MBB: (ACCT Quarters) Duke 87, Maryland 71 Post-Game Thread

[Reddevil]

Ryan was brilliant in the first half, doing exactly what I hoped he would--hitting 2s before even trying a 3.

But why wasn't he in during the second half?

To me it looked like Maryland's quickness was causing problems. I remember thinking that they could do what St. John's did if Duke didn't settle down. This is my guess at why Kelly was not utilized much in the 2nd half.

Man both teams were playing SO hard though. The scrum for the ball on the floor when Kyle got the ball and Mason called a TO really summed up the kind of game it was. Gary got 'em to play for 40 minutes, but so did K. The intensity was at times astonishing.

[roywhite]

Official Boxscore

Great scoring balance, and good games by many.

Two stand out in particular:
Mason 38 minutes 4-5 FG 11 rebs 10 pts 5 asst 1 block 1 steal
Kyle with 29 pts and 9 rebounds.

Gotta say, Kyle, there's one stat area that doesn't fit with the others
10-11 FG from 2-pt range
9-9 FT
9 rebounds
0-4 3-pt

Fine with me if he limits shots from beyond the arc.

[DukeDevilDeb]

Official Boxscore

Great scoring balance, and good games by many.

Two stand out in particular:
Mason 38 minutes 4-5 FG 11 rebs 10 pts 5 asst 1 block 1 steal
Kyle with 29 pts and 9 rebounds.

Gotta say, Kyle, there's one stat area that doesn't fit with the others
10-11 FG from 2-pt range
9-9 FT
9 rebounds
0-4 3-pt

Fine with me if he limits shots from beyond the arc.

Kyle said in his postgame comments that he knew that, although his 2 and his free throws were falling, he still missed all of his 3s. He also said that he would keep on shooting them and he would guarantee that soon they would be back!

[delfrio]

Mason was great in this game, despite the one fall-away jump shot. Great awareness as evidenced by the 5 assists and really bringing down the rebounds early. I love that the Plumlees aren't making the silly mistakes, although they could stay in front of the people they're guarding a bit better. Way to keep stepping up!

[Duke79UNLV77]

very good balanced game on the offensive end for everyone but nolan, who is entitled to an off game every month or two. some defensive lapses, but it tightened up the last 10 minutes. dawkins seems more spirited. if we can get/stay healthy, we could be coming together.

[Vincetaylor]

Best team effort post-Kyrie. Great performance.

[fowlerdukeman]

I'm glad we finally played a well balanced game without having to rely so much on perimeter shooting. That will kill us in the Big Dance, Hopefully Nolan is alright and will play Saturday. Encouraging signs for Kyrie. Singler did fantastic along with Curry. But the thing that impressed me the most was the Plumlee bros showing some athleticism. Tomorrow will be big! Let's continue on that road to a repeat on both championships, ACC and NCAA. Go Duke!

[sporthenry]

Have to like what you saw tonight. That is why K is a great coach. I thought we'd see Duke turn on the March switch eithe against Va. Tech or UNC but this team appears to be hitting on most cylinders. I like how he got Nolan some rest early and it seemed the offensive gameplan involved getting everyone involved.

But as mentioned, Kyle's outside shot appears to be a bit off still and I think that makes him the complete threat as there will be a game where he will need to hit his outside shots.

[fowlerdukeman]

How many times have they won by two this year? Today had to be pure luck. Roy doesn't even compare to Coach K.

[sagegrouse]

The Plumlees were both outstanding tonight. Best game by Miles in a long time.

One measure of Miles's effectiveness is that Ryan Kelly, he of the 5-5 shooting and 11 points in the first half, was kept on the bench in the second half. Miles grabbed eight -- EIGHT -- offensive rebounds.

sagegrouse

[ncexnyc]

This appears to be what they call a bittersweet moment. A fantastic game from start to finish, probably the most complete game by this team all year. Unfortunately we have the spectre of another serious toe injury hanging over our collective heads.

Kyle had an exceptional game and stepped up when we needed it most. Keep taking it to the hole and getting to the charity stripe big guy. Leave the 3's for Seth and Dre.

Seth has had some really nice games this year, but this was probably his most complete game all year. He did all of the things we had heard him capable of during. If it comes down to it, I have confidence that he can run the point at a very high level.

Alert Air Defense Command. We had a long range bomber sighting tonight in Greensboro. Welcome back Dre. The kid had his stroke going and he was really bringing it on the defensive end of the court as well.

Miles played like the elder brother tonight. He continues to hit that short jumper and brings much needed bulk and toughness to this team.

Mason showed some flashes of superior talent tonight. It's games like this one that helps you understand why he is so highly touted.

