Locked On Jayhawks - Daily Podcast On Kansas Jayhawks Football & Basketball - KEY MATCHUPS: Can Bryson Tiller & Tre White Match Cameron Boozer & Dame Sarr for KU to Upset Duke?

Starting point is 00:00:00 KU matching Cameron Boozer with two big basketball, Bryson Tiller, Trey White, Dom A-Sar. We're going to get into the biggest player matchups that are going to decide if KU can pull the upset on Duke. You are Locked-on Jayhawks, your daily podcast on the Kansas Jayhawks, part of the Locked-on Podcast Network, your team every day.

Starting point is 00:00:27 What's going on? Thanks for joining us on this episode. of Lockdown, Jayhawks. Thanks for making it your first listen every day and thank you for making locked on the number one sports podcast network. On today's edition of LOJ, we are breaking down the key player matchups that are going to decide if Kansas can pull the upset or if Duke is able to hold serve in the 2025 Champions Classic. Finish up a little bright spot. Top five Kansas games or moments in the series against Duke. This episode of the show is brought to you by Fandual Sportsbook. Right now, new customers can bet just $5. And if your bet wins, you'll get $300 in bonus bets to use across the app. Download the Fandual sports app today. So KU takes on Duke in the Champions Classic. And it sounds like Darren Peterson is not going to be a go. We haven't heard from Bill Self between the post game presser of the Princeton game, which certainly, you know, threw some cold water on the idea he could play, but wasn't a guarantee or anything. But the best.

Starting point is 00:01:27 biggest thing that seems to make it feel like he's he's not going to be a part of this would be the fact that if you look to like the betting line, I think it opened it, it was six and a half or seven and a half on Fanduil, and it's at like 10 and a half right now at time of recording. That's not the be all end all, but it certainly implies that the bets are coming in expecting Darren Peterson not to play in this game. And that shows you how big of a difference he is. I mean, you look at Ken Palm, it has it as a six point game. And Ken Palm's not taking into account whether Darren Peterson's playing or not. So theoretically, if it has it as a six-point game, that means Peterson is worth

Starting point is 00:02:05 four and a half points per game for KU just in terms of like who's going to win or lose the game. And I guess that kind of adds up there. So that certainly takes away what would be our most fascinating, I guess, player matchup, even though they're not matched up with each other, just the idea of Peterson against Boozer. But now I think for KU, and honestly, even if Peterson were played, you could have made the argument that I think the Bryson Tiller Cambooser matchup is going to be the most intriguing one of

Starting point is 00:02:31 the game. Because for KU, we saw them start the two big lineup against Princeton. It was short-lived a little bit and didn't give everything that Belsoff wanted it to. But I think part of that was intentional to go to that starting lineup in Princeton, knowing that he was probably going to have to use it more in this specific game against Duke. You look at Patrick and Gongba, big at the center position. Cambooser is big at the power forward position. He can even play like an undersized five, which isn't really even that undersized. So it's going to be important for KU to match with some size. And that's where Bryson Tiller comes in with the ability to play the four.

Starting point is 00:03:05 Maybe we even see Flory at the four with Paul and B at the five. Do you think we'll see an increase in Paul and Bia's minutes in this one? But how KU guards Camboozer is going to be really, really interesting. When KU does go down to their lineup with Trey White's at the four, do you put Trey White on him? Do you have to go to zone or something? I don't even know. do you just avoid trying to do that? And like a majority of the time, you're playing too big basketball and the only time

Starting point is 00:03:30 you're not is when he's on the bench. That's going to be super interesting how KU kind of cross matches. The thing with Boozer, he's just good about like everything. So right now he's shooting 86% at the rim within four and a half feet. That's good, obviously. He is shooting 36% on above the break threes. He's shooting 40% on corner threes. Now, interestingly enough, he's not attempted a mid-range two.

