MBB: Duke 76 Gonzaga 41 Post-Game Thread

[Troublemaker]

Thoughts go here.

[FireOgilvie]

I think Gonzaga's starting lineup is at least as good as Duke's, probably better. The difference is that their big men, Sacre and Harris, can post and score with their backs to the basket. They are very skilled and coordinated big men; both are NBA prospects, imo. It doesn't end there, though. Their de facto point guard Matt Bouldin is an All-American candidate. Strong, quick, very skilled, very smart. He's Scheyer with more strength. Steven Gray is a very good shooter with good athleticism and smarts as well. Their "weakest" starter is Demetri Goodson who is quick but isn't as skilled an offensive threat as his teammates. Still, that's a very talented and well-rounded starting lineup. The Zags aren't deep, though, so a physical game with lots of fouls called would maybe tilt the advantage towards Duke. This will be the best team we've played so far this season.

I disagree with you that Gonzaga's starting lineup is better. Scheyer is absolutely better than Bouldin. It's not just that Scheyer averages more points, more assists, and fewer turnovers while playing against better competition for a better team; Scheyer is a more intelligent player. I think Scheyer is a first team All-American right now. Singler is also better than everyone on Gonzaga's team (I think we can all agree with this). Nolan would probably be Gonzaga's 2nd leading scorer. Their big men are good (and you could be right about them being possible NBA prospects in the future - I honestly haven't paid that much attention to them this year), but they're also young, and I wouldn't say they have much of an advantage there over the Plumlees or whoever we decide to start.

We'll have to agree to disagree. I love Jon as a player -- how could you not? -- but there's nothing that he can do that Bouldin can't. And Bouldin is stronger.

There's a chance Bouldin won't play in this game because he became concussed two games ago and missed Gonzaga's previous game, but if his noggin is right, I can't wait to play him and see how we defend him. He's too strong for Nolan and Jon; he'd just take them to the post and work them. I think the best defensive matchups will be to put Singler on Bouldin, have Jon chase Gray, and put Nolan on Goodson with an eye on playing off and helping since Goodson isn't a great shooter.




Nope, we part ways here as well.

I would rank the top 10 players on the court like this:

1) Bouldin (again, hopefully his head isn't screwed up)
2) Scheyer
3) Singler
4) Harris
5) Gray
6) Sacre
7) Nolan
8) Dawkins
9) Goodson
10) Lance

I think Singler will eventually develop into a consistent All American player this season but he's not there yet.



See, that's the thing. You'd have to have watched them this season to understand. This is a serious, serious basketball team. Don't be misled by the loss to Wake Forest where Harris was ejected in the first half. Every team plays a stinker here and there. Duke will, too. But on average, this Duke-Gonzaga game is going to be an Elite 8 quality game.

I'm really happy to see that I was right and you were wrong.

Great win today.

Ryan Kelly was awesome.

[VaDukie]

Scheyer was magnificent as always, Nolan had a great game, Zoubek and Lance did there thing down low, and Kelly had some solid minutes. All in all not a bad way to head into Christmas break.

[Kfan4Life]

Nolan looked really good today. He is going to the right spots on the floor to score. Zoubek had another really solid game. Our interior defense was excellent.

[geraldsneighbor]

Duke's defense didn't allow a single Bulldog to reach double-figures. That was a good way to go into the holiday. Kyle after starting slow had a chance for a double-double. Ryan looked great. Jon and Nolan were outstanding. Zoub and Lance again looked good.

My heart fell to my stomach for a second when Mason went down on that wrist with about 12 minutes to go but my worries were put to bed when he had that put back one hand dunk.

Good victory on a day the Holes gave up triple digits, we held a ranked team under 40 for over 39 minutes.

[Bob Green]

The game was ugly at times especially during the first half. However, we just beat the #15 ranked team in the country by 35 points and held them to 41 points. Yes, Gonzaga'a offense was horrible but Duke's defense deserves a lot of credit for making them look bad. This was a good win prior to the team taking a 10 day break.

Smith and Scheyer played great today.

[DukieBoy]

Scheyer, Singler, MP2, and Kelley all looked good today. Great win to send us all off into the holidays. Hope everyone has a great holidays.

