Well here we are on the first Friday of the college basketball season, and we can already draw some conclusions from what happened Friday night.
In 7 words, we know about three ACC teams – Duke is exposed, Louisville is still awful, Virginia flexes
Duke vs Arizona was basically a regional final in early November. That’s two teams that will be hovering around the top 10 all season. Arizona exposed Duke though on the glass. The difference in the 78-73 loss for Duke was every time Duke made a run Arizona came up with a pivotal rebound. The Wildcats destroyed the Blue Devils on the glass to the tune of a 41-27 advantage. Duke is talented and skilled, but Arizona was tougher and more physical. Duke has plenty of time to fix that, and against most teams, Duke can beat teams with their sheer talent, but Arizona revealed big time where Duke needs to get better.
Louisville took a double-digit home loss to Chatanooga Yeah the Cardinals are still a trainwreck basketball program, and Kenny Payne continues to look one of the worst hires we’ve ever seen in the ACC.
Then there’s Virginia. Virginia went to Charlotte and faced Florida in a neutral site game. The Gators are not an SEC heavyweight, but that’s a team that could battle for a NCAA bid. The Hoos came into the season unranked and undervalued but showed their typical defensive grit with flashes of an offense that could make Virginia a really good team. In the early season, it’s about picking up quality wins, and the Hoos got one Friday.
You didn’t really think Virginia was going anywhere, did you?
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