As of today, Carolina has just come off a win over Wake. Duke bounces back with a win over St. John's. The Heels have been playing better basketball of late.... will either of these teams make it? Or does anybody even give a -

2/25/2008 12:07:19 AM

i dont understand why this needs a thread when theres others that u can post this question in and discuss

2/25/2008 12:10:11 AM

lock


^OP's a duke fag who just wants to suck them off in another thread

[Edited on February 25, 2008 at 12:11 AM. Reason : .]

2/25/2008 12:10:27 AM

who cares

lock this STD prone thread

2/25/2008 12:10:44 AM

honestly, i don't think either team will make it. UNC probably has the better chance... but i don't think psycho-fag will get the same love from the refs outside of the ACC, so he won't go to the line 20 times a game.. with Duke, I could see them losing in the second round or Sweet 16, or MAYBE sneaking into the Elite 8.. all depends on matchups

[Edited on February 25, 2008 at 12:12 AM. Reason : or not and]

2/25/2008 12:11:46 AM

i'd say both could easily make it. i think its only a handful of teams that could beat them on their game and the odds of them meeting tenn memphis ucla texas kansas or gtown are slim to none. i'd say they are both locks for the elite 8.

2/25/2008 12:28:10 AM

ibtl

2/25/2008 12:33:27 AM

NEITHER

Carolina is overrated and has been taken to the wire or into overtime by inferior competition several times.

Duke plays 4 guards and a small forward, that won't cut it in March.

2/25/2008 12:34:20 AM

^without their 2nd best player. and whats gonna change for duke come march? nothing. if it cuts it in november december january it will cut it in march.

2/25/2008 12:49:46 AM

^ you're forgetting neither team will be playing w/ the benefit of the refs on their side. I think Carolina can overcome this. Duke can't.

2/25/2008 12:55:01 AM

^ oh god i hope we will get some more hilarious ignored paulus flops on youtube come march

2/25/2008 1:19:29 AM

I still think that with a healthy Lawson, UNC is the best team in the country.



My initial final four, repeat, initial


UCLA
UNC
UConn
Texas

2/25/2008 1:21:15 AM

UNC really wasn't that impressive even when Lawson was healthy...

loss to mediocre Maryland team at home, barely beat Clemson and GT.. only beat UNC-A by 10... they were hardly dominating anyone (other than NCSU that is)

2/25/2008 1:25:13 AM

Quote :

"^ you're forgetting neither team will be playing w/ the benefit of the refs on their side. I think Carolina can overcome this. Duke can't."

so is your theory that the refs help duke and unc and suddenly decide to stop when the tournament gets here?

i agree that refs help them some but thinking it will stop is absurd.

2/25/2008 1:27:31 AM

^^ I agree that they havent played at their full potential yet, but we werent talking about who is playing the best, that would just be the #1 team. But come March, I see UNC being as good as anyone

2/25/2008 1:30:55 AM

yeah, i can agree with that.

i just hate them so much that I will continue to tell myself that they will lose ASAP in the tournament

2/25/2008 1:56:32 AM

I love the Duke "fan" tailsock in here talking about the calls that UNC get and how it will hurt them in the tournament. Duke is the team that is hurt more come tourney time once they aren't allowed to hand check and play their "pressure" defense.

2/25/2008 2:44:05 AM

At this point it is a given that one of them will be a #1 seed and whichever one it is will get to play rounds 1 and 2 at RBC then rounds 3 and 4 in Charlotte. If UNC gets that advantage, I could easily see them getting to the Final 4 (unfortunately).

2/25/2008 10:38:09 AM

Duke won't make the Final Four barring a ridiculously easy road with the better teams getting upset and matching Duke against shitty teams.

UNC has a great chance...but I hope they all break their legs on the way out of the locker room in their first round game.

2/25/2008 10:42:34 AM

wishful thinking is one thing but don't act like duke and unc aren't good just because you're a pack fan.

what makes you guys think things will suddenly take a 180 for duke in the tourney? the rules of basketball don't change for the tournament. they have beaten good teams all year I don't see why anybody would think they don't have a final four chance.

Quote :

"UNC really wasn't that impressive even when Lawson was healthy... loss to mediocre Maryland team at home, barely beat Clemson and GT.. only beat UNC-A by 10... they were hardly dominating anyone (other than NCSU that is)"

AHAHAHA

wow so to make the final four you have to beat everybody by 20. i guess nobody has been impressive in the country. maryland game was their only loss until then. sorry they aren't undefeaeted and winning close games shows how good they are under pressure. thats all a plus.

like i said, all the teams that could beat duke or unc straight up will be 1 and 2 seeds. they will both make the elite 8 barring a complete meltdown.

2/25/2008 10:59:43 AM

^^^ agreed.

