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sagegrouse
03-04-2010, 08:28 AM
The final regular season game: (a) against UNC, (b) for the outright regular season ACC title, (c) to stop a four-game losing streak against the Heels at CIS, and (d) Senior Night for Jon, Brian, Lance, and Jordan (#2).

This is clearly the Main Event. Moreover, UNC is showing signs of life after two straight ACC wins.

Here are some questions to ponder:

(1) Will Zoubek and Duke's inside players control Thompson, Zeller, Henson and Wear?

(2) Can Duke prod the Tarheels into slews of TOs with relentless defense and derail the UNC running game?

(3) Will the pressure of Senior Night cause some jitters in the shooting department, or will the Devils scoff at the notion of "pressure?"

(4) Who will lead Duke's offensive charge? Jon, Kyle, Nolan or maybe even some else? Andre Dawkins, come on down! Brian Zoubek, lets put an exclamamtion point on your last game at Cameron! Mason Plumlee, it's time to shine!

sagegrouse
'I can't believe the regular season is almost over. I'd like to play ten more games, which would mean....'

'Mods: Please add the usual "yakking hyena" emoticon to the title'

gumbomoop
03-04-2010, 08:45 AM
Apologies for my vanity in re-posting from Status Check thread. I simply want to update folks on ACCT-seeding certainties as of today, and other good v. bad certainties, depending on Sat. If anything I say below is factually inaccurate, I'll happily accept corrections.

Time to focus on the Heels.

1. A loss to them Sat would (a) be horrible, (b) end Devils' chances at 1-seed in NCAAT, (c) continue Heels' momentum, (d) place them, absolutely certainly, as 9-seed in ACCT, playing, absolutely certainly, BC, and thus (e) give them a potential rubber match with Devils in the ACCT noon Friday game [only if UVa beats Md on Sat], or (f) drop Duke to 2-seed in ACCT and Fri eve game [if Md beats UVa on Sat]. All things bad.

2. A win over them Sat would (a) be highly satisfying, (b) give Duke ACCT 1-seed, and (c) absolutely certain match with 8-9 BC-UVa in ACCT noon Fri game, (d) keep alive possible NCAAT 1-seed. All things good.

3. Imbedded in 1-2 above: BC is now certain #8. UNC is now certain to be either 9 or 10.

4. Although I realize any number of posters cannot wait to blast the Heels 3 times this season, the only way now that can happen is for the Devils to meet the Heels in the finals of the ACCT. I have to believe that no poster actually wants that to happen. [There is actually a second way that could happen, in NCAAT, but I'm absolutely certain no (sane) poster wants that.]

superdave
03-04-2010, 09:05 AM
The tarholes have won two in a row now which might be their longest winning streak of the season. Time to end it. They are not in our class.

I expect that Henson will get pushed around if he plays the 4 and wont be able to guard Singler at the 3. Hopefully we get similar effort from Mason as last time and newfound contributionfs from Zoubek and Dawkins as well. Remember Zoubek had his breakout game vs. Maryland, the weekend after we won in Chapel Hill.

Defensively we need to control the boards and limit their transition opportunities. I expect big things from Lance on those fronts!

We're good to go.

Super "Giddy up!" Dave

gumbomoop
03-04-2010, 09:06 AM
I see that I already need to clarify one of my "absolute certainties" from my post:

1. UNC is either 9 or 10 seed for ACCT, still a certainty.
2. They get 9 if they win and MD wins @ UVa Sat.
3. They get 10 if they win and UVa beats Md Sat.
4. They get 10 if Duke wins Sat, period.
5. Period is easily most satisfying option.

IBleedBlue
03-04-2010, 09:17 AM
Two things I want to see in the upcoming game:
1. ZOUNK (ZOUBEK+DUNK)
2. MASON PATENTED REVERSE JAM (I am assuming he would become the only freshman ever to dunk on UNC frontcourt twice in his rookie season)

gumbomoop
03-04-2010, 09:22 AM
I'm having trouble with just a few simple, "if X and Y, then Z" possibilities.

But in looking yet again at UNC @ Duke and Md @ UVa, it appears that no matter what happens, Duke and UNC will not be on same side of ACCT-bracket.

For the only way UNC can get the 9-seed [UNC and Md win], means Duke falls to 2-seed.

Whereas a Duke win guarantees Duke 1-seed and UNC 10-seed.

CDu
03-04-2010, 09:29 AM
The final regular season game: (a) against UNC, (b) for the outright regular season ACC title, (c) to stop a four-game losing streak against the Heels at CIS, and (d) Senior Night for Jon, Brian, Lance, and Jordan (#2).

This is clearly the Main Event. Moreover, UNC is showing signs of life after two straight ACC wins.

Here are some questions to ponder:

(1) Will Zoubek and Duke's inside players control Thompson, Zeller, Henson and Wear?

(2) Can Duke prod the Tarheels into slews of TOs with relentless defense and derail the UNC running game?

(3) Will the pressure of Senior Night cause some jitters in the shooting department, or will the Devils scoff at the notion of "pressure?"

(4) Who will lead Duke's offensive charge? Jon, Kyle, Nolan or maybe even some else? Andre Dawkins, come on down! Brian Zoubek, lets put an exclamamtion point on your last game at Cameron! Mason Plumlee, it's time to shine!

sagegrouse
'I can't believe the regular season is almost over. I'd like to play ten more games, which would mean....'

'Mods: Please add the usual "yakking hyena" emoticon to the title'

1. I think that UNC's inside presence in the first game was more defensive. They gave us problems with their shotblocking. With Zeller replacing Davis, nearly half of that presence is gone. Also, I think we'll be better prepared in this game for their interior shotblocking presence. If we keep them from dominating the boards and keep a hand in Thompson's face, they aren't that threatening.

2. We didn't force many turnovers in the first meeting, and forcing turnovers hasn't been a strength of this year's team in general. As such, I don't know that we'll necessarily see a big boon there. We can win comfortably without necessarily forcing a ton of turnovers. However, if we do force a bunch of turnovers, we should win very easily.

3. Always a concern with senior night. Hopefully we react as well as Maryland did to their senior night.

4. I think it'll remain the big three, as it pretty much always has this year. Though it is always nice if someone could step up and complement those guys. Maybe Dawkins builds off of yesterday's shooting effort.

sandinmyshoes
03-04-2010, 09:31 AM
We should have this one by double digits.

