Final Four Preview: Duke vs. West Virginia

This is not your older brother's Duke Blue Devils.

No sir.

This is not a finesse team. These Blue Devils don't have five guards on the floor. They aren't going to live and die by the three. The 2010 version of the Duke Blue Devils is a tough, physical group of kids. They defend, they hit the offensive glass hard.

Would you believe me if I told you that the key player on this team is Brian Zoubek? For three and a half seasons, Zoubek was a running joke. A top 25 recruit, Zoubek flopped more than Greg Paulus. My six year old nephew was stronger with the ball. I don't think he understood the concept of a post move. He still doesn't, but over the last 15 or so games of the season, Zoubek has developed into one of the best rebounders in the country. He's always been big, but he's developed an aggressive streak. He goes to the offensive glass hard, he sets screens like a brick wall (ask Chris Kramer, who got knocked out by a Zoubek screen), and he's good for a couple of buckets every game.

This was the old Brian Zoubek. The new one has a beard.
(photo credit: Cats and Beer)

Zoubek isn't the only capable big man that Duke has either. Lance Thomas and the Plumlee brothers are all strong, athletic, and capable of getting an offensive rebound or blocking a shot.

And Duke will need each one of them when they go up against the Mountaineers. If there is one thing that you can count on with a Bobby Huggins coached team, it is physicality. This version of the Eers has, at any given time, four combo forwards on the floor. All in the 6'7" to 6'9" range, all aggressive going to the glass, and all capable of hitting a perimeter jumper. Duke can rebound, but they are certainly going to have their work cut out for them against this team.

The key matchup in this game is going to be Da'Sean Butler. He usually plays the two-guard spot, and it is going to create a matchup problem both ways. Whether he is guarded by Jon Scheyer or Nolan Smith, he is going to have a size and strength advantage. Huggins isn't afraid to use Butler in the post, and his height advantage allows him to shoot over smaller defenders.

It works the other way too. Butler is a tough kid and a hard worker, but he is not as quick as Smith or Scheyer. If WVU decides to go man he is going to be matched up with one of them. It will be interesting to see what WVU ends up doing defensively. The zone worked against Kentucky because WVU was able to pack their defense in and dare Kentucky to shoot it from the perimeter, and one thing I can guarantee is that Duke won't miss their first 20 three pointers. The combination of Jon Scheyer, Nolan Smith, and Kyle Singler is really good. They can all shoot, put the ball on the floor, and pass. If the Eers are too go zone, they need to make a concerted effort on closing out long while cutting down driving lanes.

Kevin Jones and Da'Sean Butler are two of the more important Mountaineers.
(photo credit: MSN)

If Zoubek is the x-factor for Duke, Kevin Jones and Wellington Smith are for the Mounties. They are essentially the four and the five for West Virginia, and while neither really has much of a back to the basket game, what makes them so dangerous is their ability on the perimeter. Both are better than average shooters, which means that whoever is matched up on them (Zoubek, a Plumlee, Thomas) is going to need to defend them on the perimeter. If they do, that opens up rebounding lanes, and we all know how good WVU is going to the glass.

Two factors that will be talked about at length that I, personally, don't see being a huge issue is Truck Bryant and Kyle Singler. Bryant has a broken bone in his foot, but there is a chance that he could actually see time during the Final Four. If he does, I doubt he is going to be much of a factor. No matter what kind of orthotic you have put in your shoe, a broken bone is a broken bone. And if he doesn't play, well, we all saw what Joe Mazzulla is capable of.

As far as Singler goes, he has a tendency to struggle against players his size with his mobility, which is just about 75% of the WVU roster. I don't expect him to be much of a factor.

This is going to be a great basketball game. It won't be that aesthetically pleasing, and I wouldn't be surprised if it ended up somewhere in the low 60's. But what you will see are two well coached teams that play physical basketball and really compete hard.

I hope there is a lot of ice in Indianapolis, because these kids will need it Saturday night.