Here's what has me scratchin my head about Duke: same guys that have been taking care of business for Duke all season long are the same ones that shit the bed on the road at WF & Miami. Granted they were bubble teams playing with extreme intensity (that went unmatched). Depends on which team shows up. The ACC is really tough this year and i think that plays into their hands come tournament time. If Duke can handle Carolina twice this season they can matchup w/ anyone in the big dance




[Edited on February 25, 2008 at 11:12 AM. Reason : ^]

2/25/2008 11:04:01 AM

Quote :

"so is your theory that the refs help duke and unc and suddenly decide to stop when the tournament gets here? i agree that refs help them some but thinking it will stop is absurd."

It's because the games are being officiated now by ACC refs.

Quote :

"^without their 2nd best player. and whats gonna change for duke come march? nothing. if it cuts it in november december january it will cut it in march."

UNC wasn't playing that great even with Lawson. Hansbrough won't be treated like a precious white messiah and allowed to do whatever he wants.

As for Duke, the refs are going to change. Duke will have a hart time trying to play with the teams in the sweet 16 and elite 8 because they won't be able to match up, and the refs won't allow them to get away with what they are usually allowed to.

2/25/2008 11:23:49 AM

o my bad i forgot how unc and duke did so bad in non-conference games.

2/25/2008 1:17:30 PM

Quote :

"what makes you guys think things will suddenly take a 180 for duke in the tourney? the rules of basketball don't change for the tournament. they have beaten good teams all year I don't see why anybody would think they don't have a final four chance."

ahahahaha, take a look at Duke's regular season record vs. their tourney record for the last 5 or 6 years. If past performance is any indication, they will 180 again this year.

2/25/2008 1:19:42 PM

^^ yeah you must have also forgot how UNC didn't play any good non conference games, and Duke lost to the only really good non conference team they played.

[Edited on February 25, 2008 at 1:21 PM. Reason : ]

2/25/2008 1:20:49 PM

^ Marquette and Wisconsin would disagree with that statement

2/25/2008 1:22:21 PM

Quote :

"really good"

Marquette is good, not really good.

Wisconsin is in the big 10.

2/25/2008 1:25:46 PM

Marquette is better than Pitt, though.. so if you're gonna call Pitt very good, than Marquette is very good as well

2/25/2008 1:31:16 PM

neither dook nor unc-ch will make it to the final 4

2/25/2008 2:07:28 PM

Has anyone read this article by Stewart Mandel? interesting read
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/writers/stewart_mandel/02/21/duke/index.html

2/25/2008 2:23:18 PM

I think Duke has better tourney potential this year than they have in years past. Last year they were just terrible with the waste of space McBob in the middle and pre-decent Paulus. The years before that they were too reliant on ONE shooter who would always get tired in the NCAAT and shoot them out of it.

This year, they don't rely on any one player for ALL of their offense. That said, they are heavily reliant on the 3 ball and very prone to giving up quick points/getting into foul trouble against quick and athletic teams. I think they are a Sweet 16 lock but past that is heavily on matchups. If they run into a traditional Big East team (i.e.- great inside game with penetrating guards) like UL, Pitt or UConn they could be in trouble.

UNC's only real question is at the 1. If Lawson can show he can recover from an injury (I think this is the first real injury he's ever had in his life and some kids just don't have good recoveries from injuries within a season) they are an odd-on favorite to make the Final 4. Realistically I think Kansas is the best team in the country but Self isn't a great in-game coach. UCLA has a GREAT in-game coach but not the best offense. UNC might just be my favorite to win it all IF Lawson comes back.

Quote :

"Marquette is better than Pitt, though"

Pitt is a bad matchup for a team like Duke though if they can get healthy again (Fields)

[Edited on February 25, 2008 at 2:27 PM. Reason : x]

2/25/2008 2:27:03 PM

Quote :

"Marquette is better than Pitt, though.. so if you're gonna call Pitt very good, than Marquette is very good as well"

fine, neither of them are that good.

Duke lost to a mediocre Pitt team.

Happy?

2/25/2008 2:33:51 PM

If neither team makes it then the acc was very very weak this year.

2/25/2008 2:48:28 PM

^x4

that article was a good read

Quote :

"which begs the question: Did Duke recruit these players because they were good enough to be McDonald's All-Americans, or did many of them become McDonald's All-Americans simply because Duke was recruiting them? "

2/25/2008 2:50:29 PM

Quote :

"what makes you guys think things will suddenly take a 180 for duke in the tourney? "

They don't have to make a full 180 now...they started that "turn" a week ago after losing to Miami and Wake.

I think ACC teams in general are hurt every year by the reffing in the ACC. They get use to certain kind of reffing in the ACC (whether the refs call the game too tight...which I think normally happens...or they are just consistently inconsistent)...and then they get to the tourney and surprised when the refs "let them play." I think Duke and UNC get hurt most by this because they are coddled the most by the refs in the conference.