Starting point is 00:03:53 That's something he showed during his high school career. that he can make now he's only two of ten on in the paint two so i guess theoretically if you're kansas if you can limit him more to the the floater range to mid range it hasn't been to he can make them but compared to his other areas so far this season it hasn't been something that he's been as comfortable at and can bryson tiller do that and the interesting part is you know what can bryson tiller do on because booser's been a good defender so far too what can tiller do on buser can he use some of his mobility to his advantage. Like if there is a knock, so to speak, of a dude who has potential to be a number one

Starting point is 00:04:28 pick or be a top three pick, the questions, so to speak, the scouts have are more about like the athleticism pop, so to speak. Like, is that something Tiller maybe can take advantage of at least a little bit in this game? Because I do think it'll be interesting, too, when you look at, okay, how impactful is Bryson Tiller? How good is he going to be for this Kansas team? Not just in this game, but this season.

Starting point is 00:04:50 I don't have as many questions about the offensive end. Bryson Tiller's a very skilled offensive player who can do a lot of things. The question is going to be how good of a defender can he be? And this is one of those perfect opportunities to kind of show that. So if Tiller can play within range of what Boozer brings to the table, right? Like I'm not expecting him to outplay Cam Booser, but if he can just like make it as close as possible, that could be a win for KU. And you have to do all that while avoiding foul trouble because KU doesn't have the big depth

Starting point is 00:05:19 to be able to, you know, continue to play too big basketball if any of their bigs are in foul trouble in this game, which is certainly unfortunate for KU. I think the other big matchup that I'm interested in is the kind of Dame Sarr-Trey White matchup. Now, again, when Trey White slides down at the four, then that becomes white with Boozer, and then it's, you know, either Cole Rosario or Jaden Dawson or something on Domey Sarr. But if Kansas starts or stays with the two big lineup for extended period of time,

Starting point is 00:05:47 that means you wind up with Trey White against Domey Sarr. And it's not just the headline, the storyline of what Domey Sart did in the offseason with committing to KU behind closed doors, waiting for the Duke thing to open up, then springing to that offer and taking the offer and, you know, is there going to be bad blood? It's not just that part of things. It's also the standpoint that like Domey Sarr adds to what is a very lengthy Duke team. Go look at like pictures or videos of Domey Ducre.

Starting point is 00:06:17 that dude could tie his shoes standing up. I mean, his wingspan is incredible. He's already like six foot eight, very lengthy prospect. And what that means is for Trey White, a guy who wants to be, the ideal version of him is being an aggressive Trey White, right? We saw that in Princeton game. He played very well. Got rebounds. I was able to get the free throw line. That's a lot easier against Princeton than it is against the dude who's six, eight with. I don't know what his wingspan is. It's got to be at least like, I don't know. I wouldn't check me if it's like seven foot plus for Domey Sarr. And so he can be a really good defender.

Starting point is 00:06:51 And so that's going to be a really interesting match. I mean, especially if Darren Peterson can't go, which again feels like my expectation at this point in time, then Trey White becomes even more important for scoring and creating points for KU and how is he able to get by or be effective on Dame Sarr? Now, at the other end, Sarr's been lights out from three point range so far. So White has an important role on that end. And also with Sarr being so athletic, can you stay in front of him? And so that's an area where, like, you look at it and I see the overall talent burgeoning of Sarr that it wouldn't shock me if Sarr had a big game here.

Starting point is 00:07:25 But at the same point in time, if Kansas is going to have a chance here, maybe this can be one of those moments where you look to and go, okay, Trey White is a senior. Domney Sarr is a freshman and we're at the early part of the basketball season. Can you use that experience in some way? Like, I think back to Duke lost in the Champions Classic last year to Kentucky. And obviously, Duke ended up being, you know, Kentucky had a great season last year, but Duke ended up being the most talented team in the country. And you had Cooper Flag and all these first round picks with Con Cinepple and everything. But it was Otega O'Way.

Starting point is 00:08:01 It was the group of veterans for Kentucky that was able to win this game over Duke. And so can Trey White have that same sort of impact against Domey Sarr potentially in this game? I think those are the two big ones. I'm looking at, but it would be remiss, not to mention the center matchup as well, Flory Bidunga against Patrick and Gongbun again, we might even see Flory on Camboozer if he's at the four and Mbias at the five. So I want to break down that matchup as well as some other ones that could determine things. Then we have to our five favorite games for KU against Duke during this series. This is locked on Jayhawks.

