MBB: Duke-BC ACCT QF pre-game/in-game thread

Looking forward to this one very much.

BC is a quality opponent that beat us up in Bean-Town with good ball movement and excellent shooting. That was the game prior to our lineup changes; this should be a good reading on our defensive effectiveness against such a team.

BC features Tyrese Rice and a number of other capable players, including Trapani.

Some key things to check:
Will Duke start out strong?
How much will Nolan Smith be used?
Will BC copy some of the defensive tactics that UNC used against Gerald Henderson?
How deep will our bench go?

It will be interesting to see the big boys play today. The G dome is a cavern, though with a big black curtain about mid field, they cut it down some. Still the space behind the baskets is much bigger than basketball arenas and this will probably affect shooting. Thursday as usual was a fairly sparse crowd, but even the pep bands can't fill the place with sound.

I did not check box scores for actual percentages, but some usually reliable shooters were off while others seemed to do OK. Oglesby of Clemson put up at least 3 air balls. Vasquez was not shooting well from outside and got most of his points on drives McClinton obviously did not shoot well, under 10 for the game I think. Rice did not shoot well but passed very well. OTOH, Clinch (?) of Ga Tech shot really well. He really didn't want his college career to end yet. And Hayes of Maryland shot well.

Although I am not sure this will happen....in a perfect world we would jump out to a big lead and Coach K would use the bench a lot and we could rest the starters for the next game. But BC did beat us and I don't predict a blowout, but hopefully Singler, Scheyer, and Henderson are not forced to log 37-38 minutes each. I think the key to these tournaments, aside from playing well and winning, is to make sure you utilize your bench and rest key players any chance you get. But first and foremost we have to win and if that means the big 3 pulling that many minutes then that's what we have to do.

I'll bump this, so it doesn't fall to page two. :(

Looks like we will have Nolan. Glad to hear that.

The loss to BC was the game prior to Elliot Williams breaking into the starting line-up. I'm interested in seeing how effective EW is guarding Rice. My second focus will be watching Nolan Smith in his first game back. Smith will probably play limited minutes but it will be crucial for him to play steady in his return. A healthy and confident Smith on the court alongside Williams could cause major problems for our opponent's primary ball handlers.

I'm interested to see how much switching we do where our smaller players get caught up inside. That's been one of our flaws with this line up and our primary and secondary help need to rotate/respond a little faster I think

I am interested in seeing how well Duke plays defense against an improved Boston College team. They looked solid last night against Virginia. I think two players who made a big impact against UVA were Sanders & Southern. I know our #1 priority is to shut down Rice but it seems they have more weapons now.

It will also be a great challenge for Email to guard Rice and hopefully Nolan will come in contribute solid defensive and offensive minutes.

I am very excited for this game and to see this new lineup now that it is post-season.

GO DUKE!!!!

I'm pretty pumped up about this game. I know this new line up has worked well for us overall, but I'd love to see us lock teams down defensively again. It seems like the past couple of games have been us outscoring the other guys, rather than playing great defense. That said, I love what I've seen offensively recently.

Is there an official announcement as to whether Nolan will play or not? The last thing I read was that he was going through light practices, but not sure if he's a gametime decision or not.

This game will be a good test for the five forward line up. The quality of any rest they got between the last game of the regular season and tonight's game may be a bit of a factor. I'm hoping to see a very refreshed team use speed and skill effectively against a BC team known for their tough physical play. It's a good thing BC played a late game yesterday.

I think BC may have just played themselves into the tourney with their 1st round win. They have a winning record in the ACC 9-7 and a win in a tourney and wins over UNC and Duke and maybe some others. They´re definitely a good squad but i think we should be able to handle them partly due to the rest factor.
I think Duke wins 76-70.

BC will be supremely confident and will be a very tough out - this one will go down to the wire.

I just tuned in .. why is Henderson on the bench so early?

Two quick fouls. One was sort of stupid, well it was a hustle play. So I take that back. Go Duke1

2 fouls in less than 1 minute.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by chrishoke

2 fouls in less than 1 minute.

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Well... if Duke can hold off BC for now... G can get some "rest":D

looks like defense is holding up?

So much for your 58-59% FG shooting, BC.

Not this game.

It's sure great to have that defensive intensity back. I think Lance looks a ton better today than he did against Carolina. He's getting a lot of tips and boards on the offensive end and playing above the rim. Great to have Nolan back too, even if he's still shakin' off the cobwebs a little bet. Now if only G would make a jab step before he drives and the threes would start falling, we'd be in business.

Edit: Yeesh, maybe I spoke too soon...

seems like Duke generally has this "late first half" lull, where the opponent catches up a bit:rolleyes:

Unfortunately the blown Smith layup after a great defensive play has turned into THE PLAY of the first half. We should have been up 19-9 with a ton of momentum and instead they come back and make it 17-11 and then whittle it all the way to 19-17 in their favor. Hope we can get a little offensive flurry here in the last 3 minutes of the first half and take a little lead going into the half.

Gary