MBB FF: Duke v. Sparty (Apr 4, 6:09 pm, TBS) Pre-Game and In-Game Thread

[DoubleDuke Dad]

Yeah, if inconsistent focus has been a problem for this young team, then this situation they're in is the mother of all focus challenges. Will they be looking forward to a possible Kentucky matchup Wisconsin rematch rather than focusing on this 7 seed that they've already beaten? I hope not.

Fixed that for you

[Devil in the Blue Dress]

Dave Briggs of NBC sporting the Duke socks on Squawk Box this morning. Apparently he's a big Duke fan but I'm unaware of any connection per se.

Attachment 4932

My friend Woot says that Dave Briggs' dad, Tom Briggs, was a Phi Delt fraternity brother of his. He was class of '70, and a great guy.

[roywhite]

Which player has the best overall performance in the tournament so far?

The 20 Best Performers From the 2015 NCAA Tournament

According to the linked article:

Justise Winslow, Duke, Rating: 89 - Winslow, according to our math, has been the absolute best player in the tournament, and looking at his full stat line, it's hard to argue. Winslow's 14.0 points per game ranks just 11th on this list of 20 (and 41st of the 96 players who recorded at least 50 minutes in the tournament), but he's made 7 of 12 shots from beyond the arc (58.3 percent and third best among players who have attempted at least 10 shots from deep). And nobody is filling up the peripheral categories quite like he is.

[juise]

Which player has the best overall performance in the tournament so far?

The 20 Best Performers From the 2015 NCAA Tournament

According to the linked article:

It's interesting that Quinn ranks #4 and the calculation does not take into account how well a player guards (or leads). Well done, Mr. Cook!

[Indoor66]

Or not.


I tend to side with the "past performance does not necessarily imply future performance" camp. It's a one-game tournament. What happened previously has no bearing on the outcome.

You missed the sarcasm...

[Skitzle]

Which player has the best overall performance in the tournament so far?

The 20 Best Performers From the 2015 NCAA Tournament

According to the linked article:

4 Duke Players on the list, next best is Kentucky with 3...

I'll take it.

Our worst player of the 4 is Jahlil. This means good things I think. If he picks it up this weekend... LOOK OUT!

[CR9]

So instead of just laying down and dying, MSU fought back hard? Yeah, that's really pathetic...

Wasn't much of a 'fight back' as much as it was Wisconsin shutting it down. But continue to flame me. I thoroughly enjoy it.

[BigWayne]

I can't wait to see what the team specific streams will feature... Hopefully some team specific stats and maybe a Winslow cam...

Alaa A as the color guy and Chris Spatola on the sidelines.
Tom Werme, will handle the play-by-play for the Duke “Team Stream.”

http://www.washingtonpost.com/entert...488_story.html

[OldPhiKap]

Alaa A as the color guy and Chris Spatola on the sidelines.
Tom Werme, will handle the play-by-play for the Duke “Team Stream.”

http://www.washingtonpost.com/entert...488_story.html

I never had a chance to hear Alaa Abdulnaby until this year, when he has been the in-studio analyst for Westeood (carried on Sirius/XM). Did a great job.

[KandG]

Yeah, if inconsistent focus has been a problem for this young team, then this situation they're in is the mother of all focus challenges. Will they be looking forward to a possible Kentucky matchup rather than focusing on this 7 seed that they've already beaten? I hope not.

That's the good thing about having the early game for a change. If Duke-MSU were the second game and Kentucky had already beaten Wisconsin, one can only imagine how tempting it would have been to look ahead to Monday if Duke had built, say, an early 10 to 12 point lead.

[Laettner92]

I haven't heard it mentioned yet but does anyone feel it ma help Duke to have played 2 games in a dome compared to the other 3 teams playing their games in a normal NBA arena?

[uh_no]

I haven't heard it mentioned yet but does anyone feel it ma help Duke to have played 2 games in a dome compared to the other 3 teams playing their games in a normal NBA arena?

doubt it. two reasons

1) the region was a very different setup from the final 4. I don't believe they played in the end zone, but portions of teh stadium were curtained off. even having been in lucas oil with and without curtains, it's a massive difference in feel
2) UK and wisconsin each played in the f4 last year...and the MSU players have likely at some point in the last 4 years played in a region in a big dome (2012 they played in lucas oil)...so everybody has played there, everybody knows it's different.
3) 2 games at the end of the season, followed by a week off is not enough time to really adjust to a new arena IMO, if there IS an adjustment period needed
4) I bet if you looked at winning % for teams that came from regions that played in domes vs , you'd find little to no correlation .
5) glenfiddich

[gumbomoop]

For those of you with access to the Big Ten Network (DirecTV ch. 610), there will be lots of MichSt and a little bit of Duke on Wed (today) through Fri. As follows, all times EDT:

