MBB: Duke 81, Miami 74 Post-Game Thread

[Jumbo]

Enjoy a lovely discussion.

[jipops]

Love the fortitude and grit shown in the 2nd half. Wonderful outcome.

Jon a had rough outing but was huge in the clutch. I love that when we needed a shot we got one.

Another terrific game from Zou.

[dukestheheat]

I'm proud of the team for showing great effort and resilience to get that win; with Scheyer struggling for most of the game, they had the guts, on the road, to put together a great second half and escape with the win. Zoubek was GREAT again and Nolan Smith gets my vote for MOTM.

dth.

[fisheyes]

A tremendous gutty comeback. Z was awesome during the first half and during that first few minutes of the second half. Without him, we wouldn't have had the chance to make the comeback. Way to go Z! A great win to build off of. Way to go Coach K! What does he say at halftime?

[mgtr]

If any of our players were getting the big head, and thinking they would just out and chalk up another win, this game put paid to that notion. Happy with the outcome, but we will have to play better than that against Virginia Tech. I hope Zoubs keeps playing at this level.

[CDu]

Awful first half. Great second half.

Singler really stepped up in the second half, and Smith and (eventually) Scheyer joined in. 22 points, 11 rebounds, and 4 assists for Singler. He was just grizzly in the second half.

Great effort by Zoubek as well. 10 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 5 steals(!) from the big guy. Way to follow up a career game with another solid game. Hopefully he's really getting confidence.

Tough night (again) for Miles. He's really fallen off ever since the Wake game. Better game by Mason, though, with fewer cheap fouls. Maybe he's starting to figure it out.

But it was just really nice to see the team step up from a horrific first half and fight for a win on the road in the second half. Hopefully we can build on this game moving forward, knowing we can overcome adversity now.

[gwwilburn]

Not the kind of when I had pictured, but I'll take it. Zoubek was great, and Smith and Scheyer finally got it going when we needed it. Kyle was key in initiating that run to start the second half. Nice to see a three from Andre.

[Indoor66]

I'm proud of the team for showing great effort and resilience to get that win; with Scheyer struggling for most of the game, they had the guts, on the road, to put together a great second half and escape with the win. Zoubek was GREAT again and Nolan Smith gets my vote for MOTM.

dth.

Nolan had some bad moments in this game. He reverted to pounding the ball and to not seeing much on the court around him. Singler or Z for MOTM.

[OldSchool]

Laying 56 points on Miami in their house in one half of basketball, after Miami had closed us down and had all the confidence in the world at halftime, shows what this team is made of.

[Saratoga2]

First Half

Miami's zone bothered Dukes shooters. They seemed to lack confidence and floundered to find a way to score. The big three looked like they were the NC State game in reprise.

2nd Half

More ball movement. More taking the ball inside. Better 3 point shooting. Miami was tough and didn't go away. This took a major team effort. The big three played well in this half and Zoubek played well the entire game. He still brings the ball down, but now he manages to go up and score. He set screens, he made passes and he was active rebounding and on defense.

Tough road win we certainly could have lost. We showed toughness and senior leadership and came away strong.

[weezie]

I'll bet the coaching staff will be especially enjoying their first beer together after the game.

[CLW]

Z has really turned it on of late. If he could just stay out of foul trouble. Guy did it all tonight: scored in the post; rebounds; screens; solid D.

[91devil]

Maybe part of the reason we were so lethargic in the first half was the atmosphere and the crowd? Wow, that place seemed dull tonight.

Only got loud in the second half AFTER we took the lead and the 'Canes mounted that mini-rally.

The baseline screens (by and large, set by Brian and Lance) were excellent tonight...how many open looks did we have from the corner? Well done.

[Faison1]

The team is clearly improving, and I'd say they would have lost this game about a month ago. Sure, there's a couple concerns, but man, what a great comeback!

I was really impressed with how tough the guys were....great win...congrats guys!

[jipops]

Z has really turned it on of late. If he could just stay out of foul trouble. Guy did it all tonight: scored in the post; rebounds; screens; solid D.

Z also had FIVE steals.

[dukestheheat]

I'll bet the coaching staff will be especially enjoying their first beer together after the game.

....anyone wanna bet WHAT WAS SAID by 'them' at the half? Duke comes out and they looked like a different team after the half! I don't think K and the boys were sharing Valentine's candy in there, I can tell ya that.

dth.

[VaDukie]

Nice to see us rally in the 2nd half, but I'd still rather avoid those first half no shows to begin with.

[CDu]

Nolan had some bad moments in this game. He reverted to pounding the ball and to not seeing much on the court around him. Singler or Z for MOTM.

Agreed. Smith and Scheyer looked really tentative out there for most of the game. Smith made some really bad decisions, and Scheyer just couldn't make any shots for about 35 minutes.

Fortunately, Zoubek played well and Singler was just a beast in the second half. And eventually Smith and Scheyer got it going again.

But I agree - Singler was player of the game, with Zoubek second. Too rough a game from Smith and Scheyer to consider them.

[bird]

Z is the emotional leader of the team.

[Newton_14]

Say what you want but that is a game we do not win a month ago. The response in the 2nd half was exactly what we needed in the other road games that we lost. That is progress. The defense tightened up and the offense went into attack mode.

As bad as the first half was, the 2nd half looked like a different team. Good movement on offense in the 2nd half, better decisions, better shot selection, better everything. I thought scoring off drives helped free the pressure on the 3 Ball and we shot looser with more confidence in the 2nd half. Loved the drives by Kyle where he fed Miles and Mason with easy lob finishes. We need more of that. Zoubs scored well in the post as well.

Miami has a lot of good young talent and Haith is a good coach. Very glad to come out of there with a win.