Duke Blue Devils Gets Early Shot at Being Ranked No. 1

On November 29, No. 5 Duke takes on No.3 Ohio State in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge at Ohio, while No. 1 North Carolina welcomes Wisconsin to the Dean Dome.

If Duke Beats OSU and UNC loses, Duke will make a strong case to be No. 1.

Sounds simple, but Duke normally starts the season on a winning streak and they are the most successful team in the challenge, however this will be no easy task.

If Duke’s weakest link is its inside game, Jared Sullinger will be a big test.

The forward was expected to be in the Draft this summer but shocked the world by returning to school. As a freshman, he averaged 17.1 points and 10 rebounds a game and was a big reason why OSU started the season 24-0.  

The knock on Sullinger is that he is not overly athletic and can be bothered by taller defenders; Miles and Mason are listed at 6'10" and should be more than capable of handling the OSU sophomore; however, if little brother, seven footer Marshall, does not red shirt, he would get a piece of the action as Sullinger has a habit of getting to the free throw line so Duke will need every big body (foul) it has.

Mason is potentially a lottery pick, and a good showing against another potential top draft pick will improve Mason’s draft stock but hopefully that will not be his main focus although it is good motivation.

If Mason or any of Duke’s big men can work Sullinger on both ends of the court, that should slow him down. OSU does not have graduated senior Dallas Lauderdale to shield Sullinger on defense any more.

They do welcome two 6'9", four star recruits. ESPN’s No.4 ranked center, Amir Williams who attended Detroit Country Day, high school of Chris Webber and Shane Battier, and Trey McDonald ranked No.15.

Other key match ups will be the Aaron Craft and William Buford versus Duke’s loaded back court.  The bulk of Duke’s scoring is expected to be from the guards and this game will decide who gets to start the rest of the season, if there is any doubt.

Coach Krzyzewski may start three guards in the form of freshman Austin Rivers, Seth Curry and the ever deserving Andre Dawkins. If not Coach Krzyzewski could go taller and use either of these freshmen, Alex Murphy or Michael Gbinije, at the small forward spot.

With the loss of their top three scorers from last season, Duke will be relying on freshmen to fill the void. On the other hand, Ohio State lost only two key contributors in the form of David Lighty and Jon Diebler.

These two will be missed as Lighty was one of the most versatile players in all of college basketball and he made 42 percent of his three point attempts. Diebler made a whopping 50% of his three point attempts. Both seniors complimented Sullinger’s inside game very well.

The Big Ten has won the last two challenges (ACC has won 10 of 12) and it is time the ACC redeems itself. However with several coaching changes, the ACC might get caught on the back foot on this one.

North Carolina is favoured to beat Wisconsin. UNC returns their full starting five, including three players who spurned the NBA, while Wisconsin will have to do without the services of John Leuer and Keaton Nankivil, who averaged a total of 28 points and 11 rebounds between them as starters.

On any given day, any team can be beaten and Bo Ryan has a history of unexpectedly winning.

Last season, Wisconsin beat OSU, ranked No. 1 at the time and to end their 24 game winning streak. Jordan Taylor, who scored 21 points in the second half to rally Wisconsin, is also back with the Badgers next season.

This game will also features Mike Bruesewitz, who has one of the coolest afros in sport and his game is tight so don’t sleep on him.