Tonight’s showdown is between the #2 seed Duke Blue Devils and the #7 seed Creighton Blue Jays this should be quite a contest. Coming into this evenings affair both teams really haven’t been tested just yet in the tournament. Duke is fresh off of a 73-61 win over the Great Danes of Albany University, a game where seniors Seth Curry and Mason Plumlee combined for 49 of Duke’s 73 points. Albany made some legit pushes throughout the ballgame, but never were a real threat to the Blue Devils. Coach Mike Krzyzewski and Duke look to make it to their 4th Sweet Sixteen appearance in 5 seasons with a win over the Blue Jays Sunday night.
The Creighton Blue Jays escaped a hungry and more athletic Cincinnati Bearcat’s ballclub in order to be in this position.Creighton is one game away from reaching the Sweet Sixteen for the first time since 1974. Missouri Valley Champion Creighton enters tonight as the underdog, and the two-time All – American Doug McDermott still has a bitter taste in his mouth from last season. Creighton exited at this same exact time last year thanks to the North Carolina Tar Heels. A long way from Omaha, the Blue Jays aim to advance in this years NCAA Tournament with a win over the Duke Blue Devils tonight.
Keys to the Game: (Duke)
– Seth Curry must get going early, vs Albany 10-14 shooting 26 points, and (2-2) from behind the three point line.
– Creighton is #1 in the nation in FG% (.508) Duke must force the Blue Jays to take bad shots.
Mason Plumlee must be a MAN tonight. vs Maryland in the ACC Tournament Alex Len gave Plumlee problems. Mason has to be aggressive from the tip.
-Control the Crowd
Keys to the Game: (Creighton)
– Junior Doug McDermott must play like an All-American, averaging (23.2)ppg and (7.6) rebs during the 2013 season. In win vs Cincinnati 7-15 for 27 points and shot (11-11) from the free throw line.
-Role players MUST be step up, the bench only scored 12 points vs the Bearcats
-Mangage the clock and minutes, Greg McDermott has a very small rotation usually plays 6-7 players. Timeouts will be very valuable in tonight’s matchup.
-Do not get into a shootout with Duke. Play at a consistent tempo, the Blue Devils are 6th in the nation in scoring at 78.3 ppg.
Duke:
Scoring
C Mason Plumlee (17.4)ppg
G Seth Curry (17.3)ppg
F/C Ryan Kelly (14.0)ppg
Rebounding
C Mason Plumlee (10.4)rpg
F/C Ryan Kelly (5.5)rpg
G Quinn Cook (3.8)rpg
Assists
G Quinn Cook (5.4)apg
G Tyler Thornton (2.3)apg
G Rasheed Sulaimon (2.0)apg
Creighton
Scoring
F Doug McDermott (23.2)ppg
C Greg Echenique (9.7)ppg
G Grant Gibbs (8.5)ppg
Rebounding
F Doug McDermott (7.6)rpg
C Greg Echenique (6.7)rpg
G Grant Gibbs (4.1)rpg
Assists
G Grant Gibbs (5.9)apg
G Austin Chatman (4.3)apg
G Jahenns Manigat (2.3)apg
X Factor (Duke)
Junior G/F Rasheed Sulaimon, he has to play exceptionally well defensively. Stay at home on the shooters. Sulaimon is able to put up points as well if he can score anywhere from 11-13 points Duke should have no problem winning this game.
X Factor (Creighton)
Greg McDermott, Coaching is going to be key for Creighton we know what to expect from Doug McDermott and company. It will be his job to manage the clock as far as when to call timeouts and so forth. McDermotts’s rotations are some what short about 6-7 players deep. Must keep pace throughout and make good use of their timeouts.
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The Sports Edification 