Starting point is 00:08:35 Today's episode of the show is brought to you by Fandual Sportsbook. College Basketball season is back. For a lot of people, Champions Classic feels like the official part of this being back. And there's no better place to get in on the action than with Fanduel, the official sports betting partner of the NBA. And even if you miss the start of a game or want to ride a hot hand, Fanduel has live bets on everything from who's going to score next to who's going to get that fourth quarter comeback. Plus, you can even combine your live bets into a same game parlay for a shot at a bigger payout. It keeps every game exciting, especially when your team's making that late push. Maybe you don't think Kansas is going to beat Duke, but maybe you think that they can surprise him

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Starting point is 00:09:29 Thanks for joining us on Locked on Jayhawks and thanks for making the Lockdown Podcast Network, the number one sports podcast network. You can find our show anywhere you get your podcast. And thank you to that every day or catch. in every edition of the show. We'll have a postcast up after the game that'll come in to Wednesday morning, depending on when you consume it.

Starting point is 00:09:48 So make sure to check that out. We're also going to have a Champions Classic Roundtable episode with all the different hosts there for coming up in the Champions Classic. So that's going to be a lot of fun. Make sure to check that out. Okay. Florida Budunga against Patrick Engongba. So you look at Ingongba so far this season, and he is a 6'11 center,

Starting point is 00:10:06 has good size, 75% at the rim so far this season. doesn't really have a bunch of diversity to his offensive game. Florey, I think, is a more, more skilled offensive player for KU. But I think in Gongba is probably the better overall defender right now. He has more, like, Florey is the better shot blocker, but in Gongba is the better all-around defender. He has a little bit more he can do there. So I think it's going to be really interesting.

Starting point is 00:10:35 And we mentioned on the preview episode that Duke wasn't a team that ran a top. ton of they were about average in the amount that they ran pick and rolls that gave KU trouble against Carolina. So I'd imagine that number will be up a little bit more of this game for Duke, but they run a lot of like off ball actions. And so Florey's going to have to, you know, be attentive to that in blocking shots without fouling and stuff. But he's going to have to pay attention to Ngongba from, you know, giving up those easy

Starting point is 00:11:00 dunks, right? So I think that becomes interesting. But it really is more of the offensive side for me that I find the most interesting here. because if, again, we're under the assumption that Darren Peterson is not going to play, how many points does Flory Badoonga need in this game for Kansas to win it? I think first of all, Kansas defense is going to have to come to play. I think the lower scoring this game is, the more that benefits Kansas. I would say that Flory probably for Kansas to win needs to score at least 20, right?

Starting point is 00:11:30 I mean, where are you getting all your points in this game against a lengthy, good defensive Duke games? So I think Floree probably would have to score 20 in this game. Now, that's easier said than done against one of the best defensive centers in the country in Gongba so far this year. But Florey so far this season has shot 76% from the field. He showed a little more offensive diversity in a few games. It's been inconsistent, though. How about this, though? Florey's 83% in the early going at the free throw line.

Starting point is 00:11:56 Now, the big thing I'm looking at here, too, is this, though. Florey was one of the best offensive rebounders in the country last year fit into his role. He's at a 9% offensive rebound rate this year, which is 6%. the 62nd percentile, it's not as good as it was a season ago. Maybe part of that is just trying to avoid fouls. Maybe part of that is, you know, exerting your energy elsewhere with more that you're counted on. And you do have to avoid fouls in a game like this where you're going to probably have to play more too big basketball. So it's like the depth behind you gets even thinner. But if that's something that he can take advantage of in some way, which again,

Starting point is 00:12:29 and Gongpa is a good rebounder too. So that's not going to be the easiest thing in the world. but it's interesting because this wouldn't be one that, like, I don't walk into this game going, okay, you has a huge edge at center. I think there are chances that in Gangba ends up with the better game at center. But for Kansas to win, the path has to involve Florida Budunga being the best center in this game and being one of the best players in this game, bottom line. So that becomes, I think, another interesting match up there too. And if we're continuing on with the center position, And I do think this is a game that Paul and Bia is going to get more minutes than any of his previous games. Because again, if you're going to have to play more too big basketball, if any of the big is get in trouble, that's more minutes for you.

