MBB: ACCT Championship pre-game & in-game thread

[DUKIE V(A)]

Great Half!! One more just like it please!!

[arnie]

Best I've seen the entire team play this year - everyone that played seemed to play well - keep it UP!

[jipops]

I'm a little concerned about the foul situation. Expect Douglas to explode in the 2nd. I can see FSU making this single digits very quickly.

Lance's point blank miss, yuuuck.

Great work by Zoubek so far. Since Hamilton has gone small our shooting has cooled, wonder if we can look for Zoubs a little down low now or maybe even Kyle.

[Faison1]

Way to go, Zoubs!!! I really think FSU was not expecting that. When he D'd up, that might have put a kink in their whole game plan....

[natkap]

We're looking really strong but we have to keep the intensity up in the 2nd half. It's not over yet! Everybody has done their part, though, and it's been a while since we've stepped it up like this. Let's hope it continues for many games to come! Go Duke!

[Coballs]

Zoubek completely neutralized Alabi. One of the keys to the first half.

[Lulu]

I just have to keep harping on Henderson's circus shots with zero chance of falling and zero chance of a foul being called (foul or no foul). This has to stop.

The end-of-half plays where we put the ball in his hands also aren't working out for us.

[dukejim1]

Great half but I wish it wouldn't have worn that grey warm-up shirt on the bench. I thought he was in street clothes for awhile. Nice compliments between Eliot and Nolan

[dukebsbll14]

Great half

FSU's going to make a run in the second half, we got to find a way to score inside cause we're not gonna hit those 3's probably

[Devil in the Blue Dress]

Great substitution strategy by Coach K both before foul trouble set in and after.

[MonitorMom]

Great half but I wish it wouldn't have worn that grey warm-up shirt on the bench. I thought he was in street clothes for awhile. Nice compliments between Eliot and Nolan

Nolan's shirt may have sentimental attributes...and if it makes him play like this, I'm all for it

[pfrduke]

Plus/minusing the first half:

Singler: +14 (35-21)
Henderson: +14 (35-21)
Zoubek: +12 (19-7)
Scheyer: +9 (30-21)
Williams: +7 (15-8)
Smith: +6 (18-12)
McClure: +5 (5-0)
Thomas: +2 (16-14)
Paulus: +1 (2-1)

FSU
Gibson: +1 (3-2)
Singleton: -3 (19-22)
Kitchen: -4 (13-17)
Echefu: -4 (13-17)
DeMercy: -5 (10-15)
Dulkys: -8 (0-8)
Reid: -9 (6-15)
Loucks: -10 (8-18)
Douglas: -14 (21-35)
Alabi: -14 (12-26)

[Edouble]

Great half but I wish it wouldn't have worn that grey warm-up shirt on the bench. I thought he was in street clothes for awhile. Nice compliments between Eliot and Nolan

Am I reading this correctly? Did you just refer to Nolan as "it"?

Great first half. I was pleased that we continued to attack the rim after hitting the five threes. I hope Elliott can give us some solid minutes and a few points here and there in the second half with Nolan's foul trouble. Overall, a lot of positive stuff in the first 20 minutes. I love Zoub's presence on D.

[Sgt. Dingleberry]

We played pretty well, but FSU played really poorly...

We still shot only 38% overall, but somehow we outrebounded FSU and had some really good defensive plays...I can't believe how well Zoubek played...

FSU is not going to keep playing this poorly, we only had 3 foul shots in the first half vs FSU's 12. That has to change.

Still, we have a pretty big cushion to work with...Stay aggressive and don't become complacent...

[ArtVandelay]

I'm not sure if it was a coincidence or something in FSU's scouting report, but Lance has been wide open several times coming off the perimeter ball screens. Our guys haven't really been looking for him, though (doesn't seem to be part of the offense right now). I think that if we keep our eyes open we could get an easy basket or two when he rolls to the bucket. Lance could also help by making himself more available to catch and finish.

[MChambers]

Why is hitting the arm on the follow through randomly called a foul in so many instances? Scheyer gets hit and no call...

If it's any consolation, the refs are letting it go on both ends. Also not calling over the back.

They are calling reaching in, which is mostly how we ended up letting FSU score at the line. But for that, we'd be in a complete blowout. Hope it was a point of emphasis at the half.

[pfrduke]

I'm not sure if it was a coincidence or something in FSU's scouting report, but Lance has been wide open several times coming off the perimeter ball screens. Our guys haven't really been looking for him, though (doesn't seem to be part of the offense right now). I think that if we keep our eyes open we could get an easy basket or two when he rolls to the bucket. Lance could also help by making himself more available to catch and finish.

There also aren't always lanes for an entry pass. FSU has done a nice job denying passing lanes to the interior off of screens.

[Chitowndevil]

Duke is doing two things today we didn't see much of for long stretches against BC and Maryland: hitting the glass hard and moving the ball on offense. Two of their best sequences offensively were missed 3s, in particular one where G drove baseline, dished to Kyle in the corner, then 2 passes to get Scheyer a great look from the wing.

Let's also give Zoubs and LT some credit for a couple of really nice plays. They've done a great job frustrating Alabi and Echefu, which might have been the reason for that away from the ball offensive foul. Duke has also timed their help extremely well, disrupting shots so that LT and Zoubs end up in favorable position and don't have to foul.

Also, and perhaps most importantly, Nolan Smith is showing flashes of the player we saw in December and early January. If that Nolan Smith shows up in the NCAAs, and we do the two things above, I like this team's chances.

[natkap]

FSU is looking desperate. It's going to start getting ugly.

[ArtVandelay]

Actually, our defense has let up the past few possessions and we are continuing to fall in love with the 3. I'd like to see Nolan get back in the game to provide a little bit more dribble penetration element.