00:00He's leading off with the new number one team in the country, and that's the Duke Blue Devils.
00:06And when you look at Duke, Duke isn't just winning.
00:09They're defending at an elite level.
00:11If you look at their recent stretch, they're holding teams in the low 60s, night in and night out,
00:18and forcing teams into deep shot clocks.
00:21That's elite defense that you want to see as a coach.
00:24That's defensive identity.
00:26That's a team switching one through five seamlessly and protecting the rim without overhelping.
00:31It's also a team that can win and win a lot in March.
00:34Their elite second half adjustments were fantastic.
00:37We just talked about last segment holding Michigan to eight field goals in the second half,
00:42or last game versus Notre Dame, holding Notre Dame to, I think, 22 points in the first half.
00:48Opponents are struggling late to scoring tight games.
00:51But that's more than luck.
00:55That's discipline, right?
00:57And if you look at them, it's not just Boozer.
01:00Cam Boozer's been absolutely great, but it's deeper than that.
01:03Isaiah Evans has become a two-way stabilizer.
01:06Caleb Foster's managing the pace and protecting possessions.
01:09Duke Wings are defending you without fouling.
01:12Their rebounding has improved dramatically, and what stands out is Duke doesn't panic.
01:17When games tighten, they lean on their defense first.
01:21That travels, and it travels in March.
01:25They don't rely on one star.
01:26You know, they've got a superstar in Cam Boozer.
01:28They rely on structure, and that's why they're the number one team in the country.
01:34Duke isn't just the best team right now.
01:36They may be the most complete team in all of America.
01:41A team that's known for their defense that's now slipping is Houston.
01:45So let's do a coach's dive into what is wrong with Houston.
01:52Because right now, Houston has hit turbulence, and it's offensive turbulence, right?
01:57You look at the offensive struggles, 32% versus Kansas, 21% from three-point range in that game.
02:04You're struggling to generate clean looks in the half court.
02:08Against Arizona, they gave up a 12-0 run and couldn't answer.
02:11This has always been the Achilles heel of Calvin Sampson.
02:17When you, their defense always will keep you in games.
02:21But could their offense generate enough?
02:27Earlier on in the year, that was taking place.
02:29Their offense has been dynamic.
02:30But Kingston Fleming, their star freshman, has hit the skids the last couple games,
02:34including shooting 6 of 18 versus Kansas.
02:39Another guard that we have high hopes for is the big shot taker, big shot maker, Emmanuel Sharp.
02:452 of 11 versus Arizona.
02:47Myles Yuuzhan has been wildly inconsistent with his shooting play.
02:52And then you get to the big, and that's Joseph Tuggler.
02:56A player that was Big Ten preseason defensive player of the year is in constant foul trouble.
03:03And for a team that doesn't have depth, that changes everything.
03:08When Tuggler sits, rim protection drops, defensive rebounding dips,
03:13and their depth gets exposed because they don't have it,
03:17Kristen Axman, pretty good.
03:19But Houston doesn't have a consistent bench scoring besides Miller.
03:23So when their perimeter shots aren't falling, they don't have a secondary creator.
03:27And then they have a big that's supposed to be the best defensive big in the conference
03:33who can't stand a foul trouble.
03:35Their defense is elite.
03:37But in March, you need offense that can survive droughts.
03:42And their offense has not been good.
03:44Houston isn't collapsing.
03:45But their offensive ceiling is lower than we thought based on how they were playing earlier in the year.
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