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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Norfolk, VA

    MBB: Duke vs Virginia Tech Pre-Game & In-Game Thread

    A quick turn around as Duke hosts Virginia Tech on Saturday at noon. Discuss the game here.
    Bob Green

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Northern VA
    Given the potential for a post-FSU hangover, this could easily be called a "trap game." But seeing how well we played them in Blacksburg just a few weeks ago, and how our defense is finally clicking, I expect to see Duke come out focused and energetic. On offense, given is 0-for-1 shooting in Tallahassee, I look for lots of feeds to MP2 (and MP1) on the inside.

    Hoping that this one gets blown open early, to give some back-ups some burn and rest to some starters (such as AR who's been playing quite a LOT of minutes lately).



  3. #3
    Join Date
    Sep 2007
    Location
    Undisclosed
    This is a good tournament-type turn-around. Tough to get ready, kind of on the fly (to the extent we ever do anything on the fly). Good test.

    Go get 'em, Devils!!!!

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Apr 2008
    Location
    Fayetteville, NC
    The season looks very bleak for Tech. That means this is their Super Bowl, seventh game of the World Series, etc, all rolled into one. They'll come out throwing punches from every direction hoping they can land one haymaker and take down a high riding Duke team.

    The team needs to show they can stay focused and dispatch the Hokies in the same workmanlike fashion they did BC last Sunday. I'd love nothing better than in the post game write-up to say it was another boring game.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Feb 2010
    Location
    New York, NY
    I'd really like to see Mason have a big game. He has struggled recently and we will need him back at maximum effectiveness and full of confidence in the weeks ahead.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Jun 2008
    Location
    Winston Salem, NC

    Beat VT!

    Looking for the Crazies to help out the guys tomorrow. A big game for us on a quick turn around. I think Mason tries to put the last two games behind him and plays very well. 4 total pts, 8 total rebounds, 1 assist and 6 turnovers in 17 minutes each game is not a reflection of how he's played this year. Come on big guy. Don't look now but big brother is stealing the show. GoDuke!

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Mar 2011
    Location
    West of CIS

    Stay focused

    VT took Virginia to the wire on the 21st, they had a lead and didn't close, granted it was at home.
    Seth Greenburg teams are always dangerous.

    Agree with the 1st few posts in the thread, and here's hoping we put the home court duldrums away for good.
    I believe this team is positioned and focused to build on the last few weeks and fully understand the need for consistency, they sure showed it last night.

    It appears they are really looking out for one another, have great team spirit and enjoying the game flow they have developed with each other.

    It's amazing to me that this isn't televised nationally, so I will have my ACCNetwork linked to my Apple TV and crossing my fingers the stream video is consistent, and try to watch the game like the big boys.

    It will be interesting how they do on the short turnaround after a road game.
    Let's go DUKE !!!

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Steamboat Springs, CO

    Let's Go, Duke!

    Quote Originally Posted by -bdbd View Post
    Given the potential for a post-FSU hangover, this could easily be called a "trap game." But seeing how well we played them in Blacksburg just a few weeks ago, and how our defense is finally clicking, I expect to see Duke come out focused and energetic. On offense, given is 0-for-1 shooting in Tallahassee, I look for lots of feeds to MP2 (and MP1) on the inside.

    Hoping that this one gets blown open early, to give some back-ups some burn and rest to some starters (such as AR who's been playing quite a LOT of minutes lately).


    "Trap game?" I agree. Seth is easy to mock and the VT record is poor. At the same time, the Hokies had FSU beat, beat, beat, (ahead by nine with about 1:30 left), but failed to make FTs at the end. Also, as was noted, VT led Vriginia all the way to the end but couldn't finish.

