MBB: Duke 75, NC State 67 (ACCT Semis) Post-Game Thread

[JBDuke]

Put your post-game thoughts here.

[ice-9]

NC State made some really tough shots in the first half and came back down to earth in the second. We made some good tweaks for the second half, doing a better job on containing Barber, limiting Warren's touches and crowding him whenever he did. Turner was taken completely out of the game, and NC State needed him to shoot well to beat us. Our defence was simply fantastic in the second half. Offensively, we had some easy baskets in transition.

Parker was a beast -- that fast break dunk was a thing of beauty. Sulaimon played really well, especially whenever he drove in for layups. Quinn shot well. Rodney and Amile were solid. Rodney did a great job on Warren in the second half, even if Warren did shoot 10-22 overall.

Our free throws have got to be a major concern. Sulaimon looked exhausted and was an unbelievable 1-5 from the charity stripe. Rodney wasn't much better at 2-6. We have to do a better job going forward; we shot better from the field than from the free throw line! Hopefully we'll have something in the tank for UVA.

Overall, a solid showing from Duke.

[hurleyfor3]

Discuss here. Apparently Hood's stomach was better today.

[Henderson]

Karma for some outstanding FT shooting last night. But the FG% and 3PT% way up. 2-1 assist/turnover ratio and a solid rebounding game.

Nice win.

[duke4ever19]

Discuss here. Apparently Hood's stomach was better today.

Ewwwww.

Good win vs. a desperate team. On to UVA! Here's hoping Jabari more than doubles his previous offensive output vs the Hoos. (8 pts).

[Utley]

Good 2nd half - State shooting reverted to the mean.

It feels,like we win better when we are close at the half and fight through the 2nd half as opposed to those games where we are up 10+ at the half and seem to end up having to hold on for dear life.

[porkpa]

Vitale darn near gave me a heart attack when he was talking about Duke-Virginia tomorrow with Duke up by ten with four minutes left. Didn't he see yesterday's game?

[Henderson]

Our free throws have got to be a major concern.

I don't know. We were 89% last night. Not good today, but a major concern? Marshall didn't miss a one.

[jipops]

What a defensive turnaround. We gave them very easy looks in the first half and then finally gave them some ball pressure in the 2nd. State started to take bad shots and make mistakes. Glad we held on.

[devilnfla]

Love that we're playing tomorrow but really hate how this team closes games and makes a win feel like a loss.

[Dukehky]

I don't know. We were 89% last night. Not good today, but a major concern?

Rodney and Rasheed were the primary defenders tonight, and worked their butts off. That shouldn't make that much of a difference on FTs, but I anticipate them being used to the fatigued FT shooting tomorrow. Blip on the radar IMO. No real excuse for Quinn's misses, but he played really well this afternoon.

[gofurman]

Vitale darn near gave me a heart attack when he was talking about Duke-Virginia tomorrow with Duke up by ten with four minutes left. Didn't he see yesterday's game?

Quick unrelated question - are Embiid for Kansas and Grant for Syracuse still out or when are they back? As I understood it I think Grant is already back?

[the_weak_sauce]

Quick unrelated question - are Embiid for Kansas and Grant for Syracuse still out or when are they back? As I understood it I think Grant is already back?

Grant is back, he played yesterday and did pretty well. Embiid isn't back yet, and won't be until the second weekend of the tourney, if he comes back at all.

[KandG]

Thought Tyler's foul trouble was a blessing in disguise. Quinn played well and has really improved in his ability to manage the offense when they're trying to break down the zone. As critical as I was of Quinn during the regular season, he should have had more than 12 minutes yesterday. Good for him for being largely excellent this afternoon (not to mention being the only Duke player who could make his FTs down the stretch).

Obviously didn't care for the FT shooting at the end, and some of the possessions when stall ball kicked in full bore under the six minute mark. But I'm sure fatigue played a part, and Duke was fortunate that State was even more exhausted.

Tomorrow is going to test the conditioning of the players, with another really tough one against a defensive juggernaut. Go Duke!

[ice-9]

I don't know. We were 89% last night. Not good today, but a major concern? Marshall didn't miss a one.

It's a major concern because of what it indicates -- fatigue, whether physical or mental.

We ARE playing the ACC regular season champ tomorrow.

[pfrduke]

Love that we're playing tomorrow but really hate how this team closes games and makes a win feel like a loss.

I don't know, we did almost everything right down the stretch except make free throws. That was far better than most of our closeout efforts have been recently.

[Furniture]

Love that we're playing tomorrow but really hate how this team closes games and makes a win feel like a loss.

Feels like a really good win to me.
I was at the game. Sheed was MOM!

[drcharl]

Why didn't we see Andre today?

[dukelifer]

What a defensive turnaround. We gave them very easy looks in the first half and then finally gave them some ball pressure in the 2nd. State started to take bad shots and make mistakes. Glad we held on.

Minus the horrid free throw shooting - Rasheed was very good today. His drives were key. Got the good Cook today- that always helps. Fortunately State gave up just as Duke started to miss throws. Not sure why they stopped playing but there was no intensity at the end - strange.

[NYBri]

Glad we didn't need the free throws. Jabari. What a player.