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this gonBe a great game
Texas should stun No. 1 Devils, beat football team to top of rankings
COMMENTARY
By Mike Miller
College basketball editor
Updated: 5:45 p.m. ET Dec. 6, 2005
No. 2 Texas gets its shot at No. 1 on Saturday. In college basketball.
For the next month or so, there’ll be plenty of stories on Texas and its chance to pull off les in college football and basketball. For more on the Longhorns’ chances to beat USC in the Rose Bowl, check out our college football section. I’ll stick to the hoops.
Besides, there’s plenty to drool over when Texas plays Duke.
Charlie Riedel / AP
Texas guard Daniel Gibson will be one of the main reasons why the Longhorns hand No. 1 Duke its first loss of the season this Saturday, writes NBCSports.com's Mike Miller.
The Devils (7-0) have beaten two ranked teams (Memphis, Indiana), escaped against a non-conference foe few expected to be tough (Drexel) and needed a 40-foot buzzer-beater to edge ACC foe Virginia Tech on Sunday.
It’s not clear if Duke is merely playing well enough to win or if it’s taking opponents’ best shots and still winning. That difference is unimportant for a team’s bottom line at this point, because coaches only want their teams to improve and peak for the NCAA Tournament. Right now, the Devils’ freshmen need that game time to be effective in March.
The underclassmen’s inexperience forces Duke’s offense to center around its two senior stars, J.J. Re (22.7 ppg) and Shelden Williams (18.3 ppg). It’s easier for opposing defenses to focus on those two, since no other Devil averages more than eight points a game.
Still, that reliance on the country’s best tandem hasn’t resulted in a loss. Yet.
Texas, on the other hand, is off to its best start since the 1981-82 team won its first 14 games, and has averaged a 32-point victory margin in its last four victories. Before those games, the Longhorns edged ranked foes in Iowa and West Virginia.
They’re deeper and have more balanced scoring. Four players average 13 points a game, led by junior center LaMarcus Aldridge (17.5 ppg). Throw in P.J. Tucker (16.8), Brad Buckman (13.5) and one of the country’s best point guards, Daniel Gibson (13.3), and the Longhorns have the weapons to match Duke.
The thing about Texas is Aldridge hasn’t faced anyone like Williams yet, its outside shooting is suspect and its defense isn’t up to coach Rick Barnes’ usual standards. Yet.
So why care about the game if the Devils are vulnerable and the ’Horns are working out the kinks?
In a word: history. In a sport that features plenty of top 10 games throughout the season, No. 1 vs. No. 2 doesn’t happen that often. Thank Duke’s Sean Dockery for this one.
It’s the first time a No. 1 and No. 2 have met in a regular season game since 1998, when No. 1 Duke lost to UNC. In fact, it's only the 36th time overall (including the postseason) that a 1 and 2 have met since 1949, when the AP started ranking teams. In the last 20 years, it’s usually because of conference showdowns like UNC vs. Duke, Kansas vs. Missouri or Georgetown vs. St. John’s (which actually happened three times in the 1984-85 season). This game, a neutral court affair in East Rutherford, N.J., is an even rarer occurrence.
Want some more nuggets?
* No. 2 has beaten No. 1 the last four times and seven of the last 12.
* Duke is 1-2 as No. 1 in that span.
* Texas has beaten No. 1 once, when the unranked ’Horns beat DePaul 65-63 in 1980.
* And the last time No. 1 and No. 2 faced each other this early in the season, one team ended up in the national le game — No. 1 Georgetown, which was the first of four times the Hoyas played in the No. 1 vs. No. 2 game that season. Yeah, John Thompson’s team had some tests that season.
Sure, none of that really means diddly to Texas or Duke. But when you’re talking about No. 1 vs. No. 2, you pull out all the factoids you can. It’s called hype. I love it.
Besides, it’s a game that should live up to that hype. Barnes is just 2-7 all time against Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski and has lost the last six times he’s faced Coach K, including both times his Texas teams have played Duke. He’ll have the ’Horns primed and ready to go. There’s bragging rights on the line, both in college hoops and in Austin.
With their depth and a little extra attention paid to Re around the perimeter, these ’Horns will be at No. 1 before Mack Brown’s boys even have a shot at it.
Mike Miller is NBCSports.com's college basketball editor. E-mail him at [email protected].
this gonBe a great game
From what I've seen so far Texas should win this by a decent margin, Duke hasn't impressed me at all so far.
burr burr burrrrrrr
Alridge will own Williams.
I am excited, but not overconfident. Texas got good scares from decent Iowa and West Virginia. I do expect a good game, that will send me into a fit of cursing and anger if they lose. I hate Duke sooo much.
huge duke and Texas Fan right here....but if came down to it, i'd have to root for the longhorns to pull away with this one...nothing compares to burnt orange
USA Today article on that game. Texas is the first team ever to play a #1 -vs- #2 game in football and basketball in the same season, and is only one of 5 schools in history to occupy the top 2 spots in BB and FB in the same year AND only one of 7 schools to EVER play in a #1 -vs- #2 game in BOTH BB and FB.
Last edited by word; 12-09-2005 at 09:53 PM.
Damn, now that I read that, that's damn confusing and I got part of it wrong. I'll take the time to type in the EXACT wording from the key paragraphs of the article. I couldn't find it on the web to link to. I know how people are about sports and stats so ...can't get it wrong. If there is someone to blame for accuracy it's Malcolm Moran at USA Today. I'm just a parrot here. His wording is a little confusing but the essense is, what Texas is doing right now, is pretty goddamn unusual.
Texas will become the first school to compete in No. 1 -vs- No. 2 games in football and mens basketball in the same season.Texas is the fourth school to appear in the top two positions in the two polls at the same time. Michigan, Ohio State and Notre Dame accomplished the feat twice.There. I feel better.Texas is the seventh school to appear in the No. 1 -vs- No. 2 meetings in football and mens basketball, joining Arkansas, Michigan, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oklahoma, and Michigan State.
Re was actually making his shots today. He hasn't done the whole season until today. Now my step-dad will probably say some because I hate Duke.
WHOOPS!
Williams: 7-12 FG's, 9-10 FT's for 23 points + 6 rebounds, 5 blocks, 4 assists and 1 steal.
Aldridge: 8-13 FG's, 5-6 FT's for 21 points + 6 rebounds, 0 blocks, 0 assists and 1 steal
Not really an whoops about same stats.
Similar enough. Williams has more complete numbers, but not exactly embarrasing for Aldridge. If Buckman hadn't gone down with injury, Williams would have been far less productive.
Now THAT'S why Duke is the best team in he country... now we've just got to be consistent about it. And seriously, all you Spurs fans hating on Duke? I just don't get it. I'm a Duke alumn and native San Antonian, and I'm damn proud of both my basketball teams. I'm not going to lie, the national media does heap love on the Devils, and I have seen us get some lucky breaks. But the Duke teams conduct themselves like the Spurs, with class (they never get in trouble for cheating or doing anything illegal), humility, good defense, sacrificing individual stats for the team, great coaching, and, oh yeah, wins. I love my Spurs, and I'm a Spurs fan first and foremost, but I don't understand how you other Spurs fans hate on the Blue Devils so much, because they are about as close as you're going to come in college to finding a team with the character and performance of the Spurs.
Last edited by ajh18; 12-11-2005 at 04:42 PM.
Right on!!!
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