There isn't a thread for this already? (If there is, please merge).
Just to get excitement up for this game, check out the line already at wilson (courtesy of DukeBluePlanet):
http://i55.twitgoo.com/2rrno6r.jpg
LETS GO DEVILS!
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There isn't a thread for this already? (If there is, please merge).
Just to get excitement up for this game, check out the line already at wilson (courtesy of DukeBluePlanet):
http://i55.twitgoo.com/2rrno6r.jpg
LETS GO DEVILS!
Very cool, Cameron Crazies, very cool! (clap, clap)
Very cool, Cameron Crazies, very cool!
Watch yourselves tonight when the thunderstorms come through after midnight. I'm sure the line monitors (or University officials) will move you indoors for a while. :cool:
we are riding pretty high right now, but make no mistake...izzo is gonna come with everything he's got...
let's hope our guys are ready... !!!!
go duke...!!!
Agreed. Both Izzo and the press will be making much of Duke's 80 game home winning streak against non-conference opponents. It's not a record, but it's a lot, and it's definitely on the line. MSU will be ready. We will be too. It'll come down to execution and the ability to put that orange round thingy into the little hoop thingy. We shot 42 percent from the floor Saturday in the first half against Oregon. If we do that for the game on Wednesday, and MSU gets hot -- shooting say 60 percent -- there could be issues.
I believe I have way to guarantee a win over Michigan State.
Dress the crazies in light blue t-shirts and light blue-hair wigs. Have them sit on their hands and whisper their cheers. Unveil new light blue uniforms just for this game. MSU will think they're playing UNC and roll over. Game won.
I think it would work, but I also think it's so morally and aesthetically repugnant we could never do it. :eek:
Let's go Duke!!!! Should be a great game! Or at least I hope so. Last night was much warmer than Sunday night in the line... Sadly it seems like we might be swimming tonight! Oh well.
Group 10 represent! (Right behind the second street light with the green chair!)
My feeling is that I would hope that Duke would win most games when they are shooting 42 percent from the floor. I would hope the team would lock down defensively and create enough turnovers to win a game like that, even against a top tier team. I would worry more about a team that outrebounds Duke by quite a bit getting a big advantage that way. Fortunately, MSU does not seem to have hit their stride in the rebounding department yet this year, but their center Nix is now back. They were in the top 10 in the NCAA in offensive rebounding percentage the last 4 years, but currently rank 109th at 35.2% http://kenpom.com/team.php?team=Michigan%20St.
I expect that is something MSU will improve on as the year progresses, hopefully it won't start against Duke.
In this article, at the Detroit Free Press, Tom Izzo expresses frustration with turnovers and rebounding:
Both Duke and Michigan State have been on the road, which makes it difficult to practice. With this ACC - Big Ten Challenge game being at Cameron, I'm confident Duke will pull out the victory. I'm equally confident Michigan State will make us earn it.Quote:
"I think it's a lack of concentration"
I'm looking forward to this game because I expect Michigan State to be physical. We need a game like this before the ACC. It's a good thing to figure out how to finish a shot in the lane with some Big Ten hooligan draped over your shoulder. It's a skill that will serve us well going forward.
Also, I really look forward to watching Irving vs. Kalin Lucas who is averaging 17.5 ppg and 47.8% on 3s. Maybe he'll provide the challenege that Pullen did not.
Super "Respek, Tom Izzo, Respek" Dave
MICHIGAN STATE AT DUKE (ESPN, 9:30 ET)
Bilas: Duke -- Michigan State is turning it over too much right now, and Duke's defensive pressure should capitalize.
Brennan: Duke -- After Duke’s dominant win over Kansas State and Michigan State’s sluggish start in Maui, the Blue Devils look miles ahead of the field. This early in the season, the Spartans won’t be able to close the gap in Cameron.
Fraschilla: Duke -- Tough place for ANYONE to win.
Gottlieb: Duke -- Derrick Nix is back and he should help with the depth of Michigan State inside, but MSU struggled with the quickness of Washington and UConn. Duke's pressure and athleticism is similar.
Katz: Duke -- The Spartans aren’t in March form yet, while the Blue Devils look like they’ve already made plans for Houston.
Leung: Duke -- In case you missed the CBE Classic, the Blue Devils are just better than everyone else right now.
