The last time these teams played it was a “Battle for Atlantis” but on Sunday it will be a battle to see who goes to Atlanta. The game between these teams in November was one of the most anticipated of the pre-season and watching that game most thought the next time these teams played that it would be for the national title. It’s not the national championship Sunday evening but it will have that type of atmosphere as these great teams play for the regional title. Duke beat the Cards in that early game in the Bahamas 76-71. The Louisville program has been to the elite 8 four times in the last six years. This is the 12th elite 8 in school history. This will be the first meeting between Rick Pitino and Mike Krzyzewski since the classic 1992 battle.

When your team is getting ready to play the Duke Blue Devils one thing comes to mind. 
Coach Mike Krzyzewski. He is the winningest coach in college basketball history and has a track record that is unmatched. We are talking 2 Olympic gold medals, a World Championship, over 900 wins and four NCAA titles folks. His record in the NCAA Tournament is 79-24. This is obviously a slight edge that Duke has in every contest. The Devils also return four starters and six key players from a year ago. This includes five starters who all averaged double figures this season. Offense is not a problem for this team. They boast five regular three-point shooters who broke 35 percent or better this season, three guys who shot better than 40 percent on twos, and two players who have picked up over 100 points from the free throw line. This team will also take very good care of the ball as they commit very few turnovers. They don’t rush their offense and usually get good shots with most of their possessions. The Blue Devils have excellent balance, with all five starters averaging in double figures. They space the court and let their skilled starting five go to town in Coach K’s simple but lethal plan.
The Devils are very talented folks, but do have some question marks. Their group is a very capable bunch but sometimes lack the one player who will step up and take over a game if need be. Two point defense has often been a problem as well. They have especially had trouble with teams that have guards who can penetrate the lane. Duke starts three guards, so rebounding can also be a problem at times. They will play 7 guys so their stamina might come into question having to face a Louisville team that goes 9 deep and will press the whole game.

Kenpom:
ADJ Efficiency- Offense 119.5 Rank 4
ADJ Efficiency- Defense 89.5 Rank 17
Kenpom Overall Rank: 4

Projected Starters:

C Mason Plumlee SR: He rebounds well at both ends of the floor, and is one of the best-passing big men in the league. He is also a good defender in the lane and blocks a lot of shots. He has 57 points and 27 rebounds in the NCAA tourney.

F Ryan Kelly SR: He can truly be a dangerous offensive weapon. This guy has and is always capable of shooting over 50% from the 3 point line in a game. He is also another good defender in the lane and is a capable shot blocker. He has 26 points and 7 blocked shots in the NCAA tourney.

G Rasheed Sulaimon FR: He is Duke’s top-rated recruit. He is a player that takes pride in his defense and is a good three point shooter. He is a really good rebounder for a guard and can be a big x-factor for this team if he has his game. He has 60 points and 17 rebounds in the NCAA tourney.

G Seth Curry SR: Since coach K started using him more as a scorer and less as the guy running the offense Curry has been the most consistent player on the team. Whenever they need a big shot he is usually the guy that takes it. He can be lethal from deep. He has 87 points in the NCAA tourney.

G Quinn Cook Soph: He is a great penetrating guard who can find the open man. He is a great assist guy who has very few turnovers. He is also a very good defender up front for the Blue Devils. He is the player that really hurt the Cards the most the last time these teams played. He has 20 points and 21 assist in the NCAA tourney.

Bench players:

G Tyler Thornton JR: He isn’t a great playmaker, but he takes care of the ball Isn’t a great on-the-ball defender, but may be the toughest, most versatile defensive player. He has 21 points and 6 steals in the NCAA tourney.

F Josh Hairston JR: The Duke coaches like the energy he brings to the court and the fact that he’s a vocal defender. He has 2 points and 7 rebounds in the NCAA tourney.

This will be the first time the Cards have played Duke in the tournament since the 1986 NCAA Championship Game. Pervis Ellison, Milt Wagner, Johnny Dawkins and Jay Bilas were the stars of the show the last time around. Gorgui Dieng, Russ Smith, Seth Curry and Mason Plumlee will play those roles Sunday and will more than likely be the players that determine the outcome in this one. The battle in the paint between Plumlee and Dieng features two of college basketball’s premier big men going head-to-head. With Gorgui being the more physical player and Mason being the more skilled player. Plumlee is having the better NCAA but I’m expecting Gorgui to find his mojo again and step up to the challenge Sunday defensively. Duke struggles with guys that get out well in transition. Russ is the best in the NCAA at that.