1. Wed 4/1, noon-1:30, MSU @ Ind, last reg season game
2. Wed 4/1, 1:30-3, MSU-Wisc, BIG championship game
3. Wed 4/1, 4:30-6, MSU-Terps, BIG semi
4. Wed 4/1, 7-8:30, UK-Wisc, 2014 FF semi; again at 11:30-1 am; again Thurs 4/2, 10:30-noon
5. Thurs 4/2, noon-4:40, FF press conference, coaches and players; I can't tell whether this is 4 short pressers, maybe 15 min each, for each team, shown live from noon to 1:10, then rebroadcast 3 times Thurs aft. OR, an hour-long live presser for each team, order not listed, noon-1:05, 1:10-2:15, 2:20-3:25, 3:30-4:40
6. Fri 4/3, 11 am-noon, MSU presser, live
7. Fri 4/3, noon-1, Duke presser, live
8. Fri 4/3, 1-2, Wisc presser, live
9. Fri 4/3, 2-3, UK presser, live

[David Bunkley]

5) glenfiddich

Hopefully this doesn't keep us from lighting MSU up Saturday evening.

#GODUKE

[roywhite]

ACC officials will work Final Four

The ACC was left out of the Final Four last year when no league officials were included for the first time since 2006. This year, two regular ACC officials will work the games - Mike Eades and Bryan Kersey.

Could be worse, I guess.

[Indoor66]

ACC officials will work Final Four



Could be worse, I guess.

Maybe the devil you know is better than the devil you don't.

[roywhite]

Even Grantland is getting on the Justise Winslow train

Justise Winslow Is Not Fair

But Winslow is the piece that’s been missing from Duke teams the past few years. Even as Coach K modernized his recruiting to add more superstars, he hasn’t had anybody with this kind of edge. Austin Rivers was fine and Jabari Parker was fun, but they didn’t bully people into submission. Okafor’s post game is beautiful, but nothing about him ever feels brutal. With Winslow, it’s different.

He overpowers big men for rebounds. His blocks demoralize people on defense. He careens through the lane in transition. The whole thing just looks exhausting for anyone stuck defending him. It’s like teams spend entire games guarding everyone else on the floor, and then look up and say, “We have to deal with THIS?”

[jv001]

ACC officials will work Final Four



Could be worse, I guess.

Thanks Roy for the link. I hate to hear this because I can see it now. These guys will have in the back of their mind, "don't let the media say we're pro ACC/Duke". If Justise get's into early or late foul trouble, you can bet that's what happened. UConn and E. Okafor all over again(Not saying those officials were ACC) but the outcome is what I'm worried about. Our entire center position fouled out against UConn. High way robbery. I'm going to pray hard at church tonight for a fair shake by the officials. GoDuke!

[Utley]

Even Grantland is getting on the Justise Winslow train

Justise Winslow Is Not Fair

One of the best articles I have read in a long time. I have compared Winslow to some other players who carried their team to the title. Although its a painful comparison, the one he reminds me of right now is Sean May for UNC. I remember May just beng stronger than everyone else and almost literally carrying his team to the title. That's Justise right now. He was great all weekend but he was just ridiculous durng the last ten minutes on Sunday - he got to every ball he wanted and broke Zaga's will.

[Billy Dat]

Even Grantland is getting on the Justise Winslow train

Justise Winslow Is Not Fair

This is notable because the author, Andrew Sharp, is a Heel homer who hates Duke, and he even says so in the piece:

"Last week, I wrote that the best thing I can say about Winslow is that every time he steps on the court, I’m worried he’s going to hurt someone. That isn’t true anymore. I’ve despised Duke with all my heart for my entire life. And the best thing I can say about Justise Winslow is that he had me rooting for Duke to make the Final Four this weekend. Watching this is too much fun."

These sentiments try to offset the mud he slung a few weeks back but doesn't really come close enough for me:
http://grantland.com/the-triangle/ke...-that-matters/
"Also, just for the record: Duke will always be the Yankees of college basketball. It doesn’t matter how cool Duke’s players ever become. It doesn’t matter that Coach K is using Team USA to make himself more likable. It’s the fans. It’s always been the fans. That Christian Laettner documentary was a perfect example. What kind of person could ever cheer for that Duke team over the Fab Five? Is that someone you would ever want to be friends with? Even now, if I’m talking to someone at a party and I find out he’s a Duke fan, there’s a 60 percent chance I will walk away from that conversation disgusted, usually for reasons that have nothing to do with college basketball. Duke has the most douches per capita of any fan base in sports, and that includes the Yankees, the Lakers, the Heat the past few years, and the Cowboys. Nobody can touch Duke. Compared to that, Kentucky is just a good team that has always been good. Like Alabama football. Not necessarily lovable, but definitely not Duke."

Yeah, well, at least he likes Justise.