#2 Texas A&M (26-7) v. #3 Duke (25-9)

ANALYSIS:

Keys for Duke:
Every player that steps onto the floor for Duke will have been some sort of All-American in high school. Duke has so many high school All-Americans that some aren't good enough to even get on the court this year. Of course they will be there in future and that is why Duke never rebuilds but only reloads. They like to pressure the basketball, force turnovers, get down the floor quickly, and score in transition. Does that sound familiar to Aggie fans? I think I have seen it a few times this year at Reed Arena. There will be two teams that like to play fast on the court come Sunday night, the one that plays better will win.
On defense Duke pressures the ball with their superior athletes and tries to funnel their opponents into the lane where they have to do with six foot five Chante Black. She maybe the most athletic six foot five players any of us have ever seen. She blocks shots, changes shots, and rebounds the ball. It's her job to get the ball to the guards so they can force the tempo.
On offense Duke wants to force tempo with their playmakers like All-American Abby Waner and uber-athletic Wanisha Smith. When things are forced to slow down the Blue Devils will try to either penetrate and dish or just dump the ball inside Black. The one chink in Duke's armor is their 27% shooting from beyond the three point arc. However, they are one of the best offensive rebounding teams in the country.

Keys for A&M:
A&M doesn't have the blue-chip recruits, high school All-Americans, or prestige that Duke has, but what they do have can't be measured by quantity. The Aggies are some of the physically and mentally toughest players in the country. They know what it means to take advantage of every opportunity, work hard, and play hard.
On the offensive end of the floor A&M has two choices: play better fast than Duke or slow the game down to a crawl. If A&M can't beat Duke in the up-tempo game they will have to slow everything down to a crawl. This really puts A&M in a bind. Coach Blair has to decide quickly if they will be able to stay with/beat Duke in the up-tempo style he prefers. If they can't keep up with Duke he will walk the ball up the floor and try to beat Duke in the half court. This presents two problems: 1) Blair has to make the decision to slow down before A&M is getting blown out and 2) A&M isn't very good in the half court. Either way A&M is going to rely on Takia Starks and Danielle Gant to shoot a high percentage and score quite a bit. If the Aggies can manage 15 points and 15 rebounds from the Dmitria Buchanon/LaToya Micheaux rotation at center they are controlling the boards and preparing for Tennessee on Tuesday night.
Defensively the Aggies need to do a variety of things in order to keep control of Duke. First and foremost Duke can't get inside the three point lane. The pressure Aquonesia Franklin, Sydney Colson, and Morenike Atunrase put on the ball will have to slow Duke down and control guard penetration. That same pressure will make it difficult to for Chante Black to catch the ball in a position where she can score. Another key for A&M will keeping Duke off of the offensive boards. Duke is not a good three point shooting team, but they will often shoot it just so they can get a rebound and put it back in. If A&M can control the boards, pressure Duke's All-American guards, and keep Black under control A&M should be able to win.

Prediction:
This is the Aggies first trip to the Sweet Sixteen since 1994 and these girls are under a tremendous amount of pressure. It's been a long time since newspapers from all over the country and ESPN have written feature articles on the girls. On the other end of the spectrum is Duke. They are one of the elite powers in women's basketball that just happens to be having an off year. My prediction is Duke will jump out to an early lead while the Aggies battle back. However, the early lead will be too much and the Aggies will lose a tight one. I hope that isn't the case and I hope the Aggies pull out a victory. I am just not sure Duke is the best match-up for our ladies.