Davis kept them in the game at UNC, and he is out for the season. Henson brings some similarities (shot blocking) on the defensive end, but Davis had a much better offensive game in the paint.

The only scenario that seems likely for them to give us trouble would be if we just had a truly terrible shooting game, and they had a much better than usual shooting game.

The history of the rivalry suggest that we never take anything for granted, and I won't. The thing that worries me is the fact that everything points our way.

I'm sure Coach K will instruct our big guys to go up and into Henson on offense. You might get a few offensive fouls from it, but he is a much, much less effective shot blocker when players are in body contact with him. He's a terror if from the help side or if he has a few feet of space between himself and the shooter.

CDu
03-04-2010, 09:33 AM
I'm having trouble with just a few simple, "if X and Y, then Z" possibilities.

But in looking yet again at UNC @ Duke and Md @ UVa, it appears that no matter what happens, Duke and UNC will not be on same side of ACCT-bracket.

For the only way UNC can get the 9-seed [UNC and Md win], means Duke falls to 2-seed.

Whereas a Duke win guarantees Duke 1-seed and UNC 10-seed.

A Duke win would be fantastic, not only because it guarantees us the #1 seed but also because it gives UNC the following likely path:

Thursday: vs 7 seed (likely GT)
Friday: likely the 2 seed (Maryland)
Saturday: likely the 3/6 seed (likely one of Clemson/VT/Wake/FSU)
Sunday: hopefully us

I doubt they'd get past Thursday, and I certainly doubt they'd get past Friday. But even if they did, it would mean they'd likely have to beat 4 teams who have beaten them by double-digits this year.

gumbomoop
03-04-2010, 09:51 AM
The only scenario that seems likely for them to give us trouble would be if we just had a truly terrible shooting game, and they had a much better than usual shooting game.

The history of the rivalry suggest that we never take anything for granted, and I won't. The thing that worries me is the fact that everything points our way.

I agree that, despite UNC's mini-momentum, and our tough loss, virtually everything favors Duke.

In fact, Duke played better in the loss last eve than did UNC in either of its mo-wins. Henson is coming on, and a couple of their shooters could get hot, but Duke is much, much more efficient on both O and D.

And the Duke seniors are very likely to shine Sat eve, really all 3 of them.

gofurman
03-04-2010, 09:57 AM
win.

this game is much more important than Maryland.

play defense. what did UM shoot? 50%? it wasn't Duke's O, it was our D that stunk. Yes, a few crazy shots went in and we missed some free throws BUT we hold them to 70 we win (theoretically). Duke should be able to hold people to 70.

Play defense. Zoubek continue to rebound like a man.

mcdukie
03-04-2010, 10:00 AM
We should do just fine as long as we understand the Holes are playing better. That being said, our seniors have to refuse to lose this one.

Go 2 Hell Carolina
03-04-2010, 10:01 AM
UNC beat a struggling Wake team and a HORRIBLE "road" Miami team...I am not concerned with the so called momentum!

UrinalCake
03-04-2010, 10:07 AM
Henson is a completely different player now than he was in our last meeting. The silver lining (from the standpoint of a Tar Heel fan) behind all of their injuries is that their younger guys are being thrown into the fire and allowed to develop. Thompson always gives us fits and with Zeller back they still present a formidable front line. Foul trouble on Zoubek could be disasterous. Our big guys will have to come ready to play!

gumbomoop
03-04-2010, 10:14 AM
We should do just fine as long as we understand the Holes are playing better. That being said, our seniors have to refuse to lose this one.

Agree. It cannot have escaped anyone that UNC has played better, though exactly how much better is still debatable.

But for me, the key is the seniors. We saw last eve some Md seniors who "refused to lose this one." Duke didn't play badly, just lost to seniors who made plays. If LT and Z avoid foul trouble - and in my judgment that's a key part of what "refusing to lose" means for those 2 - and play with disciplined "refuse to lose" passion, Duke will win.

Strong contributions by LT and Z, to say nothing of a "normal" game from JS, and there's a high probability of a convincing Duke win. The seniors should feel pressure, and they should welcome it. This is why they came to Duke.

jv001
03-04-2010, 10:19 AM
Man it doesn't get any better than this. Like sage said, there's alot riding on this game. The most important is it's carolina. Thank God we're playing at home, because we shoot much better at CIS. One aspect of the twerp game was our missing 3s and md getting out on the fast break. I don't want to see that against the heels. It could put us in a hole right off the bat. unc's front line worries me more on defense than on offense. One thing they don't shoot FTs very well. And who drew up the schedules this year. We get 2 days with one being travel and unc played Tuesday at home. It looks like Swofford drew up these schedules lol. Go Duke!

Kedsy
03-04-2010, 10:44 AM
Foul trouble on Zoubek could be disasterous.

As late as a month ago (not to mention the previous 3.5 years) did anyone in their wildest imagination believe that someone would write the above sentence? And be serious about it? Way to go, Z!

As far as UNC's front line, if Thompson, Zeller, and Henson are all playing at the same time it won't be a particularly formidable front line because none of them can guard Kyle. If it's only two of them, it doesn't scare me so much at all. We will outrebound them and while Henson may get a few blocks they won't be very imposing defensively. They'll outscore our two bigs, but not by nearly as much as our perimeter players should outscore theirs.

It's a rivalry game so you never know who's going to step up, but without Davis UNC's front line has lost it's formidability, at least in my eyes.

sagegrouse
03-04-2010, 11:01 AM
Another two questions:

(a) Is there any chance we get those bozos from last night's game, Les Jones and Karl Hess, for the UNC game? I mean, how could anyone make the over-and-back call when there was nothing but a tapped ball after a missed shot. Or that travelling call against Jon while he was merely dribbling? Was that a DWBD infraction -- Driving While a Blue Devil? I think Les Jones made both calls and Hess didn't overrule him, even though the over-and-back was in plain view of everyone.

(b) If these guys show up, will they tilt the Duke way after getting a lecture from Clougherty? Or, maybe because they are just homers.

sagegrouse

gumbomoop
03-04-2010, 11:10 AM
.....he was merely dribbling? Was that a DWBD infraction -- Driving While a Blue Devil?

