MBB: Michigan 81, Duke 73 Post-Game Thread

[Jumbo]

He can't play every single minute like that. The loss really isn't a big deal, but seeing Kyle struggle out there makes me really worry. If Kyle is playing 35+ every single game, performances like this are inevitable.

So this is why he was missing tons of threes in the first 10 minutes, right? Because he was gassed? Were the other guys gassed, too? Because they missed a lot of threes as well.

Sometimes the ball doesn't go in the basket.

[KandG]

Games like this make me wish Greg Monroe or Patrick Patterson played for our team.

As good as we were earlier in the week (I can't remember the last time our help defense was so good against an established opponent), we were pretty awful today. Too easy for them to penetrate and find seams in our defense, and even when the defense held, too easy for them to get junk boards for putbacks.

Good learning experience for Zoubek and Nolan, if painful. And yes, Singler is going to hit the wall again toward the end of the season if he has to carry the team this much all year. Some of the other guys will have to lift their games...and I'm confident they will.

[bfree]

Never mind

[Ders24]

Wonder how the sports writers who said we could contend for the title will handle this one. Really just hope this isn't a preview of what's to come for ACC season

[Jumbo]

I'm not too worried. While the 1-3-1 stiffled us a bit more than it did last time, the only thing that separated us from a win was the fact that we could only manage 21% from three. If we hit three more, which would've put us at 30%, it's a whole new ballgame. We just went cold--not much you can do about that, especially since most of the shots we took were open looks. We'll bounce back.

That's how I'll choose to look at it. Yeah, Nolan could've shown more poise. Yeah, the help-side D could've been better. But stuff like that happens. I wonder how much the fact that the team flew into Michigan last night (because of exams) then had to get up for an early afternoon game affected their rhythm?

[dw0827]

That's a bit of an oversimplification, don't you think? Other guys "showed up." Jon showed up. He had something like 16 points, a bunch of steals and assists, and did a solid job on Harris until the final couple of minutes. Gerald showed up. He gave a great effort -- he just fouled a lot. Etc.

Nolan did have a tough game, though. I'll agree about that.

Jon got back-doored so many times I lost count.

Of course, the help wasn't there either.

[Lulu]

This was way too similar to our recent tourney losses. Made it that much harder to watch. Actually, it wasn't similar, it was exactly like our recent tourney losses.

[dyedwab]

...seemed to get in our heads and effect all other aspects of the game. We were playing pretty good D most of the game, and we were rebounding and going after loose balls reasonable well untill the end of the 1st half.

and then it all went south

[shadowfax336]

It would have been very helpful to have a healthy Greg Paulus out there today. It was clear when he was out there that he wasn't the player that made 3rd Team All ACC last year. When Nolan struggled it would have been nice to have somebody who could come in and make something happen towards the end of the game, and it was absolutely unbelievable watching Greg miss and pass up wide open 3s when he was in there. I don't know how much of it is still physical and how much of it is mental/shaking off rust, but having the real Greg Paulus show up would make a sizeable difference for this team, and I believe would have meant a win today

[chrisheery]

It means for much of the game Duke made one pass and launched a three point shot rather than running the offense. Duke was 12 for 16 inside the arc in the first half notwithstanding the 1-3-1. Get it now.

An early shot does not mean a bad shot. On many of these shots, we were wide open (in the first half). The only reason you are complaining about them is that the shots were missed. If they were made shots, which they should have been at about 40% rate, we would be ecstatic about our amazing shooting team.

[gep]

Not a single Blue Devil was prepared mentally or emotionally for what the Wolverines brought today. This one's on K.

I don't know if "this one's on K", but it did seem like Coach K, and even the staff to some extent, seemed very passive on the bench... Reminded me of the game at Wake Forest (was it last year?). There, where Coach K wore a yellow tie in memory of Skip Prosser... he also seemed quite passive...

[rthomas]

Beilein is a great coach. This is a big win for UM - the second #4 ranked team this year they have knocked off.

Damn you, Beilein!!!

[nyr484]

I don't think you can just write this game off by saying "we just shot really poorly from 3." Yes, we shot poorly from 3, but we didn't do enough attacking the basket, which translates to our low number of free throws.

Also, Nolan had a couple of awful turnovers in the last 5 minutes of the game. (The one he threw against the backboard and the one he threw directly at 3 Michigan defenders at the top of the key). I think the team just didn't look poised out there for much of the 2nd half.

BUT... it's not the end of the world. This was our 2nd tough road game in a row, and every time we go in somewhere we are getting the other team's best shot. If you don't think that takes a mental toll, then you've never played sports. I'm sure this will turn into a learning experience for them. Duke will be a better team during ACC season because of this.

[Jumbo]

It means for much of the game Duke made one pass and launched a three point shot rather than running the offense. Duke was 12 for 16 inside the arc in the first half notwithstanding the 1-3-1. Get it now.

First, please watch your tone with the "get it now" stuff, okay? Secondly, that's not what happened at all. Yes, there were a couple of shots launched too quickly. Most of the threes, though, were wide open and came off good ball movement. They didn't go in.
What was your alternative suggestion. "Just shoot twos?" How exactly would you accompish that? There's another team on the court, too. They were playing a junk defense that takes away a lot of Duke's inside-the arc offense (driving lanes, etc.). We tried to post guys early in the second half, through it away a couple of times, saw Zoubek almost fall over shooting a jump hook, etc.
The 1-3-1 gave us a ton of wide-open threes. ANY team would launch those, and good ones will knock them down. Stuff happens every now and then. They didn't go in. That doesn't mean the vast majority of those threes weren't good shots.

[sandinmyshoes]

More learned from this loss than from a thirty point win over a directional or hyphen school in Cameron.

[dyedwab]

Most of the threes, though, were wide open and came off good ball movement. They didn't go in.
...
The 1-3-1 gave us a ton of wide-open threes. ANY team would launch those, and good ones will knock them down. Stuff happens every now and then. They didn't go in. That doesn't mean the vast majority of those threes weren't good shots.

and I think this is what got in their heads. Because at the end of the game, we weren't doing anything very well. But the fact that they were taking good, open 3's that didn't go down eventually led to a tentativeness on both ends of the floor.

[devildeac]

More learned from this loss than from a thirty point win over a directional or hyphen school in Cameron.

Let's hope so.

[dukelifer]

My concern this whole season has been this team's outside shooting. Duke lacks a great outside shooter. The have some great slashers and playmakers- but no-one has taken on that role. Don't get me wrong- this team can have nights where they hit a lot- but on balance- this is a weakness. This weakness was exploited today. The other problem is that once a team sees Duke's D they can make adjustments. Michigan just played Duke- they knew they could play with them. All this game showed is that Duke is with the rest of the pack. A team that needs to play well to win most nights and most nights they play well. But this team cannot play many B games and win against good teams- it will not happen. They will go back - regroup and figure it out. Not the end of the world but certainly means Duke has work to do before the ACC wars. Xavier will be a huge test for this team.

[Kim*]

This better be a huge wake-up call to every single one of them.

That's all I feel like saying right now.

[BlueintheFace]

I don't fault any one player. Nolan really really looked like a young pg tonight... little assertiveness, some bad decisions. G still can't shake the fouling issues. Tough game... fine. The ball just wouldn't go down and we took an awful lot of open threes too.

I do, however, place same blame with Coach for once. We rarely attacked the zone correctly. We didn't exploit the baseline, hardly ever cut the lane when the ball was on the wings (except twice with Kyle), and we hardly ever utilized back screens correctly. This is one of those games where set plays are very helpful and our failure to run them seemed to cost us pretty consistently.