MBB: Duke-Temple Pre-Game and In-Game thread

[sagegrouse]

The Devils host the Temple Owls Wednesday at 7PM ET (ESPN2). I am impressed with the Owls' record, but I really haven't seen them play. The Owls (21-5) have notable wins over Georgetown, Maryland, Richmond, Georgia and Seton Hall. Their losses outside the A-10 were close games with Cal, Texas A&M, and hometown rival Villanova. They are second in the A-10 to Xavier.

Like many of you, I have trouble picturing a Temple team not coached by John Chaney. I saw a lot of Fran Dunphy when he coached at UPenn (daughter was a cheerleader for the Quakers) and was the perennial Ivy League favorite. But there, he had to meld studs and students, so Temple is a different opportunity.

The Owls' scoring is balanced, and there is not a lot of size and bulk -- but most of the guards are 6-4 or taller, led by whippet-like Ramone Moore at 6-4, 180 (which probably means 170).

Questions for the Peanut Gallery have, therefore, a Duke flavor:

1. Will the staff figure out some way to juice the Devils for the first ten minutes? Most of us are tired of trailing almost everyone (except hapless State) at the beginning of the game.
   
2. Will this be the game where The Toe has officially healed? Surely, the first announcement will be when he suits up with the team.
   
3. Will the frontcourt continue to improve, as it has almost every week during the ACC season? Mason and Kelly are impressive, and Miles has made a few very good offensive plays in his limited minutes.
   
4. Will Andre be called on for more offense? Clearly he needs some TLC (or, alternatively, a stronger effort in practice), but we will need his lights-out shooting come tournament time.

sagegrouse

[Bob Green]

Will the frontcourt continue to improve, as it has almost every week during the ACC season? Mason and Kelly are impressive, and Miles has made a few very good offensive plays in his limited minutes.

sagegrouse

I also have not seen Temple play. Taking a look at their stats page at ESPN reveals Lavoy Allen (6'9" 225) leads the team in rebounding with 7.1 per game. He is also the 3rd leading scorer at 10.1 points per game. In their most recent victory over ST. Joseph's, Allen became the Owls' all time leader in rebounds:

http://basketball.realgm.com/wiretap...ounding_Record

The DraftExpress.com scouting report states:

At 6'9 with a solid frame and solid length, Allen is a highly mobile and coordinated athlete, but not a very explosive one...Allen has a pretty nice set of skills, though he's very content being a cog in Temple's offense as opposed to consistently asserting himself and taking over games...Allen does the majority of his damage operating with his back to the basket, where he has a diverse arsenal of moves and a very strong feel for the game.

It sounds like Lavoy Allen will be a solid test for our front court players. I'm convinced Miles Plumlee is our best low post defender so he should see extended playing time against Temple as long as he remains out of foul trouble.

[gumbomoop]

Temple has been hit badly - badly - by injuries recently. Their starting center and 2d-leading rebounder is out for the season. And now their 2d-leading scorer is doubtful for the Duke game, perhaps longer.

http://phillysportsdaily.com/college...ports+Daily%29

They were already guard-oriented, now more so. One would think we might see Kyle at the 4 a bit more Wed eve. A couple of additional questions would be: (1) Do Temple's guards get into the lane easily, and if so, how well will Duke defend this problem? (2) Will Temple be forced to shoot lots of 3s?

[Saratoga2]

It appears that Ramone Moore is Temple's #1 threat. At 6'4" he might be difficult for our guards to defend. I wonder if Nolan gets to defend him or whether it is Kyle. He is their high scorer and will likely play 40 minutes.

There is a question whether Scootie Randall can play on Wednesday. He could be tough for our back line to defend, but the recent injury may sideline him. It appears there is also a question about Juan Fernandez and his knee.

Even with their injuries, they are still winning and are well coached. This will be a good test that we have to pass if we want to be considered an elite team. With Nolan playing like a NPOY, Kyle back to his solid performance level and the growth in Mason, Ryan and Seth, we appear to be too much for them, but that is why we play the games.

[OldPhiKap]

One would think we might see Kyle at the 4 a bit more Wed eve.

Kyrie
Nolan
Seth
Kyle
Mason


Yup.

[moonpie23]

don't forget....this is what they watch right before taking the floor...


YOU TALKING TO ME?

let's don't underestimate them....duke needs to come out strong...

[MChambers]

Kyrie
Nolan
Seth
Kyle
Mason


Yup.

Only problem with this lineups is that Temple's guards are relatively tall, so our guards could get posted up. Paging Mr. Dawkins.

[OldPhiKap]

Only problem with this lineups is that Temple's guards are relatively tall, so our guards could get posted up. Paging Mr. Dawkins.

Good point. Andre will need to spell each of the four guards for two minutes each, per half, which will have him in for at least 16 minutes. Plus, Kyrie will probably play less than 20 minutes so there's extra time for him as well.

[-bdbd]

Good point. Andre will need to spell each of the four guards for two minutes each, per half, which will have him in for at least 16 minutes. Plus, Kyrie will probably play less than 20 minutes so there's extra time for him as well.

You could certainly argue that playing Kelly with Mason creates some nasty match-up issues going the other way... Or can we invision a 6'4" Temple Guard trying to guard a posting-up 6'10" Ryan Kelly?? It goes both ways of course.

