Josh and Raul are joined by Zion Olojede of the Crazie Cast podcast to preview Duke's big matchup against UNC this Saturday. They start by getting Zion's general thoughts on Duke's season so far as well as Duke's unexpectedly close win over NC State earlier this week. They discuss Cooper Flagg's dominance, Kon Knueppel's solid showing, and the team's recent struggles shooting the ball. They talk about whether Isaiah Evans should have played more minutes. They debate how much Pat Ngongba will play when Maliq Brown returns from injury.

Then they turn their attention to the upcoming rivalry game. How does Zion feel about Kenpom's predicted 16-point spread in favor of Duke? Who will guard Ian Jackson, and what are some other matchups to watch? How will Duke handle UNC's four-guard lineups? Will Duke counter with minutes for Mason Gillis at the 5, or will they stay big and try to punish UNC on the glass? What is the impact of playing UNC in a "down year" for the program?

Zion Olojede can be found on Twitter @zionolojede. You can find the Crazie Cast podcast on the Field of 68 network as well as on Twitter @CrazieCast.

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Josh and Raul give their off-the-cuff thoughts on Duke's gritty 63-56 win over Wake Forest. What did Duke do well in the first half to take a 35-22 lead? What happened after halftime? Why did Duke only score six points for the next 12 minutes? Lastly, how was the team able to right the ship and go on a 14-2 run of their own to get Scheyer his first win as a head coach at Joel Coliseum?

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Josh, Dustin, and Raul chat with Brian Geisinger of 247Sports and the Buzz Beat Podcast about Duke's evolution throughout the season. Topics discussed include:

• Duke's offensive improvements in recent weeks
• Strategies Duke has borrowed from the Boston Celtics
• Sion James in the dunker's spot
• Duke's 3pt volume and number of open looks generated
• Tyrese Proctor as a screener
• Flare screens for Isaiah Evans
• Cooper Flagg in the middle of the lane
• Mason Gillis as a small-ball 5
• Changing pick-and-roll coverages depending on which big man is on the floor
• Gauging how good this Duke team given the competition level

Then they preview the matchup tomorrow with Wake Forest. Why has Wake shot the ball so poorly this year? How can they still be dangerous to Duke despite their offensive struggles? How should Duke attack their hard hedges of the ball screen?

Brian's work can be found at https://briangeisinger.substack.com/, including an article referenced in this podcast:

https://briangeisinger.substack.com/p/the-maine-thing-duke-starts-to-work

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Josh, Dustin, and Raul react to Duke's 88-63 victory over Boston College. Topics include:

• How Boston College was able to keep this game competitive for so long
• Defensive question marks in certain center matchups with Maliq Brown out
• Mason Gillis's importance as both a leader and post defender
• Cooper Flagg's improved shot diet and unreal offensive efficiency
• Updated player comparisons for Flagg
• Boston College's strategy to double-team Kon Knueppel
• Whether this was Tyrese Proctor's best game
• Isaiah Evans' irrational confidence
• The state of college basketball officiating

Then they talk about the college basketball landscape as a whole. What is it that's made this season historically dominant at the top, according to Kenpom numbers? And is that a concern for Duke heading into the NCAA tournament?

Lastly, they talk about Jaylen Blakes' game-winner for Stanford vs. UNC, and the season he's having for Stanford overall.

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Josh, Dustin, and Raul are joined by Jordan Mann of The Big J & Little J Show to talk Duke's impressive 89-54 win over Miami as well as do a general check-in on the Blue Devils' season so far. Topics discussed include:

• How Duke generates the most open threes in the country
• The value of the screens set by Maluach and the other bigs in generating these threes
• Cooper Flagg's passing
• The play of Flagg, Maluach, and Kon Knueppel in January
• The best player comparison for Maluach
• How difficult it can be for upperclassmen to embrace the stardom of freshmen
• Caleb Foster's solid performance against Miami and how he can simplify the game for himself
• How to maximize Isaiah Evans
• Jon Scheyer as the best defensive coach in the country
• The versatility of how Duke guards the ball screen
• Pat Ngongba's positive minutes during Maliq Brown's absence
• Other lineups and strategies Duke can explore with Brown out
• Potential stumbling block games for Duke in ACC play
• The upcoming Boston College game

