March Madness Headlines
Duke vs. UCF Summary
UCFs defense essentially dared Duke to shoot from the perimeter, with a combination of a zone defense and 7-foot-6 Tacko Fall guarding the rim. The strategy definitely kept UCF in the game, but when you look at things in closer detail it had mixed results. Duke’s primary scorers, Zion Williamson, RJ Barrett, and Cam Reddish, actually shot quite well from the perimeter, finishing a combined 8-for-14 from beyond the arc. But Duke’s point guards, Tre Jones and Jordan Goldwire, struggled, making a combined 2-for-11 threes.
Second, UCF shot a lot of threes themselves, finishing 9-for-18 from beyond the arc .The thought here is that if Duke is going to struggle from the perimeter, you can conceivably trade 2s for 3s with the Blue Devils in critical stretches to gain a lead. This most definitely contributed to UCF’s primary runs during the game, where they were able to open up two-possession leads multiple times.
Take the defensive to start. The best way to defend Duke is probably with a zone. But Duke has also shown it has a game plan of its own against the typical zone defense that has had success, even without stellar three-point shooting. What’s more, no team in America will be able to replicate the challenge presented by Fall at the basket.There were further signs that the defensive performance put forth by UCF was an exception rather than the rule. Duke averages nearly 15 made free throws per game on the season, and the offensive game plan on Sunday clearly involved attacking the rim to get to the line once again. But despite that, Duke only attempted 12 free throws all game against the Golden Knights.
Duke actually is one of the best teams at defending three point shots in the nation, with opponents averaging under 30% shooting from beyond the arc this season. With the exception of some early game defensive lapses, most of the threes that Dawkins and the Golden Knights made were contested shots. Quite simply, UCF’s 50% shooting from beyond the arc was more a function of Dawkins playing the game of his life than any particular offensive game plan.
I’d argue it’s the following: put a 7-foot-6 giant underneath the rim, make sure that chance is on your side and nearly all of the “50–50” whistles go your way, and somehow ensure that your team beats the law of averages and shoots the lights out against a fantastic perimeter defense. There isn’t another Tacko Fall lingering in the Sweet 16/
Top 5 teams in the sweet 16:
5: Michigan
Mistake-free basketball. Michigan does not allow easy buckets. It keeps opponents off the offensive glass. It rarely commits fouls or turnovers. Simply put, this team values every possession on both ends of the floor. It is difficult to put together any sustained run against the Wolverines.
4: Gonzaga
Rejuvenated. Gonzaga was awful in the WCC championship game. Full stop. Out of nowhere, the most efficient offense in KenPom history couldn’t buy a bucket against a team it had beaten 94–46 one month prior to that night. But the Bulldogs put a hurting on Fairleigh Dickinson in the first round and surged to an early 37–19 lead over Baylor before putting that game into cruise control too.
3: North Carolina
Speed and boards. While a lot of good teams (Virginia, Michigan, Kansas State and Cincinnati, to name a few) like to slow the game down and frustrate you with defense, North Carolina prefers the opposite approach. The Tar Heels love to run, and they know they have the talent (and conditioning) to beat anyone in a game with 70 or more possessions. They can take made free throws by the opposing team and somehow turn them into transition buckets.
2: Duke
Transition buckets. Steals and blocks that turn into run-outs are Duke’s specialty. If they end with a stadium-shaking dunk, even better. When things slow down and the Blue Devils have to run half-court offense, they are dominant in the paint — both in two-point percentage and offensive rebounds.
1: Michigan State
Paint protection. Opponents shoot 41.6 percent on two-pointers against Michigan State. The Spartans are number 2 in the nation in that category and rank top-20 in block percentage. They don’t have a singular rim-protector like Tacko Fall or Matt Haarms, but they do have three forwards (Nick Ward, Xavier Tillman and Kenny Goins) who work like mad to deny easy buckets.