The Beak Prediction:
Louisville 78 Duke 73

On Friday night our Cards will be in Indianapolis to face the Oregon Ducks in the Sweet 16. The Cards will be looking to win their 13th straight game in what will be their 25th appearance in the Sweet 16. Coach Pitino is unbeaten in ten Sweet 16 appearances, his average winning margin is 19.8 points. At Louisville that average margin has been 21.3 points. Louisville is just 1-2 all-time versus Oregon. The Cards last beat the Ducks December 20, 1954. Nearly 59 years ago. The last two times these teams have played it hasn’t been pretty for Louisville. The Ducks blew out the Cards 88-65 in Denny Crum’s final season and 90-63 in Pitino’s First Season.

Our last opponent Colorado State was a team laced with senior leadership and veteran players. But this Dana Altman Oregon team is lead by Six freshmen, two JUCO transfers and a redshirt freshman. Many thought this would equal unavoidable headaches for Altman and his staff this season with a reliance on so much youth but it offered satisfaction and surprise as the Ducks somehow bonded together quickly, and have had a very good run. This young Oregon team really spurred their success on the defensive side of the floor. The Ducks use athleticism and quickness to turn their opponents over and block shots at a high rate. They turn opposing teams over 22.3 percent of possessions good for 56th in the nation, and block shots on the interior 6.9 percent of possessions good for 15th in the country. Their ability to generate possessions via steals and blocked shots is a staple of their defense. On offense they like to pound the ball inside to their bigs. They love to dominate the paint area and 57 percent of their points come on 2-point shots. This is a team that shoots well from inside the arc and poorly from behind it. They also score a large percentage of their points from the free throw line. This young group of Ducks do get careless with the ball turning it over an average of 17 times in their last three games and their 21.6 percent turnover figure makes them the 263rd worst team in the nation in coughing up the basketball.

Kenpom:
ADJ Efficiency- Offense 105.2 Rank 99
ADJ Efficiency- Defense 87.5 Rank 9
Kenpom Overall Rank: 31

C Tony Woods SR: He serves as the defensive anchor of the group swatting away 40 shots this season. He isn’t that great on the defensive glass. Considered a legit NBA prospect when he started out at Wake Forest, Woods simply hasn’t progressed enough on offense to justify the hype. He finishes decently but rarely creates his own shot.

F E.J. Singler SR: The versatile senior can play anywhere from shooting guard to power forward, and there’s an intangible sense of leadership and determination in the Oregon native that has rubbed off on the rest of his team. He shot 67% against St Louis and has scored 22 points in the NCAA. He is the Ducks best player.

F Arsalan Kazemi SR The first Iranian-born player in Division I men’s college hoops Since transferring from Rice University last year, Kazemi has become a popular and important member of a surging Ducks basketball team. He is a rebounding machine and has 33 rebounds in his last two NCAA games. He has also scored 19 points.

G Damyean Dotson FR: He was voted Houston’s player of the year last season. He is a hard nosed player and can be a prolific scorer. He has scored 40 points in the two NCAA games.

G Johnathan Loyd JR: The 5-8 guard from Las Vegas has yet to reach expectations but is a solid ball-handler. Loyd is the team’s best playmaker, but does struggle to make shots. While obviously limited by his height on defense, Loyd does generate plenty of steals. He has 14 points and 9 assist in their two NCAA games.

Bench Players:

F Carlos Emory SR: A very athletic wing improved as the season continued and has much more potential. He is a good shooter. He shot 60% from the field in the last game and has scored 26 points. He also goes after the boards with 13 in the last two games.

G Dominic Artis FR: ESPN rated Artis a four-star recruit and the No. 8 point guard in the 2012 class. While Artis is actually listed at 5-11 by some recruiting websites, he has long arms, good quickness and an ability to change gears. He’s also a savvy gym rat who has picked up the Ducks’ offense quickly. He has scored 13 points in the NCAA.

