WVU Vs. Duke After narrowly escaping Belmont, the Duke Blue Devils (28-5) face off the West Virginia Mountaineers (25-10) Saturday afternoon at 2:10pm ET. Having just won their first NCAA tournament win under new head coach Bob huggins, the Mountaineers looked poised and capable last night against Arizona, and don't expect them to be much different come Saturday.
WVU was 11 for19 beyond the three point line versus Arizona with 6 steals, 3 of which came solely from Alex Ruoff. Controlling the tempo of the game was a key factor in last night's win, and I expect them to do the same against the Blue Devils. Butler and Ruoff both were extremely solid last night with 9-13 and 8-11 field goals made respectively, and even though Alexander didn't have a stellar night, he still had a good game with 14 points, and a 100% field goal percentage.
Duke's Demarcus Nelson typically defends the opponents best perimeter player, so look for him to be on Alexander tomorrow. With Butlet and Ruoff stepping up though, there's a chance that having him on focused solely on Joe might hurt the Blue Devils strategically. Brian Zoubek of the Blue Devils was out for nine games with a broken left foot during the regular season but is now healthy enough to resume play as center. His previous injury could have a factor on his ability to run the court. Duke's blue-chipper from beyond the three point line, Greg Paulus, is 72 for 101 beyond the arc. He helped his team win against UNC in the regular season.
The game should be a good one to watch, as the Mountaineers rarely take on a team with such a storied history as the Duke Blue Devils. This game is definitely a big stepping stone for the Mountaineers to keep their NCAA tournament hopes alive. |