Duke head coach John Scheyer hasn't publicly discussed the upcoming matchup against Kentucky, but there's no doubt he understands it's a big early-season test for his young team. Kentucky and Duke are both top-25 teams going into this matchup, with Duke being #6 and Kentucky #19 in the AP Poll. It's a basketball fan's match made in heaven so early in the season. Kentucky fans are ready to showcase their new-look team and hope to pull off a massive upset.
While Scheyer hasn't discussed the matchup, his players were asked about it and made comments. Both Cooper Flagg and Khaman Maluach were asked about playing Kentucky in their post-game comments after playing Army.
Flagg acknowledged it's a big game but said that Duke would be ready. They had much to improve to get ready, but they would be ready. He said, "Look at how we need to prepare...it's a big one." When a reporter asked him what they needed to work on, Flagg said, "We've learned that we have a lot to grow upon. There are a lot of things that we have to get better, a lot of things we have to clean up on, but we will be ready."
What were those things? "Defensively, coming together on switches and stuff like that, a lot of stuff to clean up as far as coverages. We can get different coverages for certain guys. Different game plans. Offensively, getting into a better flow, we can get stagnant at times."
Maluach, the 7'2" freshman center, was asked about playing Kentucky. He said he was excited and looking forward to the big arena. When asked how he should prepare for Kentucky, he said, "Grab every rebound and dunk everything."
Kentucky may have the veteran experience, but Duke has length at every position. This will be a hard-fought battle. You can tune in at 9 pm EST on ESPN to catch Kentucky vs. Duke in the State Farm Champions Classic.