This can't be good news for the rest of the college basketball world. The season is just two weeks old and already the Duke Blue Devils are running roughshod over the competition. The Blue Devils, last season's national champion, entered this season as the pre-season No. 1. They have proven through six games that was a justified ranking. Duke is 6-0 and has won five of the six games by double digits. Their average margin of victory in the six games has been a whopping 28 points. They are averaging 91 points per game. Duke appears to be in mid-season form and it's only November.
The Competition Has Been Mixed
Duke has always tried to play a fair and balanced non-conference schedule. A few games against top ranked quality foes, a few games against mid-major programs and the requisite contests against the cupcake teams of Division 1. This season's schedule has been no different. Duke opened with three home games at Cameron Indoor Stadium against Princeton, Miami (Ohio) and Colgate. Last week was a much more stern test. Duke played Marquette in Kansas City in the semi-finals of the CBE Classic pre-season tournament. They played #4 Kansas State in the championship game of the tournament in what amounted to a home game for the Wildcats. Then this past Saturday November 27, 2010 the Devils traveled out to Portland to face Oregon. Duke has two very challenging games lined up for this week. On Wednesday December 1 they host Michigan State who were ranked pre-season No.2 and then on December 4 they have a re-match of last year's national championship game against Butler in New Jersey. The rest of the month features home games against Bradley, Saint Louis and Elon and a neutral court game versus UNC Greensboro. ACC play starts in January.
Everyone is Contributing
Coach K appears to have settled on a starting five. Seniors Nolan Smith and Kyle Singler along with freshman sensation Kyrie Irving were considered locks to start before the season started. The other two spots were up for grabs. Those positions have been won by Mason Plumlee and Ryan Kelly. Smith and Irving make up a dynamic backcourt while Singler, Plumlee and Kelly give the Devils a tall frontcourt with each of them standing 6'8' or better. The bench rotation thus far has basically consisted of Miles Plumlee, Andre Dawkins and Seth Curry. Dawkins and Curry are deadly sharpshooters and could be starters for about 90 percent of the teams in the country. At Duke they are complementary role players off the bench. That is why most analysts say Duke has the deepest group of backcourt players in the nation. Freshman Tyler Thornton and Josh Hairston have also seen very limited playing time through the first six games. Coach K typically employs an eight-man rotation and this year's team is shaping up the same way.
Coach K Could Tie His Mentor
Coach K needed 35 wins this season in order to tie his mentor Bobby Knight for the most wins in men's Division 1 coaching history. Duke went 35-5 last season in winning the national title. This season's team appears to be just as good and talented as that one. There are still four months left in the season and obviously a lot of basketball left to be played. However, if the first month of the season is any indication, the rest of the college basketball world will once again be left in the dust and the Cameron Crazies will be celebrating another title in Durham.
Steven Lysogorski - I was on the Major League Baseball beat for 16 years covering the Detroit Tigers for STATS,LLC. I was also an official scorer for 10 years ...
