No matter where you turn, from college basketball analysts to betting experts, Duke benefits the national title.
Blue Devils received odds as short as -110 when all -chalk final Four was completed. They are facing a Houston team that is on a 17-game winning line, then which SEC representative is shown in the Florida-Auburn game.
Why would I play counter for that? I just saw the Duke with my own eyes. Give me the dukes over the field.
An average college -fan knows about the Kenpom state that I mentioned yesterday -how these last four owns own four of the 10 best Kenpom -adjusted efficiency ratings of all time. But I don’t think we do enough another factoid.
Duke can become the first team in Kenpom.com’s history (since 1997) that ended with an adjusted offensive grade over 130 points per 100 possessions. They are at 130.1 through Elite Eight.
Blue Devil’s efficiency was clear when I covered them in East Regional in Newark. Cooper Flagg is a threat anywhere on the court, but they also boast an unstoppable lob-threat in Khaman Maluach, who took up more cans than I could count, and three 40% 3-point shooters in the first five-kon Knueppel, Tyrese Proctor and Sion James.
The main argument I have seen in favor of Houston has to do with its experience and defensive power. After all, this is a matchup between No. 1 Kenpom crime and defense # 1, and Houston’s list is filled with fourth and fifth-year players that will theoretically be more convenient under the lamps than Duke’s Freshman Trio of flag, Knueppel and Maluach.
I have supported this Houston team all season, and I would take cougars in any other matchup – just not this one. Duke has a suffocating defense of his own, one that I trust more than Houston’s crime.
The Duke players love to play defense, something you can’t say about every beginner-heavy range. While Duke has shot at least 50% in all four tournament games so far, it has also had three of these opponents below 37% from the field, with Arizona and Caleb Love as the only exceptions. Blue Devils dropped a high-driven Alabama crime like a balloon; A Houston team that has received points in the 60s each of the last two games does not disturb them.
Florida has had a fantastic year but needed a miracle to get past Texas Tech. Auburn had an uneven finish on the regular season, and it feels like you hear about a Johni Broome injury every third match. Both teams have the highest talent to win a championship almost every season, but Duke’s depth and full rotation is still superior.
Bonus’ preliminary spin: If you are tired of chalk, check out Women’s Final Four, which is much more versatile than men-with three no. 1 seeds and one no. I like Paige Bueckers, Sarah Strong and Huskies to win the title – a real triumph for sub -dogs everywhere.
