Arizona at #2 Duke Discussion Thread

[Chicat]

I feel like there are three keys to coming out of Cameron with a win…

1) Pound the offensive glass
2) Take care of the ball
3) Don’t get rattled

If the Cats can put Duke on their heels early by getting out in transition, they have a good shot of winning. They’ll need to withstand them chipping away at the lead by ensuring they aren’t giving Duke extra possessions with sloppy turnovers.

Excited to see these kids in a true road test.

[arizonawildcats]

Defense is key. We need to play sticky defense and turn them over for easy transition buckets. They will try to slow us down and bait us into taking bad shots, but I think we're better equipped to keep the ball moving this year. We won't have to force-feed the bigs or take a contested 3 every possession in the half-court.

We have an experienced and tough group, so I'm not worried about getting rattled. It will be a crazy environment but we can feed off it, too. We can win going away if the whistle isn't too lopsided.

[CalStateTempe]

Entry level tickets going for 2100

[MrMeow]

Entry level tickets going for 2100

I live an hour from Durham ... but this is why I'm staying home. Go Cats!

[TheCat]

We have the Duke killer on our team. The one that sent coach K into retirement with a loss instead of a coronation.

[UAEebs86]

Fuck Duke

[Beachcat97]

Biggest non-conference game for a while.

Pressure is on them. They're the higher rated team, and it's their home floor.

Can't afford to have OB get into foul trouble. They've got skilled bigs.

[Alieberman]

This really should be a great basketball game.

It's going to be great to play in a hostile environment like this.

[Chicat]

Pressure is on them. They're the higher rated team, and it's their home floor.

Definitely feels like we are playing with house money.

Either we upset the #2 team in the country on their home court where it’s almost impossible to win, or we have a loss on our resume where everyone has to acknowledge first and foremost the balls to schedule the game in the first place.

[Merkin]

Can't afford to have OB get into foul trouble. They've got skilled bigs.

I was thinking that since the redshirt rules have changed, and players can play 4 games and still keep their RS, bring Anderson along on the trip just in case Ballo and/or Krivas get in foul trouble.

Watching the highlights of the Dartmouth game, Filipowski dominated their center who was at least 6" shorter. You can't teach tall.

[LuteIsGod]

Does Rat Face attend the home games? I’d like to see Ballo chase a loose ball into the stands and CRUSH Rat Face in the process! If that happens, I don’t care about the final score.

[Beachcat97]

Can't afford to have OB get into foul trouble. They've got skilled bigs.

I was thinking that since the redshirt rules have changed, and players can play 4 games and still keep their RS, bring Anderson along on the trip just in case Ballo and/or Krivas get in foul trouble.

Watching the highlights of the Dartmouth game, Filipowski dominated their center who was at least 6" shorter. You can't teach tall.

It's not just Filipowski, either. They start Young (6'10), and they'll most likely have Mitchell (6'9) back. If Duke has an advantage, it's their size. Our guards can hang with their backcourt.

It would be nice to get some surprise contributions from Krivas, FB, and/or Murauskas in this game.

I love me some Keshad defending the wing/high post, but the reality is he's giving up a lot of size to Duke's forwards.

[AzCatFan2]

Duke may have size, but I think we have a quickness advantage. We also have depth and can play a little faster on D and not worry so much about foul trouble except at C. We turned Morgan State over time and time again, and if we can force Duke to play faster than they want, and get some easy buckets from it, we can potentially control the game.

Regardless of the outcome, I like this team's enthusiasm. Keep playing hard, fast, and have fun, and good things will happen.

[Jefe]

First time in Cameron since 1990? This would be such a sweet win

[PHXCATS]

The W or L does not truly matter. Getting the experience in a tough environment and against very talented players is what matters so much more.

Don't get me wrong, I want the win, I just will not be upset in the least bit even if they lose by 15. Although I do think I would play Arizona if it is 8 or more

[azcat49]

All over AZ on the money line. Duke won’t know what hit them. The ghost of DWILL will be spotted by many a fan

[PHXCATS]

All over AZ on the money line. Duke won’t know what hit them. The ghost of DWILL will be spotted by many a fan

Lets hope so

I do know there are going to be a good number of U of A fans there on Friday

[wyo-cat]

The Cats are going to be a tough out this season.

Can’t wait.

[RichardCranium]

I apologize for our poor performance against Morgan St.

I missed the game entirely due to two reasons. No three reasons. Yeah that's it. Three reasons.

1) I was on my annual pilgrimage to buy bulk wine for home bottling. The traffic was horrendous and it took us an hour and a half to do 30 minutes up the road. The reason the traffic was so bad is because one of Australia's two major network suppliers (Optus) was down from 0400 in the morning till late afternoon, kepflunkt. Dead. The suburban rail system uses Optus for its communications and had to shut down (its back up plan 'B") also uses Optus! (hasn't anybody heard of engineering to avoid a single point of failure for critical infrastructure? - sheesh), and the roads were clogged by people using their own plan B - their cars. Fortunately we were going against the major flow problems but it was still bad.