Just to further distinguish, while maintaining the essential analogy, DWBD from DWI, allow me to offer as a friendly amendment: Dribbling While a Blue Devil. This has the added advantage of allowing refs to make this call even in backcourt, long before any possible drive to basket.

davekay1971
03-04-2010, 11:46 AM
Crush your enemies...
See them driven before you...
Hear the lamentations of their women.

ClosetHurleyFan
03-04-2010, 11:49 AM
I agree that, despite UNC's mini-momentum, and our tough loss, virtually everything favors Duke.

In fact, Duke played better in the loss last eve than did UNC in either of its mo-wins. Henson is coming on, and a couple of their shooters could get hot, but Duke is much, much more efficient on both O and D.

And the Duke seniors are very likely to shine Sat eve, really all 3 of them.

Yeah, everything favored stackhouse, wallace and mcinnis in 1995 too and you guys took them to double OT when you had no business doing so. Thats why they play the game. I expect a very loose UNC team that really has nothing to lose at this point, especially compared to you guys. I mean, what if Henson gets his lately usual 11 points, 10 rebounds, five blocks and Will Graves gets hot and hits 5 or 6 threes and Marcus Ginyard goes out in Cameron with another triple double like performance like he had last game? Stranger things have happened. Agree, you guys should be heavily favored, but come on, this is Duke/Carolina and we have owned you guys in this building for a remarkable four years in a row (probably wont happen again for a long long time). If you are this Duke team, can you really bear the thought of losing to this UNC team on Senior Night????? After having never won at home against them if you are a Senior? It would sicken my stomach, I remember all too well the late 1990s to early 2000s when Duke was kicking our asses in the Dean Dome. It just flat sucked......

mcdukie
03-04-2010, 11:53 AM
I think it is going to be a war, that is what you get from a rival. I have been arguing with Maryland fans that we might be there rival but UNC is ours.

NSDukeFan
03-04-2010, 12:15 PM
It would also be very nice to be unbeaten at home this year. Duke should be favored and should dominate in the backcourt, but should is a big word and this is why they play the games. Go Duke.

P.S. My dream is for Jon to get 30, Z to get a double double, and Lance to score in double figures, grab some big rebounds, draw a charge or two and be an emotional leader.

gumbomoop
03-04-2010, 01:50 PM
Yeah, everything favored stackhouse, wallace and mcinnis in 1995 too and you guys took them to double OT when you had no business doing so. Thats why they play the game. I expect a very loose UNC team that really has nothing to lose at this point, especially compared to you guys. I mean, what if Henson gets his lately usual 11 points, 10 rebounds, five blocks and Will Graves gets hot and hits 5 or 6 threes and Marcus Ginyard goes out in Cameron with another triple double like performance like he had last game? Stranger things have happened. Agree, you guys should be heavily favored, but come on, this is Duke/Carolina and we have owned you guys in this building for a remarkable four years in a row (probably wont happen again for a long long time). If you are this Duke team, can you really bear the thought of losing to this UNC team on Senior Night????? After having never won at home against them if you are a Senior? It would sicken my stomach, I remember all too well the late 1990s to early 2000s when Duke was kicking our asses in the Dean Dome. It just flat sucked......

I don't disagree with anything you've said here. Yep, Duke has more to lose, and gain. UNC's advantage should be looseness; Duke's should be fierce determination - and substantially better play, even including the Heels' recent improvement. In my post you tag-quoted, I noted that Henson is coming on, and a couple of Heel shooters could get hot, implying that strange things can and do happen.

Re Senior Night, I addressed that in post #15, and will simply repeat here that the outcome of Sat eve's game really should depend on the play of LT, Z, and JS. Every senior every year in this amazing rivalry, especially when this game is their Senior Night, should think, "This is why I came to Duke/Carolina," and play like it.

superdave
03-04-2010, 02:18 PM
I expect a very loose UNC team that really has nothing to lose at this point, especially compared to you guys. I mean, what if Henson gets his lately usual 11 points, 10 rebounds, five blocks and Will Graves gets hot and hits 5 or 6 threes and Marcus Ginyard goes out in Cameron with another triple double like performance like he had last game? Stranger things have happened.

Zoubek may literally eat Henson if he gets in his way for a rebound. So I'd drop that rebound projection to 2 or 3.

sagegrouse
03-04-2010, 02:36 PM
Yeah, everything favored stackhouse, wallace and mcinnis in 1995 too and you guys took them to double OT when you had no business doing so. Thats why they play the game. I expect a very loose UNC team that really has nothing to lose at this point, especially compared to you guys. I mean, what if Henson gets his lately usual 11 points, 10 rebounds, five blocks and Will Graves gets hot and hits 5 or 6 threes and Marcus Ginyard goes out in Cameron with another triple double like performance like he had last game? Stranger things have happened. Agree, you guys should be heavily favored, but come on, this is Duke/Carolina and we have owned you guys in this building for a remarkable four years in a row (probably wont happen again for a long long time). ......

I appreciate your post. I think it is important for Duke to get a good lead in the first ten minutes. Falling behind was a huge problem at UMd. Against UNC, a Duke lead may bring up bad memories to the Heels of games earlier in the season.

sagegrouse

superdave
03-04-2010, 02:52 PM
I appreciate your post. I think it is important for Duke to get a good lead in the first ten minutes. Falling behind was a huge problem at UMd. Against UNC, a Duke lead may bring up bad memories to the Heels of games earlier in the season.

sagegrouse

Will the heels fold like a chair if we hit them hard? Probably not in a rivalry game. But it saves us energy to play from the lead, unlike last night where much energy was consumed coming from behind.

All I know is we shoot better at home and have a rebounding advantage. And a backcourt advantage. And our coach wont be out looking for the bus for throwing-under purposes.

Kfanarmy
03-04-2010, 02:57 PM
It would also be very nice to be unbeaten at home this year. Duke should be favored and should dominate in the backcourt, but should is a big word and this is why they play the games. Go Duke.

P.S. My dream is for Jon to get 30, Z to get a double double, and Lance to score in double figures, grab some big rebounds, draw a charge or two and be an emotional leader. I don't care how many he gets, if he shoots closer to 50% than 30% (and stays on the floor) I'd be happy because he would be being much more efficient likely leading to more team points.

jv001
03-04-2010, 03:03 PM
I don't care how many he gets, if he shoots closer to 50% than 30% (and stays on the floor) I'd be happy because he would be being much more efficient likely leading to more team points.

And that goes for the big 3 as well. A good shooting game from our go to guys would be huge. We will in all probability get good looks on the perimeter and not so good looks on the inside. Hope the guys get a lot of shots up tomorrow and have a great shooting night agains the tarholes. Go Duke!

ClosetHurleyFan
03-04-2010, 03:07 PM
I appreciate your post. I think it is important for Duke to get a good lead in the first ten minutes. Falling behind was a huge problem at UMd. Against UNC, a Duke lead may bring up bad memories to the Heels of games earlier in the season.

sagegrouse


Hey, I fully expect Carolina to lose, I give UNC 10 maybe 20 percent chance of winning. But I would have probably said 0 percent a week ago! This is indeed a Carolina team that has been terrible at giving up big first half and opening second half runs. But one thing they have learned to do a little more lately is closing teams out, although admitedly the teams they have closed out are playing subpar ball (Wake and Miami and State).

shoutingncu
03-04-2010, 03:13 PM
I'm pretty excited to watch this play out. Carolina has zero expectation on them.

Emotion works on both ends of the floor... and not just senior night and the streak, or just the first place finish (there is no regular season champion, right ;)), but the NCAA one seed is on the line, as well. That's a lot of pressure, more than in 2006.

Duke has been criticized for being just a jumpshooting team, and often with the shot clock winding down. Add anxiety to that, and it'd be easy to see a lot of forced shots.

Duke's frontline has done a much better job recently of avoiding fouls, but adrenaline may cause panic and reach-ins. If Zouperman picks one up early, the rebounding suffers. If Lance picks one up, the defense suffers. If Nolan gets too excited and picks up a cheap one, he may be less aggressive.

I said before the first game that Carolina's players don't have to be better than Duke's... we know most of them aren't. They just have to equalize. The Big 3 are going to get their points, but if Carolina can limit them to 15 each instead of 20, that will go a long way, especially if Duke's supporting cast only chips in 15 or so.

If Carolina's perimeter players, Drew, Ginyard and Graves, can go for thirty, then the frontline would have to make up for the fifteen that leaves, and the bench, Zeller, Strickland, McDonald, would have to chip in for double figures.

It could be as close as the last one was down the stretch. In that game, Carolina seemed content to let Duke run it's offense knowing that, if left to their own devices, Duke would run some clock and then force a shot. When Carolina stayed at home, giving limited help on drives, it forced Duke into tough shots on the run. Some of them went. A lot of them didn't. I would hope to see the same game plan Saturday, with an emphasis on boxing out.

I'm not necessarily optimistic for Carolina, but like the team, I have absolutely nothing to lose.

fisheyes
03-05-2010, 08:14 AM
9f

9f

9f

airowe
03-05-2010, 08:27 AM
Gthc, gth!

moonpie23
03-05-2010, 08:29 AM
"the will to win is nothing compared to the will to PREPARE to win!"


GTHC

RaineyDevil
03-05-2010, 09:24 AM
GTHC, GTH



that is all....

HaveFunExpectToWin
03-05-2010, 09:55 AM
Zoubek may literally eat Henson if he gets in his way for a rebound. So I'd drop that rebound projection to 2 or 3.

He'd still be hungry afterward.

cbnaylor
03-05-2010, 10:01 AM
Let's sweep them for the first time since 2004!

davekay1971
03-05-2010, 10:11 AM
As the front page article noted, the Heels have changed some since we last saw them. Despite that, Duke still has obvious advantages. At home, we should win this game.

The biggest changes I've seen are the emergence of Henson, Zeller getting back into the groove, and Roy finally being willing to slow things down and let his team play at a pace they can handle. Duke should be able to counter these changes.

With Henson, both Lance Thomas and Mason Plumlee should be able to keep up with his quickness and use their superior strength to keep him away from the basket. Mason needs to play smart on defense to stay on the court and help with this effort.

With Zeller, there is no doubt that any of our bigs can keep him contained...all our guys are stronger and have the athleticism to keep up with what he has to offer.

We should absolutely dominate the boards in this game, on both ends.

We know our perimeter guys can shut down Carolina's guys in a halfcourt game, and our guys should be able to get decent looks in our motion offense. Kyle and Jon have significant size advantage and can take their guys inside for good looks. Hopefully they'll also look to dish when Henson and Zeller rotate over to help. Could lead to some monster Plumlee dunks...and even a Zounk or two.

Finally, I think our halfcourt pressure defense should be able to force the Carolina guards to speed up. We know we can pressure Drew into making some mistakes - channel him into the lane toward help defense, and he'll make bad passes.

Duke has every advantage in this game, and we need the win to secure at least a tie for ACC #1, to let Jon, Lance, and Zoubs have their senior night win, and to keep the inside position for that fourth #1 seed.

Olympic Fan
03-05-2010, 10:41 AM
Yeah, everything favored stackhouse, wallace and mcinnis in 1995 too and you guys took them to double OT when you had no business doing so. Thats why they play the game.

The one problem with your anology is that the double OT game in 1995 came on our own home floor, in Cameron. When the two teams met again later in the year in Chapel Hill, UNC won easily 99-86 and essentially dominated the game.

That's about what I expect Saturday. I expected a tough game in Chapel Hill, even though UNC was struggling. It was at their place and when Duke visits, its the one time that the Smith Center actually gets loud. I thought the homecourt edge helped a struggling team.

Duke has been pretty invincible at home this season, beating better teams than UNC by an average of 19 points a game (just counting ACC competition). The closest home ACC game was a 12-point win over Virginia Tech.

The difference in the teams we've played home-and-home is startling: at Georgia Tech minus-four/Georgia Tech at home plus 19; Boston College at home plus 20/at Boston College plus three; Maryland at home plus 21/at Maryland minus five; Clemson at home plus 23/at Clemson plus 13

The smallest split was 10 points (Clemson). That's an average split of 19 points ... Duke beat UNC by 10 in Chapel Hill, so by past home/road splits, should beat the Heels by 29 points in Durham.

