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Can we beat Duke without Foster AND Ngongba?

19.2 points per game 9.6 rebounds per game 4.7 assists 2 players who started 29+ games each Foster and Ngongba were 3rd and 4th on their team in “Usage”, behind only Evans and Boozer. They are both out for the ACC Tournament.
103 Replies
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rodoheel

Mar 10, 2:45 PM

Tarheelfan87 said:
19.2 points per game 9.6 rebounds per game 4.7 assists 2 players who started 29+ games each They are both out for the ACC Tournament.
Maybe. But didn't we basically just fail to do so? Those guys played a total of 11 minutes in the recent game, all by Foster.
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tarhellraiser

Mar 10, 2:46 PM

With Caleb, I think we mollywop their asses. Alas..
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Rikster2

Mar 10, 2:47 PM

There is some evidence to suggest we cannot lol but, it is another day. Maybe it would be like Team USA getting blown out by the Soviets in an exhibition right before Lake Placid
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OakForestHeel

Mar 10, 2:48 PM

I’d think our chances would be much better on a neutral court and time to prepare. Teams often elevate their play during a game and a game after losing a key player but they are unquestionably weaker without those two .
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dubtowntarheel

Mar 10, 2:48 PM

I think playing on a "neutral" court and having a game plan for no Foster will make a big difference. I think we can win, I expect the line to be like dook - 6.5 which isn't insurmountable.
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heelforlife15

Mar 10, 2:49 PM

Personally I don’t think so. The talent difference is still too much, especially without our most talented player.
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ameans1

Mar 10, 2:49 PM

no
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rodoheel

Mar 10, 2:51 PM

dubtowntarheel said:
I think playing on a "neutral" court and having a game plan for no Foster will make a big difference. I think we can win, I expect the line to be like dook - 6.5 which isn't insurmountable.
The line is almost certainly going to be more like Duke -10.5.
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GoWhitePhantoms

Mar 10, 2:53 PM

they weren't on the court when duke ragdolled CHD with that 24-2 run, it was little boozer and malik brown. However if those two get in foul trouble it could be enough to make them play soft enough defense to outscore, i think after the trashing that duke will open as a favorite BUT the Heels can win, yes. Arguably should win with time to prepare for a game plan. these are the games CHD must win if he wants any chance to remain head coach long term
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BuckHeels2356

Mar 10, 2:54 PM

Since we already beat them with them on the court. Yes we can.
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Cobyfor3

Mar 10, 2:54 PM

Take care of the ball and yes. 14 turnovers in our last game was tied for the season high, and dook scored 24 points off of turnovers which is also a season high.
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Uncandme

Mar 10, 2:54 PM

If Bogavac hadn't played so wild we would have had a much better showing. He's a spot up shooter when playing right.
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Rikster2

Mar 10, 2:54 PM

TBH I do not think missing those 2 would hurt dook until the Elite 8 or so in the NCAAT unless Boozer gets in foul trouble for extended stretches
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Tarheelfan87

Mar 10, 2:58 PM

They are basically a 6 man rotation at this point.. 7 if you really wanna stretch it. Any sort of foul trouble or another injury and they could be in serious trouble.
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THB15

Mar 10, 3:01 PM

Yeah I think we can. Wouldn't expect it but I do think it's a pretty winnable game if neither play. Still justifiable underdogs because Boozer is a generational offensive force and their defense is still good with Brown but lacks the high end rim protection. Biggest issue to me is that without Wilson, Carolina just does not have a good matchup for Boozer. May be worth the inverse of what we did last Saturday and just try and guard him 1 on 1 and wall up and if he scores 35 in the paint finishing over Veesaar but don't let Duke get a bunch of free kick outs from his drives you can probably keep pace on offense. If neither guy is available I think Duke is closer to a top 5-10 team than they are #1.
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BravesHeels

Mar 10, 3:05 PM

They’d still be favored, but I think we certainly CAN. We’d need to shoot close to or better than 40% from 3 and play through Henri though (and avoid foul trouble for him and Jarin)
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crash2500

Mar 10, 3:05 PM

dubtowntarheel said:
I think playing on a "neutral" court and having a game plan for no Foster will make a big difference. I think we can win, I expect the line to be like dook - 6.5 which isn't insurmountable.
I'm thinking -10
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RaiGuy

Mar 10, 3:08 PM

We clearly got rattled on their court. I think on a neutral court, it’ll be a completely different game.
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THB15

Mar 10, 3:08 PM

And I think it flies under the radar a bit because Boozer is the opposite of flashy but by functionally all advanced metrics calculations he's the best college basketball player of the last...10 years? 15 years? I don't really know how far back you'd need to go to find someone who approximates his productivity. Boozer's Pomeroy national player of the year rating right now is 3.25 and the second best player in the country is Joshua Jefferson at 1.76. Last year Cooper Flag was kPOY with a rating of 2.73 and Johni Broome was at 2.31. He's a very good but not elite rebounder, he's an elite passer who doesn't turn the ball over (25.6% assist rate) and he's got a 67% true shooting rate on almost 30% usage. So if Boozer is on the court and he has some reasonable talent around him, they're going to be a tough out unless he just has an anomalously bad night.
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TheHeelsDJ

Mar 10, 3:08 PM

On a neutral court...yes! And we will provided we get past Clemson.
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Razbill23

Mar 10, 3:08 PM

Let’s get through Thursday first. Clemson and VT gave us all we could handle on our home court. Two hungry and desperate teams on a neutral court in March won’t be an easy task.
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HeWhoIsFondOfTheTarHeels

Mar 10, 3:11 PM

Yes, and so can Florida State.
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tomhpoole

Mar 10, 3:14 PM

I think we can, for sure. Even with how bad parts of that game in Cameron were we still had it within 1 in the second half before the wheels fell off. More time to prepare to attack a team without Foster and Ngongba, and the next game (if we get it) would be on a neutral court. I still don't think we WILL, but we'll have a shot.
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AshHeel

Mar 10, 3:15 PM

THB15 said:
And I think it flies under the radar a bit because Boozer is the opposite of flashy but by functionally all advanced metrics calculations he's the best college basketball player of the last...10 years? 15 years? I don't really know how far back you'd need to go to find someone who approximates his productivity. Boozer's Pomeroy national player of the year rating right now is 3.25 and the second best player in the country is Joshua Jefferson at 1.76. Last year Cooper Flag was kPOY with a rating of 2.73 and Johni Broome was at 2.31. He's a very good but not elite rebounder, he's an elite passer who doesn't turn the ball over (25.6% assist rate) and he's got a 67% true shooting rate on almost 30% usage. So if Boozer is on the court and he has some reasonable talent around him, they're going to be a tough out unless he just has an anomalously bad night.
Imagine if Duke had a Kon level talent on this team. So glad Coward went league

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