Duke vs. Iona NCAAT (3/15 2:45 pm CBS) Pre-Game and In-Game Thread:

[subzero02]

The final phase begins on Thursday. We have the talent to win the whole thing. Iona is step one.

[Tripping William]

The final phase begins on Thursday. We have the talent to win the whole thing. Iona is step one.

Jeff Ruland ain't walkin' through that door . . . thank heavens.

[Devil2]

Jeff Ruland ain't walkin' through that door . . . thank heavens.

Not sure Jeff would fit through the door

[gofurman]

The final phase begins on Thursday. We have the talent to win the whole thing. Iona is step one.

This is all that matters , well hopefully this and Rhode Island. I want no part of Oklahoma


CDu? Thoughts on Iona ? Rhode Island and Oklahoma?

[Tripping William]

This is all that matters , well hopefully this and Rhode Island. I want no part of Oklahoma


CDu? Thoughts on Iona ? <text deleted>

FIFY. One step at a time (from someone who watched 2012 and 2014 live-and-in-person).

[Ultrarunner]

FIFY. One step at a time (from someone who watched 2012 and 2014 live-and-in-person).

You’re watching on TV this year, right?

[Tripping William]

You’re watching on TV this year, right?

Yes. But I was in Charlotte in 2015, too.

[rocketeli]

This is all that matters , well hopefully this and Rhode Island. I want no part of Oklahoma


CDu? Thoughts on Iona ? Rhode Island and Oklahoma?

Why not Oklahoma? They aren't very good-the only reason there are in the tournament is marketing--the committee couldn't bear to leave Trae Young at home.

[Bluedevil114]

Why not Oklahoma? They aren't very good-the only reason there are in the tournament is marketing--the committee couldn't bear to leave Trae Young at home.

Agreed but that is why I would have thought LSU would have gotten in the tournament to see Ben Simmons play last season.

[Kedsy]

Agreed but that is why I would have thought LSU would have gotten in the tournament to see Ben Simmons play last season.

Ben Simmons was two seasons ago. Last season was Washington and Markelle Fultz.

[English]

For those concerned about Duke's recent dip in offense, and (somehow) about the propensity for the zone to concede the mid-range jumper, here's another stat that might ease that anxiety slightly--well, as much as any quantitative analysis can this time of year:

According to Torvik's metrics, Duke has the best Adjusted Efficiency margin in the nation over the past 10 games (the games that are likeliest to speak to how teams are playing NOW). Duke is 26th in AdjO (119.1) and FIRST in AdjD (83.8). That's an encouraging place to be.

For comparision:
- Kansas is 10th
- Mich St is 11th

(unx is 6th, UVA 4th, Nova 3rd, Mich 2nd)

ETA: As mentioned before, Iona's tallest frontcourt player is 6'8. It goes 6'6, 6'7, 6'8. With the way the zone maintains our bigs nearer the basket, rather than chasing guys around ball screens on the perimeter, Duke has a MAJOR size advantage in their first round game.

[HereBeforeCoachK]

Why not Oklahoma? They aren't very good-the only reason there are in the tournament is marketing--the committee couldn't bear to leave Trae Young at home.

I'll take a stab at it....one reason I wouldn't want to face them necessarily...although I don't disagree with your two points above:

The entire OK team will hear all week how they're only in due to Trae, how they don't deserve it, how they shouldn't be there, etc. When athletes hear this, for a week, they tend to internalize it and play at their highest level possible. There are many examples of this, in college FB and BB. The "dis" card is a powerful powerful thing.

Off top of my head, there was no way Vince Young and Texas was going to beat USC for the national title.
There was no way Louisville was going to beat Florida in a bowl game. Or Boise beating Oklahoma?
Or NC State beating Houston? Villanova beating Georgetown?
Or UConn's entire run to their last two national championships?

All these guys are elite athletes, with a very thin margin between them. This kind of motivation has been shown to overcome that margin in many many cases, and it is definitely fueled by the public comments and predictions.

[Mtn.Devil.91.92.01.10.15]

I'll take a stab at it...one reason I wouldn't want to face them necessarily...although I don't disagree with your two points above:

The entire OK team will hear all week how they're only in due to Trae, how they don't deserve it, how they shouldn't be there, etc. When athletes hear this, for a week, they tend to internalize it and play at their highest level possible. There are many examples of this, in college FB and BB. The "dis" card is a powerful powerful thing.

Off top of my head, there was no way Vince Young and Texas was going to beat USC for the national title.
There was no way Louisville was going to beat Florida in a bowl game. Or Boise beating Oklahoma?
Or NC State beating Houston? Villanova beating Georgetown?
Or UConn's entire run to their last two national championships?