Not saying it will be that lopsided, but I'll be stunned if it's not a fairly lopsided outcome.

BlueDevilCorvette!
03-05-2010, 11:00 AM
He'd still be hungry afterward.

Ha-Ha, just lean meat huh...not many calories

ChicagoHeel
03-05-2010, 11:07 AM
I struggle to find a scenario in which UNC could win. Duke feels the pressure of senior night and plays tight, Duke's outside shooting is unexpectedly poor and/or UNC's unexpectedly strong, one of your big 3 has an abysmal night and puts undue pressure on the other two, Cameron has a flood and the game is rescheduled for next year- all scenarios that seem equally unlikely. A lot of things have to go right for us and wrong for you.

My expectation is that at some point in the first half, perhaps the first five minutes, Duke will go on an offensive run, we will make a series of ugly turnovers running a "deer in the headlights" offensive scheme, and Duke will build a double-digit lead that will end up pretty close to the final margin of defeat.

But who knows- as many have said, you can never predict a rivalry game and sometimes it's easier to play when you have nothing to lose. In the nothing to lose category, we're miles ahead.

JamminJoe
03-05-2010, 11:22 AM
I'm getting a little nervous about this one. If my transference indicators are correct :), the team as well as the fans are taking this one too lightly. Sort of the same feeling as before NC State game. UNC is starting to feel some confidence and will put everything they've got into this game.

I have faith that K will rectify the situation by game time.

Duvall
03-05-2010, 11:26 AM
I'm getting a little nervous about this one. If my transference indicators are correct :), the team as well as the fans are taking this one too lightly.

I don't think there's any chance the team is taking this game lightly. To be honest, I would feel better if they were - at least then they would be loose at gametime.

flyingdutchdevil
03-05-2010, 11:34 AM
I'm getting a little nervous about this one. If my transference indicators are correct :), the team as well as the fans are taking this one too lightly. Sort of the same feeling as before NC State game. UNC is starting to feel some confidence and will put everything they've got into this game.

I have faith that K will rectify the situation by game time.

ummmm.....we just came off a loss. When has Coach K, or the fans, ever taken anything not seriously after a loss? They are really pissed, especially Scheyer. It's going to be a great game and, as usual, I expect to come out on top.

At home + coming off a loss + haven't beaten UNC in four years at home + senior night + nationally televised game (where a lot more people will be watching) = big win

JamminJoe
03-05-2010, 11:41 AM
Yeah - you guys are right. It's just there are too many reasons to think we should win this game. We should be okay. A blowout victory would get us in the right frame of mind for the postseason.

Kfanarmy
03-05-2010, 12:23 PM
Anyone know what happened to WHEAT. Miss his ability to discuss Carolina basketball rationally. He is one of a handfull of Carolina fans who come on here with reasonable analysis and opinion.

shoutingncu
03-05-2010, 12:39 PM
That's an average split of 19 points ... Duke beat UNC by 10 in Chapel Hill, so by past home/road splits, should beat the Heels by 29 points in Durham.

Not saying it will be that lopsided, but I'll be stunned if it's not a fairly lopsided outcome.

Garry Parrish agrees with you.

Friday Look Ahead (http://www.cbssports.com/collegebasketball/story/13013518/friday-look-ahead-donovans-gators-dont-need-distractions-at-uk?tag=coverlist_active;coverlist_footer)


Guaranteed to be a blowout: It seems strange to use Duke-North Carolina in this space, given the history of the rivalry. But the fourth-ranked Blue Devils are 25-5 overall, 12-3 in the ACC and still in contention for a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament. In other words, they have a lot to play for Saturday while UNC is only playing for pride, and that pride thing hasn't made much of a difference for the Tar Heels the past two months.

ClosetHurleyFan
03-05-2010, 12:40 PM
Anyone know what happened to WHEAT. Miss his ability to discuss Carolina basketball rationally. He is one of a handfull of Carolina fans who come on here with reasonable analysis and opinion.

Actually wondering same thing.......not too many of us rationale carolina fans around are there? ;)

jv001
03-05-2010, 12:49 PM
Actually wondering same thing.......not too many of us rationale carolina fans around are there? ;)

that the unc fans on this board are pretty rationale and intelligent. The main reason I dislike unc is not because of the players, but because of most of the fans. Most I know are fairweather fans. You know the ones that have the unc hats, tee shirts, sweatshirts, jackets, etc but will not wear it when they're on a losing streak. The other night at Church the unc gear was on display. Had not been wearing it until the last two wins. Now my best friend is just the opposite, he's worn his unc stuff the entire year. He's a true unc fan and I respect him for not being a fairweather fan. Go Duke!

moonpie23
03-05-2010, 01:02 PM
i am prolly worrying more about this game than most folks on here. I confess, i really just want tomorrow night to get here and get it over with. I do not like the holes coming in with ANY momentum whatsoever...

ugh....

shoutingncu
03-05-2010, 01:42 PM
that the unc fans on this board are pretty rationale and intelligent. The main reason I dislike unc is not because of the players, but because of most of the fans. Most I know are fairweather fans. You know the ones that have the unc hats, tee shirts, sweatshirts, jackets, etc but will not wear it when they're on a losing streak. The other night at Church the unc gear was on display. Had not been wearing it until the last two wins. Now my best friend is just the opposite, he's worn his unc stuff the entire year. He's a true unc fan and I respect him for not being a fairweather fan. Go Duke!

...I've had to dig stuff out of the closet to be able to wear UNC gear after each loss this season. Fifteen year old Final Four shirts shouldn't still fit, should they? I haven't brought myself to wear my '91 FF shirt. Maybe if Duke surprises me and advances out of the second weekend, I'll wear it in honor... but probably not.

watzone
03-05-2010, 02:13 PM
http://bluedevilnation.net/2010/03/jon-scheyer-talks-of-his-last-game-in-cameron-and-more/

Hot off the press, Jon Scheyer adressess the media

Kfanarmy
03-05-2010, 02:25 PM
Actually wondering same thing.......not too many of us rationale carolina fans around are there? ;)

I suspect there are a lot of rational Carolina fans, but certainly not here-- as expected. Unfortunately THEY can't even have a reasonable discussion on IC because of all the nitwits, children, to-cool-for-schoolers, hate mongerers, and instant experts. Does Carolina have anything akin to DBR?

kong123
03-05-2010, 02:34 PM
Perhaps I am not considered a rationale UNC fan on this board, I know the moderators have felt the need to ban me several times this year, but I feel like I can control my emotions and discuss the facts as I see them.

