MBB: Duke at Boston College Pre-Game and In-Game Thread

[gofurman]

I just noticed that BC has been off since 1/30. Didn't really buy into the difference in schedules until now. 2 days versus 6. That is signifiicant. "

I stole that thought but mine was the "Georgetown" thought... Duke plays on Thursday night...I assume flies on Friday to play on Saturday? That is no turnaround. The whole while BC has been resting and prepping / studying for Duke for a week.

Not to mention BC is between GT and UNC. Trap if I ever saw it!

and away... just looks bad from where I sit: any win at BC would be huge.

*the only diff in BC and Georgetown (other than talent) is that we know BC bc they are conference

[mike88]

Playing on a little over a day's rest, on the road, against a team that will be motivated after losing to us earlier at Cameron- this is a big game for Duke. BC is not the most talented team in the league by far, but they run their system and I am sure Coach Skinner will ask them to be extra physical with us, trying to take advantage of our potential for fatigue given the difference in time between games.

As is usually the case vs. BC, we need to cause turnovers, limit their 3 point shots, and keep from getting into foul trouble. If we can do those things and shoot reasonably well, we should win.

[-bdbd]

I hope that we can GET there with this big sorm looming!
(At a minimum, please no big travel delays for a weary team.)

We seem to have found ourselves again, but Duke needs to demonstrate an ability to play consistent, good D on the road still...

As long as we maintain focus and energy, this one should be ours for the taking.

[uh_no]

I just noticed that BC has been off since 1/30. Didn't really buy into the difference in schedules until now. 2 days versus 6. That is signifiicant. "

*the only diff in BC and Georgetown (other than talent) is that we know BC bc they are conference

First, we had our big schedule break last week, and we decided to fill it with georgetown...so don't blame scheduling


Second, we have played Gtown for the past 3 years now, so you can hardly say that we don't know them...

[mo.st.dukie]

First, we had our big schedule break last week, and we decided to fill it with georgetown...so don't blame scheduling

This was discussed in an article prior to the GTown game but playing that game on January 30 was the decision of CBS not the schools. JTIII mentioned that he would much rather play a game like that prior to conference play started but when they signed the contract for the home-and-home series it gave the tv networks (CBS has done the last two, can't remember who broadcasted the first two) control over when the games would be played. Just a tough break for Duke.

[SilkyJ]

*the only diff in BC and Georgetown (other than talent) is that we know BC bc they are conference

Are you serious? The "talent" difference is hardly nominal. You're talking about a 2-3 seed vs. an NIT Team.

[NYC Duke Fan]

Are you serious? The "talent" difference is hardly nominal. You're talking about a 2-3 seed vs. an NIT Team.

Do you remember what happened at Raleigh this year ?

[UrinalCake]

Regarding the scheduling/days off... it's fine for us to talk about it as fans, but I hope the team isn't harping about this a lot because I worry it might become somewhat of a self-fulfilling prophecy. If you talk constantly about how you're supposed to be tired for a game, then all of a sudden you feel tired.

Schedules are uneven on a game-to-game basis, this isn't something new. We just had five days to prepare for Georgia Tech. I think we need to get over it.

The real question is whether Kyle's hot shooting from outside will continue, or whether it was a one-game aberration. I don't expect 8-10 from three again, but if he can stay at 40% for the rest of the season while we continue to develop our inside game then we're in pretty good shape.

[camion]

Regarding the scheduling/days off... it's fine for us to talk about it as fans, but I hope the team isn't harping about this a lot because I worry it might become somewhat of a self-fulfilling prophecy. If you talk constantly about how you're supposed to be tired for a game, then all of a sudden you feel tired.

Schedules are uneven on a game-to-game basis, this isn't something new. We just had five days to prepare for Georgia Tech. I think we need to get over it.

The real question is whether Kyle's hot shooting from outside will continue, or whether it was a one-game aberration. I don't expect 8-10 from three again, but if he can stay at 40% for the rest of the season while we continue to develop our inside game then we're in pretty good shape.

Georgia Tech also had five days to prepare for us so there's no inequality there. We have essentially no practice days to prepare for BC since we have to travel to Boston. They have five to prepare for us. That's significant. Looking at the GT and BC games I was more worried about BC than I was Tech precisely because of the travel and difference in preparation time. Tech is a more talented team than Boston College, but the other factors favor BC in their game with us.

[gumbomoop]

Georgia Tech also had five days to prepare for us so there's no inequality there. We have essentially no practice days to prepare for BC since we have to travel to Boston. They have five to prepare for us. That's significant. Looking at the GT and BC games I was more worried about BC than I was Tech precisely because of the travel and difference in preparation time. Tech is a more talented team than Boston College, but the other factors favor BC in their game with us.

Agree with this. On some thread after G'town loss, I moaned about this extra "unbalanced" scheduling. And as -bdbd says in post earlier in this thread, the weather may pose additional travel-weary problems.

