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.

To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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.

To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Josh and Dustin react to Duke's 72-46 victory over Incarnate Word. Topics discussed include:

• Duke's sluggish offense that saw the team score 28 first half points against the #350 ranked defense
• The unexpectedly poor 3pt shooting from the team so far this season
• Isaiah Evans as a bright spot as a shooter
• Whether Evans needs more minutes and where those minutes would come from
• Khaman Maluach's big performance
• Patrick Ngongba's difficult start
• Mason Gillis as a steadying presence
• The impact of Maliq Brown's absence

To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Josh and Dustin react to Duke's 76-65 road win over the Louisville Cardinals. Topics discussed include:

• The repeated slow starts that lead to Duke playing from behind
• Louisville's early hot shooting
• Possible ways to clarify Foster's role
• Isaiah Evans' quiet follow-up to his explosion versus Auburn
• Maliq Brown's ranking in best Duke defenders ever
• Whether Brown should start over Khaman Maluach
• Kon Knueppel as a creator
• The poise Duke showed during their 26-10 run to close the game
• Taking care of the ball in back to back games
• Where Duke ranks currently among the best teams in the country

To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Josh, Dustin, and Raul react to Duke's 84-78 win over #2 Auburn. They analyze what it means for Duke's season as a whole before dissecting the game in detail. Topics discussed include:

• Dustin's experience in Cameron for the game
• The change to Duke's starting lineup
• The 13-2 hole Duke found themselves in early
• Caleb Foster's offensive aggression off the bench
• Isaiah Evans' huge 1st half
• Maliq Brown's defensive impact
• Cooper Flagg's 2nd half offensive performance
• The cause of Khaman Maluach's struggles as of late
• Kon Knueppel's difficulty getting open looks versus good opponents
• Tyrese Proctor's timely 2nd half buckets

Then they preview Duke's first ACC game of the season, at Louisville on Sunday. They talk about Louisville's improvements under new coach Pat Kelsey as well as the keys to a Duke victory.

To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Josh, Dustin, and Raul react to Duke's 70-48 win over Seattle. They talk about the team's #1 rated defense and what's made it successful. Then they talk about the team's offensive struggles. Why is this team, with so much shooting and talent, rated only 23rd on offense? Why are they not drawing free throws? How can the team generate more rim pressure?

Next, they turn their attention to an important matchup against Auburn. Can Duke take down the best team in the country (per all important metrics)? How much will homecourt advantage factor in? How does Duke's #1 defense match up against Auburn's #1 offense? Do they have the personnel to slow down Johni Broome?

To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Josh and Dustin react to Duke's 75-72 loss to Kansas in Las Vegas. Topics discussed include:

• Dustin's perspective from having been in the building live
• The slow start for Duke that had them down double digits
• Tyrese Proctor finding his ideal role in his junior season
• Needing more from Caleb Foster
• Lack of a point guard who can either set teammates up or create for himself
• The inability to capitalize on Hunter Dickinson's ejection
• Kon Knueppel's shooting struggles against high-end teams
• The success Duke found late with the Knueppel-Flagg pick and roll
• What went wrong on the final play
• Possible adjustments to the starting lineup and overall rotation Coach Scheyer can make
• How this loss positions Duke going forward

To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Josh and Raul react to Duke's impressive 69-55 road win over Arizona. Topics discussed include:

• Duke's suffocating defense, now ranked #1 in the country
• How Duke was able to take away Arizona's offensive rebounding, rim scoring, and transition game
• Whether this was Cooper Flagg's best defensive performance
• Why Cooper Flagg's shooting splits are a poor way of evaluating his impact
• The differences in style of play on both ends when Maliq Brown is in the game versus Khaman Maluach
• Maluach's inability to stay on the court for long periods of time
• Defensive rebounding from the guards
• The tendency of the team to fall back on Flagg isolations against tough opponents
• Why the offense in this game was more encouraging than the Kentucky game
• Duke's ability to weather multiple Arizona runs
• Kon Knueppel's difficulty finishing in the lane
• Knueppel's passing up open threes in the first half but letting it fly in the second half
• Caleb Foster's shooting struggles and overall hesitancy
• How to generate more off-ball movement on Foster drives
• Tyrese Proctor's hot first halves, and why he seems to fade in the second half
• Whether Sion James would be a better choice as a starter over Foster
• Mason Gillis's disappointing lack of impact

Then they talk about the Kansas matchup. What would a win mean for Duke going forward? What are some keys to getting that win? How does Duke handle Kansas's interior attack? Which frontcourt player will be the most effective at stopping Hunter Dickinson? Why may guard play actually decide the game?

To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Josh, Dustin, and Raul react to Duke's 86-35 blowout win over Wofford. Topics discussed include:

• The debut of Patrick Ngongba
• What he can bring to the team going forward
• Improved backcourt play from Caleb Foster and Tyrese Proctor
• Proctor's 3pt shooting and off-ball movement
• Sion James's positive impact
• A return to high 3pt volume
• Cooper Flagg's struggles shooting from behind the arc
• Ways for the team to generate more free throw attempts
• Whether Isaiah Evans has earned more minutes

Then they preview Friday's big matchup against Arizona. They talk about the most interesting player matchups, such as Tyrese Proctor vs. Caleb Foster and Khaman Maluach vs. Tobe Awaka. They discuss the key factors to a Duke win (defensive rebounding, 3pt shooting, and keeping Arizona off the free throw line). How confident are they heading into this matchup?

To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Josh, Dustin, and Raul react to Duke's 77-72 loss to Kentucky in their first big test of the season. Topics discussed include:

• What Duke did right to have a 46-37 lead at halftime
• What went wrong in the 2nd half that led to Duke being outscored by 14 and shooting only 29%
• Defensive miscommunications
• The impact of the injuries to Sion James and Khaman Maluach
• Whether Duke should have played Isaiah Evans or Darren Harris to help offset the injuries
• Concerns about the play of the backcourt
• The need to maintain good offensive process even in close games
• What this loss means for Duke going forward
• The importance of this season for Coach Scheyer

To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Josh, Dustin, and Raul recap Duke's win over Army. Topics discussed include:

• The cold 3pt shooting start
• Army's multiple defensive looks
• Cooper Flagg's cramping issues
• The sustainability of Kon Knueppel's scoring
• The unselfishness of Duke's elite recruits (particularly Flagg and Maluach)
• Khaman Maluach's touch and rebounding
• Tyrese Proctor's off-ball impact
• Duke's stifling 1st half defense
• The steadiness of Sion James

Then they preview Duke's matchup against Kentucky, and discuss key factors to the game. Who will win the 3pt shooting battle? How does Duke guard Kentucky's transition attack? They also look at the history of the Duke-Kentucky rivalry and discuss what this game would mean as a measuring stick for Duke going forward.

To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices