Charting Duke vs. Boston College II (Feb. 6)

[Jumbo]

Is it any surprise that on the road, the group that came through for Duke was the veteran core of the team? The lineup featuring three seniors (Scheyer, Thomas, Zoubek) and two juniors (Singler, Smith) outscored Boston College by 11 points; no other lineup combination came close to making any kind of an impact. So thank the vets for a big win.

Anyway, on to the numbers ...

Individuals
Lance Thomas 38-32 (+6)
Brian Zoubek 42-37 (+5)
Jon Scheyer 66-63 (+3)
Nolan Smith 66-63 (+3)
Kyle Singler 64-61 (+3)
Andre Dawkins 4-2 (+2)
Ryan Kelly 15-15 (+0)
Mason Plumlee 24-27 (-3)
Miles Plumlee 11-15 (-4)

Per 40 Minutes
Andre Dawkins +80
Lance Thomas +10.9
Brian Zoubek +8.3
Kyle Singler +3.1
Jon Scheyer +3
Nolan Smith +3
Ryan Kelly +0
Mason Plumlee -6
Miles Plumlee -22.9

Lineups
Scheyer-Smith-Singler-Thomas-Zoubek (x3) 21-10 (+11)
Scheyer-Smith-Dawkins-Singler-Kelly (x3) 4-2 (+2)
Scheyer-Smith-Thomas-Kelly-Mason 2-0 (+2)
Scheyer-Smith-Singler-Kelly-Mason 3-2 (+1)
Scheyer-Smith-Singler-Kelly-Miles 0-0 (+0)
Scheyer-Smith-Singler-Thomas-Miles (x3) 11-13 (-2)
Scheyer-Smith-Thomas-Kelly-Miles 0-2 (-2)
Scheyer-Smith-Singler-Mason-Zoubek (x5) 15-18 (-3)
Scheyer-Smith-Singler-Kelly-Zoubek (x5) 6-9 (-3)
Scheyer-Smith-Singler-Thomas-Mason (x3) 4-7 (-3)

[Bob Green]

So thank the vets for a big win.

Scheyer-Smith-Singler-Thomas-Zoubek (x3) 21-10 (+11)


I will not be suprised if Zoubek is in the starting line-up on Wednesday against Carolina. He earned a spot with his performance against BC.

[SCMatt33]

I will not be suprised if Zoubek is in the starting line-up on Wednesday against Carolina. He earned a spot with his performance against BC.

I don't think that Zoubek will get a start in any game this year no matter how well he performs. Miles gets the nod so that he can take the tip-off.

[Jumbo]

I don't think that Zoubek will get a start in any game this year no matter how well he performs. Miles gets the nod so that he can take the tip-off.

You're not being serious, are you? Winning the tip is essentially meaningless, and certainly has nothing to do with Miles starts.

Zoubek won't start mainly because it would seriously shake Miles' confidence. Plus, Zoubek is already in a role where he's comfortable and productive. Starting doesn't mean anything anyway when he's usually in by the first TV timeout. If it were earlier in the season, I could see Coach K moving Miles out of the starting lineup to motivate him, but it's too late for that. Gotta keep his confidence up.

[CameronCrazy'11]

Zoubek probably deserves to start, but I don't see any reason to mess with the psychology of the team. Maybe it's just me, but I actually think Zoubek enjoys being able to come off the bench and make some key plays.

[sagegrouse]

Has anyone commented here or elsewhere that Zoubs played 24 minutes and only picked up one foul? Part of it was the lack of an opposition post threat, but part was smart, heady play by Brian.

sagegrouse

[Wander]

Has anyone commented here or elsewhere that Zoubs played 24 minutes and only picked up one foul? Part of it was the lack of an opposition post threat, but part was smart, heady play by Brian.


Fouling is the reason it doesn't matter at all if Zoubek starts or not - he nearly always limits his own minutes with foul trouble anyway.

[COYS]

Fouling is the reason it doesn't matter at all if Zoubek starts or not - he nearly always limits his own minutes with foul trouble anyway.

I wouldn't want to have it any other way, either. While I'd like him to limit his silly fouls (that foul with 2 seconds left in the first half could have been seriously costly if BC had gotten two free throws instead of missing the front end of a 1 in 1), I like the fact that our bigs can play aggressively without worrying about foul trouble because of our depth.

[MChambers]

I wouldn't want to have it any other way, either. While I'd like him to limit his silly fouls (that foul with 2 seconds left in the first half could have been seriously costly if BC had gotten two free throws instead of missing the front end of a 1 in 1), I like the fact that our bigs can play aggressively without worrying about foul trouble because of our depth.

Len Elmore was going on and on about that, the idea that Duke's bigs don't have to worry about fouls. I really disagree with that, and not just because Elmore said it. Ithink that committing too many fouls is one of the things keeping the defense from being truly good. Admittedly, many of the fouls are just plain silly, but other result from being too aggressive on the boards or trying to block shots.

I can't remember a Duke team that was so mediocre as to the free throw disparity. We don't draw a lot of fouls and we commit too many.