MBB S16: Duke v. Arizona Pre-game and In-Game Thread

[dbd4ever]

Will we be the early or late game on Thursday?

[1 24 90]

Will we be the early or late game on Thursday?

I don't think it has been announced yet but I would be shocked if Duke/Zona wasn't the 2nd game.

[dukeblue225]

I just googled it and the game was listed as a 3 PM EST tip-off.

[pfrduke]

I just googled it and the game was listed as a 3 PM EST tip-off.

Then Google is wrong. There's no way they're starting play in Anaheim at noon.

[dbd4ever]

I don't think it has been announced yet but I would be shocked if Duke/Zona wasn't the 2nd game.

I guess the question is whether we will have more time to prep for Thursday or more time for the next game if we advance. Is there an advantage either way or will it not matter either way?

[gumbomoop]

Vegas opened with Duke as a 10 point favorite.

Someone will have to explain this to me, especially as tOSU has opened as a mere 4-pt fav over UK. Help.

[BigZ]

I am debating if I should try and get tickets. I just moved to San Diego so I'm about an hour away. I don't have the best financial situation but could afford tickets. I guess though it is only worth going if I get real good seats and can talk my friend into going.

[tbyers11]

Approximate time slots and networks for all remaining games are here. Regional time slots below.

REGIONALS Date 	Time (ET) 	Game 	TV 	MMOD 	Radio
March 24 	
        7 p.m. 	        Game 1 	CBS 	Watch 	Listen
  	9:30 p.m. 	Game 2 	CBS 	Watch 	Listen
  	7:15 p.m. 	Game 1 	TBS 	Watch 	Listen
  	9:55 p.m. 	Game 2 	TBS 	Watch 	Listen
March 25 	     
       7 p.m. 	        Game 1 	CBS 	Watch 	Listen
  	9:30 p.m. 	Game 2 	CBS 	Watch 	Listen
  	7:15 p.m. 	Game 1 	TBS 	Watch 	Listen
  	9:55 p.m. 	Game 2 	TBS 	Watch 	Listen
March 26 	
        4:20 p.m. 	Game 1 	CBS 	Watch 	Listen
  	6:55 p.m. 	Game 2 	CBS 	Watch 	Listen
March 27 	
        2:10 p.m. 	Game 1 	CBS 	Watch 	Listen
  	4:55 p.m. 	Game 2 	CBS 	Watch 	Listen

I bet we are the 9:30 game on CBS Thursday. If we win we play at either 4:20 or 6:55 on Saturday. Probably later game there too, especially if a Duke-UConn match up were to materialize

[tbyers11]

Its official we play 9:45 EDT on Thursday

link

[MaxAMillion]

You ain't kidding. There was a TON of hesitation. Put it this way. In the 2nd half, Kyrie came in at 16:01 and played for around 3 minutes, scoring 0 and racking up 0 assists.

He came back into the game from 9:20 till the end. He scored 2 FTs in the first 30 seconds, racked up 1 assist...and then contributed 0 offense (and only like 2 shot attempts) until the basket with 32 seconds left.

In other words, he was INVISIBLE for 8 minutes on O. In essence we would have been better with Seth and Dre on the floor at once.

None of this says anything about his D. It certainly looked good. But against Arizona and if we advance UConn or SDSU, he would need to be productive on O to merit the play he got today. And he just looked tentative and unsure of how to not take the game out of Nolan's hands.

This is good analysis and points out one of my big concerns. Trying to integrate Irving is going to be difficult. He is not the same player he was earlier in the year obviously. Trying to adjust on the fly while playing tournament games is very difficult. There is part of me that was hoping Irving was not coming back precisely because of the inconsistency I new the team (and Irving) would have while Kyrie tries to get acclimated. Coach K has a much tougher task in front of him than a lot of people think.

[NashvilleDevil]

Its official we play 9:45 EDT on Thursday

link

Rafferty announcing the games. Very happy about that. Maybe one of the Plumbros can do this.

[RoyalBlue08]

I wonder if K would consider putting Kyle on Williams. I guess maybe we would have to go small for the matchups to work, but I like Kyle defense significantly more than Mason's.

Also wonder if we are going to go with Kyrie in the starting lineup. If it were up to me, I would put him in there. He has shown he is fit to play, and there is no doubting his talent. I agree that the chemistry between him and Nolan isn't quite there yet, but I think we may have to learn this on the fly.

Wish we could play tomorrow. This time of year is so exciting. Go Duke!

[Chris Randolph]

First of all, glad we play the later of the two games

Second, not sure if I put Kyrie in the starting lineup. We've been winning with this starting 5, might as well keep it. Plus, Seth is coming off an 0 for shooting game, might hurt his confidence if he go without him in the starting 5. All this integrating Kyrie talk is understandable but we might be reading too much into it. We have scored 87 and 73 (in which we shot poorly from 3 and free throw line). We will be fine.