Ryan had a great bounce back game from last Saturday's disaster. I'd say his only issue is holding his position in the post on the defensive end and I believe that is why Miles and Mason got the bulk of the minutes in the second half.

Tyler was Mr. Agressive tonight. Took it to the hole a couple of times and played his trademark in your face D.

I like our chances no matter what tomorrow. Tech will be on their third game in three days and they're already shorthanded.

[Kedsy]

But the thing that impressed me the most was the Plumlee bros showing some athleticism.

Did you think they were lacking athleticism before?

[oldnavy]

One measure of Miles's effectiveness is that Ryan Kelly, he of the 5-5 shooting and 11 points in the first half, was kept on the bench in the second half. Miles grabbed eight -- EIGHT -- offensive rebounds.

sagegrouse

I totally agree. I wouldn't necessarily look at Ryan not getting much PT in the second half as a reflection on him as much as K saw something going on and put the best five he had on the court. That is one of the things that he does so well, sees the game and makes personnel and strategy calls in the game... Miles was being a beast and Mason was showing a side of himself we haven't seen much of as well.

However, Ryan was a big part of this win for us tonight. His first half was critical!!

[Saratoga2]

Nolan is a great player and has been throughout the year. Tonight the Maryland team really went after him and he had one of his worst games in memory, also going out with a potentially serious injury.

That said, it appeared that the team was somehow empowered by Nolan being off/out, as they all picked up the slack for him. Duke had more balance tonight than at any other time this year. Lots of contributors playing together with few of the one-on-one moves we have become accustomed to. Sure Kyle and Seth did at times, but it wasn't the offensive theme.

Quick turnaround for the next game, but that is also true for VT, only they have played more minutes (games) than our team.

[Indoor66]

I thought our interior defense was the best I have seen all year. We did a great job on Jordan Williams. We kept him away from the ball, kept him off the boards and generally made his day lousy.

[wilson]

...he thing that impressed me the most was the Plumlee bros showing some athleticism.

Did you think they were lacking athleticism before?

Well, I guess now we're "even more athletic than people don't think we are."

[mapei]

Re: Plumlees' athleticism: the raw talent has always been there, but last night it was more refined and effective.

[gw67]

That was a fun game to watch and one that was much closer than the final score would imply. My post prior to last night's game is repeated below:

"I expect the Devils to play very well tonight coming off the loss to UNC. I expect Singler to have another terrific game against the Terps. He is a matchup nightmare for them. The 6-3 Mosley simply cannot guard him and they may try the bigger Palsson on him for a while. Relying on a 6-6 inexperienced freshman against a 6-8 skilled, experienced and physical player is not a recipe for success on their part. The Terps have also made supporting players (McDonald of UNC; Brown of Miami; and Zelinski of UVA) look like All Americans in recent games. Therefore, I expect Curry and/or Kelly to have a big game. Since they played the Devils 12 or 13 games ago, Stoglin has taken a bigger role in the offense, the team foul shooting has improved (e.g. Williams is shooting 74% for last 13 games) and the team defense is not nearly as good. At this point in time, I expect Duke to win by double figures."

Singler came through like I expected. Maryland simply has no one who matches up with him and as a result he plays with great confidence. Supporting players Kelly and Curry (late in the game) had terrific games. I thought that Duke's size and help defense also played major roles. Williams was battling three big men the entire game and the Terps perimeter players were seldom able to get free even when they got past the player guarding them. Overall, I thought that the Devils played a very good game.

From the Maryland perspective, I thought that this game reminded me of several early season games (Pitt, Illinois, BC, Temple, NOVA) where Maryland played very well for 30-35 minutes and simply was not able to get over the hump. In addition, they reverted to their early season foul shooting woes. There were some good performances. Williams got 16 points and 16 rebounds although he often was battling two bigger players and one player roughly his size (He is closer to 6-8 than 6-10). Bowie and Tucker played very well against Smith holding him to 2-11 shooting and causing him to make 5 turnovers.

gw67

[mgtr]

One measure of Miles's effectiveness is that Ryan Kelly, he of the 5-5 shooting and 11 points in the first half, was kept on the bench in the second half. Miles grabbed eight -- EIGHT -- offensive rebounds.

sagegrouse

I was impressed by Miles tonight. Now, if he could get a few offensive putbacks from those rebounds, we might even see an upside down "Marry Me, Miles" sign!

[UrinalCake]

Seth looked great out there at the point, not only the plays he made but his body language and calmng influence once Nolan went out. I noticed we had him bring the ball down the court several times even while Nolan was still in there. Perhaps we knew Maryland's defense would focus on Nolan and so we tried to keep the ball out of his hands until we got into the half court

Tyler didn't have a very good game, I thought he was trying to do a little too much on both ends of the court. Fortunately his mistakes didn't end up hurting us too much. Great game overall.