MBB: Duke/Creighton, NCAA R32 (Sun 2140 EDT, TBS) Pre/In-Game Thread

[Gmadaduke]

Strangely enough, it seems that Creighton Duke was actually a character in the Friday The 13th movies. Having seen none of these movies, I cannot comment on how this might bear on Sunday's outcome:

http://fridaythe13th.wikia.com/wiki/Creighton_Duke

[Wander]

Is it possible that K goes with a front line of Mason, Ryan, and Josh at times and has Josh harassing McDermott. Doubtful, as he tends to stick with standard rotations at this point, but he mixed it up somewhat in the first half today.

I doubt it will happen like this, but I was thinking of the same thing. Not a bad idea to have someone whose sole responsibility is making life hell for McDermott; I think this is a game where Hairston can really make an impact.

[CDu]

Is it possible that K goes with a front line of Mason, Ryan, and Josh at times and has Josh harassing McDermott. Doubtful, as he tends to stick with standard rotations at this point, but he mixed it up somewhat in the first half today.

Not gonna happen. He'll go with Kelly on McDermott and let the guards defend Creighton's 3-guard lineup. Going with 3 bigs puts us at a disadvantage defensively on the perimeter.

[hillsborodevil]

I'm guessing McDermott and company will go to the FT line often. How soon do they get to the bonus before Duke? To counter, Duke will need to hit some 3's. I don't mean lighting it up, but avoiding a bad shooting night which I do not expect.

I see Josh and Amile harassing McDermott to avoid foul trouble for the starting five.

[ns7]

Creighton is not good at offensive rebounding, grabbing 28% of their misses against mediocre competition. We need to limit their OR. They are good at defensive rebounding. We don't need to be Minnesota here, but we should aim to grab 30% of our misses.

They are not taller than us, so hopefully our guards are aggressive at getting the boards and loose balls, especially on D. It's imperative to limit their lethal offense to one shot per possession.

[subzero02]

Little birdie told me it's a 9:40 PM tip, but haven't been able to confirm yet. Would make absolutely no sense.

Anymore word from that birdie?

[pfrduke]

Anymore word from that birdie?

As H43 said above - GAME TIME IS ANNOUNCED AFTER ALL FRIDAY GAMES ARE OVER. CBS makes the call.

[subzero02]

As H43 said above - GAME TIME IS ANNOUNCED AFTER ALL FRIDAY GAMES ARE OVER. CBS makes the call.

I know that's the policy but maybe he has a source that is close to the team or cbs

[Indoor66]

The CBS site does NOT have a time. The game is marked TBD - as they all are.

[hurleyfor3]

nobody knows the time yet stop asking or speculating

[JNort]

Before the brackets came out, Creighton was a team I was planning on putting far. They're the last of the 7-10 seeds that I want to face in the second round. I think I'm more scared of Echnique pulling down 15+ rebounds than McDermott going off for 30+ points.

That said, we are and should be the favorites, and our game today was encouraging.

Not sure why you would be afraid of Creighton. They are possibly the best match-up for us, actually that said I think we win easier against them than we did against Albany. Creighton is very poor on defense, they don't penetrate well, and are kind of slow footed. What have we had problems with mostly? Penetration! We should win by at least 15.

[NashvilleDevil]

Not sure why you would be afraid of Creighton. They are possibly the best match-up for us, actually that said I think we win easier against them than we did against Albany. Creighton is very poor on defense, they don't penetrate well, and are kind of slow footed. What have we had problems with mostly? Penetration! We should win by at least 15.

Finally someone saying Duke will win without all the handwringing. This team is making it to the Elite Eight this year and after that it's a crapshoot.

[dukelifer]

Not sure why you would be afraid of Creighton. They are possibly the best match-up for us, actually that said I think we win easier against them than we did against Albany. Creighton is very poor on defense, they don't penetrate well, and are kind of slow footed. What have we had problems with mostly? Penetration! We should win by at least 15.

Duke may win but it will not be 15. Creighton has been in every ball game except one - This will come down to the last few minutes.

[NashvilleDevil]

Duke may win but it will not be 15. Creighton has been in every ball game except one - This will come down to the last few minutes.

Sunday will be the 2nd game they are not in. Duke will be looser Sunday after the win today and I think they take it to the Blue Jays.

[subzero02]

We are currently 4.5 point favorites

[jipops]

I think one of the big keys is for Ryan to make McDermott work on D. Dylan will almost assuredly get his 20+, but Ryan making him work could slow him down late in the game. This could be a high scoring affair. Both teams have shown a propensity for defensive struggles.

