SI:AM | Two Big Wins for Men’s Hoops Contenders

Good morning, I’m Dan Gartland. I’m feeling especially ready for the Winter Olympics now that I see a foot of snow every time I look out the window.

In today’s SI:AM:

😮‍💨 Arizona survives

🏈 Early Super Bowl preview

🎤 Tom Brady’s broadcasting flaw

Duke and Arizona flex their muscles

College basketball season has officially begun. I mean, the season really began in early November, but now that the college football season is over, you can start paying attention to hoops.

For those who are easing into basketball season, Monday night offered two opportunities to see top men’s title contenders come away with statement victories. Two of the best teams in the nation—Duke and Arizona—picked up impressive wins that showed why they should be considered threats to cut down the nets in Indianapolis in April.

No. 4 Duke demolished No. 20 Louisville in Durham, 83–52, behind another standout performance from freshman and potential No. 1 draft pick Cameron Boozer. He had 19 points and 10 rebounds for his 10th double-double of the season and was one of four Blue Devils players to score in double figures.

Louisville coach Pat Kelsey said five times during his postgame press conference that “We got our butt kicked.” It’s tough to disagree with that assessment. The game marked the first time in three years that Louisville had lost a game by at least 30 points.

With the win, Duke improved to 19–1 on the season. That lone loss came in an 82–81 nailbiter against Texas Tech at Madison Square Garden. Aside from that, the Blue Devils have handled every test they’ve been given this season. They’ve now racked up seven wins against ranked opponents, the most of any team in the nation. And Duke has hit another gear of late, winning its last three games by an average of 24.3 points. That stretch began with games on the road against Cal and Stanford that Blue Devils players have come to see as a turning point.

“We’re definitely starting to roll,” Boozer said. “Ever since that California trip. We said that would show a lot about us, we would learn a lot about us. I think we took a defensive identity on that trip on the road, and we’re definitely bringing it back here to Cameron [Indoor Stadium].”

While Duke has looked like one of the best teams in the nation, it doesn’t hold the distinction of being one of the few undefeated teams left standing. Only Arizona, Nebraska and Miami (OH) have yet to drop a game this season, and the Wildcats came dangerously close to suffering their first loss on Monday night on the road against No. 13 BYU.

BYU has its own potential No. 1 draft pick, AJ Dybantsa, who had dropped 43 points in the Cougars’ win over rival Utah on Saturday, but he struggled to find the bottom of the net all night. Dybantsa made just six-of-24 field goal attempts (1-of-8 from three), although he was able to total 24 points by hitting 11-of-16 free throws.

With Dybansta and the rest of the BYU offense stagnant, Arizona raced out to a massive early lead in Provo, looking to assert its status as the top team in the country. The Wildcats led by 18 at the midway point of the second half before BYU began chipping away at the deficit.

Even after BYU’s Robert Wright III made a three-pointer with 56 seconds left to cut Arizona’s lead to 82–75, the Cougars chances of a comeback seemed remote at best. But the Wildcats turned the ball over three times in the final 40 seconds to allow BYU to have a fighting chance. It was Arizona freshman guard Brayden Burries who saved the day with a block on a shot attempt by Wright in the paint with four seconds left and BYU trailing by a single point.

“Fortunantely we made one more play than them,” Arizona coach Tommy Lloyd said. “For stretches, we made a lot more plays than them, but they were able to close the gap.”

Arizona didn’t look like a championship-worthy team as its healthy lead disintegrated down the stretch. Lloyd would have much rather his team had a convincing victory like Duke’s earlier in the night, but surviving games like that one can be beneficial for teams when March rolls around and no win comes easily.

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How did No. 1 Arizona survive late at No. 13 BYU to remain undefeated? Bryan Fischer breaks down the final frantic seconds of the Big 12 Conference battle.
Jimmy Traina reveals there is still one big flaw in Tom Brady’s broadcast game.

The top five…

… things I saw last night:

5. Four goals in three minutes by the Oilers against the Ducks.

4. Some really nice passing by Duke early in its win over Louisville.

3. Kevin Durant’s dagger three to cap a 33-point night.

2. The Hornets fan who hit a halfcourt shot to win $1,000. (But come on, just $1,000? That’s worth at least $50,000.)

1. Lakers center Jaxson Hayes’s between-the-legs dunk.