MBB: FSU 62, Duke 59 ACCT Post Game Thread

[ChicagoCrazy84]

No way now

I really wasn't even worried about the #1 seed. You have to earn a #1 seed and the teams we've had the last few years have done that, this team has not IMO.

I'm mainly worried about getting better and getting more confident. The last few games we've been atrocious offensively and no matter if we're a 1,2,or 3 seed if you go in with our recent performances you will be going home sooner than you think.

[RoyalBlue08]

Team played with a lot a heart, but not a ton of offensive execution. Seems like we scored all our points on good individual plays or extremely tough shots. Credit to FSU. They have a very experience, very tough team and I think they are going to scare the crap out of a higher seed before March is over. We need to work on our ball movement, especially out of the trapped pick and roll. But I am looking forward to watching this team in the tournament. They seem to have really come together and are playing with a great will to win. That is something I can get behind. Go Duke!

[mgtr]

The game of basketball, most of the time, requires the passing of the ball. We seem to have forgotten how.

I agree with this. Seth, in particular, needs to pass instead of pounding the ball into the court. And, at times, Austin is a black hole -- when he gets the ball, nobody gets it back. Then again, maybe nobody else will do anything useful if he passes it to them. Thornton is a solid ball handler, but the defense can kind of relax when he has the ball. He is not going to take 18 threes (again), and he doesn't make a clever (ie, inside) pass. Now, when the threes are dropping, none of this matters. When they aren't, we need to either penetrate or pass the balll inside.

[johnpope]

Too many mistakes (many unforced) and poor execution (on both ends of the court) + FSU making big plays in the end were the difference.

Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised to see us slide down to a 3 seed. In the end we rely too heavily on "the lottery" as we have zero post offense and only one guy who can create his own shot off the dribble.

I hope we win the Powerball but I'm not holding my breath. I wouldn't be surprised to see this team in New Orleans and I wouldn't be surprised if this team fell in the 1st round (or whatever its called now).

Maybe naysayers were right afterall to say we're not as good as our ranking suggests... We're probably a top10-ish team, but not more than that. And while anything can happen in the tournament if we get hot from three point range, it's unlikely that will take us to a Final Four/Championship. Hopefully Austin and Mason will return, and we get Bazz, then we might have a more legitimate Final Four team next year. This group is just not there talent-wise, effort-wise, and chemistry-wise...

[Greg_Newton]

Only problem I had with today was the complete absence of our most athletic, physical player, especially when we were playing scared and without fight early. Don't think it's done yet, but I'd be surprised to see him back next year.

Nice to see Cook and Hairston contribute positively, though. I'm sure it means a lot for them.

[RockyMtDevil]

I'll keep it simple,

This team is not very good right now. I'm not sure I can think of a recent Duke team that reminds me of this one, but we're really struggling on offense. We never pass the ball on the roll. Granted the Plumlee's fumble the ball at times, but we will not make it far in the tourney with Ty Thornton being an integral part of our offense. I could go on and ramble, but its obvious. If we're not hitting the 3 at a 40% clip, we have nothing offensively. I think what bothers me the most is we won't even try to feed it to the post. Miles had a little streak in the 2nd half, but nope, we will not keep feeding him.

I am hopeful that K will motivate these guys to play better coming up, but schematically, there's nothing much we can change after 33 games. I'm not even mad. I am more shocked at how we seem to be getting worse as the season continues. Anyone got any ideas how we can get better really fast, or is our ceiling simply the Sweet 16?

Agree, I don't know if there is anything we can do schematically, sans getting Kelly back in the lineup. I would be more than pleased if we reached the Sweet 16, how can anyone who has watched this team in the last 3 games say we are a lock to even sniff the second weekend. We will play a 6-7 seed in the second round, probably a Uconn/Cinci type team who can come out and guard. Scoring 60 points won't beat anybody, period.