[moonpie23]

what's the birdie's cell? i'll text him

[JNort]

Duke may win but it will not be 15. Creighton has been in every ball game except one - This will come down to the last few minutes.

Yeah and Creighton hasn't played Duke have they? Not to mention Creighton has played a joke of a schedule, who was the best team they played? Wisconsin? If we played that schedule we may lose 1 game all year. We may not win by 15 but I think we do win easy.

[CDu]

This matchup is a bit of a mirror. Creighton is the poor-man's Duke. They have a stretch 4, they shoot well as a team from 3 and from the line, and they are a better offensive team than defensive team.

McDermott is their best player. He's a LOT like Kelly - great shooting touch from anywhere on the floor, but not terribly quick. He's a better-shooting version of Kelly, but Kelly is the better defender. And whereas Kelly is a secondary offensive player for Duke, McDermott is their go-to guy. That's going to be a very tough assignment for Kelly. Hopefully he's up to the challenge.

Gibbs and Chatman are very good ballhandlers, willing passers, and fantastic shooters. They aren't overly explosive off the dribble though, which is good for us as that tends to be our weakness. It will be important to not let them go crazy from 3pt range.

Echenique is a 6'9" widebody - a rugged post player with limited athleticism but loads of toughness. Mason needs to outquick Echenique and/or hit his hooks, because he's not going to be able to back Echenique down on the blocks.

The real key will be chasing Creighton off the 3pt line. They are a FANTASTIC 3pt shooting team. Probably the best in the country at it. There will be times when they have 5 guys on the floor who shoot 38% or better from 3 point range (when Wragge is in for Echenique). That will be a very difficult task for Mason as he'll have to commit on the perimeter.

On our offensive end, Creighton is not a terribly good defensive team. They will be physical, and hopefully the refs won't let them get away with it. But we need to be patient and rely on our offense. Cook had a great game today; he needs to carry his play over to Sunday. If he can create shots for others, good things happen. If he's settling for jumpers and perimeter passes, that's not a good thing. We need to feed Mason and to have Cook and Sulaimon be aggressive off the dribble. I don't think we want to settle for a 3pt shooting contest in this one. We're bigger and more athletic. We need to take advantage of that.

[dukelifer]

This matchup is a bit of a mirror. Creighton is the poor-man's Duke. They have a stretch 4, they shoot well as a team from 3 and from the line, and they are a better offensive team than defensive team.

McDermott is their best player. He's a LOT like Kelly - great shooting touch from anywhere on the floor, but not terribly quick. He's a better-shooting version of Kelly, but Kelly is the better defender. And whereas Kelly is a secondary offensive player for Duke, McDermott is their go-to guy. That's going to be a very tough assignment for Kelly. Hopefully he's up to the challenge.

Gibbs and Chatman are very good ballhandlers, willing passers, and fantastic shooters. They aren't overly explosive off the dribble though, which is good for us as that tends to be our weakness. It will be important to not let them go crazy from 3pt range.

Echenique is a 6'9" widebody - a rugged post player with limited athleticism but loads of toughness. Mason needs to outquick Echenique and/or hit his hooks, because he's not going to be able to back Echenique down on the blocks.

The real key will be chasing Creighton off the 3pt line. They are a FANTASTIC 3pt shooting team. Probably the best in the country at it. There will be times when they have 5 guys on the floor who shoot 38% or better from 3 point range (when Wragge is in for Echenique). That will be a very difficult task for Mason as he'll have to commit on the perimeter.

On our offensive end, Creighton is not a terribly good defensive team. They will be physical, and hopefully the refs won't let them get away with it. But we need to be patient and rely on our offense. Cook had a great game today; he needs to carry his play over to Sunday. If he can create shots for others, good things happen. If he's settling for jumpers and perimeter passes, that's not a good thing. We need to feed Mason and to have Cook and Sulaimon be aggressive off the dribble. I don't think we want to settle for a 3pt shooting contest in this one. We're bigger and more athletic. We need to take advantage of that.

I absolutely agree with this analysis. Creighton plays like Duke but Duke has better athletes. Duke needs to take the ball inside (Cook needs to penetrate and dish) and limit their threes. But that is easier said than done. If Ryan can get out of his funk, Duke might have an easier time. But he is not playing at the highest level right now. This game will come down to Curry and Cook. Both need to have big nights.