Friday, November 25, 2005 <div align="center"> Who? Memphis Tigers v. Duke Bluedevils Where? Madison Square Garden When? 7:00 PM EST TV? ESPN or ESPN2</div> Two of the hottest teams in American come to Madison Square Garden to square off on Friday, the Memphis Tigers and the Duke Bluedevils. Duke, after receiving news that DeMarcus Nelson will miss some time because of an ankle injury, is considered the number one team in the country by 95% of experts. Memphis is a team liked by many to go to the Sweet Sixteen and even farther because of their tagteam of Washington-Carney, which should give Duke all they can handle on Friday night. <u>Starting Lineups</u> <u><font color=""Navy"">Memphis Tigers</font></u> <div align="center"> <font size=""2""><font color=""Navy""><font face=""Verdana"">(Darius Washington Jr., Antonio Anderson, Rodney Carney, Joey Dorsey, Shawne Williams)</font></font></font></div> If Memphis thinks can can out score Duke in an offensive battle then look for them to try and get Rodney Carney and Darius Washington Jr. started early. They both have had solid games lately but nothing to blow us away. If Memphis feels they can try and play Duke straight up then look for them to attack Sheldon Williams inside at all costs early in the ball game. Getting him in foul trouble would be a huge asset for Shawne Williams and Joey Dorsey, this young frontcourt. If they can't get Williams in foul trouble, and Carney and Washington aren't hitting their shots, this game may get out of reach quicker then Memphis fans would like. If Williams can get in foul trouble and Carney and Washington are hitting their shots, then we got a ball game. <u><font color=""Blue"">Duke Bluedevils</font></u> <div align="center"> <font size=""2""><font color=""Blue""><font face=""Verdana"">(Greg Paulus, Sean Dockery, JJ Redick, Josh McRoberts, Sheldon Williams)</font></font></font></div> As much as it kills me to say it but the Dukies have a great lineup this year. No don't draw any sort of comparison to the Duke teams of the early 90's because in this day and age that will never happen again. Duke is led by JJ Redick who has became more than a jump shooter this season. He still has a beautiful outside shot but to add to his game he now can put it on the floor a little and create his own shot. "The Landlord" in the middle for Duke is the key to probably everyone of the Duke games. For Duke to be sucessful they need Williams on the court early and late in games. Like every other shotblocking center Williams picks up a ton of fouls which hurts the team in the long run. The Bluedevils have a very young lineup which should be put to test on Friday. <font color=""Navy""><u><font size=""3"">Prediction Time!</font></u></font> You can't say much about this Duke team, two all-americans, outstanding players every year, but I am going to say this. The Duke Bluedevils will get upset by Memphis on Friday. In my un-biased opinion I do believe Memphis has the stuff to knock off Duke. The only reason people don't think Memphis can hang with the big boys is that their lineup is 40% freshman, well guess what, so is Duke's. Mark my word on it, no it's not another UNC fan jelous of the sucess Duke's going to have this year. Darius Washington scores big time against freshman Greg Paulus. Him and Carney combind for 45+ points in this one with a little help from the frosh Williams -- 82-78 MEMPHIS.
Great preview, C.K.! Anyway... <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">You can't say much about this Duke team, two all-americans, outstanding players every year, but I am going to say this. The Duke Bluedevils will get upset by Memphis on Friday. In my un-biased opinion I do believe Memphis has the stuff to knock off Duke. The only reason people don't think Memphis can hang with the big boys is that their lineup is 40% freshman, well guess what, so is Duke's. Mark my word on it, no it's not another UNC fan jelous of the sucess Duke's going to have this year. Darius Washington scores big time against freshman Greg Paulus. Him and Carney combind for 45+ points in this one with a little help from the frosh Williams -- 82-78 MEMPHIS.</div> I think that Duke has just kind of been playing to the level of their competition a bit. There's no doubt that they have the most talented roster in America, and they're a lot harder to solve than you think. I mean, it's easier said than done to "get Williams into foul trouble, lock down Redick, and put pressure on the freshmen". Besides, I don't think there's any comparison between their freshman classes. Memphis' frosh have had the hot start, but we knew from the beginning of the season that none of Duke's frosh would put up great numbers with all the depth on their roster; that doesn't make them any less talented. It's hard for me to see Robert Dozier doing anything against Shelden Willimas, or Shawne Williams to put another 26 points up on anyone. I'm impressed with Memphis; dont' get me wrong there. But I feel like they're outmached in this game. The Alabama team they rolled was incredibly overrated, just beating Miami (Ohio) in the last few minutes of the game the other day. The UCLA victory was solid, but even that's being blown out of proportion. They were playing with no Aboya or Shipp, two large factors in their preseason ranking and two potential starters. It'd be like if Memphis played this game with no Carney and Dozier. Everyone outside of Farmar and Afflalo played horribly last night; they could have really used some depth. I'm not trying to discredit Memphis' wins, but I'm just trying to put it in perspective. This is exactly like how Florida beat Syracuse and Wake Forest and then shot up the polls. On paper if you abide by what ESPN says, they beat two highly ranked teams in a row, but if you can think for yourself, you'll know that both of the teams they beat were horribly overrated and that if they played a team like Gonzaga or Villanova, they'd be crushed. With that said, I'm taking Duke in this one.