[MCFinARL]

With Duke the past 3-4 years, it seems to always be about matchups b/c we aren't a complete team. I still think we lose to Kentucky in 2010 but they lost to WVU so that was that. Having Cuse as the #1 isn't terrible (and getting to the E8 will be tough in itself). The 7/10 will be a lot about who we get. Do we get a hot BCS team, an underachieving one, or a well-executing mid major. Normally we dominate mid majors but this team is different. I still would prefer a mid-major though b/c they usually lack the PG who can penetrate and instead rely on a structured offense. I will admit to not having watched too many mid-majors but I think I'd prefer a St. Louis, New Mexico over a Memphis or Uconn. And it will only help that they will have 2 days to prepare as opposed to a week which is what the S16 would bring.

If this team can get to the Elite 8, I will be ecstatic--and very proud of them. They are who they are.
As for mid-majors, yes, normally Duke does beat them in the tournament, but need I mention VCU in 2007? Or the 1-point win over Belmont the next year? This squad wouldn't be the first to struggle with a mid-major in an early round.

[superdave]

Hats off to FSU for taking away our drives. They killed the pick and roll, jumping out the right way and stepping up to fill driving lanes. Great D. Great footwork and timing.

But that's no excuse for sloppiness and not looking to pass the ball. Too much dribbling, too many one on one plays. We had 4 assists and 14 TOs in the first half. That's AAU ball right there. Blah,

[Lord Ash]

This team has struggled more than any I can remember with many of those things we consider fundamental to Duke style basketball.

That has left me incredibly frustrated. It isn't about the wins and losses... it is about watching a team which, in some ways, seems to have so much potential but then seeing it struggle so mightily with consistency and strength and defense and focus and heart.

I cannot help but picture a first weekend knockout, as we are certainly not playing very good basketball, relatively, to close the year. It is amazing that we looked so much better at the very start of this season, and outside of Austin and Miles (and Josh, to be fair) our players have apparently regressed here at the end of the year or not played at all.

Very frustrating.

[freshmanjs]

The negativity is out of hand. This Duke team is very good. Not one of the handful of very top teams this year, but that is far from "awful" and we hardly "suck."

What is the worst season other top programs have had in the last 5 years?

Indiana
UCLA
UCONN
UNC
Michigan State

Doesn't ours stack up pretty well?

Would you trade this "awful" season for their worst in the last 5 years?

Let's get real, Duke is not going to be a #1 seed every single year. Let's have fun with the team we have.

[MartyClark]

I wasn't surprised that we lost but, still, it was a discouraging loss. Our offense is really exposed against an athletic team like FSU. I'm particularly discouraged by Andre's invisible man act.

I'd like to see the Noles crush the Heels tomorrow. Go Noles.

[mike88]

I wouldn't make so much of our offensive struggles - we are not the same team without Ryan and we just played one of the best (if not the best) defensive team we will see this year. As long as Ryan comes back near full-strength, I think we will be fine offensively (although I hope Andre finds his mojo!)

I am more interested in whether we can keep up our defensive intensity. If we play at our best defensively, the S16 or E8 become realistic - whether we are a 2 or 3 seed. On to Greensboro!

[Fuqua's Finest]

We are 27-6. I think we are a team that simply has no confidence. When you have no confidence, it shows in all aspects. Also lacking a true PG is a big issue. Guards that penetrate help the bigs out big time. I can't remember the last time this season a PG penetrated and made a nice pass to the bigs in the lane. I think the effort is there, but the basketball smarts seem to be lacking (I.E. Boxing out). I really wish we would've developed our true wings (Gbinije and Murphy) this season, but Coach K knows more than I do.

We're just a 3 point shooting team at this point. The bigs get frustrated from not getting post feeds and I believe this leads them to forcing bad shots when they get opportunities. Overall, we're just not playing well at all right now and we have no versatility whatsoever.

[ncexnyc]

A tough loss against a very good defensive team. The defense looked solid in the second half and the heart and desire were still there right down to the very end.

One too many boneheaded plays and whiffs cost us a chance at the rubber match I really wanted to see. Go FSU!

I'm not sure why so many people are down on this team. This has been the M.O. for most of the season. We'll be fine this coming weekend, if Kelly comes back then that's good and if not Josh with get more reps. Have some faith people.