C Waverly Austin JR: The Ducks picked up a late commitment from Austin, a junior college transfer, after he was unable to attain eligibility at South Florida before school started. Rated the No. 5 transfer in the country by Jucorecruiting.com, He gives the Ducks size when Woods is on the bench. He has 6 rebounds in their NCAA games.

This is another one of those games that is going to take a team effort on the boards. This Oregon team really goes after it on the glass but the Cards just out rebounded the best rebounding team in the tournament in Colorado State so this doesn’t concern me. They are going to go right at Gorgui and Chane with their bigs. This will be the first time in the tournament that our front-court will really be challenged. I think our guys are the more athletic group but Chane might have problems with their length. But no fear as that will just require more minutes out of our freshman sensation Montrezl Harrell. If our front-court does a good job guarding their post players straight up it will force them into a jump shooting team and with only two good shooters on their team this will lead to a lot of fast shots by the Ducks and transition offense for the Cards. Our back-court is going to have a field day with this high turnover team. Also where they go 6 deep before falling off we go 9 deep without falling off so the benches will come into play. There are no easy ones at this point in the season but this one is very winnable if the Cards take care of their business.

The Beak Prediction:
Louisville 78 Oregon 61

The Cards just completely overwhelmed their first opponent in the NCAA tournament Thursday night in Rupp Arena. The match-up was just the perfect fit for the Cards up and down style of play. On Saturday the competition starts to get a little tougher as they will face the 8 seeded Colorado St Rams. They beat Missouri 84-72 to advance to the round of 32. The Rams had a great season with a 25-7 record and a second place finish in the Mountain West conference. They made their way to a 22nd ranking and it was the first time this team had been ranked since 1954. This is the second straight NCAA tournament appearance by the Rams, which hasn’t happened since the mid 1960s.

Projected Starters:

F/C Colton Iverson SR: He started his career at Minnesota. He is the teams leading scorer with 14.6 points a game. He is a great rebounder and will alter some shots. He had 13 blocks in their win against Missouri. This guy is the tallest and best player on this team.

F Pierce Hornung SR: Any coach in the Mountain West will say a big factor in the Rams’ recent success is due to the play of this 6-5 senior. He is considered the Rams’ glue guy, and despite his lack of size, he leads the team in rebounding with 9.2 per game.

F Greg Smith SR: He is solid, and what he lacks in height at 6-6 he makes up for with speed and athleticism. He averages 11.3 points a game.

G Wes Eikmeier SR: An Iowa State transfer who is a three-year starter, was a first-team All-Mountain West selection. He is one of this teams better shooters. He averages 12.5 points a game.

G Dorian Green SR: This guy has been a starter for his entire career and is the 19th player in school history to score more than 1,000 points. He is very good on both ends of the floor. He averages 13.1 points a game.

Key Reserves:

G Daniel Bejarano SOPH: Sat out last season after transferring from Arizona, where he played sparingly as a freshman. He was ranked as the 40th-best high school prospect in the nation by one recruiting analyst, and the 13th-best shooting guard in the country by another. Averages 6.1 points a game.

G Jon Octeus SOPH: Has the coolest name in the NCAA tournament. He provides some good shooting off the bench. He averages 43% from the field. He scored 12 points against Missouri.

F Gerson Santo JR: Is another reliable big guy for this team who will come in and provide quality minutes. He had 3 rebounds and 4 points against Missouri.

In the NCAA tournament you have to bring your game and not rely on your name. That statement will never be more true than when our Cards face the Rams on Saturday. These guys won’t care about the fact that they are playing the number one overall seed in the NCAA tournament. In fact it will probably encourage them to play harder. This will be the most veteran squad the Cards have played all year and one of the most inspired basketball teams they have played all season. We will really need our perimeter shooters to take advantage of the Rams poor perimeter defense. Hopefully Hancock and Blackshear can get it going from deep. Kevin Ware and Russ Smith should also be able to get open looks from the three. Another advantage our Cards will have is their length and athleticism. Their tallest player is 6-10 and they are a undersized team. They also don’t have that much versatility. Gorgui and Chane should be able to bully their way inside and will need to be aggressive on the glass. This is also a game where Stephan Van Treese will be good to have. It’s funny but a lot of their guys are blue collar players like SVT. Peyton’s speed will also be a huge advantage. He should have no problem getting into the lane and the free-throw line.