Defense and Rebounding!!!!

[ChicagoCrazy84]

Hey everyone!

I don't have much insight on this game yet. Im still trying to enjoy our escape today and need some time to settle down and get away from basketball for a few days before getting going again. The addition I have now to this thread is more personal than anything. I am a University of Arizona Alum (2006) and my fellow alums and friends are berating me right now because of my Duke allegience. Who I would cheer for never came into question for a second. Duke will forever be my favorite sports team by a wide margin and I hope to be a season ticket holder by my 35th BDay

Anyway, I invite anyone on here to friend me on facebook and defend me against all the haters out there that won't stop until this tournament is over. They just don't understand! I'd appreciate anyone!

[Kedsy]

Williams is Arizona's only double-digit scorer. What if we give him his 25 points (he averages 19 and hasn't topped 26 in his last 18 games) and just make sure none of the others have above-average games? That would put the pressure on them to stop us, and let our personnel dictate the game rather than theirs. So, to me, the real question is not who can guard Williams, but if we go with our most common "big" lineup will our second big have trouble guarding their 6'7" "power forward"?

[dcdrumsinc]

This is good analysis and points out one of my big concerns. Trying to integrate Irving is going to be difficult. He is not the same player he was earlier in the year obviously. Trying to adjust on the fly while playing tournament games is very difficult. There is part of me that was hoping Irving was not coming back precisely because of the inconsistency I new the team (and Irving) would have while Kyrie tries to get acclimated. Coach K has a much tougher task in front of him than a lot of people think.

Without Kyrie, we lose the game against Michigan. PERIOD. He was only 1/4, but making 9/10 free throws, he was REALLY efficient. Our most efficient player of the game. He was our only hope in getting into the lane against Michigan. Without Kyrie's 9/10 free throws, we lose the game. It's a task Coach K has to deal with. We should all be thankfull he played against Michigan.


anyways, arizona is quick. They play really tough and are well coached. we are vulnerable. arizona is not a team to play stall ball against. they can score

[loldevilz]

Williams is Arizona's only double-digit scorer. What if we give him his 25 points (he averages 19 and hasn't topped 26 in his last 18 games) and just make sure none of the others have above-average games? That would put the pressure on them to stop us, and let our personnel dictate the game rather than theirs. So, to me, the real question is not who can guard Williams, but if we go with our most common "big" lineup will our second big have trouble guarding their 6'7" "power forward"?

I don't believe that Arizona shoots the three quite as well as Michigan, so we might not have as big a problem guarding them with a big lineup. Michigan played 4 guards so we had to go small most of the game. Arizona plays 3 guards so I think we can go big.
If we don't chase them around too much, pack the paint and rebound well, I think we can use our size to an advantage.

At least I hope so.

The question is how can they deal with Duke's size.

[sporthenry]

I don't believe that Arizona shoots the three quite as well as Michigan, so we might not have as big a problem guarding them with a big lineup. Michigan played 4 guards so we had to go small most of the game. Arizona plays 3 guards so I think we can go big.
If we don't chase them around too much, pack the paint and rebound well, I think we can use our size to an advantage.

At least I hope so.

The question is how can they deal with Duke's size.

Arizona is 9th in 3P%. I assume most of it is from kick outs to wide open players but I'm very afraid of their 3 pointers. It appears everyone on their team can hit the open 3. They also defend the 3 very well. So I think UA could probably spread us out similar to Michigan except we should be able to have Mason more centralized than against Michigan. They don't give up a lot of offensive boards, the only real flaw seems to be the other team shoots well inside the arc and they don't block many shots.

In their bad losses, Williams had decent shooting games but didn't get a lot of shots. Their 3P% was bad in their blow out losses as well. This game will be decided by Dukes ability to defend (which wasn't very good today), but I expect K to have something special planned. But it will also come down to Arizonas ability to hit shots. I'm a bit more nervous after breaking it down with kenpom.

And most of Arizona's forwards are in the 6'6 to 6'7 range, so I think we will see the KI, Nolan, Dre/Curry, Kyle line up in an effort to push the tempo.

[NYC Duke Fan]

According to the newspaper Duke is a 9 point favorite over Arizona. In my opinion that is absolutely ridiculous !!!

We have had trouble with athletic physical teams this year and we have to travel cross country in a different time zone while Arizona stays virtually at home.

I am not saying that we shouldn't be a favorite but 9 points...NO WAY !!!

[Indoor66]

According to the newspaper Duke is a 9 point favorite over Arizona. In my opinion that is absolutely ridiculous !!!

We have had trouble with athletic physical teams this year and we have to travel cross country in a different time zone while Arizona stays virtually at home.

I am not saying that we shouldn't be a favorite but 9 points...NO WAY !!!

Then get your bet down - and take the points!