Lost in all the craziness of the coaching search for football, the Florida Gators are on the road tonight to take on Duke in a top-15 showdown. Both teams made the Final Four last year, with Florida being the one to cut down the nets.
To get a better idea of what to expect, we reached out to our Fansided sister site Ball Durham and spoke with their site expert Hugh Straine to see how things are going in Durham this season.
Hail Florida Hail
Florida and Duke felt like they were on a collision course last year before Duke collapsed in the Final Four. Even though it's a new cast of characters, how much has that Final Four collapse hung over the team?
Hugh Straine
I think it brings a new sense of urgency over anything, but at the end of the day, every team loses at the end of the year besides one. Jon Scheyer has rebuilt a team that is constructed to win a national championship, and especially with so many freshmen, I think that collapse in the Final Four is behind the team.
HFH:
There was a ton of hype surrounding the Boozer twins, and on paper, they are living up to it. How would Cameron Boozer's first eight games compare to other "can't miss" one-and-done Lottery players at Duke?
HS:
I think Cameron Boozer has been the best freshman in the nation up to this point. In my opinion, he’s the favorite for the National Player of the Year award right now.
Averaging a near double double, Boozer recently became the first Division I or NBA player across the last 30 seasons to record 175+ points, 75+ rebounds, 25+ assists, and 10 or fewer turnovers with an undefeated record over an 8-game span. Not only did he achieve that feat, but he did it to BEGIN his career.
HFH:
What is one of the more underrated aspects that makes playing at Cameron Indoor tough for opponents?
HS:
Cameron Indoor isn’t a massive arena, so the students and fans are very close to the court. The famous tradition forCameron Crazies when they throw their arms and wave around an opponent inbounding the basketball can happen because of this, and how compact Cameron is makes it feel huge and really sets the tone for an elite home environment.
HFH:
Outside of the Boozer's and Patrick Ngongba, Duke is a mostly guard-heavy roster. How much concern is there about trying to match up with Thomas Haugh and Alex Condon?
HS:
Duke may be guard heavy, but Scheyer builds his teams around defensive length and versatility. The shortest player on the roster is Cayden Boozer at 6’4”. Even if Duke doesn’t have a ton of true center depth, wings such as Dame Sarr and Nik Khamenia are 6’8 and can guard the 1 through 4.
Duke also has Maliq Brown in the frontcourt, who’s potentially the best defender in college basketball. Duke may not have a ton of true center depth, but its length at the wing spots make up for it.