Duke Blue Devils: Don’t Get Ahead of Yourselves
The Duke Blue Devils beat the North Carolina Tar Heels 86-78, but the team needs temper its optimism and focus on each game as it comes.
There is a lot to be pleased about in the Duke Blue Devils and their victory over North Carolina. Grayson Allen had a big game and looked unguardable at times. Coach Mike Krzyzewski was on the bench for his second game back from injury. The crowd at Cameron was great like they normally are. Jayson Tatum showed off some ups and some rebounding.
Yet the game was misleading in another sense. The Blue Devils may be glad to beat the Tar Heels. They may even have looked good in a competitive game, but this is not the harbinger of the return of Duke that so many people seem to be jumping back on the Duke bandwagon for. The best news for Duke is that they have four losses and the first place teams in the conference have three each.
Here is why Duke fans should temper their enthusiasm over this particular game.
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The thing about the ACC schedule is the number of good teams you can end up playing in a year. Some of those are unexpected. Duke’s players (and this team is notably moving away from its freshmen) have to get ready for everybody. That is not the case with Carolina. Players go to Duke to beat Carolina, they don’t have to get up for the rivalry. The records of the two teams have never really mattered in this game.
- No Isaiah Hicks
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The Tar Heels had to generate a whole new lineup and gameplan with an injury to Isaiah Hicks. They had had times played without Tony Bradley or Theo Pinson, but not without their senior big man. Hicks is a key part of the defense with his ball swatting ability and rebounding. Tatum thrived against the other matchups he faced, but Hicks would have changed the interior dynamic. He also would have possibly generated the missing points in the margin.
Without Hicks, the Blue Devils were not truly facing the number nine team in the country. It simply was not really an upset.
Duke is on its way back, which I called back at the beginning of the year. I think they will live up to the hype, I just think it is a little early to get the hype train rolling again. Let them dominate some teams first, teams noted named North Carolina.