• yesterday
Transcript
00:00Kentucky Wildcats, Duke Blue Devils.
00:05This was the marquee game last night, 77-72 final,
00:08which the Kentucky Wildcats won that game in an upset over Duke.
00:12Duke looked like they had it going in the first half here, Dubs.
00:1546 points, they had a 9-point lead at the break,
00:17only for the second half to completely flip over
00:19and saw Kentucky get into the 40s and Duke being held to 26 points.
00:23If you go Superstar watching last night, obviously Cooper Flagg,
00:26probably the biggest superstar in college men's basketball,
00:309-of-19 from the floor, 32 minutes,
00:32finished the game with 12 rebounds and 26 points, but it wasn't enough.
00:37Credit Kentucky for coming back, strong play all the way through.
00:40Mark Pope, this is a great way to start your season.
00:42I'll say to get 3-0 with a win over a top-10 team in the Duke Blue Devils.
00:47Yeah, this can go a long way in building confidence
00:50to just solidify that the Kentucky Wildcats are absolutely the real deal
00:54under Mark Pope.
00:56So another, I guess, test of the medal there, but for the Blue Devils,
01:00they come up a little short late in this one.
01:02The big difference for me, Donnie, was that 3-point shooting,
01:05and it ultimately cost the Devils.
01:07They just couldn't get that spark from out wide for Kentucky.
01:10They look better the further this game went on,
01:12outscoring them in the second, 40-26 there.
01:15So a couple of big plays, a couple of big numbers,
01:17but for the Kentucky Wildcats, this was the test.
01:20This was the referendum game early in the season.
01:22Now sitting at 3-0.
01:23I thought it was fantastic for Cooper Flagg,
01:25who we know is an absolute superstar in this sport for Duke.
01:28He lived up to the billing, putting up a little 26-piece,
01:32but there were a couple of misfires late in this game,
01:35which I think could have kept Duke a little closer to the Wildcats,
01:38but it wasn't enough.
01:40They fall short in the State Farm Champions Classic.
01:42But College Herbs, a couple of big matchups last night
01:45in Kentucky Wildcats.
01:46They were the standouts.
01:48Yeah, and by the way, you look at these games,
01:50which does make it tough because, you know,
01:52analyzing a college basketball season,
01:54they're going to play, what, 35 games in the regular season schedule or so.
01:57Once you get in the conference play,
01:58they'll have 10 to 15 games under their belt.
02:00You're playing in home arenas that you're used to,
02:02away arenas that you've been to before.
02:04Sometimes when you get to these NBA arenas early on,
02:06the shooting can go cold.
02:08Now granted, Duke's going to rebound.
02:09Duke's going to have a very good season.
02:11But you play two cupcakes on your schedule,
02:13then you enter into a play a team in the top 20.
02:15You see Duke 4 of 23 from the three-point line.
02:18That's under 20%.
02:20Con Knafel's a very good three-point shooter.
02:22It was first two games, raining down triples.
02:24He shot eight of them last night, Dubsy.
02:26Only made one of those three-point shots.
02:28So a shot here or there that could go down can help,
02:30but this is what you get, leveling up in competition,
02:33playing in a foreign arena.
02:34Sometimes it doesn't go in your favor.
02:36So credit the Kentucky Wildcats for getting through that
02:38because it looked like Duke was on their way,
02:39probably to 100 points in that game,
02:41really clamped down on defense.
02:43But the shooting of Duke hurt them.
02:44What did you think, Dubsy, last night out of Cooper Flagg?
02:46The kid is a sensation.
02:47The 26 points, the 12 boards you love,
02:49but coming down the stretch,
02:51two key turnovers when it mattered most.
02:53He turned it over.
02:55Yeah, a couple of, I guess, misfires,
02:58a couple of miscues there, if you will.
03:00And this is what's going to happen
03:01when you lean on the kid for so much production.
03:04He's literally trying to do it all by himself.
03:06I thought he was very efficient with his shooting.
03:08Wasn't fantastic from out wide,
03:10but, you know, was busy in the paint,
03:12picking up 12 boards there as well.
03:14I just feel like, Donnie, when you watch, you know,
03:16a lot of the college basketball,
03:18especially early in the season,
03:19there's such an influence from the NBA to the college level.
03:24And when they get down by four, six points
03:26and there's two minutes left on the clock,
03:28I'm thinking, just get in the paint,
03:30get the easy points, get the easy buckets.
03:32But they continue to fire it out wide
03:35and chase the three bomb to get them back in the equation.
03:38But they just don't have that skill set.
03:40The three-point shooting is not at the same level.
03:43So it was a tough watch for me
03:44because I thought Duke did enough to stay in this ball game
03:47right up until the final minute,
03:49but ultimately just falling a little short.
03:51But the freshman, Cooper Flagg, continues to impress.
03:55And the Blue Devils, they are the real deal.
03:57Both sides here, they're going to be right in the mix there
04:00once it's all said and done.
04:01But Kentucky, the Wildcats,
04:02absolutely roared for your Tuesday evening.
04:05♪

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