[jpfrizzle]

...and some people were worried going up against Gonzaga

Ryan's hands was sticky tonight, he can play some good ball.

Z was impressive tonight. Way to go Zoubs!!

Im trying to decide between Scheyer and Nolan for MOTM

Plumlee2 made some good plays, but still got to work on things.

Overall, great game!!! (read my sig)

[BlueintheFace]

Our Defense was superb. Great win.

I have lots of thoughts that I'll get into later, but I just want to throw this out there as a point that might get overlooked.

Ryan Kelly blocks JUST like the Landlord. He plants his feet solid and reaches for the ball at the point of release. I like this kid's game more and more every game. He has good vision and took his shots this game without hesitation. I see good things for him with time. Priority 1 is to work on his body this coming off season.

[Indoor66]

Scheyer, Singler, MP2, and Kelley all looked good today. Great win to send us all off into the holidays. Hope everyone has a great holidays.

What about Smith & Zoubek?

[flyingdutchdevil]

I think this game can be easily broken down into two phases: first ten minutes, next 30 minutes.

First 10 minutes: Probably some of the best defenses I've seen in a while from both teams. And the worst offenses. 12 points total in 10 minutes (or something like that)? Really... wow.

Next 30 minutes: Now for the more entertaining part. I noticed a few things:
-Nolan and Scheyer played great. Especially Nolan. He was the only scoring when no one else was and everyone seemed to follow suit. Also, Nolan's D was absolutely nasty. The Zag's best player had a horrible game because of it. Clearly our player of the game. The way Nolan and Scheyer play off of each other and set each other for assists is one of the most beautiful things I've seen from Duke in a really long time. They really seem to love playing with each other. They were giggling and laughing when they were on the bench towards the end of the game.
-Ryan Kelly has some amazing basketball instincts. Despite not being able to jump as high as the rest of his teammates, the guy has a knack for getting blocks. It's uncanny - I thought he would never lead our team in blocks. I can't wait to see great things from him.
-Zoubs played well. Thomas play alright. However, Singler didn't have a good game. Here's what I noticed about Singler - he tries to take over games but can't seem to find "it". When the whole team was struggling, he kept shooting (and missing) and driving (and turning the ball over). Unfortunately, as much as I like him, I don't think he's the star player on this team. It's also debatable if he's the second best player on this team (I feel Nolan is more consistent). He is our most versatile player, but that doesn't necessarily mean he's our best player. He had a fairly poor offensive game, but at least his defense was great.

Anyway, that's it. Great showing by our team. I really hope Nolan and Scheyer play together like that more, because it really is some of the best basketball to watch when it happens. Plus, Nolan's smile is so damn contageous.

[Greg_Newton]

I can't believe we collapsed at the end and didn't even double them up. I'm done with this team.

But seriously, that was almost as fun as the Maryland game from last year, in a weird, gritty kind of way. I'm really happy to see Kelly looking like something has clicked for him - it's like he realized "Wait a minute, I'm better than most guys I play against. I'm going to start doing whatever I want out there." The strides he's made since this summer are astounding.

Z continues to play like a difference-making ACC center. He wasn't just being big today, he was keeping the ball high and finishing, moving surprisingly quickly and intelligently, and snapping up everything near him like he had velcro hands.

IMO, this was a very important game for Nolan. I was getting ready to accept that okay, maybe our pre-season expectations were a little lofty for him. However, he was the best player on the court tonight in a big game. Glad to see he still (correctly) believes he's an elite player.

Hopefully refs start believing Miles can reach the ball when it's above the rim soon. That said, I hope he learns that he post defense is different than being an offensive lineman... you can't be the one that initiates the contact. If he'd back off a sliver just before the shot and went for the block rather than surging into his man with his lower body, he'd be a much better (and less foul prone) defender.

Great game overall though. Certain players are playing far below their potential, but considering we just blew out a top-15 team by 35, that's a great thing!

[Troublemaker]

I'm really happy to see that I was right and you were wrong.

Great win today.

Ryan Kelly was awesome.

No doubt, I was way off on this one.

Duke's defense put another whooping on a good team in MSG. A nice early X-mas present for us fans.