In addition to the Big J & Little J Show, Jordan Mann is also the host of CBB Addiction and has a YouTube channel where he breaks down Duke matchups in detail: https://www.youtube.com/@JMann_

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Josh and Dustin react to Duke's 86-78 win over Notre Dame. Topics include:

• Cooper Flagg's record-setting 42-point performance
• Duke's 14-0 start
• Notre Dame's barrage of 1st half threes
• Duke's defensive struggles against Notre Dame's spread offense
• The 15-1 run by Notre Dame that made this game close late
• The impact of Maliq Brown's absence
• Lack of production from the bench over the last few games
• The value of being tested by close games

Then they briefly preview Miami and talk a bit about how far the ACC has fallen since the glory days of Duke-Miami matchups.

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Josh, Dustin, and Raul give their unfiltered thoughts immediately following Duke's 76-47 domination of the Pittsburgh Panthers in Cameron.

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Josh, Dustin, and Raul react to Duke's 89-62 domination of SMU on the road, which moved the Blue Devils to 4-0 in the ACC and got them a valuable Quad 1 victory for their resume. They asses how Duke was able to control the game despite the absence of head coach Jon Scheyer. Topics discussed include:

• Duke's hot offensive start
• Cooper Flagg's continued offensive improvements
• Khaman Maluach's defensive impact at the rim
• Tyrese Proctor's aggressiveness
• Sion James as the team's steadying presence
• Caleb Foster's strong game off the bench
• A (perhaps overly) lengthy discussion of Foster's best role going forward
• Mason Gillis's 2nd consecutive solid showing

Then they turn their attention to the Pittsburgh game in Cameron. They talk about what makes Pitt the 2nd best team in the ACC and how Duke can slow their potent, guard-driven offense down. They also speculate about how much a desire for revenge will play a factor for Duke after Pitt beat them in Cameron last year in humiliating fashion.

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Josh, Dustin, and Raul react to Duke's 88-65 victory over Virginia Tech. Topics discussed include:

• Another slow start shooting the ball
• The consistent defensive effort and IQ up and down the roster
• Cooper Flagg's hyper-efficient performance
• Khaman Maluach's troubles catching the ball
• Tyrese Proctor's offensive aggression
• Isaiah Evans commitment to off-ball movement
• Caleb Foster's continued struggles
• The nine-man rotation that has emerged for Duke

Then they look ahead to matchup with SMU, one of Duke's toughest road games left on the season. They talk keys to the game and players to watch out for. What can Duke expect in its first trip to Moody Coliseum?

Lastly, they ring in the new year by sharing their favorite Duke basketball moments from 2024.

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Raul and Dustin are joined by friend of the pod, Rick Heidrick, to dissect the season so far. Topics discussed include:

• Duke's two early season losses being part of the learning process
• The maturity and poise Duke showed in later wins vs. Auburn and Louisville
• The elite defense and evolving offense
• Duke's strong statistical indicators

Then they turn their attention to Duke's dominating 82-56 road win over Georgia Tech. Topics covered include:

• The lull at the end of the 1st half after a strong start that allowed GT to cut the lead to five
• The response to start the 2nd half
• Khaman Maluach's increased playing time and impact
• Kon Knueppel's strong showing as a pick-and-roll ballhandler
• Whether Knueppel can solve Duke's question marks at point guard
• The value of Isaiah Evans' energy and shooting off the bench
• Caleb Foster's role going forward
• How Duke can generate more free throws and scoring at the rim

Lastly, they look ahead to Virginia Tech before talking about various miscellaneous college basketball topics including UNC's struggles and the uncertainties of portal recruiting.

You can follow Rick at rheidrick24 on Twitter.

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Josh, Dustin, and Raul react to Duke's 68-47 win over George Mason. They talk about the continued slow offensive starts and poor 3pt shooting. Are these trends cause for concern? They also discuss Isaiah Evans' impact off the bench and how big a role he can realistically have.

Next, they run through their holiday wish list for the team and individual players. They pick skills they'd like to give to each starter as well as a global improvement they'd like to see the team make. They also award the team its "lump of coal" -- their biggest criticism or complaint about the team's performance to date.

Lastly, they briefly preview Duke's second ACC game of the season, at Georgia Tech on Saturday.

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