2) We are on Optus, therefore we had no internet access to get the game, which I would normally have been able to pick up on PAC12 International (I think) even while driving down the road.

3) I flat out forgot about the game. That's the worst one.

I was however wearing my UA Cactus logo cap all day. So there's that.

I'm getting a cataract taken out on Friday, but I should be able to see the Duke game (which is on Saturday where I am at!).

[pc in NM]

I'm getting a cataract taken out on Friday, but I should be able to see the Duke game (which is on Saturday where I am at!).

Which eye are you going to watch the game with???

[RichardCranium]

I'm getting a cataract taken out on Friday, but I should be able to see the Duke game (which is on Saturday where I am at!).

Which eye are you going to watch the game with???

Well, I'm one eyed Arizona, but I'll be using both eyes.

I am assured I'll be able to see out of the new eye immediately if not sooner. I expect I'll have a transparent protective cover of some sort, but not a pirate's patch. We'll see (I hope).

[g32knights]

Entry level tickets going for 2100

Down to $380 on Vivid Seats.

[TheCat]

Can't afford to have OB get into foul trouble. They've got skilled bigs.

I was thinking that since the redshirt rules have changed, and players can play 4 games and still keep their RS, bring Anderson along on the trip just in case Ballo and/or Krivas get in foul trouble.

Watching the highlights of the Dartmouth game, Filipowski dominated their center who was at least 6" shorter. You can't teach tall.

Merk I think that has changed for basketball but I could be wrong. No regular season games. That is still available to football players though.

[pc in NM]

I'm getting a cataract taken out on Friday, but I should be able to see the Duke game (which is on Saturday where I am at!).

Which eye are you going to watch the game with???

Well, I'm one eyed Arizona, but I'll be using both eyes.

I am assured I'll be able to see out of the new eye immediately if not sooner. I expect I'll have a transparent protective cover of some sort, but not a pirate's patch. We'll see (I hope).

Trust me, the non-corrected eye will be such a drag, by comparison, you may want to cover it.

[FreeSpiritCat]

This is going to be a fun game to watch. Both teams are really good. I am looking forward to see how the Arizona players respond. Johnson is going to play a big role in this game. Boswell will be fun to watch too. This could be his coming out on the national stage. Good test to see if he is ready. Big game for Love. He knows Cameron. This game is winnable. Duke is very talented, but young. Another thing to keep an eye on is the defensive pressure. Boswell, Bradley, Pelle, Lewis, and Johnson can create havoc. The Cats are a well built and balanced team (mostly).

The center is the weakness. Ballo is physical and a good player. But Krivas doesn't seem to be adjusted to the American game yet. He is skilled but needs to get stronger. He is going to get pushed around. We don't have Anderson. Keshad may have to play the 5 on occasion. The Cats have a weakness in the front court right now.

Still, the team is going to be fun to watch. How is Lewis going to respond? Will Pauli and Philip play a role? The top 7 are fine, with Bradley and Lewis off the bench. How fast will Krivas develop?

Great game to start the season. This game will have millions of viewers.

[Beachcat97]

The Cats have a weakness in the front court right now.

Only one game in, and it already feels like this could be a theme all season long. To get where we wanna get, one of two things has to happen: our guards are enough to make up for a less than stellar frontcourt (hey! it's just like '97!), or our young bigs develop faster than expected making us less reliant on Ballo for points/defense.

Also, a team without great size can still be a dominant defensive team. That Buffalo team didn't have Ayton or Ristic and still ran us off the court.

[PHXCATS]

We have seen one game. Way way way way way way too early to worry about the front court or anything

Especially since Merk and others said the injury to Henri was no big deal

[Chicat]

The Cats have a weakness in the front court right now.

Only one game in, and it already feels like this could be a theme all season long. To get where we wanna get, one of two things has to happen: our guards are enough to make up for a less than stellar frontcourt (hey! it's just like '97!), or our young bigs develop faster than expected making us less reliant on Ballo for points/defense.

Also, a team without great size can still be a dominant defensive team. That Buffalo team didn't have Ayton or Ristic and still ran us off the court.

I’m more worried about our backup PG.

I didn’t feel at all comfortable with Boswell on the bench.

[Beachcat97]

The Cats have a weakness in the front court right now.

Only one game in, and it already feels like this could be a theme all season long. To get where we wanna get, one of two things has to happen: our guards are enough to make up for a less than stellar frontcourt (hey! it's just like '97!), or our young bigs develop faster than expected making us less reliant on Ballo for points/defense.

Also, a team without great size can still be a dominant defensive team. That Buffalo team didn't have Ayton or Ristic and still ran us off the court.

I’m more worried about our backup PG.

I didn’t feel at all comfortable with Boswell on the bench.

Not feeling Bradley at that spot? Might be too early to tell.

[CalStateTempe]

How much hate is gonna come C. Love’s way?

[AzCatFan2]

If Love can contribute 5 assists a game, and only take 8 shots, no hate. Of course, this was against Morgan St. and he played barely more than a half. Still, have to like those numbers.