Real good look on the preview, man Memphis certainly has a shot to upset Duke-outside of Adam Morrison, Memphis as a team has been the most impressive thing in college ball so far this year IMO. I expected them to be relatively average before conference play began, and then just blow people out once CUSA play began. Shawne Williams looked great last night-a 6'9" kid who can step out and be a legit 3FG threat, with Carney and Washington's ability to get into the lane and create, wow. If this team plays defense, they look like they can beat just about anyone in the nation. Should be a good game, though I can't say I'll be rooting for either team respect, though, as Ali would say. These are two of the best teams in the nation and it should be a good show.
After a very close game against Drexel, I think Duke will beat Memphis to show that they are still the best team in the country. Coach K will not let his team lose after such a close game the night before to an unranked school. I have a feeling that Redick and Williams will have good games like usual but I also think Josh McRoberts is going to step up and play well. This should be a great game but I see Duke winning big. EDIT- Great preview BTW.
Nice preview. I hope that Memphis can knock off Duke, for two reasons: 1. Im a UNC fan. 2. At least my UCLA bruins lost to a team that knocked off the number one. Ill be lookin at this game with great interest
Sheldon Williams is one ugly dude, but I believe Memphis can come out with the upset, Carney is going to be a factor in this game
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting j0se:</div><div class="quote_post">Sheldon Williams is one ugly dude, but I believe Memphis can come out with the upset, Carney is going to be a factor in this game</div> Yeah he looks like a retarted Steve Francis, anyways nice preview but im saying Duke by by 11 83-72
With the second half just under way Duke is only up by 3, a game Memphis could win here. Should be interesting.
Duke wins by three. Rodney Carney played JJ great in the second half, not allowing him to score a bucket. Memphis gave it a good effort and there a program on the raise at this point.
Williams really did domiante with 30 points including a key tip in late on JJ with 15 good game as Duke takes It 70-67
Memphis played tough, just not good enough. Hopefully they want fall too much in the rankings. With this game, they look like a top 10 team. Should be a great season.
Duke wins, it was close...but it was basketball interferance when Shelden tipped it in. Of course Vitale didn't say anything about it. The replay obvious...
Very good game Sheldon Williams is an animal huge mistake by Memphis not to box him out on that drive. Memphis really shot themselves in the foot several times this game by not boxing out. Once on that tip by Williams and then after Duke missed the two free throws initially. Carney really showed how good a defender he is by locking down JJ Redick in the second half did JJ even score? Shawne Williams also played well for Memphis tonight including hitting two key free throws down the stretch unfortunately it was not enough for them to win. Great show Memphis is definitely going to be a key player in the NCAA tournament at the end of the year.
Duke looked very unimpressive tonight. I don't think they're the #1 team in the nation. You could definitely make a persuasive case for them to be, but they're very vulnerable. Like Vitale said, with as much depth as they have, they're still very much a two man team. They need a reliable third option. I'm predicting a loss for the Dukies when they take on Indiana in the Big Ten/ACC challenge. Indiana is looking real nice; Marco Killingsworth has exceeded all expectations so far, averaging 19 ppg and 11 rpg. I was really impressed with Paulus though. He made some stupid freshmen mistakes, but overall he played a great game. He's a pass first point guard; I love those types. I think he finished with something like five points and eight assists. That's the kind of line I want from my point guard.
I agree with the fact Duke is not a #1 team. Indiana should beat them. That crowd will be crazy in Bloomington. I personally believe Connecticut is the #1 team in the country and will just get better with Marcus Williams returns.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Ch3n:</div><div class="quote_post">I agree with the fact Duke is not a #1 team. Indiana should beat them. That crowd will be crazy in Bloomington. I personally believe Connecticut is the #1 team in the country and will just get better with Marcus Williams returns.</div> Yeah, I just moved Connecticut to #1 in my rankings. They're stacked from top to bottom, and when they get Marcus Williams back they'll be incredibly hard to beat. Still, I don't feel like there's a dominant and consensus #1 this year. You've got Duke, Connecticut, Villanova, Gonzaga, Texas, and a few other teams all on the same level. As for the game in Bloomington, can you imagine the kind of boo's Josh McRoberts will get? They boo'ed the hell out of Sean May, so I bet they'll give McRoberts hell too. It's Mike Davis's fault for him not going to Indiana though. He's horrible at recruiting in-state talent. Every year the best players from Indiana go out of state.
