Singler is IRON
I STILL GOT IT! -- Ryan Kelly, March 2, 2013
It is a bit of an understatement to say this was a big win but it may have been Duke's biggest win all season. That was as tough as I've seen them play and not just physically. They showed so much poise and every time FSU made a run Duke had an answer. Hasn't always been the case this year. Rivers is really growing up. I've been critical of him like a lot of others but he is a tough tough kid and his refuse to lose attitude is really starting to show through. Miles was a beast and what can you say about Andre Dawkins. When he is on he has the most beautiful shot in college basketball.
There is till a lot to do and more games to go but this was a big step forward for a team who has struggled putting teams away or falling into big deficits. This team is maturing at the right time. That doesn't mean they are destined for greatness but I'm glad to see them come together. Great great win. Happy for the guys. Now rest up and focus on VT coming to town.
Worth noting is that we came on strong from the opening tip, despite how raucous their crowd was. We did the same at UNC. Wish there was some way to have that kind of focus out of the gate when we play at home, but I guess it bodes well for our postseason aspirations.
Would love for the ACC regular season to come down to our final game. There's still work for all three times until then, but it's shaping up to be a great final couple weeks of the conference season.
I'm not sure what's notable about that stat.
It wasn't a key to a win for FSU; they're big, strong, jump well, and crash the offensive boards, yet they did not dominate.
The notable stat from the boxscore was Duke 13-28 from 3-pt.
And, oh yeah:
Duke 74 FSU 66
Those first couple minutes had pretty intense and energetic play from both sides - exciting to watch! (especially since we went up 9-4).
And very happy with the win, but... how many games in a row is this now with a missed Plumlee dunk?
Half of the inside Carolina thread is a discussion about why there should be no three point shot in college basketball
Huge win. Just huge. This team just continues to answer the bell no matter how many times they get knocked down on the mat. It felt at times during the first half that FSU was making play after play on both ends, yet Duke was up 6, or 12, or 5 or 13. Uncanny. I had angst heading into the game, but once I saw Bob's note that Duke was favored by 1.5, I smiled inside. The entire planet would have expected this Duke team to be underdogs in this game. I have seen this movie before too many times though. One time in particular I will always remember, was ACC Tournament Saturday in March 2001. Duke was facing Maryland, who had beat them 10 days earlier in Cameron in the game that Boozer broke his foot. I am at the golf course that morning, on the putting green before my round. A guy comes out of the clubhouse and said "Wow, I just heard that Duke is a 1 point favorite against Maryland this afternoon. There is just no way. They have no chance without Boozer". I replied with "Ok big boy, head back in there, call your bookie and lay a $1000 or so down on Maryland". He said "I'm not doing that but there is no way Duke wins that game today". We all know how that prediction worked out for him.
Fast forward to today, and the poor UNC manager in my office gave me Duke+2 for lunch tomorrow. Bless his tarheel heart.
Miles was big. Dude keeps numerous possessions alive these days with extra hustle and work on the offensive boards. He seems to get his hands on everything anymore. He can also score the basketball effectively when he plays within himself. Great to see. I thought Austin and Miles set the tone early, Andre gave us separation heading into the half, Austin and Miles set the tone again coming out of halftime, and Kelly and Seth closed the door on the final FSU runs. (Sorry for the horrible grammar there Throaty)
In the midst of all that, was some of the best defense this team has played all year. They were active on defense, rotated well, challenged the paint much better than recent games, and found shooters in time to bother the shot. Austin did an excellent job on Snaer, and the guards as a whole stayed in front of their man much better than games past.
K was extremely happy in his post game comments as he has great respect for this FSU team. A lot of teams would have gotten ran out of that building tonight. Some may have even lost by 33 or something.
So, does this mean if Duke played UNC at FSU they would win by 41?
Can you imagine how dominant UNC would be if there were no 3 point line?
- they can't really defend the 3 that well
- they don't shoot the 3 that often or that well
- they don't really get called for fouls
- they wouldn't have lost to Duke
Here's to keeping the 3point line!
When they cut it to 61-58 with the crowd going nuts, Seth drains a three and then Kelly drains another one...Huge plays. We didn't wilt and we took several punches from them. they closed it to within 7 at the half and we responded with solid D and good shooting, then they narrowed the lead at 55-50 and we responded as a mature, confidant team should do. I'm just reallly proud at the mental toughness showed tonight as we continued to beat back their best shots, even under extreme foul trouble.
Austin's on ball defense has improved dramatically even since beginning of February. This was a warrior type win tonight.
I notice the phrase "took punches" being used a lot.
Seems to be a theme when playing FSU... Always a bruising battle.
feldspar, I'm curious as to what you thought of the performance Mr. Edward Valentine tonight.
Huge, huge win. We're lucky Dawkins and Rivers were on fire in the first half, but once again, enough of our weapons were hot to get it done. Miles was solid and tough throughout, and Kelly and Curry were huge down the stretch. Didn't even matter that our oftentimes-best-player Mason was nonexistent all game, Curry didn't show up until crunch time, Kelly was weak in the first half, Hairston was ineffective, and we got very little out of starting PG because of our depth of weapons.
We're not a flawless team by any means, but that depth will give us a pretty good chance on most nights if we continue to play defense at the decent level we did tonight. It's interesting; after the two big comebacks, I have a lot more faith in this team down the stretch, and I think they do too. You just have a feeling that they can take the hits and get the job down, which is not something you could say earlier in the year.
Rivers took another step in solidifying his superstardom with an excellent game, and boy was I glad to see him come back strong after what I initially thought could have been a season-ending injury. I know he'll play Saturday, so I hope he's not too crippled tomorrow and that it doesn't linger.
I'm also pretty happy for Gbinije. Hasn't been an easy ride for him so far, but he stepped in out-of-position and did very, very well for a possession or two at a crucial juncture in a crucial game. They scored, I think, but his defense on that 6'10 pogo stick was pretty flawless.
our team is getting stronger and tougher!!!!
rock on!!!
"One POSSIBLE future. From your point of view... I don't know tech stuff.".... Kyle Reese
So Duke goes into Tallahassee, always a tough place to play and faces:
A very good FSU team, with size, strength, great defensive ability, and some outside shooters
Said team playing for the regular season championship against an opponent they defeated already, on the road
A crowd at a fever pitch for the biggest hoops game there in memory
And Mr. Valentine, who's not content to be considered for Best Actor in a Supporting Role, he wants to be Best Actor in a Leading Role
...and the Devils pull it off and come away with a huge win.
Bravo!
Good point and I meant to give a shout out to both SilentG and Quinn in my original post. Quinn gave really solid minutes tonight in the first half, and Mike was fine defensively at the 4 on that last possession. That's 3 appearances in a row for Mike, and for K to trust a him in that environment is a signal the kid is improving in practice. Good for him. I had to laugh when the announcer stated the foul trouble was going to hurt Duke "because they are not a very deep team". Seriously do these guys even do prep work and research on the teams anymore?