**Jesse Newell:** Welcome back to the GameDay Cram Session, as Kansas is taking on Duke in the finals of the Maui Invitational on Wednesday.
Tom, what do you like best about the way Elijah Johnson has played so far?
**Tom Keegan:** I like that he doesn’t have any problem getting a shot off and he enjoys taking the big shot. His jumper is a beautiful thing to watch because he elevates so high and follows through nicely. And he’s so quick he can spread the floor, blow by his man and take it all the way to the hoop as he did for KU’s biggest bucket against Georgetown. Plus, he’s so fast it will be tough for most backcourts to keep up with him and Tyshawn Taylor. Four good college guards going at it Wednesday night with Seth Curry and Austin Rivers of Duke going against Taylor and Johnson.
**JN:** This could be the best time for KU to face Rivers, as it appears from his numbers that he still is trying to find his way.
He’s taking 27.8 percent of the Blue Devils’ shots while he’s in (highest on the team), but he’s been far from his squad’s most efficient offensive player.
Rivers — who is 7-for-19 from three (37 percent) — has made just 22 of 47 two-pointers he’s taken (46.8 percent) and also has exactly the same number of turnovers as assists through six games (15).
So far, Curry and 6-foot-4 Andre Dawkins have been much more efficient players for Duke, but both have deferred to the new guy Rivers. Speaking of those guys, Curry has made 58 percent of his three-pointers this year (14 of 24) while Dawkins has made 44 percent of them (15 of 34).
KU’s guards will have to stay especially focused, as Curry has a quick and deceptive release, while Dawkins has the reputation of having one of the prettiest outside shots in all of college basketball.
Tom, many feel as if Duke gets preferential treatment from the referees, especially in big games. Do you buy that?
**TK:** Fair question. I haven’t seen Duke play a lot up close and sometimes it’s tough to tell on television, but I do wonder sometimes whether some referees can be intimidated by coaches, the bigger the name the more intimidated they become.
There isn’t a bigger name in college basketball than Mike Krzyzewski, nor a more difficult one to spell. I have to look it up each time I spell it. For example, I had it wrong before looking it up just now. And I looked it up less than a half hour ago. Better be safe and look it up again to make sure I got it right.
**JN:** Ha. I bet his name misspelled is a pretty popular Google search.
Here are the numbers, in case you were wondering. Duke has made more free throws (124) this season than its opponents have attempted (104), a goal former KU coach Roy Williams always used to set for his Jayhawk teams.
Overall, the Blue Devils are 124-for-182 from the line (68.1 percent), while their opponents are a fluky 84-for-104 (80.8 percent).
Some of the credit has to go to Duke for this discrepancy, though, as the Blue Devils play aggressively and also are leading at the end of all their games, which forces the opponent to foul to try to play catch-up.
If you were wondering, KU has made 68 of 83 free throws (72 percent), while its opponents have made 59 of 88 (67 percent).
All right, Tom, what’s your prediction for this game?
**TK:** Duke by 8. Dawkins, the Blue Devil nobody ever talks about, is a handful. He can get hot from long distance and it’s just so tough to cover that many three-point shooters at once.
**JN:** I’m going with Duke 79, KU 75.
This game is about as evenly matched as you can get, but I just can’t shake the memory of KU’s game against Kentucky out of my head.
If you’re counting, this will be “big boy” game No. 2 for most of the Jayhawks, and it’s hard to pick KU when the players were so rattled during “big boy” contest No. 1.
Duke has more depth and more experience in these types of games, and when in doubt, I’ll go with that.
This should be a great game, though, and judging by the postgame press conference after UCLA, this matchup means a whole lot for KU coach Bill Self, Tyshawn Taylor and Thomas Robinson.
OK, Tom, who’s your Hawk to Rock?
**TK:** Elijah Johnson.
When a terrific athlete who has had to wait his turn has a big game, it tends to swell his confidence. He’s at that stage right now, which makes him dangerous.
**JN:** I’ll take Thomas Robinson.
Duke is not a great offensive rebounding team, meaning Robinson should be grabbing lots of caroms inside. As long as he doesn’t get sped up as he did against UCLA (five turnovers), he has the potential to have a great game offensively as well against a Blue Devils team that doesn’t block many shots.
Tracking the picks
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**Predictions tally (through four games)**
Tom: 3-1 record, 41 points off (10.3 points off/game)
Jesse: 4-0 record, 24 points off (6 points off/game)
Hawk to Rock
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**Tom Keegan**
Towson: Tyshawn Taylor (4th in Keegan ratings)
Kentucky: Tyshawn Taylor (1st in Keegan ratings)
Georgetown: Elijah Johnson (4th in Keegan ratings)
UCLA: Tyshawn Taylor (2nd in Keegan ratings)
**Average: 2.8th in Keegan ratings**
**Jesse Newell**
Towson: Conner Teahan (6th in Keegan ratings)
Kentucky: Elijah Johnson (4th in Keegan ratings)
Georgetown: Kevin Young (9th in Keegan ratings)
UCLA: Elijah Johnson (1st in Keegan ratings)
**Average: 5th in Keegan ratings**