Starting point is 00:13:11 And part of playing the two big basketball means that, you know, you're using up minutes for both those guys. They're going to get tired. So I think Embia is going to be somebody who, you know, we've seen maybe for a game for he'll come in for like two minutes or he'll come in for like five minutes in a specific game. I could see this being. It's funny because you would think, oh, his career high in minutes will come in the game. that, you know, it's going to be the easiest for them, right? And it's like, no, I think it could be in this one just by nature of your kind of forced to and how ready is he going to be.

Starting point is 00:13:40 How impactful can his length be, you know? Can he just come in and give you eight to ten good minutes of rebounding and blocking shots? And even if he eats up some fouls, as long as the other guys avoid foul trouble, I think it's fine if M.B.A. gets in foul trouble, but if the other guys avoid, I mean, shoot, do we even have to see Samis Calderon, maybe this is a game where he plays a little bit more four because it gives you a little bit more size and length of the four. Maybe that's just, maybe it's just five minutes of Smeese Calderon playing as aggressively and hard as he possibly can just to try to give you five minutes of a different look and five minutes of a break and five minutes of avoiding fouls on one of your key guys of him coming out there on Camboozer. So I think those are going to be kind of some interesting ones to watch in the front court.

Starting point is 00:14:22 Some other quicker ones here. Can Kansas prevent Isaiah Evans from nailing three after three in this game? He's about 35% on the year from three-point range, but it's taking a lot of attempts, 26-3-point attempts this year. He's 35% above the break, 33% from the corner. He really got off to a great start in that Texas game, though, and he can really stroke it. He is a 6-foot-6, very sharp-shooting guard wing, and if he gets going from three in a game where you don't have Darren Peterson, it's just hard to match points.

Starting point is 00:14:56 It goes back to my kind of thought of like, okay, I think if this game, is played in the 60s, that's better for KU than if it's played in the 80s, for instance, right? So that'll be one that I think is interesting for KU and who's going to be guarding him? Because you look at the Duke guards, they're bigger guards. Like, is that going to be the assignment of, do you put Melvin counsel on him or do you put counsel on their opposing point guard and try to say, hey, we're going to try to disrupt things at the very top or do, you know, what do you do there? Do you have Kohl-Rosario on him?

Starting point is 00:15:22 So I think that one will kind of be interesting for KU. On the flip side, I mean, what can KU get from Kul Rosario and Jayden? awesome from three. You got to probably have what, four made threes combined between the two of them in this game to have a shot. I think that would be kind of the case. I mean, this would be one of those great opportunities for Corrus Ario to be like, hey, I had one of these five for five from three point range games that we saw at the prep level or something. That would certainly be impactful for KU and would help them with the scoring load. And then the last one here, I think is this. Does Melvin Council finally hit some jumpers? There's a chance that Duke sags off

Starting point is 00:15:58 of Melvin Council, just like Princeton did, and it leads to more clogged lanes. What if he, like, we saw some games where DeWan Harris in the Champions Classic, I want to say, was it the Kentucky game? Maybe it was the Duke game, or DeWan had like 20-something points, and he was just hitting like three after three. Yeah, that wouldn't hurt if Melvin Council was able to finally hit his first three as a Jayhawk. In fact, make it two, make it two, threes, maybe out another mid-range in there, right? And it's, it's one of those like blessings and curses, or I don't even know where that. Anyway, um, It's one of those things where it's like, it has not gone well so far in those areas.

Starting point is 00:16:32 So it's almost like, do you even want him attempting the shot in this game? But the way I look at it, like you're a double-digit point underdogs. You're without Darren Peterson. To win this game, the swing invariance does have to be. Some things happen that haven't happened so far. So it's like, yes, you might look at it as, well, that's not a high efficient shot for KU right now. Okay, but to win in this specific game, they might, like, the path to winning might involve of Melvin Council actually having to make a three.

Starting point is 00:16:59 I'm not saying he should chuck up seven threes just to finally make one. But this would be the game where you need Melbourne Council to go like two of three from three point range or something like that, I think would kind of be the situation. Let's finish up here with our top five best KU moments in the Kansas Duke series. Thanks for joining us. And thanks for making Lockdown, Jayhawks, your first listen every day. Thank you every dayers. And thank you again for making locked on the.