I read the IC board for amusement and come to this board to have a conversation. Sometimes I find there are some irrational Duke fans here and when I try to point that out, that's when I get banned!!!

Kfanarmy
03-05-2010, 02:38 PM
Perhaps I am not considered a rationale UNC fan on this board, I know the moderators have felt the need to ban me several times this year, but I feel like I can control my emotions and discuss the facts as I see them.

I read the IC board for amusement and come to this board to have a conversation. Sometimes I find there are some irrational Duke fans here and when I try to point that out, that's when I get banned!!!


courageous than I. I never get into a discussion about rational thinking on another Fan(atics) web site.

gofurman
03-05-2010, 02:39 PM
Henson is a completely different player now than he was in our last meeting. The silver lining (from the standpoint of a Tar Heel fan) behind all of their injuries is that their younger guys are being thrown into the fire and allowed to develop. Thompson always gives us fits and with Zeller back they still present a formidable front line. Foul trouble on Zoubek could be disasterous. Our big guys will have to come ready to play!

THenson does give us fits (along with other teams) and he is improved. However, we last played them with Davis at UNC.

SO vs last game I see this game as:

- a better UNC team as they improved, though not good
- a better and more natural 4 Henson
- Zeller available
- little momentum (even if against poor to mediocre teams it still breeds confidence)


for duke
- AT HOME (biggest of all)
- senior night
- no Ed Davis (a great rebounder) / I'll give a better henson for the loss of Davis

what else could we add?
Oh, a much improved Zoubek for duke !

anything I missed since last time?

ChicagoHeel
03-05-2010, 03:20 PM
anything I missed since last time?

Fatigue? I don't think it will play a major factor, but last time UNC played MD on the road three days before the Duke game and Duke had an extra day of rest. This time the situation is reversed- we get the extra day of rest.

gofurman
03-05-2010, 03:23 PM
anything I missed since last time?

Fatigue? I don't think it will play a major factor, but last time UNC played MD on the road three days before the Duke game and Duke had an extra day of rest. This time the situation is reversed- we get the extra day of rest.

fair enough, I give that some credence. That's what I am looking for is objective analysis. I will say that late in the year I don't think the lack of preparation issue is as large, esp w conf teams as they each other pretty well. But still an extra day of prep and rest never hurt.

I have always imagined that say, Wednesday, UNC players would watch Duke's game together to try and dissect it (with Roy I guess). Is this true? This is an advantage if it exists.

davekay1971
03-05-2010, 05:10 PM
I don't think the extra day of rest will be much of an advantage. It's a late Saturday game, so basically 3 full days for Duke to recover from the Maryland game. That's enough time to rest. At this point of the season, I expect Coach K also feels comfortable using practice time more for tactics and tweaking, which may allow for more rest during practice. He's said pretty often that he adjusts practice time to adjust for fatigue...on a 3 day turnaround that may be the case here.

Then there's the intangible reasons why fatigue probably won't play a role.

1) Senior night. Emotion, desire, and adrenaline can go a long way to overcoming fatigue.

2) Bench depth. Believe it or not, at this point, Duke has a deeper bench than Carolina. Dawkins is getting more PT to relieve Scheyer and Smith (and even Singler), Kelly is able to contribute some minutes for Kyle, and, of course, our 4 and 5 consistently rotate 4 players.

3) It's the last game for 6 days. It's amazing what reserves you can muster when you know you've got plenty of time to recover. There's no game for nearly a week for either team. Expect both teams to leave it all on the floor.

4) The home crowd factor. Playing in front of a live home crowd has an enormous psychological lift to get guys to overcome fatigue and find an extra reserve of energy. Playing in front of a rabidly hostile crowd can have the opposite effect, especially for young players who may not have all the confidence that, say, Lawson and Hansbrough brought into Cameron last year.

SFDukie
03-05-2010, 05:31 PM
Anyone know what happened to WHEAT. Miss his ability to discuss Carolina basketball rationally. He is one of a handfull of Carolina fans who come on here with reasonable analysis and opinion.

Plus one.

Online forums can be echo chambers. As long as folks are polite, I like having some outside perspective. Even from tarheels ;)

NCU your contributions are noted.
Don

DukeUsul
03-05-2010, 07:51 PM
Liked the Jason Williams anecdote inthe sidebar here.

http://espn.go.com/ncb/notebook/_/page/notebookweekendwatch100305/march-5-7

-bdbd
03-05-2010, 09:39 PM
THenson does give us fits (along with other teams) and he is improved. However, we last played them with Davis at UNC.

SO vs last game I see this game as:

- a better UNC team as they improved, though not good
- a better and more natural 4 Henson
- Zeller available
- little momentum (even if against poor to mediocre teams it still breeds confidence)


for duke
- AT HOME (biggest of all)
- senior night
- no Ed Davis (a great rebounder) / I'll give a better henson for the loss of Davis

what else could we add?
Oh, a much improved Zoubek for duke !

anything I missed since last time?

You mention nothing of Duke's consistent and improving play since then. You also leave out having our glue-guy, LT, back and playing for an entire game (presumably).

Momentum. With this win Duke will have won 9 of their last 10 games. And they really have played poorly since January. NC@CH comes in on an "upswing" having gone 3-3 over the last 6. Duke has been very consistent and constantly improving over the second half of the season, and especially so at home. While NC has gottenn better the last few games (could they have gotten worse??) they are still a fragile bunch, and Duke is also MUCH improved since a month ago.

Motivation. In my experience playing to deny your opponent of something - like NC@CH playing to "ruin" Duke's regular season championship and #1 seed in the NCAAT - is much less motivating than playing to achieve something for one's self - Duke playing for Senior night, to win that ACC (reg. season) championship, and the #1 seed. Not that NC won't be motivated, but I see Duke's as greater here. (BTW, I don't believe that the faded-blue players actually feel that that they need to win this one to make the NIT. Given name recognition and huge fan following, they're already in - or at least expect to be.) BTW, don't discount the motivation for the seniors of playing to break the string of four straight "Hans-travel + 4" wins in CIS.

