MBB: Duke vs Syracuse NCAAT S16 (3/23 9:37) Pre-Game and In-Game Thread

[Avvocato]

I don't think we want a guard at the FT line. You want your shooters on the perimeter of the zone. Plus, then we'll have an extra big either clogging the lane or hanging outside. I think we may also see more of an Allen-Trent-AOC combination on the outside if we are struggling shooting the ball. As a side note, although Duvall's shooting numbers weren't great on Saturday, I thought he took good shots for the most part and they just rimmed out on him. I hope he stays confident in his shot. His performance is a big key to our success. Friday night can't come soon enough. Let's go Duke.

[English]

I know Vegas and other odd makers like Duke 10+ or so but I am a little worried about this game. Syracuse is tall and long with pretty good athletes who play the 2-3 zone very well. They make the other team's offense struggle to get good shots. My fear is that they defend our low post guys and make us beat them from the 3 point line. I know we've shot the 3 pretty well in the tournament so far and Grayson and Gary are good shooters from 3, but they have struggled at times this season. I hope I'm off base on this and we light them up from 3.
As for who is the man at the FT line for Duke, I go with Carter. I first thought of Gary because he's got that mid-range/floater shot that he's good at, but I don't trust him passing the ball. Hate this waiting around for the game. GoDuke!

You mean, like, when Duke shot 2-for-18 from 3pt against Syracuse earlier this season? And instead settled for 13 dunks, and only two made shots outside the paint? That turned out pretty well for Duke, although, I'd certainly like to see better perimeter shooting this time around. Of course, a 16-point win would likely satisfy most around here.

Completely agree Wendell seems the most appropriate to sit in that FT-line zone and do work. His high-low game has been a boon for us in the past few games, and K's certain to be hammering it all week.

ETA: At this point in the season, we should all be spelling our players' names correctly. It's Trevon Duval. There is one 'L' in his last name. /rant

[Rich]

You mean, like, when Duke shot 2-for-18 from 3pt against Syracuse earlier this season? And instead settled for 13 dunks, and only two made shots outside the paint? That turned out pretty well for Duke, although, I'd certainly like to see better perimeter shooting this time around. Of course, a 16-point win would likely satisfy most around here.

Completely agree Wendell seems the most appropriate to sit in that FT-line zone and do work. His high-low game has been a boon for us in the past few games, and K's certain to be hammering it all week.

ETA: At this point in the season, we should all be spelling our players' names correctly. It's Trevon Duval. There is one 'L' in his last name. /rant

If I recall correctly, that game was still within reach with about 6 minutes to go. If we're ahead in this one, I hope it's by a much wider margin. The Orange game plan will be to stick around the way they did with MSU and put game pressure on the higher ranked team.

[godins]

Coach K held a press conference yesterday with some good nuggets about the Duke-Cuse matchup, switching to zone, coaching one-and-dones. Sounds like they'll be flying out this afternoon for the Omaha regional after practicing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=izs71we52F4 (25 minutes).

[uh_no]

Coach K held a press conference yesterday with some good nuggets about the Duke-Cuse matchup, switching to zone, coaching one-and-dones. Sounds like they'll be flying out this afternoon for the Omaha regional after practicing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=izs71we52F4 (25 minutes).

hopefully the snowpocalypse this morning doesn't keep them grounded /s

[English]

If I recall correctly, that game was still within reach with about 6 minutes to go. If we're ahead in this one, I hope it's by a much wider margin. The Orange game plan will be to stick around the way they did with MSU and put game pressure on the higher ranked team.

This has been a common narrative, and I suppose it's true in the sense that a 8-9-10pt lead is within reach, but that would've required Syracuse to completely change the way they were playing from utterly inept offensively to better than average (all assuming Duke remained well below its average). Watching that game, there wasn't much time, if any, in the second half that the blood pressure rose above normal. I recall thinking during and after the game that it was a thorough, sound beating.

[Tripping William]

This has been a common narrative, and I suppose it's true in the sense that a 8-9-10pt lead is within reach, but that would've required Syracuse to completely change the way they were playing from utterly inept offensively to better than average (all assuming Duke remained well below its average). Watching that game, there wasn't much time, if any, in the second half that the blood pressure rose above normal. I recall thinking during and after the game that it was a thorough, sound beating.

+1. Syracuse was not within single-digits for the final 8:40 of that game, and the closest they ever got in the second half was 7 points, in a game that was, shall we say, "offensively sub-optimal" (for both teams). Of course, it was a home game.

[Saratoga2]

You mean, like, when Duke shot 2-for-18 from 3pt against Syracuse earlier this season? And instead settled for 13 dunks, and only two made shots outside the paint? That turned out pretty well for Duke, although, I'd certainly like to see better perimeter shooting this time around. Of course, a 16-point win would likely satisfy most around here.

Completely agree Wendell seems the most appropriate to sit in that FT-line zone and do work. His high-low game has been a boon for us in the past few games, and K's certain to be hammering it all week.