Starting point is 00:17:27 number one sports podcast network and check out all our other episodes previewing this game and getting ready for things okay so duke leads the all-time series here eight to seven um and it's interesting because duke's had a lot of fun moments against kansas in terms of like from from their side of things uh duke be k u in the 1986 final four after they beat them in the regular season a kew only had, I think, four losses and half of them came to Duke. Duke won in their, these two teams have only met once at each place's home. And interestingly enough, the road team won both games. So Kansas never beaten Duke and Allen Fieldhouse.

Starting point is 00:18:06 Duke's never beaten Kansas in Cameron Indoor. So that would be a good one for Duke. The 1991 national title, don't need to rub salt in the wounds for some KU fans there. The second round game in 2000, which was actually really close. game that the Kansas lost 69 65, 64, something like that. And then the 2011 Maui invitational final where Tyshaun Taylor had like a billion turnovers. Those are probably the moments in some order for Duke fans. For Kansas, here's mine. So I honestly, the last year's game in Vegas where KU won 75, 72, I have that as an honorable mention. You know, maybe for for younger

Starting point is 00:18:42 KU fans, that one would certainly be on there. But it just like last year was, it didn't end up super well and it felt like things were downhill from that moment on. So here's my number five. My number five is the 2013 Champions Classic. This one ended 94 to 83, but it was a good game back and forth. KU hit some free throws late to pull away and stuff. It took that Andrew Wiggins like transition dunk to kind of put it away. This was a similar feel that game to what this one could have been with Peterson against Boozer before the injury. You had Jabari Parker, who was a top three recruit. You got Andrew Wiggins, who was the number one recruit, and then went at it with each other. Jumari Parker was really good for Duke. He had 27 points, nine rebounds. Andrew Wiggins was also

Starting point is 00:19:26 very good for Kansas. He had 22 points, eight rebounds for KU. How about this? Frank Mason, Duke Killer. He was 11 of 12 at the free throw line, ended up with 15 points. Also, Perry Ellis had 24 points for KU in that one, but it was just a fun game. It wasn't just that it was a good game. Again, the final score, don't let that fool you. It was that it was high scoring. It was that it had all this fanfare of these what we thought were going to be generational NBA prospects who ended up, you know, Wiggins set a very good NBA career and made a lot of money. Parker had a decent NBA career, but both were great in that moment. And it was just so much fun was that game. Number four is actually the 2016 Champions Classic, which just like this one in New York City.

Starting point is 00:20:09 Now, Frank Mason hit the game winner in that one, and that kind of kick started his player of the year campaign, 21 points on 8 of 13 shooting for Frank Mason. Interestingly enough, Josh Jackson fouled out in just 18 minutes, but he had 15 points on 7 of 9. Carlton Bragg was a starter in that game, if you remember that with Land and Lucas. A lot of players for KU got in foul trouble. They actually, the entire starting five,

Starting point is 00:20:31 except for Devante Graham, had four or more foul. So it's a good thing. It didn't go to overtime. KU might have been screwed there. Udo Casabouke came off the bench, played 15 huge minutes as a young player for KU. And I mentioned this earlier. Duke was without Jason Tatum.

Starting point is 00:20:44 So could be a reversal of roles. KU could be without Darren Peterson in the same way they were without Jason Tatum. But this was a back and fourth game. It was a fun game. It was a good game. KU wins on a Frank Mason buzzer beater, certainly memorable. And it was after KU had lost a overtime game to Indiana. So it was like increased importance for them to win the game.

Starting point is 00:21:05 And they found a way to do just that. Number three is going to be the 2003 Suite 16. in which Kansas won 69 to 65. This was a two-three matchup, and Kansas was able to sneak by. So this is a game where Duke got up early. They were up 22 to 13 early. Duke was, this was like a freshman year, JJ Reddick. They had a smaller lineup.

