MBB: Duke 69, UVA 63 Post-Game Thread

[Native]

My strategy worked.

I ignored the game, pretending to sleep, until the last 5 seconds.

There will be some dejected 'Hoos in my office tomorrow and Monday.

Big hoops day here in RVA. VCU and UVA fans will be wearing black tomorrow.

It is good to be a Dukie.

My strategy also worked — I switched back to Blue Moon just in the nick of time.

You're all welcome.

[rsvman]

Epic comeback win in a hostile environment. That last three by Tyus reminded me a little bit of the one Austin Rivers made to beat our friends down the road a few years ago. The game reminded me of that game a little, too.

Color me impressed by the chutzpah of this team and coaching staff and the grit they showed in hanging in there when it seemed all was lost. When I thought we had a steal but then it turned into a Malcolm Brogdon three I thought "it's just not our night." On the very next UVa possession they got a backdoor alley-oop slam and I thought "this zone is not going to work." Luckily I was wrong on both counts.

Credit the coaching staff for the brilliant first-half strategy of going hard and fast to the rim as often as possible. I don't think Bennett was prepared for that. Breaking off made baskets...hmmmm, a page out of Ol' Roy's playbook! But it worked.

Anyway, great game! Haven't been this happy after a win in a long while.

[gep]

Does anyone know if they plan to re-air the game on any channels? I want my wife to be able to see it. Sadly, I forgot to record it.

If you get ESPN3, it's there...

[tux]

In Bennett's defense on that last sequence: He had about a 10 second differential and one of the best defenses in the country. He trusted his guys to get a stop when they needed it, but Tyus just hit a tough, unbelievable shot. Yes, it looks like a poor decision in retrospect, but I understand what he was thinking there. If you get a stop, you don't have to "hope" for a miss at the FT line to extend the game...

[trinity79]

by all rights, we probably should have beaten ND (think free throws) on Wednesday and probably should have lost tonight ... But with a young team I'll take one out of two on the road against two legit top 5 (ish) teams. Oh, and UNC lost a game they probably should have won today. Life is good . . .

"Deserve's got nothin' to do with it."
- Will Munny in Unforgiven

[gep]

I think the 2-3 zone started to help, but when the guy in the middle started to get the ball and made his shots, Coach K changed the zone to a 3-2. As others have said, I don't think this was ever done so far... maybe ever... by Duke. But I think that really clogged the middle of the zone, and helped start Duke's comeback. Kudos to Coach K and the staff... What a satisfying win after this past week. I wasn't about to give up when down by 11 in the second half... blowout loss or close loss, I think Duke just needed to play tough. Coming out with the win... especially how it was done... 5 3-pointers after the miserable 0-9 up to that point... just great grit.

[meowmix911]

A buddy of mine got together and watched the game. Like the rest of y'all, we couldn't believe when Winslow did the grapple move which basically was a 4 point swing and an additional foul in Winslow...

But if you watch it in slow-motion, you can see Anderson (I think it was him) grab the heel of Winslow's shoe, and use it to push off to launch himself back onto the court, while pushing Winslow's momentum in the wrong direction...

I'm not saying it was at all a good decision, but my guess is that it was Justise's instinct to try to hold him back after Anderson was pushing him in the other direction.

[Atldukie79]

I have a superstition that I don't sit down during a Duke game until we make a three pointer. (Heck...I stand back up frequently) During our more than 2 decade streak of consecutive games (anyone know how long the streak is?) making a 3 pointer, I think I have sat down in the first half most of the time. I believe this might be the longest I had to wait...30 minutes into the game is nerve wracking.

So add to the list(Heels lose, Duke wins, dramatic comeback, etc.) the 3 point streak lives!

[BobbyFan]

In Bennett's defense on that last sequence: He had about a 10 second differential and one of the best defenses in the country. He trusted his guys to get a stop when they needed it, but Tyus just hit a tough, unbelievable shot. Yes, it looks like a poor decision in retrospect, but I understand what he was thinking there. If you get a stop, you don't have to "hope" for a miss at the FT line to extend the game...

Time is the most critical and limiting factor for the trailing team in that situation, and we allowed to take 80% of the remaining time off the clock. The losing team's best option is to increase number of possessions (for both teams) and try to make up those points in increments.

[DangerDevil]

In Bennett's defense on that last sequence: He had about a 10 second differential and one of the best defenses in the country. He trusted his guys to get a stop when they needed it, but Tyus just hit a tough, unbelievable shot. Yes, it looks like a poor decision in retrospect, but I understand what he was thinking there. If you get a stop, you don't have to "hope" for a miss at the FT line to extend the game...

I disagree, I think there are a lot more possibilities for a better outcome being down by 5 with 40 seconds than by 3 with 8 seconds. And that is the worst case if you foul (both FTs made) and best case if you let the clock run. I think you always have to extend the game.