A much better Kyle Singler. Up until about the time of Duke-NC-1 Kyle was in a slump. He enters this game surging and confident.

Greg_Newton
03-05-2010, 11:13 PM
Looks like Vegas thought it'd be good guys by 12... big line movement though, betting has pushed it to good guys by 14.5-15. Historically, that ain't a bad sign!

jws
03-06-2010, 12:27 AM
The odds are pretty heavily stacked against us, but it IS Carolina/Duke, we do still have a lot of talent and, ironically, this particular duke team is not as well equipped to take full advantage of our biggest weakness(lack of court balance, bad spacing, poor movement without the ball, bad hands, awful passing) as most duke teams of the past would have been, because you do not pressure the ball or deny passing lanes to the extent K's teams usually have.

Another of our weaknesses, lack of intensity, should not be a problem against duke...it had darned well better not be, anyway.

On the other hand, you are somewhat better equipped than usual to exploit another of our weaknesses, allowing offensive rebounds to our opponents, and we're far less able to exploit your biggest weakness, lack of overall team speed/quickness, than we usually are.

As usual, I expect it to be a great game, and I expect us to win, because it's the Carolina/Duke game, and where the Carolina/Duke game is concerned, reason and objectivity take a back seat to emotion and desire.

DevilHorns
03-06-2010, 01:14 AM
As usual, I expect it to be a great game, and I expect us to win, because it's the Carolina/Duke game, and where the Carolina/Duke game is concerned, reason and objectivity take a back seat to emotion and desire.

You're right that for Carolina/Duke emotion and desire often trump reason and objectivity.

Luckily for us, I'm sure Duke will want it more!

No Dean dome so there won't be a UNC cheerleader for Graves to high-five, maybe he'll be a little more focused on the game :p

YourLandlord
03-06-2010, 10:50 AM
Somehow this thread was nearly off the first page.

Duke is 14.5 pt favorite.

Cameron
03-06-2010, 11:23 AM
Our fans are pretty weak on Game Day right now.

Duvall
03-06-2010, 11:24 AM
Our fans are pretty weak on Game Day right now.

Who cares?

Cameron
03-06-2010, 11:29 AM
I didn't necessarily say it was that important, but it is a fact. They've been murmuring for most of the Game Day show. And, considering Game Day's hosts almost always rank the rowdiness/attendance/crazieness (if you will) of their campus visits, I find this interesting. Game Day is, after all, for the fans.

We are known as the Cameron Crazies, are we not?

Again, I didn't say it was a big deal. I just noted that it was weak. So, I guess it was me who cared, to answer your question.

moonpie23
03-06-2010, 11:38 AM
i know i don't feel like whooping it up right now.....thank goodness i've got to work all day to keep me distracted...

i'll be in it to win it tonight for sure, but i don't need any of the pre-game hoopla to get me jacked up...



focus.....9f !!!!

Cameron
03-06-2010, 11:45 AM
focus.....9f !!!!

I am, I am. I've turned to ESPNClassic and Jamison just blew a kiss to the the Crazies, mouthing, "We're busting your ***." Just in time to see us bust his.

Let's Go Duke!

TNDukeFan
03-06-2010, 11:58 AM
Next time the "Hubert Davis Hates Us" stuff starts up, can we remember that he just chose Scheyer as the best senior in the nation?...and then there was Digger, who chose...Harangody.

AdjustNation
03-06-2010, 12:01 PM
Next time the "Hubert Davis Hates Us" stuff starts up, can we remember that he just chose Scheyer as the best senior in the nation?...and then there was Digger, who chose...Harangody.

And then five minutes later he picked UNC to win/

diveonthefloor
03-06-2010, 12:02 PM
Almost laughed my arse off when ESPN producers told Hubert to pick UNC at the end of the Gameday show.... hysterical! Hubert almost started laughing himself!!!

lpd1982
03-06-2010, 12:07 PM
Unlike other Game Day attendees at other schools, ours have just spent five weeks living outside in tents, finished mid terms (in real classes) yesterday, and completed 4 personal checks last night, which means no sleep. Somehow they managed to pack the stadium, have signs, etc. Let's not start picking things apart 9 hours before tip off.

CDu
03-06-2010, 12:16 PM
I am, I am. I've turned to ESPNClassic and Jamison just blew a kiss to the the Crazies, mouthing, "We're busting your ***." Just in time to see us bust his.

Let's Go Duke!

Down 17 with under 12 minutes to go. It's impressive how late we made the run to win this game. It's also impressive to remember how much talent played in that game considering how good that UNC team was.

This game was the most fun game (or at least the most fun end to a game) that I remember seeing in person. It was also one of the most uncomfortable experiences of my life - really crowded, really hot.

Cameron
03-06-2010, 12:24 PM
Unlike other Game Day attendees at other schools, ours have just spent five weeks living outside in tents, finished mid terms (in real classes) yesterday, and completed 4 personal checks last night, which means no sleep. Somehow they managed to pack the stadium, have signs, etc. Let's not start picking things apart 9 hours before tip off.


I certainly wasn't intending to disparage Duke's students. I have the upmost respect for those kids. I wish I could have been them, in fact. I attended a great university of my own (Bowling Green State in Ohio), but Duke is Duke. I have tremendous regard for the students who are able to handle the immense pressures of that institution, and still have time to camp out in a tent for three months for a basketball game.

I was only commenting on the fact that I thought Cameron seemed quiet. It was an observation. Nothing more, nothing less. And certainly not something that was meant as a lambasting.

Cameron
03-06-2010, 12:28 PM
Down 17 with under 12 minutes to go. It's impressive how late we made the run to win this game. It's also impressive to remember how much talent played in that game considering how good that UNC team was.

This game was the most fun game (or at least the most fun end to a game) that I remember seeing in person. It was also one of the most uncomfortable experiences of my life - really crowded, really hot.

I watched this one from home, but it was certainly one of the most exciting endings to a Duke game I can ever remember. The devilish (no pun intended) look on Roshown's face after he made the go-ahead basket (the famous "Duke leads it, 77-75" Brent Musberger call) still gives me chills. We wanted blood that afternoon, and we got it.

I hope we win by 40 tonight.

