3 Keys to Watch😈 Duke vs. KU

• 🏀 3 Keys for KU vs. Duke

• 📝 Quick Links: Viral Devin Neal tribute video

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EVERYTHING IN THIS NEWSLETTER IS BASED UPON WHAT I AM HEARING FROM PEOPLE I TRUST. PLEASE DO NOT MISTAKE THIS FOR FACT OR FOR ACTUAL JOURNALISM, WHICH HAS VERIFICATION STANDARDS THAT I HAVE NOT ADHERED TO. I DO NOT GUARANTEE THE ACCURACY OF THE CONTENT.

What to Watch for KU vs. Duke

• 🏟️ No. 11 Duke vs. No. 1 Kansas in Las Vegas

• 📺 8:00pm CT on ESPN

• 💰 Kansas is a 2.5-point underdog (no betting split data yet)

Quick Look: Duke

• Duke is coming off a 14-point win @ Arizona. Blew a late lead against Kentucky in the Champions Classic

• Ranked No. 1 in defense on Kenpom

• Freshman F Cooper Flagg (17.8 pts, 8.8 rebs) is the projected No. 1 pick in the NBA Draft

• 7’2” Freshman C Khaman Maluach is an athletic rim-runner to watch

• The tallest team in the country (average height per player)

Three Keys for KU-Duke

1. Stop Duke’s Supporting Cast

Cooper Flagg is gonna score, though I think KJ Adams is a decent matchup for KU here. Adams is quick and strong enough to make life harder for Flagg, but Adams isn’t quite long enough to completely disrupt his game.

I think this game comes down to KU’s ability to slow down Tyrese Proctor and Kon Knueppel (pronounced Kuh-Nipple).

Proctor is the biggest matchup to watch. The 6’6” junior guard doesn’t shoot much, but he’s hyper-efficient at 45.5% from three.

Knueppel is another excellent freshman on the wing, shooting 40% from three.

KU’s mix of Zeke Mayo, Rylan Griffen, and A.J. Storr can’t make defensive mistakes against a Blue Devils team that will make you pay.

2. Hunter Dickinson vs. Khaman Maluach

This is a fascinating matchup.

Dickinson faces Maluach, a 7’2” athletic, rim-running freshman who only averages 18 minutes (for now).

Dickinson presents a challenge the Blue Devils haven’t faced yet. Hardly any teams have challenged a long Duke team at the rim.

At the same time, Duke will try to run pick-and-roll to set up Maluach above the rim. More than half of the freshman’s shots this year have come in pick-and-roll sets.

KU should be prepared for it. Will we see a lot of Flory Bidunga? Will the Jayhawks handle ball-screen defense differently?

Bill Self’s choice here should be telling.

This matchup is gonna tilt heavily in one team’s favor. I’m just not sure who wins out.

3. Can KU Convert Open Threes?

I found an eye-opening combination of numbers when doing research on Duke. It’s a promising development for the Jayhawks.

• Duke has given up a lot of open threes, ranking in the 73rd percentile in unguarded jumpers.

• But Duke’s opponents have shot an abysmal 22.4% on those open looks.

In other words, teams have missed a ton of open looks against Duke.

Maybe Duke’s defensive strategy should get credit, and the open looks are by design — but there must be some luck involved here, too.

KU ranks No. 310 in 3-point attempts this year.

The Jayhawks need to find, shoot, and convert, their open looks.

🔮 Prediction:

Duke is just about the only team in the country where KU players will bring a chip on their shoulder into the action. And I like it when the Jayhawks are the hunters.

Give me KU’s experience and variety of styles against a Duke team that hasn’t faced a group as versatile as the Jayhawks.

Kansas 79, Duke 74

AND…

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🏈 This viral Devin Neal tribute video is absolutely worth watching 🥲

🏈 Dennis Dodd put Devin Neal on his list of players getting “Heisman Hype.”

🏈 Devin Neal was named Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week. Watch the Neal highlights the Big 12 released here.