Next Up - Lafayette

One of the problems with early season opponents is that you don’t always know a lot about them. Take Lafayette.

We know the Leopards are out of the Patriot League. We know they’re 0-3, having lost to Syracuse, Cornell and Penn with only Cornell close. We know that Fran O’Hanlon has been there forever. Put aside Mike Krzyzewski and Jim Boeheim as anomalies. Staying 27 years at one school is amazing longevity, especially at the Patriot League level. That suggest considerable respect.

Beyond that?

Not a whole lot.

The Leopards have six upperclassmen back, four juniors and four freshmen.

The starters are 6-2 juniorTyrone Perry, 6-3 sophomore Jon Brantley, 7-0 junior Neil Quinn, 6-7 junior Leo O’Boyle and 6-7 sophomore Kyle Jenkins.

Perry is getting 14.7 ppg and 2.3 apg. Jenkins is getting 13.7 ppg and 5.7 rpg. Quinn is averaging nearly a double-double with 11 ppg and 8.3 rpg.

They’ll face a Duke team that’s already shown great potential and which now is incorporating AJ Griffin, who was slowed by an injury but who looked great against Gardner-Webb. And after a slow start to the season, Mark Williams had a tremendous game Tuesday against Gardner-Webb.

But of course as any sports fan knows, it can change quickly. Duke has already had real challenges from Army and Campbell, hardly powerhouses, and might from Lafayette as well.

Still, Duke is heavily favored and should win. Draft Kings has it at Duke -32. If Lafayette pulls off a stunner, it’d be one of the biggest upsets in a long time.

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