Here's a write up I stole from the Duke board but its the best scouting report for the Duke-UK game I've seen out there.
There are a lot of fascinating matchups in this game. While we will hear all the time that Duke is very young, UK lost 6 of its 9 rotation players from a moderately successful (by UK standards) team. They will have one grad transfer that is new to the program, 3 sophomores, and 5 freshmen in their regular rotation. That doesn't scream "so experienced!" to me.
While UK is the bigger team overall, Duke will have a serious height advantage at the 2 and 3. Keldon Johnson is the only guard that physically compares to R.J., Cameron Reddish, or Alex O'Connell. And Marques and Javin are as tall and lanky as anyone that UK can throw out there. Another thing that Bolden and DeLaurier do well is block shots. They each had a better blocked shot rate than Nick Richards last season. Reid Travis has never shown any shot blocking acumen in his four years of college. We don't know how E.J. Montgomery will be around the basket on defense. For a team that wants to play close to the rim, Duke might actually have an advantage with Bolden on the ball and Zion or R.J. coming over from the help side.
UK doesn't appear to have an obvious alpha scorer on the roster. Keldon Johnson might be the most obvious answer by the end of the season, but he probably won't start the game. Tyler Herro has been impressive over the summer, but he's not a guy that will be able to generate looks for himself or others. Reid Travis is the most experienced big and a capable scorer, but can he be relied upon for efficient scoring? And if UK goes big and plays Washington at the wing, can they shoot at all?
My hunch is that this will be an ugly, defense-oriented game with neither team being able to generate many clean looks. Hopefully, Alex O'Connell and Jack White can come in off the bench and provide some scoring punch and a steady presence. I like Duke's chances in this game but can see things getting out of hand if R.J. and Zion become frustrated about their ability to drive and score. Tre Jones is going to have to provide a steady influence and help prevent dribble penetration from the UK guards. It's a tall task to place on a freshman in his first game. I sure hope he has the stones his brother does!
Not a bad shot at analysis. I'll provide what I know from a UK perspective.
Reid is a man. He's physical and strong. He's more likely to have more double doubles on our team. Because of his physical nature, he'll get fouled a lot. And he does possess an outside shot.
PJ has reshaped his body. He's quicker and is physical as well. A much better motor than last year. He's an improved shooter and can knock it down from the outside if he's open. Our bigs won't shoot many from the outside.
On offense you'll seed PJ and RT up on the foul line a lot, and many plays will go through them.
Richards is a complete different player from last year. He's playing with confidence, improved shot blocking, rebounding and scoring. He has a nice touch from around 15' in.
EJ is the most versatile big. He models his game after AD. Can knock down the 3, rebound, block shots and take you off the dribble. When we go big, EJ will be on the wing most likely. This guy has the potential to be a star.
Keldon is a high motor, trash talking guy with a strong desire to win. He's the alpha dog of the team. Not a great scorer, but is an opportunist and really good in transition. Strong on Defense. He won't back down for anyone. He's streaky from the 3.
Hagans is not much of threat from the outside, but is a strong defender and will pick your pocket if you're loose with the ball. He'll get most if his points on drives.
Quickly is a good ball handler and is decent from the 3. Good play maker and is solid all around.
Herro has the ability to score from anywhere. He actually can create his shot. I think Cal has been toning him down some, looking for easier shots. Once he gets going, he's hard to stop. Decent motor. Many are likening him to King Rex.
We're very balanced in scoring so far. We'll have several guys 5-7 in double figures. We'll be very difficult to defend.
I know the Cats will want it up tempo and I think both teams are going to put a lot up a lot points. I think it will come down the stretch with the team having more gas in the tank winning.