    This game will be a test for Duke. I hope we are ready.

    sagegrouse

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Dec 2010
    Location
    The Republic of Texas
    This is the point in the college basketball season where the really good team (Duke), playing at home against a team that has very little hope for its season (Va Tech) should come out from the start and control the game. Saying that, this Duke team has been full of surprises (some of the not so good kind at home) all season. So here is to hoping for a nice 15-20 point win but in the back of my mind I almost know this will be a grind out win. After the performance against FSU Thursday I am glad I don't have to wait so long to watch Duke play again! Keep improving, don't take steps back and time for Mason to get his confidence back (especially on offense).

    Lets Go Duke

  10. #10
    1) Just win. Don't care how.
    2) Stay injury-free.
    3) GTHC!

  11. #11
    4)Amen

    Quote Originally Posted by diveonthefloor View Post
    1) Just win. Don't care how.
    2) Stay injury-free.
    3) GTHC!

  12. #12
    I think Mason will be "huge" in this game. After all, he's got the 1st-team ACADEMIC All-American all sewed up

    GO MASON!! GGOO DDUUKKEE!!!!!

  13. #13

    Thoughts

    Little over a day aqnd a half after a very big game where we had to stick to a pretty much 7 man lineup, plus some travel time.

    VT is still a dangerous and well coached team.

    Don't forget Seth is still recovering from an ankle injury and Austin really took a couple of significant tweaks to his ankle. I hope they can both play effectively.

    Mason has regressed of late. The happy feet, offensive fouls and even missing a wide open two handed dunk. You could say it was due to the long, athletic and physical defenders, but that would overlook the fact that both Miles and Ryan did well. Call it what you will, tensing up, focusing on what the defenders will do to him (grab, bump, block shots), knowing there are scouts in the audience and wanting to look good for them, dare I say intimidation. There are so many games a mind can play on a guy. We know he has the skills, as he has had a number of excellent games along the way. He has to change his focus back to what he is going to do to the opponent and not on any of these other distractions. I liken it to baseball, where a player has to think about all the options before the play and then be ready no matter what happens. Another example is with public speaking, probably one we all have experienced at one time or another. Fear of looking stupid, worrying about ones appearance, shaking. All those can be overcome fairly easily by changing the focus to what message you are trying to deliver and what people you are trying to sway or educate. Sorry for the long discussion, but I think this is what is going on with Mason, and as such it is a temporary thing that can be overcome if he just switches his focus. It may also have contributed to his poor his foul shooting, although he also had a bad hitch in his form on that one.

  14. #14
    Quote Originally Posted by BluDvlsN1 View Post
    VT took Virginia to the wire on the 21st, they had a lead and didn't close, granted it was at home.
    Seth Greenburg teams are always dangerous.
    Va Tech also BEAT Virginia by 2 in Charlottesville on Jan 22
    Last edited by Bob Green; 02-25-2012 at 08:47 AM. Reason: Fix quote tag

  15. #15
    Join Date
    Mar 2011
    Location
    West of CIS

    MP2 is so valuable to us, I agree

    Quote Originally Posted by Saratoga2 View Post
    Little over a day aqnd a half after a very big game where we had to stick to a pretty much 7 man lineup, plus some travel time.

    VT is still a dangerous and well coached team.

    Don't forget Seth is still recovering from an ankle injury and Austin really took a couple of significant tweaks to his ankle. I hope they can both play effectively.

    Mason has regressed of late. The happy feet, offensive fouls and even missing a wide open two handed dunk. You could say it was due to the long, athletic and physical defenders, but that would overlook the fact that both Miles and Ryan did well. Call it what you will, tensing up, focusing on what the defenders will do to him (grab, bump, block shots), knowing there are scouts in the audience and wanting to look good for them, dare I say intimidation. There are so many games a mind can play on a guy. We know he has the skills, as he has had a number of excellent games along the way. He has to change his focus back to what he is going to do to the opponent and not on any of these other distractions. I liken it to baseball, where a player has to think about all the options before the play and then be ready no matter what happens. Another example is with public speaking, probably one we all have experienced at one time or another. Fear of looking stupid, worrying about ones appearance, shaking. All those can be overcome fairly easily by changing the focus to what message you are trying to deliver and what people you are trying to sway or educate. Sorry for the long discussion, but I think this is what is going on with Mason, and as such it is a temporary thing that can be overcome if he just switches his focus. It may also have contributed to his poor his foul shooting, although he also had a bad hitch in his form on that one.
    I think it was a good discussion.

