The refs didn't matter that much, we had little chance to win based on how we played all night. The fact we dug ourselves into a huge hole with 4+ minutes left led to the typical flurry of fouls which are called when the losing team is scrambling to make a comeback. Lots of Wake/Duke games at Joel have been called tightly.
Missing free throws like crazy, getting outrebounded and outhustled, and WAY too many turnovers are what killed us tonight.
A few things alarm me, in order of concern:
1. Henderson's wrist seems to be a serious problem. He's just not the same player since he injured it. I'd like to see him sit out a few games to try and let it heal; if that won't do it, our team is much less dynamic and I don't think we can make a deep run in March.
2. The free throws. This will start and end with DeMarcus. He just takes so many free throws that he can single-handedly determine how well Duke shoots from the line as a team. You can't teach an old dog new tricks, but he's a senior and he's elevated every other aspect of his game this year. It's not a coincidence that both of our losses featured piss poor free throw shooting.
3. For being such a smart player, Kyle Singler makes some of the dumbest fouls you'll ever see. Fouls 50 and 60 feet away from the basket he's defending. Fouling guys in transition he's not even guarding. It has to stop so he can stay on the floor, and it's not a hard thing to do.
There's a few other pressing concerns, but nothing that can't be remedied. Loved how Nolan Smith played tonight. Scheyer's last few games have been depressing, he needs to step up.