[KandG]

Trying to remember a week as emotional as this one, with three games so tightly contested, requiring such big plays out of our guys. The way Virginia's defense looked damn near unbreachable for 30 minutes, then started to crumble in the final five to seven minutes, reminded me of soccer teams that press relentlessly for an hour or so and dominate possession then run out of gas in the final 15-20 minutes.

Said it before, Justise being elite is the difference between this team exiting early-ish in the tournament and making a Final Four run. Quinn and Tyus are certainly more than capable on offense, but they don't have the crazy athleticism to tear apart defenses the way Justise does. Plus Justise gives us some perimeter defense so that we're not a total lost cause against larger guards/wings.

I admit I thought the game was over after Justise committed that silly, near game-breaking flagrant though. Shame on me for losing faith.

Virginia defended Jah as well as I've seen any team handle him. Credit to him for his persistence in trying to find openings even when pushed out of his comfort zone, and his sheer doggedness in finding ways to beat their pressure (that pass under the basket to Matt Jones cutting for a layup was phenomenal).

Sometimes I think Matt looks limited offensively (weak handle, slow release on the 3), but his fearlessness regardless of opponent continues to impress me. He kept attacking Virginia and that 3 he made as part of the final run was massive.

Grayson still looks overmatched to me in his limited minutes, but I hope the schedule easing up means he can get more minutes to ease his way into the rotation and contribute more.

As many have said, the coaching staff not only going with the zone, but changing looks with the zone, was a great adjustment. Looked like Bennett had all the cards after withstanding the initial Duke run (that 28-8 run after Duke went up 22-13 was as good a run as any team I've seen put up on Duke, because Duke wasn't wilting the way it did in other games when other teams made huge runs against sub-par defense). But Coach K mixing things up was hugely encouraging.

Between this game & a certain team blowing all of an 18 point lead, a truly great day in college basketball.

[Utley]

Does anyone know if they plan to re-air the game on any channels? I want my wife to be able to see it. Sadly, I forgot to record it.

You can watch it on espn3 or watch ESPN if u have access to them. I re watched the last 10 minutes on all cameras no announcer view on watch ESPN ( Apple TV) - very cool

[DukieInKansas]

My strategy also worked — I switched back to Blue Moon just in the nick of time.

You're all welcome.

And I thought it was my new Duke shirt.

[Dukeford]

Did anybody else think Bilas and what's his name seem deflated by the final score?
I think they are good commentators, but by the midway point of 2nd half, I was sick of the non-stop worship of UVA.
After awhile my thought was, "ok, I get it, they're a really good team". I was on the verge of turning off the audio, but I resisted.

i.e. Bilas - "3 point field goals are great, but you also have to get a stop at the other end"...my thought was...umm, ok, that's what Duke is trying to do....

[OZ]

I think they are good commentators, but by the midway point of 2nd half, I was sick of the non-stop worship of UVA.
After awhile my thought was, "ok, I get it, they're a really good team".

Totally agree.

[CoSprings]

I didn't see that one coming. Down 11, then the 3 by Brogdon. Wow, Cook, Tyus and Matt in the final 3 minutes were huge. I don't know how we won't that game. We shouldn't have won that game. But Winslow is the key to the season. As he goes, we go. He kept us in the game. Who knows what this team can do...I just thought it was over tonight. What a comeback, so proud for these guys.

[daveduke76]

is it safe to open my eyes now?

Smile!!!

[Tom B.]

This seemed like a good place to post this nice little photo I took earlier this evening:



20150131_210421.jpg

[KandG]

Did anybody else think Bilas and what's his name seem deflated by the final score?

No.

I think they are good commentators, but by the midway point of 2nd half, I was sick of the non-stop worship of UVA.
After awhile my thought was, "ok, I get it, they're a really good team". I was on the verge of turning off the audio, but I resisted.

The reality is that Virginia was dominating the game after falling behind early. When Duke came back, it was so sudden that the announcers were stunned, like many fans (including Duke fans). But Bilas had many nice things to say about Duke's toughness in coming back after the game was over.

I hope we're not revisiting the old "announcers don't give Duke enough credit" silliness. Virginia probably got more love on the whole because they were the undefeated team, and they dominated the game. But Duke got plenty of credit for attacking in transition in their strong start, and for their superb comeback.

[ncexnyc]

I'll be perfectly honest, I knew we would play well and the team did for the first 25 minutes or so and then UVA slowly started to pull away. Slowly I was getting that sinking feeling we just didn't have what it takes to pull out the victory.

Thank you Coach K for showing us that old dogs most certainly can learn new tricks. His switching to the zone was clearly the turning point of the game as it slowed UVA's momentum and the stops we generated, along with some key baskets quieted the fans and took the wind out of the opposition's sails.

I don't want to be Debbie Downer here, but before we say this is the turning point of our season, let's remember this is a very young and talented team. They will continue to have their ups and downs. Remember we were feeling real good about ourselves prior to the ND game and Thursday's news.

Things will be very interesting the rest of the way. Who steps up their game the remainder of the season will determine our faith one way or another.