However... everyone [save, perhaps Andre, but I'm guessing he's ok, too] must feel pretty good about last night's game, so emotionally they're surely not moaning about travel and schedule "unfairness" as much as I am! KS played brilliantly, LT was, as K noted in post-game, "the hidden story," both RK and MP2 had a nice play or 2, as did Z; JS and NS were... JS and NS; and we're all delighted at JD's appearance and fierce in-traffic rebound.

So, I don't expect to see UNC-like lethargy tomorrow aft [for which there could be no explanation other than weather-travel]. Given the lack of prep time, it's good that we've already played BC, and Skinner's system can be no surprise that would require extra prep. I do expect BC to run his system pretty well, and would hope our D contains Trapani and Jackson from breaking out.

Duke is the better team, but every game is a challenge. I'm thinking the emotional "up" that derives from playing very well and getting back at GaT, and from getting distance from the G'town game, triumphs schedule weirdness.

[gofurman]

Are you serious? The "talent" difference is hardly nominal. You're talking about a 2-3 seed vs. an NIT Team.

Agreed - I am just looking at it from a "prep" perspective. This one stands out as I am not keen on Thursday/Sat set ups anyway but especially when the other team has had the whole week off. A week of film study makes a lot of diff- I bet they were together last night watching our game and looking at strengths and weaknesses.

[sagegrouse]

Regarding the scheduling/days off... it's fine for us to talk about it as fans, but I hope the team isn't harping about this a lot because I worry it might become somewhat of a self-fulfilling prophecy. If you talk constantly about how you're supposed to be tired for a game, then all of a sudden you feel tired.

.

In the good old days, not only did the ACC Tournament require a team play every day, but so did the NCAA Regionals and Final Four. These were Friday-Saturday games.

I remember thinking at the time that Duke, in losing to UCLA in 1964, had a much harder trip against Michigan the night before than UCLA had against Kansas State. We had lost to Michigan at Michigan during the season and won an emotional match in the semis.

BTW, surely we can all agree that the Fri/Sun and Thur/Sat games are done for the benefit of TV and revenue and not to give the players a rest.

Anyway, playing Thursday evening and then Sat. afternoon should not be a big deal physically on the players, despite what K has said in the past.

sagegrouse

[arbee]

Travel concerns regarding weather is not an issue. The storm is staying south, and there is NO snow in the forecast up here, in Boston.

[UrinalCake]

Travel concerns regarding weather is not an issue. The storm is staying south, and there is NO snow in the forecast up here, in Boston.

On the other hand, they're calling for snow in DC. Let's hope the Heels get stuck at the airport for a few hours before playing Maryland on sunday

[lpd1982]

IMO This team is a particularly emotional one. When they are up they are REALLY up and when, well....When they are winning and in a zone in a tournament, like last year's ACC, they stay pumped.

I think they feel that they killed last night and they'll be on a high to bring that to Boston. I am almost glad that there is not much more in between time. Let last night's game be fresh in everyone's mind, B.C. , our players and especially Kyle.

[BD80]

The quick turnaround does not give Andre a chance to earn his way back onto the floor at BC.

Will the snow snow storm allow the Devils to return Saturday night? Will it allow unc to take off from DC and land a RDU Sunday?

Coach K sells the short turnaround as preparation for the tournament, preparation for SUCCESS. This is a great learning experience. The preparation was done before the GT game, tweaking the offense. BC will only have one practice to look at those new wrinkles.

[Kedsy]

The quick turnaround does not give Andre a chance to earn his way back onto the floor at BC.

I have no inside information, but my guess is K wanted to send a message to Andre and it was a one game message. Unless he's injured, I'd be surprised if he doesn't take off his warmups in the BC game. In fact, I'll be surprised if he doesn't get at least 8 to 10 minutes.

[CDu]

I have no inside information, but my guess is K wanted to send a message to Andre and it was a one game message. Unless he's injured, I'd be surprised if he doesn't take off his warmups in the BC game. In fact, I'll be surprised if he doesn't get at least 8 to 10 minutes.

I agree. I think the biggest concern with regard to this game is the fact that BC has had a full week to prepare for us, and we will only have a day to prepare for them.

Luckily, the game last night was less physical than the typical Duke/GT games (the two obvious incidents in the second half notwithstanding). So being battered/bruised should be a little less of a concern.

Hopefully we can play our game well enough that the extra prep time for BC doesn't cost us. It would be very nice to get another win, especially against a bottom-feeder in the ACC.

[Kedsy]

I think the biggest concern with regard to this game is the fact that BC has had a full week to prepare for us, and we will only have a day to prepare for them.

Since we already played BC this year, do you think the prep time is maybe a little less necessary? Sure, it would be great to have time to physically go through the game plan instead of just remembering how they did it the last time, but it's not like they've never prepared for BC, right?

[CDu]

Since we already played BC this year, do you think the prep time is maybe a little less necessary? Sure, it would be great to have time to physically go through the game plan instead of just remembering how they did it the last time, but it's not like they've never prepared for BC, right?

I worded my previous post poorly. I think the bigger issue is the prep time that BC has for us. I agree that our prep time for them is less of a factor, given that (a) we've seen them and (b) we're better than them. So it's less the relative time that we have compared to BC, but rather the amount of time that BC has to prepare for us.