[dcdrumsinc]

Little to no inside post play
Streaky outside shooting
Undersized guards (6'1'' or 6'3'') always going up against bigger stronger guards
Overplaying man to man defense only to get burned off the dribble by quicker guards
Poor rebounding
Only one recruit signed for next season, who happens to be ANOTHER 6'3'' undersized guard

Things aren't looking as bright right now

[weezie]

Okay, but how are they not a "true" Duke team? They are all wearing Duke uniforms, they are all playing for Duke, they are all coached by the Duke coaches, they were all (except for Todd Z.) recruited by the Duke coaches. I have to think that, individually and as a group, they want to play well and want to win, even if they don't always do so.

Vitale: I'd love to upend a milk pail onto his head and bang on it with a wrench.

[NYC Duke Fan]

I agree with Dickie V and presumably you that this isn't a true Duke team but I think we all see flashes of a good team but can't put it together. But I am waking up and getting to the S16 seems to be about as far as I can realistically look at this team and for a top10 team, that feels like a disappointment.

Finally a man of reason and realism. I agree with you that getting to the Sweet 16 would probably be all we can hope for.I just hope that we get by the first weekend..I have some doubts about that. Our ranking in my opinion does not reflect how we realistically are..In my opinion we are not a top 10 team . The only decent teams that we have beaten since Jan are UNC and FSU. You could add UVA if you want.

[#1Duke]

Vitale: I'd love to upend a milk pail onto his head and bang on it with a wrench.

No way, he's our biggest fan!! Constantly talking us up no matter what game he's calling. I think he was implying that a typical Duke team would have won today and looked better. I don't think he meant it in the manner that's it's being taken.

[Fuqua's Finest]

Little to no inside post play
Streaky outside shooting
Undersized guards (6'1'' or 6'3'') always going up against bigger stronger guards
Overplaying man to man defense only to get burned off the dribble by quicker guards
Poor rebounding
Only one recruit signed for next season, who happens to be ANOTHER 6'3'' undersized guard

Things aren't looking as bright right now

On the bright side, we have three top 50 players from our bench this season(Murphy, Plum 3, and Gbinije) that will be in the regular rotation next season. They all have height (6'6 & up) which will help our team immensely in the rebounding department. Suliamon adds another element to this team that we lack (outside of Austin) so much... the ability to penetrate and dish/and or score. I honestly think next years team will be much better, but we will definitely have some hurt feelings. There is a lot of guard depth on this team (this year and next) that in my opinion isn't starting quality. Some people will definitely have to suck their pride up or bust their butts in the offseason to improve.

Also, I see no way that Mason Plumlee will leave after this season. Unless he needs the money (which I doubt), I see no way he plays any minutes in the NBA. He's got so much potential but he needs to put it together. I certainly hope he improves the most over the offseason.

[MCFinARL]

It is amazing that we looked so much better at the very start of this season, and outside of Austin and Miles (and Josh, to be fair) our players have apparently regressed here at the end of the year or not played at all.

Very frustrating.

Well, one reason Duke looked so much better at the start of the season is that they had the benefit of the China trip and were playing against teams without that extra early preparation. And even in years without a summer trip, it's not unusual to see Duke look better prepared than opponents at the beginning of the season. Duke's philosophy seems to be to work hard from the very beginning and to take every game seriously from the beginning. Sometimes the result of that is that, by comparison, Duke seems less good at the end of the year when playing against teams that peak later. In the case of this particular team, the situation may be exacerbated a bit by the fact that they have struggled to really jell as an effective unit, for whatever reasons.

I wasn't surprised that we lost but, still, it was a discouraging loss. Our offense is really exposed against an athletic team like FSU. I'm particularly discouraged by Andre's invisible man act.

I'd like to see the Noles crush the Heels tomorrow. Go Noles.

To be fair to Andre here, he was well covered almost all of the time he was on the floor today. One of the problems with Ryan Kelly being out is that it makes it easier for defenses to cover the other shooters, and we had to play good defensive teams yesterday and today. (Today, in fact, I think it would be fair to say we played an excellent defensive team.)