And we're off!
- Duke opened up the season 3-0 but got a huge scare from Rhode Island on Sunday. Good thing for them they enjoyed their usual FT advantage over an opposing team. My take on Duke and I have not seen them play so take this for what it is worth is they lack quality of depth and multiple reliable weapons. I have never figured out why no one thought losing DeMarcus Nelson would not be a major hole to fill. The bottom line is this Duke team is different from the one last season and it is not clear to me they have improved. Much will be made of the close game at home versus a team that only beat Brown by two, that is to be expected. Based on my very cursory look, Duke seems to rely heavily on the Singler/Scheyer combination, still does not have an effective interior game and the three point shooting which was so hot last season is fairly cool now. Maybe Greg Paulus only playing 11 minutes like he did versus RI is a factor. At any rate, Duke right now has more questions marks than anything else.
- Clemson is off to a 3-0 start as well winning some small tournament in Charleston by knocking off Temple.
- UVa won over VMI which is more meaningful than it would have been before VMI knocked off Kentucky a few days ago.
- FSU continues to validate that Leonard Hamilton has no idea what he is doing as they almost fall to Jacksonville in their opener.
- NC State avenged last season's loss to New Orleans by beating the Privateers on the road. I would ask for ideas on how we can devalue this win but I am not sure a six point win over New Orleans can be devalued much more.