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It has been said that Duke could remain unbeaten by going to the Maui Invitational. The television networks were full of debate centered on whether the Blue Devils could beat the Cleveland Cavaliers. Duke was the # 1 team in the polls, the team with the top three freshmen in the sport, and the team was waiting to cut the nets in March.
Gonzaga just survived them in the Maui Invitational championship match.
The Zags were right to beat Duke 89-87 in Maui. He completed a three-game sweep for Gonzaga during the tournament which also included wins over Illinois and Arizona.
Gonzaga's offensive caught fire very early and was able to stop quite late. Mark Few's team shot 52% on the field and made 10 attempts out of 19 over a distance of three points. The Bulldogs offended the center attacked Bolden Brands early in the first half to take the advantage. They sealed the win by stopping Duke's orders to paint in record time.
Here are three things we learned from Gonzaga's victory over Duke.
1. Gonzaga is a legitimate candidate in the national title
The Zags were our No. 3 team in pre-season. This ranking was taken into account in Killie Tillie, the junior striker of the stud who is absent at least until January after an operation at the ankle. What Gonzaga just did this Duke without his best player only confirms that there is a real threat to win everything in Minneapolis early April.
Rui Hachimura and Zach Norvell scored for the Zags. Hachimura dominated the paint to finish with 20 points, seven rebounds and five assists. Norvell challenged star Duke R.J. Barrett at both ends all night to finish with 18 points on 6 shots out of 12, 4 out of 6 to three.
The senior center Brandon Clarke also deserves praise. Clarke, transferred from the state of San Jose, scored the "Zags baseline defense" and never backed Zion Williamson.
The Zags are a complete team with very few holes, without Tillie. Beware of bulldogs.
2. Duke finally looked like the team of freshmen that they are
When Duke plays his best game, no team in the country should be able to beat them. Duke did not play his best match – or even close – against Gonzaga on Wednesday.
Barrett got his numbers (23 points), but it took him 25 shots to get there. Barrett closed Barrett late in the game, failing to convert four consecutive attempts in the latter case. Williamson helped Duke return in the second half but barely touched the ball in the final. Cameron Reddish, meanwhile, was stuck to Coach K's bench.
Duke resisted a big deficit and could have won at the end, but a bad selection of shots and questionable rotation choices cost them the ball in the end. Duke is still the country's most talented team, but Gonzaga attacked her in the first period on each coach's TV screen throughout the season.
3. This game was amazing
What an atmosphere in Maui. Two elite teams come and go in a great match. Do not be surprised if you see these two teams in the Final Four.
We had some important blocks of Zion Williamson:
We had dunks from coast to coast to coast of R.J. Barrett:
Zach Norvell, from Gonzaga, presented remarkable pieces:
Do not wait until March to watch college hoops. It's already good in November.
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