It is overreaction Wednesday apparently. The Duke Blue Devils suffered their first loss at the Champions Classic against the Kentucky Wildcats. Duke controlled much of the game but sputtered late, allowing Kentucky to steal a win. Take nothing away from the Wildcats, Coach Pope and crew had a great gameplan and answered the bell. Wildcat fans have to be thrilled with their new hire and how the team has looked thus far. However, let’s focus on Duke and their National Championship hopes.
The Blue Devils are arguably the most talented team in the country, top to bottom. Alabama is the other team in that conversation but it is at least close. Cooper Flagg arrived on campus and the expectation of cutting down the nets followed. However, two late turnovers in the clutch caused the hot takes to fly. Apparently, 26 points and 12 rebounds while sitting for 8 minutes in the first half is easily overlooked.
Before getting too deep, Duke is the most likely National Champion. They have all they need to cut down nets. But, what could potentially stop that from happening?
3 Reasons Duke Doesn’t Win the National Championship
1) Cramps/Injuries
Stop me if you’ve heard this before: a key Duke player suffered cramps in a marquee matchup. Whether it is RJ Barrett, Paolo Banchero, Jeremy Roach, Cooper Flagg, or now Khaman Maluach, these cramp monsters will not disappear. Truthfully, this is an easy fix. Hydrate appropriately and have adequate supplementation available. Duke is too good and have too many resources for this to continually be an issue.
Secondarily, Duke has a history of poor health in the worst moments. Last night, Sion James was the next victim. He suffered what appeared to be a stinger after fighting through a screen and missed most of the second half which proved to be a monster loss for Duke. Hopefully, he will return soon.
2) Endurance
This one is somewhat surprising. Duke has a deep roster but chose to play eight guys last night. The interesting part is the legs seemed to disappear about 30 minutes into the game. Caleb Foster missed numerous shots off the front rim. There was a ton of standing around late in the game. Some difficulty on the defensive glass late in the game. And again, the cramping plays a role in this too.
Credit to Kentucky. The Wildcats play in transition and have constant movement on offense. They also are a deep team and played with a lot of physicality. It is more so just surprising that endurance can even be brought up with the Blue Devils at this point. This will be something to follow as time goes on as Duke also likes to play fast. Kansas, North Carolina, and Auburn are on the schedule so pace is definitely going to be tested.
3) Clutch Time Uncertainty
Duke controlled much of the game. They answered numerous runs from Kentucky but could never put them away. Then, Kentucky made one big run to tie it late and Duke couldn’t answer. If you asked any Blue Devil fan/coach/player, having the ball in the hands of Cooper Flagg in a tied game with under 30 seconds left would have to feel great. Obviously, that did not end the way the Blue Devils hoped.
For the last 10 minutes of the second half, Duke’s offense seemingly involved isolating Flagg at the top of the key to take his defender off the bounce. Flagg is a superstar, but that is an area he is still growing. For any Boston Celtics fans, the clutch offense of isolating Tatum looks very similar. There is way too much firepower on the floor to have the offense devolve into watching Flagg win off the bounce. Of course, Kon Kneuppel and Foster really struggled to shoot it, as did the rest of the roster, so Scheyer may not have had much of a choice.
With all young teams, especially deep ones, figuring out what to do in clutch situations is always a scary work in progress. Fortunately for the Blue Devils, this happened in early November instead of March. However, Scheyer needs to make sure the offense is still moving and flowing in these clutch situations. Players not plays is real, but players need to be in their ideal spots for that to hold true.
To Panic or Not? Duke Blue Devils Edition
Everybody settle down. For reference, ESPN Bet made Duke a favorite to win the National Championship with odds changing from +950 to +900 after the loss. The goals and the path to achieving them are all still very obvious. Duke has a young coach, young superstars, and a brand new team. It takes time.
Additionally, Duke will never shoot sub 20% from three ever again with the amount of wide open looks they had last night. Essentially, everything went wrong last night and Duke still had a really good chance to win the game against a very good team.
Last but not least, everybody talks about Flagg being a superstar. There is a lot of noise and jokes after stumbling in the clutch last night. Don’t poke the bear. Flagg is 17 years old and had a monster game. This is the springboard that takes him to the next level if he bounces back from it. Remember when RJ Barrett struggled in the clutch in Maui against Gonzaga and then the team didn’t lose for months and he was an All-American? Buckle up, Blue Devils fans.