[gwwilburn]

Nice. This was as convincing a win to me as the UConn win was, even if the Zags and the Huskies are two different tiered opponents. Jon and Nolan are great, and Kyle got it together and had a nice game on the other end, even if he did not shoot very well. Kelly had his best game so far, the bigs held it together, and it was a high-quality win. For some gloating, I've gotta say, we allow 41 points, that unmentionable team 103.

[Wildcat]

I liked what I saw today. We are truly a SOLID team. Mason appears to have some PO; Kelly surprised me a little; I like it. I hope continues to grow and develop as a player. Jon is Jon, SOLID. Nolan had a nice game today; Zoubs, I knew it all along. At 7 foot, he's good for something. He may not be what many want him to be, but let him play his style and he will be a vital component for this team.

Overall, good game! Way to go guys. We will continue to pray for you Andre, God Bless You buddy and hang in there.

[Poincaré]

Once again, I was horrified by long stretches of offensive ineptitude. R Kelly is earning some real PT with his defense. I am excited about what he did today and what he may do tomorrow.

[airowe]

Quality defensive showing by our guys. It was great to see us shut down Matt Bouldin and really contain Sacre on the inside.

Loved seeing Ryan getting minutes and playing phenomenal on both ends of the floor.

As GregNewton said, a lot of our guys are playing under their potential and for us to dominate a Top 15 team on a neutral () court while our guys are still not playing their best ball it makes me really happy for the Spring.

Happy Holidays Everyone!

[-bdbd]

Devils looked great today. Not sure if the Zags aren't as good as previously believed, or that we're really that good... But, damn, anytime you can beat a top-15 team by 30+ people are going to sit up and take notice.

It became a route so early, and Gonzaga's players obviously got discouraged, but it's hard to get a handle on how strong we really are. Certainly our defense was top-notch -- besting Zags' low for the season in first half scoring, blowing away their average number of turnovers, etc. I was most pleased with our interior play, specifically on defense and in rebounding. I'm becoming more and more a fan of Nolan Smith. He is just so critical to making this team go -- we really NEED his speed and athleticism on the perimeter. And Scheyer is, as always, such a smart player - a coach's dream on the floor, doing all of the little things that so many kids today can't be bothered with... Ryan seems to be getting more and more comfortable as the season goes on, which bodes well for ACC play, and both Plumlees are improving as well. (I can see now what Olek must've seen already, that minutes were going to be getting harder and harder to come by. BTW, sorry to see him go, but doesn't that free up another important scholly for all of the HS Juniors and even seniors we're in close with?)

Anyway, Merry Christmas all. Combined with the result in Dallas, I know that I already got MY presents early!!

[jv001]

All the guys played well. I liked the two man game Nolan and Jon played in the 2nd half. The Zags could not stop them. Zoubs, Ryan and Mason played very good games as well. Can't fault anyone in this win. Always a great weekend when unc loses and Duke wins. Go Duke!

[Saratoga2]

After watching the game I see a team developing and one that can be much better. Our team defense was very good and our offense was bothered by the size of Gonzaga and the tight defense they played. On an individual basis I think a lot of items should be mentioned.

Bigs:
Zoubek: started with a couple of unfortunate fouls but then picked his game up and was assertive. He had an excellent overall game.
Miles Plumlee: Played well and showed he is no pushover out there. What a relief to have multiple big men with fouls to give.
Mason Plumlee: He made some freshmen plays resulting in turnovers but shows some real ability. He will come along with more in game experience and may turn into a really good Power Forward
Lance Thomas: He played well, his defense was good and he fought for the ball. His quickness is a big help out there.
Kelly: Wonderful story here. The kid can really play and has a sense of the game like Scheyer although not as highly developed. He has to get more PT.
Singler: Not such a good story here as he seems to be pressing. Maybe he needs to reevaluate his game to get under better control on offense. We need him to return to the excellence we know he has.

Guards:
Scheyer: Another great game although his shooting was a little off, perhaps due to the size and defensive pressure. He may get 2 TO's but one was due to Singler not moving towards a pass.
Smith: Excellent overall game for him on offense and defense.
Dawkins: This kid has more than just a jump shot. He has a solid overall game and will help us win many a game this year.

Overall team defense was very good with a lot of shot blocking and altering and very few easy buckets for Gonzaga. The kids should be proud of their efforts today.