All these guys are elite athletes, with a very thin margin between them. This kind of motivation has been shown to overcome that margin in many many cases, and it is definitely fueled by the public comments and predictions.

And this doesn't even touch Duke's painful history inside and outside of the tournament, dealing with speedy talented guards scoring in bunches.

[Ian]

And this doesn't even touch Duke's painful history inside and outside of the tournament, dealing with speedy talented guards scoring in bunches.

Speedy guard who can drive is a killer against the pressure m2m, the book has been out on how to beat Duke's D for years. And a lot of teams, even in the mid-majors, have speedy guards. Hopefully the switch to zone means people have to rewrite the book on how to beat Duke.

[Mtn.Devil.91.92.01.10.15]

Speedy guard who can drive is a killer against the pressure m2m, the book has been out on how to beat Duke's D for years. And a lot of teams, even in the mid-majors, have speedy guards. Hopefully the switch to zone means people have to rewrite the book on how to beat Duke.

Agreed. I guess my current nauseated sensation thinking about Trae Young is probably just conditioning over the years.

UNC wrote the book on how to beat our zone last Friday: very good interior passing, an inability to miss 8-12 foot jumpers in the lane, and random flurries of three pointers.

:eye roll:

[flyingdutchdevil]

Agreed. I guess my current nauseated sensation thinking about Trae Young is probably just conditioning over the years.

UNC wrote the book on how to beat our zone last Friday: very good interior passing, an inability to miss 8-12 foot jumpers in the lane, and random flurries of three pointers.

:eye roll:

Hitting that 8-12 wide open jumper isn't easy; UNC executed that to perfection. It created a lot of panic that, when UNC had done that 4-5 times, the entire Duke defense collapsed, creating openings on the perimeter. And UNC again capitalized. The zone needs to be more disciplined in that manner; do not collapse on the middle or else solid passing teams with 3 point threats will kill you.

I want to face speedy guards now; our zone and our rim protector are good enough the mitigate those risks (except in transition).

[FerryFor50]

Hitting that 8-12 wide open jumper isn't easy; UNC executed that to perfection. It created a lot of panic that, when UNC had done that 4-5 times, the entire Duke defense collapsed, creating openings on the perimeter. And UNC again capitalized. The zone needs to be more disciplined in that manner; do not collapse on the middle or else solid passing teams with 3 point threats will kill you.

I want to face speedy guards now; our zone and our rim protector are good enough the mitigate those risks (except in transition).

To be fair, having a hobbled Wendell Carter in the middle didn't help defend those mid range shots. Neither did having a slower, less aware Marques Bolden.

Plus, not having Trevon Duval at 100% to bother passing lanes with his length and quickness didn't help either.

Yet, despite all that, Duke still had a chance to tie the game at the end. Not worried about the defense at all.

Offense, however, has been an adventure.

[Kedsy]

UNC wrote the book on how to beat our zone last Friday: very good interior passing, an inability to miss 8-12 foot jumpers in the lane, and random flurries of three pointers.

Hitting that 8-12 wide open jumper isn't easy; UNC executed that to perfection. It created a lot of panic that, when UNC had done that 4-5 times, the entire Duke defense collapsed, creating openings on the perimeter. And UNC again capitalized. The zone needs to be more disciplined in that manner; do not collapse on the middle or else solid passing teams with 3 point threats will kill you.

I want to face speedy guards now; our zone and our rim protector are good enough the mitigate those risks (except in transition).

If UNC's performance last Friday represents the best an opposing offense can do to us, we should be in pretty good shape. Our adjusted defensive efficiency against them was approximately 84 (which is Virginia-level defense).

[FerryFor50]

If UNC's performance last Friday represents the best an opposing offense can do to us, we should be in pretty good shape. Our adjusted defensive efficiency against them was approximately 84 (which is Virginia-level defense).

Not sure I understand the hand wringing about the defense against UNC. They did what every team tries to do against a 2-3 zone; it's not some secret.

The hand wringing should be over turnovers and the offense right now. The defense has been consistently great since we went to the zone.

[Mtn.Devil.91.92.01.10.15]

Not sure I understand the hand wringing about the defense against UNC. They did what every team tries to do against a 2-3 zone; it's not some secret.

The hand wringing should be over turnovers and the offense right now. The defense has been consistently great since we went to the zone.

Oh, I didn't mean to insinuate that my concern about our defense was sincere. My point was that UNC did EVERYTHING correctly, and that the odds of another opponent could repeating that formula are quite slim.

I think this year's Duke team beats UNC seven out of ten times. Given that, I would love to play them one more time this year... I suspect we would be very unlikely to have that horrid ten minute start, and they would be even less likely to repeat their offensive moves against out defense.