As for lacking big man depth, this is why picking up Keshad was huge. He's only 6'7", but has the strength and athleticism to play down low against guys a few inches taller. With Keshad at the 4 and Pelle at the 3, how many guys have the quickness to guard both these players, especially with Love at the 2. Yes, you can't teach size. But if you're quicker, you can overcome the size issue.

But yes, would like to see one of the back-up bigs step up and be reliable for 15 minutes a game. Playing at Cameron is great experience, and will help our guys see what it takes to play at the top level, against top opponents, in a hostile environment.

[azgreg]

How much hate is gonna come C. Love’s way?

A lot of guys on the Duke boards are expecting him to go off.

[TheCat]

Can't afford to have OB get into foul trouble. They've got skilled bigs.

I was thinking that since the redshirt rules have changed, and players can play 4 games and still keep their RS, bring Anderson along on the trip just in case Ballo and/or Krivas get in foul trouble.

Watching the highlights of the Dartmouth game, Filipowski dominated their center who was at least 6" shorter. You can't teach tall.

Found this Merk about redshirting: a college basketball athlete cannot play a few games and still redshirt to retain that year's eligibility. In NCAA basketball, once a player participates in a single game, they lose their redshirt status and will have used up one year of eligibility. This is true for all divisions of college basketball.

So, if you are a college basketball player and you are thinking about redshirting, you need to be aware that once you play in a single game, you will lose your redshirt status. If you are a football player, you can participate in up to four games and still maintain your redshirt status.

[Merkin]

Thanks TC. So much for my brilliant idea!

[84Cat]

[Chicat]

I’m more worried about our backup PG.

I didn’t feel at all comfortable with Boswell on the bench.

Not feeling Bradley at that spot? Might be too early to tell.

I thought we were sped up and out of sync when Boswell went out. Which is weird to say because we play fast. But it was too fast. Bos is that calming influence at the top of the key that will hold the ball if it looks like the defense sniffed things out… dribble twice… and then re-start the rotation. Other guys were eager to make the next pass regardless of positioning. That’s fine against Morgan State. Not against teams with the athletes Duke has.

Honestly, give me Pelle at Point Forward over Bradley at PG. Let Bradley and Love float while Pelle surveys things from up top. We don’t use his passing enough, mainly because it slows us down. But against Duke? I kind of like it.

[Beachcat97]

I’m more worried about our backup PG.

I didn’t feel at all comfortable with Boswell on the bench.

Not feeling Bradley at that spot? Might be too early to tell.

I thought we were sped up and out of sync when Boswell went out. Which is weird to say because we play fast. But it was too fast. Bos is that calming influence at the top of the key that will hold the ball if it looks like the defense sniffed things out… dribble twice… and then re-start the rotation. Other guys were eager to make the next pass regardless of positioning. That’s fine against Morgan State. Not against teams with the athletes Duke has.

Honestly, give me Pelle at Point Forward over Bradley at PG. Let Bradley and Love float while Pelle surveys things from up top. We don’t use his passing enough, mainly because it slows us down. But against Duke? I kind of like it.

I think we'll see Pelle get some point forward minutes this season. He's a smart player and can fill that role for a few minutes here and there.

I do see your point about the pace getting thrown off with KB out, but I also think our guys will become more adaptable as the season progresses. I'm a tiny bit bummed that we get Duke so bloody early in the season because this is a game I'd love our chances to win if it were game 10, not game 2. A LOT of things will have to break our way to beat that team on their floor. I love our roster and think it's the best Tommy's had, but we won't hit full stride till after the New Year, imo. And that's a good thing.

[arizonawildcats]

[Beachcat97]

We're a 5.5 underdog tomorrow.

[dovecanyoncat]

Tommy Boy got big balls.

[TheCat]

He has a completely different attitude toward winning and especially losing. He is not afraid to lose a game if it helps his team and college basketball. He wants to test himself and his team. Win or lose something of value to be earned. As fans we will need to get use to this approach especially with young teams.

[Merkin]

[KaibabKat]

Anyone doubt that Lute is watching Tommy from above, and smiling?

[U.P. Zona Fan]

No doubt!
But I have a show I'm going to tonight from 7:30 to 9:30, so I'm taping it. Definitely gonna watch no matter the outcome, but I'll be sporting my Arizona colors there and checking the score at the breaks.

Hopefully my kids will be able to see it at Nana's house.

[Chicat]

He has a completely different attitude toward winning and especially losing. He is not afraid to lose a game if it helps his team and college basketball. He wants to test himself and his team. Win or lose something of value to be earned. As fans we will need to get use to this approach especially with young teams.

Better to lose at Duke in November than to lose to Princeton in March.

Teach those boys how to win Tommy!

[pc in NM]

Let’s stop all this fucking talk about losing!!

WTF!!! Is Enfuego writing these scripts?

I’m planning on a victory tonite. And I think the coaches and players are too!!

BTFD!!!!

[azcat49]

Let it fly, absolutely no downside to tonight’s game. I think we really impress and win it coming down the wire

[84Cat]

2 hours baby

[84Cat]

Expect to see rat face on your tv screen every 2 minutes

[84Cat]