The Beak Prediction:
Louisville 69 Colorado St 57

The Brackets are out and let the madness begin. Our Cardinals got the number 1 overall seed in the Midwest but many believe that we will have the toughest road to Atlanta. Especially with an elite 8 match-up with Duke or Michigan St in Indianapolis looming. The bottom line is that in order to be the best you have to beat the best. It appears the Cards will get their chance to do just that. When this thing is over here in a few weeks and Louisville is the last team standing there will be no questions about who the best is.

Our Cardinals learned on selection Sunday that they would play the winner of the play-in game between 16 seed North Carolina A&T and 16 seed Liberty in their first game to kick off March Madness. And tonight A&T beat Liberty in the play-in game 73-72. So our Cards will play A&T in the first session in Lexington at Rupp Arena on Thursday night. The Cardinals will be going into the NCAA tournament as the number one over-all seed. This makes the third number one seed for Louisville and second over-all number one seed. The committee began ranking 1 seeds in 2004. Cards were a number one seed in 83 and a number one over-all seed back in 09.

North Carolina A&T is a team out of the MEAC conference and they got that conferences automatic bid by winning the conference tournament. They beat Delaware St 84-78 for their first MEAC title since 1995. They did play two Big East teams this season Cincy and Seton Hall. They lost both of those contest. They also played EKU this season and beat the Colonels 78-67. A&T last went to the NCAA tournament 17 years ago, also the last time the team won any sort of MEAC hardware. The Aggies hadn’t finished above the .500 mark in 15 seasons, and after logging their fourth one-and-done exit from the MEAC tournament in a five-year span, A&T terminated Jerry Eaves with one year left on his contract and brought in former South Carolina State and Tennessee State head coach Cy Alexander to replace Eaves. A&T will likely be an up-tempo team under Alexander, as his past squads have often finished near the top of D-I in pace. He runs an aggressive man-to-man defense that results in a high number of steals, but an even higher number of easy looks for the opposition. Expect the Aggies to work at a more deliberate pace running an offense that uses a variety of sets and emphasizes an inside-out philosophy. Five seniors and a junior return, so the Aggies will be nothing if not experienced.

Kenpom:
ADJ Efficiency- Offense 89.6 Rank 317
ADJ Efficience- Defense 95.3 Rank 81
Kenpom Overall Rank: 226

Their National Statistics:
-POINTS PER GAME
62.2
290th
OVERALL
-REBOUNDS PER GAME
35.4
131st
OVERALL
-ASSISTS PER GAME
11.1
293rd
OVERALL
-FIELD GOAL PCT
.399
317th
OVERALL

North Carolina A&T’s season averages on offense:
FG%-39.9%, 3PT-29.9%, FT-65.8%
North Carolina A&T’s season averages on defense:
Rebounds-35pg, Steals-7, Blocks-5

Projected Starters:

F Adrian Powell: He is a 6-6 senior swingman who is their top performer averaging 12.5 points per game and 5 rebounds. He is a solid shooter from anywhere on the court, and may be taking a lot of the catch- and-shoot looks.

F Austin Witter: This guy is also one of their top returning senior performers leading the team in rebounds at 7.1 per game and assist at 2.1 per game. Witter is versatile enough to play either forward spot, as well as center.

G Jean Louisme: Is another senior with a lot of experience and can shoot the deep ball. He averages 9.4 points and 3.4 rebounds per game.

F Bruce Beckford: He is a freshman from one of the most prestigious high school programs in the country, Montrose Christian Academy. And came to A&T with a college body, so he gives the Aggies a physical presence in the paint. Averages 7.9 points per game and 4.4 rebounds.

G Lamont Middleton: A junior that has a scorer’s mentality. Likes to get to the rim and finish. Is an excellent rebounder for a guard. Averages 12.4 points per game and 4.1 rebounds.

Key reserves:

F DaMetrius Upchurch: A senior who is one of only two Aggies to top 100 with his offensive rating, is a low-post player with solid offensive rebounding abilities. Averages 4.5 points a game and 3.6 rebounds.

G Jeremy Underwood: A junior that has tremendous speed and excellent court vision. Averages 6.1 points per game and 1.6 rebounds.

