Duke MBB vs. Princeton Post-Game Thread

[JBDuke]

Post your post-game thoughts here.

[Bob Green]

I'm anxiously awaiting comments from those who saw the game. I'll be watching it taped delayed in about 4 hours. Singler seems to have had a great game with 21 points and 13 rebounds but it is hard to know what actually transpired when you're just reading the play-by-play on ESPN.com.

[feldspar]

I continue to be impressed by Duke's under-the-basket defense. Players are doing an excellent job getting in position, putting their hands in the air, keeping them there and not hacking. I counted at least 6 times during tonights game that Duke players did this and disrupted a shot without fouling.

[dukeisawesome]

2nd straight game we jumped out to a big lead early and never built it up from there. We need to keep up the intensity all game.

[CatfiveCane]

the game was over in the first 5 minutes. Duke went up big. You can tell afterwards they just kinda cruised.

Not a good test for Duke. Just overmatched Princeton in almost ever facet. Probably some highschool teams better then Princeton.

I was impressed by Singler. Zoubeck needs to be stronger with the ball. Paulus did a good job. Overall I think we will have a good year, but lack of inside presence will hurt us. Zoubeck just doesn't have "it" yet.

[wisteria]

2nd straight game we jumped out to a big lead early and never built it up from there. We need to keep up the intensity all game.

Well, as much as I would like to see another 100-ish game, I think it's OK to just maintain the early lead while saving energy for the later game(s). It is after all, hopefully, 3 games in 3 days.

[VaDukie]

When we were good we looked very good. At other times, for whatever reason, we just didn't have it together. I think we'll get a quality test whoever we play tomorrow night and I'm very excited to see us match up with a team of (somewhat) comparable talent.

Anyone else staying up to watch Illinois-ASU?

[feldspar]

Well, as much as I would like to see another 100-ish game, I think it's OK to just maintain the early lead while saving energy for the later game(s). It is after all, hopefully, 3 games in 3 days.

Excellent point. There's a reason we didn't run at full steam the whole game.

[DukeWarhead]

After the first five minutes, Duke really played average. Good thing Princeton was pretty bad. We were bad from 3 point range. Some reminders of last years' aborted drives in the lane leading to bad turnovers. Singler is a very good player, will be our go-to man all year. Gerald was solid - our #2 scorer. Would have liked to have seen better shot selection from Scheyer and King. I think Nolan will develop nicely, but didn't do much tonight. Greg was O.K. All-in-all, an O.K. game, but a reminder that we are capable of playing sloppy at times, and that needs to be tightened up before ACC play. Still, I think this team has such great potential - lets hope it plays out.

[monkey]

2nd straight game we jumped out to a big lead early and never built it up from there. We need to keep up the intensity all game.

Yeah. You said it. We jumped out to something like a 38-8 lead at the beginning - looking like we were going to be on the way to a 110-40 score -and from thereonin it looked like we lost our mojo. Announcers said we had a 3-20 stretch in the second half. Looked like we were forcing a lot in the second half, not getting good fast breaks points, ball movement looked lacking at times as well (again, generally second half).

We were in control basically the entire game but we didn't really look crisp. And for once, it didn't seem like it was the fault of the Princeton offense. I didn't notice a lot of back door cuts being given up but they did nail several threes. Seemed to me our FG % allowed (47.8% according to ESPN) was way, way too high considering our guys were taller and more athletic at every position.

Not saying the sky is falling, but for a 20 point win, seemed like we weren't our sharpest

[Bob Green]

Anyone else staying up to watch Illinois-ASU?

I am. AFRTS is showing Illinois-ASU live.

[gep]

It is after all, hopefully, 3 games in 3 days.

I hope I'm interpreting your comment correctly... Duke plays 3 games in 3 days win or lose... http://www.mauiinvitational.com/bracket/index.asp

[Lord Ash]

I am curious as to why we seem to slack off a bit in the second half. Our shooting percentage, IIRC, was VERY low... at some point 3 for 20 or something? I wonder if it is simply being a young, undeveloped (physically) team overall, as we missed some chip shots? Or is K pulling them back a little on D so as not to overwhelm and embarass the other team, and losing that defensive intensity hurts the offensive intensity?

Either way... Singler looked great, real smart, great angles and movement and body control. I love Paulus, as I was sure I would. Henderson is great mid-range, with nice little floaters and good touch. Scheyer is EXCELLENT; so heady, real solid D, GREAT handle especially in scums. Nelson was strong; not dominant, but strong. Zoubek needs to be a bit stronger, but had some nice chips and decent footwork here and there (tho the missed dunk was inexcusable.) Thomas picked up two fouls early but looked better later; still needs a bit more. King does shoot from everywhere, but needs to hit a few more I think... he might, in the future, make me the most tiny bit nervous (tho I am sure he'll also elate me at times.) Smith is smooth and quite good, especially since he is like an eighth option. Pocious didn't score much, but looked okay when he was out there. Dave barely played. We are SUPER super talented, to be frank, and very athletic, even with the white guys (who unfairly often get branded as "high basketball IQ" but get their athleticism overlooked.)

Anyway, thoughts on the second half welcome. First half was intense...

[Lord Ash]

BTW, the announce team was REALLY hamming it up and enjoying themselves. Some nice Duke stuff also with the coaching staff and all.

[wisteria]

A monster start. Held Princeton at 4 points until 10:00 mark in the first half. Although we had almost the same score as in the NMSU game, we looked very much in control here. The game slowed down a bit after the 30-ish lead, but it wasn't as sloppy or careless as in the NMSU game.

Some memorable plays:
----How did Zoubek miss that dunk? I was like "awwwwwww...." But he played well defensively.
----Nelson was pissed after that block. hehe. You could tell from that explosive (yet, alas, missed) dunk. I couldn't help but grin a bit.

[dukie8]

Well, as much as I would like to see another 100-ish game, I think it's OK to just maintain the early lead while saving energy for the later game(s). It is after all, hopefully, 3 games in 3 days.

what makes you think that they were "saving energy?" they were trying to score and defend but just not doing a great job in the 2nd half.

[Travi_K]

Good to see Dave back on the court. I know we quit pressing for much of the second half and kind of took our foot off of the gas, but it was a little frustrating watching it all go down . But I understand how important it is to have the luxury of pacing yourself in a 3 game tournament b/c Marquette had to really work.

[wisteria]

I hope I'm interpreting your comment correctly... Duke plays 3 games in 3 days win or lose... http://www.mauiinvitational.com/bracket/index.asp

oops. Sorry. Didn't get my facts right.

so... as I was saying, 3 games in 3 days, we didn't have to run with full steam for a whole night today.

[Troublemaker]

Not worried AT ALL about the second half. We didn't care. I didn't care. I watched football mostly.

[delfrio]

The inside defense was very good, covering the cutting lanes and hardly ever giving up the backdoors you typically see. Excellent on the ball defense too when we were running the press. Things got sloppy, but nice play overall.

Did you see Scheyer's no-look pass after his turnover - amazing.

I guess we know why Zoubek normally lays it in.