as other teams in BCS con...I will agree that as far as other teams in BCS conferences go, Duke's big guys are pretty much average. Lance Thomas is pretty good, even if he's not quite big enough to be able to handle UConn, UNC or any other team with a star big. I think Zoubek's numbers are deceptive because he is so slow. So when Duke plays a slow team, he is very valuable. He's a very smart player who does a great job of organizing the defense and helping with weak side defense and rebounding. But against fast teams, he's useless. So when Duke plays UNC, I just don't see how Zoubek will be able to get more than 10 minutes on the floor. I just don't see how Duke can possibly match up with UNC's combination of speed and size, and it's why I can't pick them to win the ACC and get a 1 seed.Jeffhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12767101715737129123noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22972768.post-86590727366293476202008-12-06T12:36:00.000-05:002008-12-06T12:36:00.000-05:00"Duke...lacks any real big bodies inside"..."Duke...lacks any real big bodies inside"<BR/><BR/>Well, they're obviously not an inside-out team. But, in a college basketball world where all skilled big men go directly to the NBA (do not pass sophomore year, do not collect $200), Duke is now just fine inside. If you combine Lance Thomas & Brian Zoubek's numbers, they're averaging almost 15 points and 9 rebounds over 31 minutes a game. Those are solid numbers for a college center, unless you're playing UConn or UNC.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16077389764102507390noreply@blogger.com