ETA: At this point in the season, we should all be spelling our players' names correctly. It's Trevon Duval. There is one 'L' in his last name. /rant

I would estimate Syracuse's chance of winning the game is in the 15% range (not zero). Their best chance is to contest all the 3 point shooters and go hard on the defensive boards. Try to limit Duke to one shot from inside while not trying to push the ball up the floor themselves. That would slow the pace and limit the total number of possessions such that anything could happen. There is virtually no way they can get into a fast paced game with Duke and expect to win. I am expecting a Duke win and hope that it can be obtained without injuries to any of our players.

[jv001]

You mean, like, when Duke shot 2-for-18 from 3pt against Syracuse earlier this season? And instead settled for 13 dunks, and only two made shots outside the paint? That turned out pretty well for Duke, although, I'd certainly like to see better perimeter shooting this time around. Of course, a 16-point win would likely satisfy most around here.

Completely agree Wendell seems the most appropriate to sit in that FT-line zone and do work. His high-low game has been a boon for us in the past few games, and K's certain to be hammering it all week.

ETA: At this point in the season, we should all be spelling our players' names correctly. It's Trevon Duval. There is one 'L' in his last name. /rant

I don't remember spelling Trevon's last name with two Ls but I may have. Not intentional because I know how it's spelled. GoDuke!

[Furniture]

https://mobile.twitter.com/DukeNBA/s...084225/video/1

Love it....

[Furniture]

Coach K held a press conference yesterday with some good nuggets about the Duke-Cuse matchup, switching to zone, coaching one-and-dones. Sounds like they'll be flying out this afternoon for the Omaha regional after practicing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=izs71we52F4 (25 minutes).

@9mins 20s into the presser I almost expected Coach to say....Yum beer!

[subzero02]

https://mobile.twitter.com/DukeNBA/s...084225/video/1

Love it...

Wow...I really hope that video becomes iconic

[elvis14]

https://mobile.twitter.com/DukeNBA/s...084225/video/1

Love it...

What a great response from Harry. Made me smile.

[left_hook_lacey]

Is this the easiest path we've ever had to the elite eight? Iona, Rhode Island, and now we're -11.5 point favorite against a familiar foe that we've already dismantled this year.

Dan Hurley was quoted as saying we look like we have five first round draft picks on the floor. I like our chances to bring it home.

This is our year...again.

[OldPhiKap]

Is this the easiest path we've ever had to the elite eight?

I'll tell you on Saturday.

I don't care what Vegas says, we are going against a great coach and a dangerous team. We are rightly favored before the game, but we still start it 0-0.

[ndkjr70]

Is this the easiest path we've ever had to the elite eight? Iona, Rhode Island, and now we're -11.5 point favorite against a familiar foe that we've already dismantled this year.

Dan Hurley was quoted as saying we look like we have five first round draft picks on the floor. I like our chances to bring it home.

This is our year...again.

It's certainly better than it could have been -- going through Trae Young (who was on a worse team than URI, no doubt, but the type of player that can singlehandedly beat any opponent in the country on a good night) and then going through Michigan State would have been significantly more difficult than URI/Syracuse. Still have to play the games. (And root for Clemson, because I don't want to go through Kansas to get to the Final Four)

[Troublemaker]

I'll tell you on Saturday.

I don't care what Vegas says, we are going against a great coach and a dangerous team. We are rightly favored before the game, but we still start it 0-0.

Yep, and it should be said that Cuse is really only a great matchup for us on one side of the ball. It'd be different if this were a typical Duke team with shooters galore and an NBA small forward to work the free throw line area. But we don't have those things this year, so let's see if our offense can produce more points against Cuse's zone than we did last outing. The path to victory for Cuse is the same as how they beat MSU. Play a close game in the 50s or 60s and hope to steal it at the end.

[Mtn.Devil.91.92.01.10.15]

The path to victory for Cuse is the same as how they beat MSU. Play a close game in the 50s or 60s and hope to steal it at the end.

That's easier said than done, I would suggest. If we are careful with the ball, I don't see us scoring under 30 a half.

[gam7]

Syracuse beat Michigan State because of FTs (and defense). Syracuse's FT rate (FTA/FGA) against MSU was 74 %, their second highest rate in a game this year.

Duke is #1 in the country in FT rate defense at 22%. Duke has not allowed a FT rate of more than 45% in any game this season.

Draw your own conclusions.

[Kedsy]

Is this the easiest path we've ever had to the elite eight?

No, it's not. One of the things that's rarely talked about is how lucky we've gotten in our Final Four runs, especially in the 80s and 90s:

Our path this year has been 15-7-11 (total of 33). We've had five other runs as easy (or easier) to the Elite Eight:

1999: 16-9-12 (37)
1986: 16-8-12 (36)
1988: 15-7-11 (33)
1989: 15-7-11 (33)
1991: 15-7-11 (33)

If we're fortunate enough to beat Syracuse, our path to the Final Four will either be 34 (Kansas) or 38 (Clemson). If it's Clemson, it would be third "easiest"; if it's Kansas it would be in a three-way tie for 6th easiest:

1999: 16-9-12-6 (43)
1986: 16-8-12-7 (43)
1991: 15-7-11-4 (37)
2004: 16-8-5-7 (36)
2001: 16-9-4-6 (35)
1988: 15-7-11-1 (34)
1989: 15-7-11-1 (34)