Lunardi: Duke -- Won't make the same mistake of picking against Duke this week.
O’Neil: Michigan State -- I'll admit I'm not 100 percent in on this pick, especially with Duke playing at home. But after a few humbling visits to the other part of Tobacco Road in recent years, a disappointing loss to UConn and a tongue-lashing after a lackluster effort against Tennessee Tech, I think the Spartans are due for a show-me win.
Williams: Duke -- Duke is hands-down the best team in the country and the energy within Cameron will be too much for Michigan State to handle.
If O'Neil had picked us, making it a perfect sweep of the ESPN "Experts", we'd be completely hosed!
In all seriousness, I'm looking forward to this game as a learning opportunity for our team. Izzo's squads tend to play good, disciplined, intense basketball. Win or lose, this is a great December game for us. That said, let's go out and beat down Sparty!
I expect Michigan State's veteran leaders to have the rest of their teammates ready to play in this one. They'll be hyped up, but not too hyped to be out of control. They understand that nobody is giving them a chance to beat us, so will use that as motivation and have a "nothing to lose" mentality. That's always dangerous. Having said that, I still expect us to pull out a hard fought victory. I'll be interested to see how we contain Lucas. I think we'll pull out to a quick 20-9 lead or something of that nature, and then MSU will close the gap by halftime to around 5. The lead will vary between 5 and 15 at that point and we win with a 10-point victory. Underestimate Izzo-coached teams at your own peril. We could be in trouble if we have a poor shooting night. And we need our bigs to stay out of foul trouble, even though I suspect we'll play Kyle at the 4 for portions.
Wish I was there! My son called me to say he got us tickets for the game for "only" $2,000/ticket. I love DUKE & dream of seeing a game at Cameron but that is insane! He also didn't take into consideration that we are never allowed to watch a major game together. That is jinx city for us.
I'm going to NYC on Saturday, made the plans in July completely forgetting the Butler game. Never fear though, I will have my DUKE jersey on the couch with my iced tea in my DUKE mug & Fritos. I know we will be hitting alot of bars I just wonder if NYC is ready for an insane DUKE fan.
Gottlieb actually mocked himself somewhat in one of the broadcasts, saying "Duke is alarmingly athletic" (and then smiling), obviously alluding to his comment from last year. I used to dislike Gottlieb intensely - strangely enough, he's actually grown on me and is one of my favorite commentators. He tells it like he sees it and doesn't sugarcoat things. And he can admit when he's wrong. Also, when he calls games (usually for some mid-major school), you can tell he really researches the players (that nobody else would know) and has a firm understanding of the game. He actually has some keen insight into the game. I greatly prefer Gottlieb to Hubert or Digger...
i am a bit worried about how we handled the ore press...we coughed it up a couple of times and msu will try to take it to us like that...
I found it interesting when looking at MSU's results that Draymond Green (6'6 their 3rd leading scorer and leader in both assists and rebounds) comes off the bench for them as does Korie Lucious (4th in scoring, second in assists.) They start a smaller line-up than Duke, where I would imagine Kyle will be guarding Durrell Summers (6'4 2nd leading scorer) to start with Kyrie and Nolan guarding Lucas and Austin Thornton (6'4) and Mason and Ryan guarding Garrick Sherman (6'10 C) and Delvon Roe (6'8). Green and Luscious play more minutes than Sherman and Thornton, much like Dawkins, Curry and Miles are playing more than Kelly on Duke's team.
This could be an interesting game match-up wise as both teams have some depth (MSU with 9 players averaging 10mpg or more + Nix at 8mpg) and both teams have so far used smaller line-ups more often. MSU's top 5 players in mpg are: Summers 29.2, Lucas 29.0, Green 27.8, Lucious 24.6 and Roe 23.5. Their center (Sherman) is next at 19.5 mpg. This would appear to be a good line-up for Dawkins to see quite a bit of time at the 3, but Green may be a tough matchup. I would expect Kyle to guard Green most of the time he is in and Summers may be a tough, good match-up for Andre.
I am also interested to see how Lucas does against our back court, who did a great job vs. Pullen. They will then have played against arguably the top 2 guards in the country outside of Durham.
Should be an exciting game.