Some of these college basketball exhibitions sure don't feel fake. Not when Auburn and Alabama start brawling in a game that supposedly doesn't count. Not when a jam-packed Allen Fieldhouse student section is chanting profanities at ex-Kansas big man Flory Bidunga, who transferred to Louisville.
Not when Tennessee's Rick Barnes is apologizing to Duke coach Jon Scheyer after getting bulldozed for not putting up a better fight. Not when All-American point guards like Michigan State's Jeremy Fears Jr. and UConn's Silas Demary Jr. are playing north of 31 minutes. The tenor around these exhibitions has changed, with numerous coaches mixing in some experimentation to go along with the natural competitive juices that rise up in razor-tight games against highly-ranked teams.
Of course, context is key to evaluating all of these. Some exhibition scores will age poorly. Others will prove to be prophetic.
Let's dive into the top takeaways from the handful of top 25 exhibitions that were on center stage this week. What might be real: Duke's Joaquim Boumtje Boumtje and Patrick Ngongba might comprise the best front court in college basketball. The duo tallied 24 points, 11 rebounds and five blocks in just 39 combined minutes of action during Duke's 103-64 beatdown of the Volunteers.
Just from a sheer size perspective, this is a daunting tandem to deal with. Ngongba is 6-foot-11, 250 pounds, while Boumtje Boumtje is 7-foot-2 and 250 pounds. That's a lot of length and tonnage for any opponent to handle, and it was an obvious factor in Duke's dominant win over Tennessee.
What's scary is how versatile Boumtje Boumtje is. He alternates between looking like a big wing and then physically imposing his will. Florida (Rueben Chinyelu/Alex Condon) and Texas (David Punch/Matas Vokietaitis) are among those who will have something to say about it, but Duke might have lost Cam Boozer to the draft without missing a beat in the frontcourt.
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