Starting point is 00:21:30 You had like Dante Jones basically playing the four, who was more of like a wing. Chris Duhon, they had a lot of shooting, Daniel Ewing, a lot of shooting, a lot of guard play. And they got up early hitting a bunch of threes. In fact, they actually wound up shooting the same percentage from. three as they did from two did Duke, which 38.5% from three, very good, 38 and a half percent from two, very bad. But KU ended up storming back. And then Kansas again falls behind 44, 36 in the second half. They go on a 9-0 run. And then from there, it's just kind of a back and forth game. Nick Collison was unbelievable. 33 points, 19 rebounds, four steals, three blocks, or I'm sorry,

Starting point is 00:22:08 four assists, three blocks and a steal for Collison. On 14 of 22, he played all. 40 minutes, legendary game from Nick Collison, and that pushed Kansas to the elite eight. Eventually, they'd go all the way to the national title game. Would that one be higher if KU would have won the national title? Maybe, maybe. This is my personal favorite. So I was not a KU fan at the time in 2003. So, you know, maybe for some people, that one is bigger. But this one sent them to the final four is the 2018 game between Kansas and Duke. And again, this is my personal favorite. But we'll see why, number one. But Kansas wins 85 to 81 in overtime. This was the Grayson Allen, misses the shot. It goes around the rim,

Starting point is 00:22:48 pops out. Svema Kailuk does a great job boxing out, Marvin Bagley, so that the ball just goes out of bounds, and he doesn't get a tip back in. You had Udoca Esabuque playing through an injury. You had Silvio Dissoc. KU only played seven guys, and Sylvia de Sosa goes 26 minutes with 10 rebounds in a huge way for KU. You get a huge game from March Malik Newman, 32 points with five made three pointers to go seven threes. or seven rebounds, excuse me, you ended up with, interestingly enough, this is, I think, a fun trivia question. Who is second on KU in scoring that day? You would think, okay, maybe it was probably like Devante Graham or it was Svee who hit the game tie in three.

Starting point is 00:23:26 Svee had a double double. But it was actually the Gerald Vick, who had 14 points for KU second on the team in scoring that day. That was just a fun game. Back and forth, teams hit in threes. It was a fun style of play with how both teams went about it. You had the big basketball of Carter and Bagley against the team who was thin on bigs, Maybe that one can kind of carry over to this one for KU, although they don't have as much three-point shooting now as they did in 2018.

Starting point is 00:23:50 But yeah, man, that was just a fun run. And then they make the final four and we don't need to talk about what happened after that. But that moment in time was certainly awesome for KU. Now, number one, again, this was not one. I wasn't even alive for this one, but I'm going to pay it, you know, the respect. And that would be the 1988 final four. I mean, we go from beating Duke in the Sweet 16 to beating Duke in the elite.

Starting point is 00:24:13 now you're talking beating Duke in the final four and Kansas wins 66 to 59 over Duke in 1988 I mean think about this if you're a fan at the time you just saw Kansas lose twice to Duke in the 86 season in which you lose in the final four to Duke now you're back in 88 you're on this magical run as a seven seed with Danny and the Miracles and you get revenge on the team who beat you in 86 when you probably had a better team I mean the 86 team was a one seed 88 team They had some injuries, but, you know, certainly they got hot at the right time. And to get that revenge had to feel so good for KU fans. And I'm sure the players that were around for both teams, Danny Manning goes for 25 points, 10 rebounds, six blocks, four steals.

Starting point is 00:24:58 So 10 stocks, that is insane. Two assists. He was 12 of 21 from the field. Milton, who was great all tournament, 20.7 rebounds, three assists for KU. And then they got 10 points from Chris Piper. Not a lot of scoring outside of that. It was mainly those three guys. For Duke, Danny Ferry had 19 points and 12 rebounds, but nothing compared to Danny Manning there.

Starting point is 00:25:20 And KU was able to beat Coach K there, 66 to 59 with Larry Brown. KU actually came into the game as a four-point underdog and wound up winning by seven. And then they ended up winning the national title. So I think it's fair to have that one in number one. But yeah, DeVante Graham, Svima Kai, Luke, and that whole team, that was certainly a fun one for KU too. Let's hope we get another good one in this one, though. The chips are not stacked in KU's favor coming in. So we'll break down whatever happens for KU against Duke in this Champions Classic in our postcast.

Starting point is 00:25:52 Make sure to catch that episode. Don't forget to check out our roundtable from the Champions Classic as well. We'll see you next time for another edition of L.O.J.

Locked On Jayhawks - Daily Podcast On Kansas Jayhawks Football & Basketball - KEY MATCHUPS: Can Bryson Tiller & Tre White Match Cameron Boozer & Dame Sarr for KU to Upset Duke?

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