MBB: Duke v. UNC (ACCT) Pre-Game and In-Game Thread

[pfrduke]

Let's go Devils!

[Chris Randolph]

Defense and make shots = WIN. That is all I will say about this game

[superdave]

We need to control the tempo of this here ballgame tomorrow. Nolan and Kyle need to exert their will and show us what they are made of.

I'm encouraged the way we've gotten contributions across the board the last two games and I expect that to carry over tomorrow. I think Mason is playing really well defensively too. He's logging a lot of minutes. We're going to be ready and come out swinging tomorrow. Hope we can force Unc into another slow start.

Super "Barnes is smirker" Dave

[Son of Mojo]

Zone the fudge out of them and, like it has been mentioned before, pressure Marshall and deny him going to his left. Hopefully we can shoot significantly better than the last time against them......and wouldn't it be sweet if, somehow, someway, KI suits up.

It's getting suddenly warm outside, y'all........

[ajgoodfella7]

One thing we really need to improve on from last game is getting back off made shots. UNC torched us in that department.

[HorvathsGhost]

It's on! It's great that it ended up being them, playing this game on a neutral court will be great for us, win or lose.

PS by my research tomorrow will be only the second time in 16 years that Duke will wear road uniforms in an ACC tournament game ...

[DukieInBrasil]

I'm encouraged the way we've gotten contributions across the board the last two games and I expect that to carry over tomorrow. I think Mason is playing really well defensively too. He's logging a lot of minutes. We're going to be ready and come out swinging tomorrow. Hope we can force Unc into another slow start. Super "Barnes is smirker" Dave

I agree. Another solid team performance as 7 guys scored 5 or more pts. Even though we shot poorly from 3, everybody contributed things that were good that went beyond scoring. The combo of the MPs and Kelly scored 22 pts + 10 boards, we're gonna need more of that tomorrow. The only gripe i've got with with Mason is his propensity to play out of control. He's done much better at limiting the stupid fouls out on the perimeter and he has reduced the silly gambling for steals too, but it seems that when he dribbles through traffic something bad happens, like a charge. He has taken the ball off the dribble from the outside and made some nice plays, but those were with nice lanes to the rim, not through traffic.
At any event, I think Clemson gave our bigguns a good look at how you can attack Henson effectively, I hope they use it.

[hurleyfor3]

Zone the fudge out of them

Until there's about 8-9 minutes left. That's when they start hitting 3s.

[1 24 90]

This is a huge game for seeding. I think it could be the difference between being possibly the 3rd #1 seed with a win to being a 2 seed with Ohio State or Kansas. I want this win bad........

GO DUKE!!!

(and another 30 win season would be nice too)

[Reilly]

1967 UNC +09
1969 UNC +11
1979 UNC +08
1988 DUKE +04
1989 UNC +03
1991 UNC +22
1992 DUKE +20
1998 UNC +15
1999 DUKE +23
2001 DUKE +26

UNC leads 6-4.

[sagegrouse]

Here's what I would like to see --

1. Kyle holds Barnes to around 15 points.
2. Our bigs neutralize the UNC big men through good post defense.
3. Nolan, Kyle, and Seth penetrate the UNC defense and hit mid range jumpers and the floaters.
4. Nolan, Seth, and Tyler keep Marshall from penetrating and dishing.
5. Devils shoot 50%, including >35% from three, and close down the UNC fastbreak.

Pipe dream or wet dream: We get to play the UNC team that loafed through the first halves against Miami and Clemson! What the heck was going on? There was no energy at all.

sagegrouse

[devildeac]

Paging Ozzie. You have a thread to start.

[Bob Green]

Pipe dream or wet dream: We get to play the UNC team that loafed through the first halves against Miami and Clemson! What the heck was going on? There was no energy at all.

sagegrouse

Pipe dream for sure. Carolina will show up ready to play but we will as well. Game on! Let's Go Duke!!!

[diveonthefloor]

It's on! It's great that it ended up being them, playing this game on a neutral court will be great for us...

Theoretically neutral...practically-----> anything but!

[Bob Green]

Theoretically neutral...practically-----> anything but!

I believe ACC Ref's paychecks come from the Chapel Hill branch of NCNB.

[Matches]

It's on! It's great that it ended up being them, playing this game on a neutral court will be great for us, win or lose.

PS by my research tomorrow will be only the second time in 16 years that Duke will wear road uniforms in an ACC tournament game ...

Third time. Remember when the white unis got left in Durham in 2001 and both teams wore road unis in our matchup with State?

We are 2-0 in the road unis during that time, though.

[epoulsen]

I would like to think given that UNC is pretty thin and that they have not played 3 games in as many days since they lost LDII and Bullock we have an edge with respect to who could succumb to fatigue first. Especially since in the previous two games the opposing teams really made Carolina work for it.

[epoulsen]

Theoretically neutral...practically-----> anything but!

There are an awful lot of UNC fans here

[4decadedukie]

Here's what I would like to see --

1. Kyle holds Barnes to around 15 points.
2. Our bigs neutralize the UNC big men through good post defense.
3. Nolan, Kyle, and Seth penetrate the UNC defense and hit mid range jumpers and the floaters.
4. Nolan, Seth, and Tyler keep Marshall from penetrating and dishing.
5. Devils shoot 50%, including >35% from three, and close down the UNC fastbreakak

A wise list of victory priorities.

[wilson]

Keys as I see them:

1. Tempo-Don't let them run a bunch. Especially during the second half, this was a problem in chapel hill. We know that Roy's teams thrive on the transition game, and we must methodically limit such opportunities. We must also not allow any sense of urgency to rush our own game on the offensive end. Take smart shots and look for good opportunities, rather than going for the quick fix (over-eager emphasis on 3s) or overly spectacular play (too many silly, needlessly difficult lobs/alley oops, etc.).
2. Defense-In both Blacksburg and chapel hill, there were too many lapses...not getting back on D (especially after made buckets) and allowing too much penetration into the lane before picking up one's man. If Marshall gets too deep into the halfcourt and gets easy, short looks at Henson & Zeller, it will be problematic. All the more if the D belatedly collapses around him and leaves someone open on the perimeter. All season, part of the book on unc has been that they're not a very good shooting team, and I'd still say that to some extent, but they've been quite hot at times recently (They shot us out of the chapel hill game, and shot their way back into the games yesterday and today).
3. Discipline-In a rivalry game, emotions must be controlled. A lot of our slow starts of late have, to me, appeared to be a matter of being overexcited and pressing a bit. Then, when faced with some deficits, we've seemed to rush things a bit, hoping to bomb our way back into the game with 3s. When we're not making them, it a) digs holes even deeper, and b) creates lots of long rebounds, which can lead to easy transition chances for the opposition (see above). If stay under control and stick to our game plan, it will mean that the boys are working to get high-percentage shot opportunities following well-managed possessions, rather than relying on a hot shooting performance that may or may not ever materialize. We've done a good job of this the past two days, but in a matchup that will be so heavily influenced by tempo, it will be of even more paramount importance on Sunday.

If we do the above three things effectively, I think we'll have a very good shot at the win tomorrow.