I don’t think our Cards will have too much trouble from A&T and I don’t think you’ll see any chance of a 16 over a 1 here. The Cards front-court will be way too talented and advance for this team to defend. Gorgui and Chane should have a field day in the opening game and the new post season beast Montrezl Harrell will have these guys hanging off his arms. Our dynamic duo in the back-court will be licking their chops about this match-up. This game will be like a tennis match with the action going up and down the court. This is a match-up that will be perfect for the Cardinals style of play.

The real challenge will start in the second round on Saturday when the Cards will play the winner of the 8 seed Colorado St vs 9 seed Missouri game. I will have the breakdown of the winner of this game on Friday.

I personally don’t think you could ask for a more fitting end to the Big East as we know it to have two great New York rooted coaches going at it on the national stage for the final time in Madison Square Garden. Boeheim was born and raised in Lyons, New York and Pitino, a native of New York City who grew up in the Village of Bayville just miles from where his team will play for their second Big East championship in a row. Both Syracuse and Louisville have been very dominate in the Big East in the last five years and both are very familiar with the bright lights of Madison Square Garden on championship Saturday. Two of the best teams in the league, coached by two of the league’s legendary figures, battling one another to cut down the net for the final time. Syracuse is trying to replicate what the Cards did last year by winning four games in four days to become the Big East champion. Louisville is trying to replicate what Syracuse did in 05/06 and become back-to-back Big East Champions. Syracuse is a five time Big East tourney champ and Louisville has won the prize twice. This will be the third time this season that these teams have faced each other. Cuse won on January 19th 70-68 and Louisville won on March 2nd 58-53. Louisville leads the all-time series against Syracuse 14 to 7 and lead their series in the Big East regular season 7 to 4. These teams have faced each other one other time in the Big East tourney championship game and Louisville won that game 76-66 for their first title.

F James Southerland: He rebounds and defends better than he did as an underclassman, but he still remains something of a one-dimensional offensive player. He’s yet to add a reliable drive to the basket to his outside shooting ability. He has scored 53 points, has 11 rebounds and 5 steals in the Big East tourney.

F C.J. Fair: Is a strong and physical player who is a good rebounder and he is a dependable source of effective and low-foul coverage on the back line of the 2-3 zone. He has 35 points and 20 rebounds in the Big East tourney.

G Brandon Triche: Was clutch in the win over the Cards back in January. If he gets hot he can be a very effective scorer. He is a veteran guard and his team will need him to step up big if they are to beat our Cards again on Saturday night. He has scored 42 points, has 7 rebounds and 11 assist on the Big East tourney.

G Michael Carter-Williams: is the player who replaced Scoop Jardine in the Cuse starting line-up. He is a good ball handler with great court vision. He has great size and length for the top of that 2-3 zone. Very effective defender. He has 20 points, 27 assist and 7 steals in the Big East tourney.

F Rakeem Christmas: Is a good rebounder, shot blocker and defender. He is not as effective on the offensive end of the floor. He is also a player prone to foul trouble. He has 6 points and 5 rebounds in the Big East tourney.

Projected Bench Players:

C Baye Keita: Provides energy, defense and rebounding off the bench. He is another big guy on this team who is not as effective on offense and is also a liability at the free throw line. He has 25 points and 13 rebounds in the Big East tourney.

G Trevor Cooney: Will back up Triche at the off guard spot, allowing the senior guard to rest or move to the point to spell Carter-Williams. He’s got size, strength and athleticism. Gives the Orange a 3 point threat when he’s in the game and can out the ball on the floor and make plays. He has 12 points and 5 rebounds in the Big East tourney.

When you put Syracuse in Madison Square Garden in the Big East tourney they turn into a different team and play out of their minds. And I look for them to play their best game of the season tonight. Therefore it will take one of Louisville’s best efforts to beat them. Peyton and Russ are having outstanding performances so far but really believe that we are going to need Gorgui and Chane to get involved tonight for us to have a chance. Luke Hancock has made some clutch threes this week and that trend will also have to continue. Tonight is going to have to be a team effort. Rebounding and defense is what will decide this one. It will be the toughest ball game of the season and a win here will give the Cards some great momentum heading into the NCAA next week. This one is going to be special folks and I look for this curtain call to go right down to the wire.

The Beak Prediction:
Louisville 70 Syracuse 65