And that SI Mandel article is great. I read it last week and said to myself..."I've been saying that for years." Although Duke's recruiting has been ranked high the past 5 or so years...they haven't been getting those "difference makers"...the Jason Williams/Grant Hill types.

2/25/2008 3:03:52 PM

^if the reffing is an issue let's throw out all the final fours and tournament wins the two schools have this and previous other decades...

2/25/2008 3:07:53 PM

Neither one of these teams is going to make the final four. I think teams like Texas, Stanford, G-town, Indiana, Wisconsin, etc not to mention the big boys like Memphis, UT, UCLA, and Kansas can all beat Duke and UNC. I think both go out in either the Sweet 16 or the Elite 8.

2/25/2008 3:17:30 PM

Quote :

"^if the reffing is an issue let's throw out all the final fours and tournament wins the two schools have this and previous other decades..."

I'm just talking about recently. I don't think the reffing problem has become an issue until the past 7 or 8 years.

The two recent Duke/UNC NC teams were so ridiculously talented that there is no way they shouldn't have won National Championships (and the last Duke team shouldn't have won if the refs hadn't given them the Final 4 game against Maryland).

But other than that...extremely talented Duke and UNC teams have consistently underperformed in the NCAA tourney recently...and if you look at the games individually, you'll see that they get "roughed up" in a lot of those games.

2/25/2008 3:24:28 PM

growing up a carolina fan, and now a graduate from n.c. state and a converted pack fan, you know how extremely excrutiating this is, to watch the ncca tournament 2 years in a row without the school you're cheering for playing in it

2/25/2008 3:44:44 PM

growing pains

2/25/2008 4:30:15 PM

Quote :

"Marquette is better than Pitt, though.. so if you're gonna call Pitt very good, than Marquette is very good as well"

When Duke played them, Pitt was very good. If it weren't for injuries, Pitt would probably be a top 10 team.

[Edited on February 25, 2008 at 4:37 PM. Reason : hell, if I recall correctly didn't one of their major injuries happen against Duke?]

2/25/2008 4:35:59 PM

yeah, one of their better players, don't remember his name but he was a senior, tore his acl near the end of that game.. Levance Fields, the pg who made the game winning shot against Duke, was out for a while but he's been back for their last 3 games (all losses).. hopefully that is what will happen when Ty Lawson comes back. UNC definitely plays differently without him

2/25/2008 5:15:01 PM

^ they play differently alright but they're not suffering by any means. If it's not 5-6 easy baskets from Ty then it's 5-6 basket "and ones" for Tyler. Look at their production...it's all there. I'm really bored with this arguement that Carolina is struggling w/out Lawson

WITH LAWSON
1/12 NCST W 93-62
1/16 @ GT W 83-82
1/19 MARY L 82-80
1/23 @ MIA W 98-82
1/31 BC W 91-69
2/03 @ FSU W 84-73 OT (4 min)

WITHOUT LAWSON
2/06 DUKE L 89-78
2/10 CLEM W 103-93 OT
2/12 @ UVA W 75-74
2/16 VT W 92-53
2/20 @ NCST W 84-70
2/24 WFU W 89-73

[Edited on February 25, 2008 at 5:38 PM. Reason : .]

2/25/2008 5:36:13 PM

^ The FSU game might as well be included in the "without Lawson" category considering Lawson only played 4 minutes before his injury. Also, UNC did struggle the first few games without him as everyone attempted to adjust to a more half court oriented style of play. Thomas has shown tremendous improvement since he became the starting PG and the team has played better overall since the UVA game.

2/25/2008 5:53:13 PM

obligatory

Quote :

"ATTENTION USERS WITH LESS THAN 1000 POSTS"

2/25/2008 7:41:41 PM

Coach K is better at getting his talent to play together and a better in game coach, so I say Duke has a better shot than UNC.

2/25/2008 10:43:06 PM

bttt after Carolina win over Duke. ACCT is next

3/9/2008 11:27:10 AM

^^bullshit.

UNC seems nearly unstoppable I'm afraid. They just keep shoving the ball down the opponents' throats. The only thing stopping Duke is a bad perimeter game which can appear in a second in a tournament.

It wouldn't surprise me if UNC won it all this year, but I just feel it still may not happen.

3/9/2008 11:36:07 AM

They both generally underperform in the tourney given their talent level... this UNC team is far more athletic though and not dependent on any one thing. Hansbrough was terrible last night (and while he does travel a lot, it is UNBELIEVABLE that a guy with his type of game wouldn't go to the line...) and they still won.

I think Duke is a 2nd round or Sweet 16 exit type of team and UNC is an Elite 8/Final Four team.

Kansas is my pick to finally play up to par in the postseason and win it all..

3/9/2008 11:46:20 AM

I say again

Quote :

"neither dook nor unc-ch will make it to the final 4"

3/9/2008 11:51:34 AM