No doubt that we'll see some of that mentioned line-up if KI is back (I for one am dubious - why waste his return for a non-conference game... give him another three days of rehab and come back when it is more important - at VPI or him with Clemson) :
Kyrie (I actually favor Andre here)
Nolan
Seth
Kyle
Mason

But I'd predict as more likely that we start with Nolan at PG, with Seth and Andre on the wings.

I also would expect K and staff to run a few plays early-on for Andre to get him involved from the get-go.

This Temple squad is not to be taken lightly. They are really good, and this match-up mimics a possible Sweet-16 caliber game. Let's defend that #1 ranking team!

[KyDevilinIL]

No doubt that we'll see some of that mentioned line-up if KI is back (I for one am dubious - why waste his return for a non-conference game... give him another three days of rehab and come back when it is more important - at VPI or him with Clemson)

Count me in the dubious camp as well, but the Temple game makes no more or less sense as any if he's ready to go. As long as he's healed, the sooner he can see game action the better.

[94duke]

Why is there so much discussion about starting Kyle at the "4?"
Mason and Ryan have Started the last 11 games.
Before that Miles and Ryan started a few. Mason and Miles started a few.
Actually, 2 of the 3 have started every game this year. I see no reason for the starting line-up to change against Temple. We should see 2 bigs to start the game. Size is our advantage. We should use it.

[Matches]

Count me in the dubious camp as well, but the Temple game makes no more or less sense as any if he's ready to go. As long as he's healed, the sooner he can see game action the better.

This. If he's ready to go, no reason to hold him back. Obviously that's a huge IF.

This will be a tough game, a nice non-conference test for us. Injuries or no, Temple is a quality opponent.

[ice-9]

Quality opponent? To pollsters eyes Temple is the second strongest team we will face this regular season! This is absolutely a must win - given it's at Cameron, even more so than our finale against UNC. Lose this and I think it'll be an upward battle to get a 1 seed as the loss "proves" the notion that we simply haven't beaten any one good.

[NSDukeFan]

Why is there so much discussion about starting Kyle at the "4?"
Mason and Ryan have Started the last 11 games.
Before that Miles and Ryan started a few. Mason and Miles started a few.
Actually, 2 of the 3 have started every game this year. I see no reason for the starting line-up to change against Temple. We should see 2 bigs to start the game. Size is our advantage. We should use it.

Agreed. I can't see the team changing its starting line-up against Temple, especially when all five starters played at least 27 minutes the game before. Even if Kyrie were to play (big if, but I am getting very excited at the possibility of seeing him in a Duke uniform again), he might not start at least in the beginning.

[4decadedukie]

I have seen a few Temple games this season, mostly televised but one at the Palestra. They are a VERY SOLID team (as you would expect with Fran Dunphy's experience, expertise and leadership), and we will certainly be challenged by the Owls. It would be a tremendous error for Duke (and I especially mean the Crazies) to overlook this game, in anticipation of VPI, Clemson and UNC. We will require strong fan support tomorrow night.

[MChambers]

Agreed. I can't see the team changing its starting line-up against Temple, especially when all five starters played at least 27 minutes the game before. Even if Kyrie were to play (big if, but I am getting very excited at the possibility of seeing him in a Duke uniform again), he might not start at least in the beginning.

I think we'll have the usual five starters, although I wouldn't be surprised if we used the lineup with Andre at the 4 and Kyle at the 4 quite a bit (not that Duke has positions).

I have to think that if Irving returns this year he'll come off the bench, at least at first, and quite possibly the rest of the year, like Mr. Hill did in 1992.

[OldPhiKap]

Quality opponent? To pollsters eyes Temple is the second strongest team we will face this regular season! This is absolutely a must win - given it's at Cameron, even more so than our finale against UNC. Lose this and I think it'll be an upward battle to get a 1 seed as the loss "proves" the notion that we simply haven't beaten any one good.

MSU and K-State were both top-five when we played them. But, yeah, this is a tough match.

I don't agree that a win here would mean more than beating UNC, but that's me.

[NSDukeFan]

MSU and K-State were both top-five when we played them. But, yeah, this is a tough match.

I don't agree that a win here would mean more than beating UNC, but that's me.

I have to agree that I would be much happier with a win at UNC that may clinch the regular season conference title and #1 seed in the tournament than a win at home vs. Temple. Of course, I think a win over UNC would be better than a win over Temple even if the regular season conference lead wasn't at stake.

[MChambers]

I have to agree that I would be much happier with a win at UNC that may clinch the regular season conference title and #1 seed in the tournament than a win at home vs. Temple. Of course, I think a win over UNC would be better than a win over Temple even if the regular season conference lead wasn't at stake.

I'm not going to be very happy with a loss to either Temple or UNC. The good news is that I think Duke will win both games.

[loran16]

See the Vigil thread, but basically my point is this:

Kyrie isn't back. There's no official word on the subject, nor unofficial from good sources (Watzone, Airowe). He was in street clothes for last game, and people came into the chat asking if he was dressed for the game. Of course he wasn't. His rehab is going well according to him, but that does NOT MEAN ANYTHING regarding game status other than that he hasn't been ruled out for the rest of the season.

Kyrie being back would be awesome. But if it was happening, the media would be all over it. It's not. So continue hoping that hes' back in time for the season, but don't even bother speculating. It's driving me crazy.