    Something I've noticed with Mason is,if you look at his first few plays of a game he comes in extremely cranked, emotionally high, lots of energy.
    He needs something postive to happen early to feed that, often it dictates large segements of the game for him. If more plays could be set to get him early and often touches, I believe it would keep the fuel to the fire, and help him settle in. This does happen occasionally with nice outcomes for his confidence.

    Regarding the foul shooting at times he just doesn't follow through and release the shot, I would love to see him exagerate the finish position (if you recall the shots of JJ 3 sec's after the shot was drained) to prove the release.
    Often he has his palm on the ball and trys to guide it in,doesn't work.
    Let's go DUKE !!!

  16. #16
    Quote Originally Posted by Saratoga2 View Post
    Mason has regressed of late. The happy feet, offensive fouls and even missing a wide open two handed dunk. You could say it was due to the long, athletic and physical defenders, but that would overlook the fact that both Miles and Ryan did well. Call it what you will, tensing up, focusing on what the defenders will do to him (grab, bump, block shots), knowing there are scouts in the audience and wanting to look good for them, dare I say intimidation. There are so many games a mind can play on a guy. We know he has the skills, as he has had a number of excellent games along the way. He has to change his focus back to what he is going to do to the opponent and not on any of these other distractions.
    Two poor games in a row may not quite constitute regression, but I agree that it's worryingly close. I'm disinclined to blame his funk on FSU's tall guys, as that would also overlook the fact that he was ineffective against short and lousy BC.

    As to his focus, I remain convinced that a key detail to which he seems maddeningly inattentive is his maddening tendency to commit silly fouls. Bad hedges up top, pushes and reaches when the opponent is in no position to score - silly, especially because he's had a fair amount of time to practice not doing this stuff. Every player needs to play aggressively during close games, but when Mason "wastes" a couple of fouls early, it can cause problems.

    It may be a coincidence that in each of the past 2 games, he wasted a foul early on a silly foul, but he was ineffective to such a glaring extent that I'd say his play was about the only serious negative recently.

    I'll guess that EK posters are not alone in noticing Mason's ineffectiveness in the last 2 games; the coaching staff seems to pay attention to things. Given that (1) VT's inside resembles BC's more than FSU's, and (2) K's early game-plan v. BC was to get it inside to Mason, I expect to see the ball going to Mason early in today's game. This plan was abandoned in the BC game, because Mason essentially took himself out of the game. I hope Mason is a big factor today. His chances improve substantially if he is on the court more than 17 minutes - his stat for each of the past 2 games.

  17. #17
    Join Date
    Mar 2008
    Location
    raleigh
    one of the things about mason that i really like...his attitude after a call against him....no squaking, just takes that mouthpiece out and walks the other way....
    "One POSSIBLE future. From your point of view... I don't know tech stuff.".... Kyle Reese

  18. #18

    close games

    Hokies 4-10 in calendar 2012.

    wins by: 2, 2, 1, 1

    losses by: 3, 4, 2, 2, 4, 1, 2

    3 other losses by 14, 15, 16

  19. #19
    Join Date
    Jun 2008
    Location
    Winston Salem, NC
    Quote Originally Posted by Reilly View Post
    Hokies 4-10 in calendar 2012.

    wins by: 2, 2, 1, 1

    losses by: 3, 4, 2, 2, 4, 1, 2

    3 other losses by 14, 15, 16
    Looks like we are a 13 point favorite against VT. I hope we cover and I can breathe a little better. GoDuke!

  20. #20
    My ISP doesn't provide ESPN 3 access. Anyone know where else I can catch the game?

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