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Does SOS really matter?

dynastydreamuk

dynastydreamuk

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Nov 18, 2010
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If duke wins the title this year, and looks like they will,

Does it really matter if you play a weak schedule?

If your good your good. They honed their craft against crap ACC teams but doesn't seem to matter.

Bonus topic:
Scheyer in his 3rd year as a head coach, getting all the talent he wants and winning a title within ease.
It kind of reiterates how Calipari should have won more titles. He had soooo much talent those first 10 years, a 3 year head coach scheyer is getting it done.

I'm thinking any coach could win the title with Anthony Davis or Cooper Flag, that 2015 team should never have lost but we played games low scoring at times, some in the 60s if my memory is correct. Sigh
 
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RoyKent

RoyKent

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Feb 3, 2015
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Everyone on here said Duke wasn’t great because they didn’t play anybody.

SOS doesn’t mean crap if you are great
 
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dynastydreamuk

dynastydreamuk

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JFCats22 said:
Everyone on here said Duke wasn’t great because they didn’t play anybody.

SOS doesn’t mean crap if you are great
Click to expand...
The 2014 Wichita state team that was undefeated was actually really really good too, they just got very unlucky to play a loaded talented UK team that had an 8 seed due to Cal coaching lol

Point is Wichita state played nobody really but they were legit. I feel like they would have won it all if they hadn't played us that night
 
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Bluesnky

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Jan 24, 2013
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I tend to think teams need to have experience playing in close games and maybe playing from behind. More often than not aheer bad luck will put you in that position even if you’re a great team. It’s tough to make it through the tournament without that experience, but it can be done.
 
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TucsonCat

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I would say it helps. But it's not disqualifying.
Yet that was the way every Duke obsessed thread was written. Those whackos were searching for any reason to dismiss Duke.

I hate Duke. Whatever flaw they might have is the most important thing in basketball. Therefore strength of schedule means they stink. Repeat until I believe it
 
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fatguy87

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SOS doesn’t matter much.

There are teams that play disproportionally well against weak teams. Wisconsin in the early 2010’s comes to mind.
 
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cats#1again

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Nov 27, 2011
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dynastydreamuk said:
If duke wins the title this year, and looks like they will,

Does it really matter if you play a weak schedule?

If your good your good. They honed their craft against crap ACC teams but doesn't seem to matter.

Bonus topic:
Scheyer in his 3rd year as a head coach, getting all the talent he wants and winning a title within ease.
It kind of reiterates how Calipari should have won more titles. He had soooo much talent those first 10 years, a 3 year head coach scheyer is getting it done.

I'm thinking any coach could win the title with Anthony Davis or Cooper Flag, that 2015 team should never have lost but we played games low scoring at times, some in the 60s if my memory is correct. Sigh
Click to expand...
What an awful post lol

There's no comparison in recruiting to what Duke has gotten the last 11 years. It's not close.
They took over the recruiting front in the 2015 class and have yet to win a title. 2 final 4's I believe. They have gotten something like 6 #1 players since that 2015 class.
 
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cats#1again

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JFCats22 said:
Everyone on here said Duke wasn’t great because they didn’t play anybody.

SOS doesn’t mean crap if you are great
Click to expand...
Sos definitely means something. You can still be a great team and not have a crazy sos. Nobody was saying Duke isn't great. They are a great team. They're just extremely young
 
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precipitance

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It has advantages and disadvantages. It allows the star freshmen a chance to learn the playbook and their roles while not piling up losses. The problem it brings is they don't see adversity enough to know how to handle it against great teams. This Duke team was blowing everyone out, even Houston for awhile. At the end of the game they relied on freshmen to put them over the top and they were to rattled to deliver. A tougher conference would have given them the experience to weather the storm.

If they were leaning on upperclassmen, it's probably more of an advantage to play in a bad conference.
 
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Ron Mehico

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It absolutely helps because it prepares you to play in tight games, which is a skill believe it or not. It teaches you how to close out a good team, it teaches you not to take plays off and value possessions etc. If you practice against better players it makes you better, same thing with teams. Duke **** their pants in a tight game last night.
 
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UKAlum84

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Does Houston win a nc this year? They've fought pretty hard. Strength of schedule, I bet UK had a sos higher than Houston's but oh well...

Looks like Im wrong, Houston actually beats UK with sos ranking.
 
LineSkiCat14

LineSkiCat14

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Aug 5, 2015
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It probably depends. If they played a tougher schedule, they probably are more battle-tested, but they also probably have more losses and are a 2 or 3 seed. Then again, Kentucky played a brutal schedule, lost a good amount, and we were still a 3 seed. So who knows.

I think what you want to have ideally, is a top50-ish schedule.. so you're actually being tested and your flaws are being exposed so you can work on them.. but theres really no need for some gauntlet schedule where you're just taking on a good deal of extra losses and hurting your seeding. You need to play tough competition but you dont need to play top25 teams almost every night either.
 
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Cats192

Heisman
Apr 22, 2011
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It doesn't, but it does.

Duke was good enough to win the national championship. Duke was so good, they were up on an ELITE Houston team by 14 with less than 10 minutes to go. Duke's strength of schedule or lack thereof wasn't preventing them from being an Elite team.

Duke was better than the majority of the SEC teams despite a way weaker SOS.

Where it does matter: Duke hasn't been in many close game situations since the Calendar hit 2025 and they started ACC play. They haven't felt pressure. They haven't had to fight through the nerves. They haven't had the reps to where they do the winning things without thinking about it.

The out of bounds pass turnover is 1 example. Flagg's last shot was a good look. But for a superstar, #1 overall draft pick, maybe even generational guy--he should have gone to the rim.

And when you lose a few more games in crunch time because of those plays--you sharpen that sword. They didn't have to.

Houston is in the Big 12. They haven't lost since February 1st. But they have had several single digit games since then. They've felt the pressure. They've been in the fire. When winning time came, they did what they do.
 
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