If you look at the matchups closely, you will see that Connecticut has a slight advantage over Duke's starting five. UConn has two guys who probably won't be able to be shut down in Khalid El-Amin and Richard Hamilton, an All-American himself. Duke has two guys, William Avery and Elton Brand, who won't be pushed around either. But with Ricky Moore in the backcourt, it's a sure bet that either Avery or Langdon is going to have a lackluster game. The matchup of Kevin Freeman and Shane Battier will probably dictate the game. If Freeman can get his rebounds and score some points, the Huskies will control the game. If Shane Battier can hit his jumpshots and get some rebounds himself, then Duke will have the tempo in their hands. Avery and Langdon will have to stay out of foul trouble, and Chris Carrawell must play very well on defense against the marquee player Richard Hamilton. Of course, he is capable, as he is a great defender, but Hamilton, at his best game, is so quick and so amazing that he may be too much for Carrawell. At the same time, Jake Voshkuhl must stay out of foul trouble for the Huskies, and he must contest every shot that Brand takes, or else Connecticut will be thin in the frontcourt. The bench must step up for the Huskies, as must Duke's.
If you look at the two teams which really pushed Duke to the limit this season, you see two quick teams. One was Cincinatti, who pressed Duke and didn't back down in the paint. Against St. John's, the Red Storm didn't play afraid, and they came after Duke on every play. The Huskies have the ability to do the same thing, except better. If they can use the full-court press against a slower Duke team with a lack of guards, they can force mistakes and use their incredible transition game to blow it open.
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