RainingThrees
03-06-2010, 12:32 PM
Elton Brand was a savage, he just owned the paint late in the game. And the floor slap by Wojo!! What a comeback.

CDu
03-06-2010, 12:37 PM
I watched this one from home, but it was certainly one of the most exciting endings to a Duke game I can ever remember. The devilish (no pun intended) look on Roshown's face after he made the go-ahead basket (the famous "Duke leads it, 77-75" Brent Musberger call) still gives me chills. We wanted blood that afternoon, and we got it.

I hope we win by 40 tonight.

I had forgotten how big a monster Brand was in the second half, too, coming off the broken foot. He was just dominant from the 10 minute mark to the 5 minute mark, scoring 8 or so points and getting a bunch of big rebounds.

As for today's game, I'd love to see us blow them out. But after four years of losing this game, I just hope we get the W.

NSDukeFan
03-06-2010, 12:44 PM
As for today's game, I'd love to see us blow them out. But after four years of losing this game, I just hope we get the W.

I agree completely. Go Duke! I hope Jon, Brian, Lance and Jordan have especially great games.

CDu
03-06-2010, 12:44 PM
I will say that Cota was a phenomenal passer. Some of the passes he made in that game were great.

Hmm, 75-71 with under 3 to go. Wonder how this will turn out? :)

grossbus
03-06-2010, 12:47 PM
it is spring break, is it not? probably affecting game day "crowd," but what about the game itself.

will there be substantial crazy representation???

CDu
03-06-2010, 12:51 PM
it is spring break, is it not? probably affecting game day "crowd," but what about the game itself.

will there be substantial crazy representation???

I can't imagine we'll have trouble filling the stands for this game, spring break or no spring break.

tltgap
03-06-2010, 12:52 PM
it is spring break, is it not? probably affecting game day "crowd," but what about the game itself.

will there be substantial crazy representation???

Yes. ;)

I just had two midterms and two nights of personal checks in the last 4 days. I intend to sleep from now until 5 and then be yelling away. GTH, C...

lpd1982
03-06-2010, 12:55 PM
it is spring break, is it not? probably affecting game day "crowd," but what about the game itself.

will there be substantial crazy representation???

It is spring break, however,

The tents were full, that is 1200, the walk up line is the longest it has ever been and the true question will be....who wins, the fire marshalls or the line monitors? LMs will miss the first twenty minutes of the game (except seniors)fighting for every extra bit of space that even one or two extra students can stand in. Prediction: tonight will be epic. And exciting suprises in store.

oldnavy
03-06-2010, 12:58 PM
The odds are pretty heavily stacked against us, but it IS Carolina/Duke, we do still have a lot of talent and, ironically, this particular duke team is not as well equipped to take full advantage of our biggest weakness(lack of court balance, bad spacing, poor movement without the ball, bad hands, awful passing) as most duke teams of the past would have been, because you do not pressure the ball or deny passing lanes to the extent K's teams usually have.
Another of our weaknesses, lack of intensity, should not be a problem against duke...it had darned well better not be, anyway.

On the other hand, you are somewhat better equipped than usual to exploit another of our weaknesses, allowing offensive rebounds to our opponents, and we're far less able to exploit your biggest weakness, lack of overall team speed/quickness, than we usually are.

As usual, I expect it to be a great game, and I expect us to win, because it's the Carolina/Duke game, and where the Carolina/Duke game is concerned, reason and objectivity take a back seat to emotion and desire.

Yep you are probably correct. We will not be able to take advantage of your bad passing, poor hands, poor spacing, poor movement without the ball, double didgit turnovers, lack of outside shooting, and overall lack of team cohesivness. And of course your team has the advantage over us in the emotion and desire factors as you have demonstrated over and over this year! I agree with you, we don't have a chance!

left_hook_lacey
03-06-2010, 01:02 PM
Looks like Vegas thought it'd be good guys by 12... big line movement though, betting has pushed it to good guys by 14.5-15. Historically, that ain't a bad sign!

I think this is because of the reports that came out last night/this morning that Will Graves, Deon Thompson, and David Wear all sat out of practice yesterday.

Graves has been wearing a boot on his ankle in between games because of multiple sprains, it was swollen worse after the Miami game. He didn't practice yesterday and will be a game time decision.

Deon Thompson injured his back late in the game against Miami and went to the locker room with the trainer. He returned but was in pain. Ole Roy says that he will be a game time decision, but when Thompson was asked, he said "I"m playing no matter what."

Not sure why David Wear sat out.

If either one of those guys have to sit out, especially Thompson, this could be a 40 point loss for UNC.

Dukeface88
03-06-2010, 01:06 PM
it is spring break, is it not? probably affecting game day "crowd," but what about the game itself.

will there be substantial crazy representation???

At ESPN GameDay, the students filled not only our section, but the entire upper deck behind it (and then some). Attendance will not be an issue. I'm more worried that there might not be enough room to cheer properly.

LET'S GO DUKE

Duvall
03-06-2010, 01:07 PM
I think this is because of the reports that came out last night/this morning that Will Graves, Deon Thompson, and David Wear all sat out of practice yesterday.

Graves has been wearing a boot on his ankle in between games because of multiple sprains, it was swollen worse after the Miami game. He didn't practice yesterday and will be a game time decision.

Deon Thompson injured his back late in the game against Miami and went to the locker room with the trainer. He returned but was in pain. Ole Roy says that he will be a game time decision, but when Thompson was asked, he said "I"m playing no matter what."

Not sure why David Wear sat out.

If either one of those guys have to sit out, especially Thompson, this could be a 40 point loss for UNC.

David Wear has been out for several weeks with a torn labrum in his hip, and is expected to miss the rest of the season.

left_hook_lacey
03-06-2010, 01:13 PM
David Wear has been out for several weeks with a torn labrum in his hip, and is expected to miss the rest of the season.

My bad, it was the other one then.

slower
03-06-2010, 01:28 PM
If either one of those guys have to sit out, especially Thompson, this could be a 40 point loss for UNC.

It never ceases to amaze me that people predict 40-point victories, considering the recent non-dominating results for this team. Your optimism is staggering. I could see a 20-point victory, but don't you think 40 is a stretch?

Of course, I hope you're right!

watzone
03-06-2010, 01:38 PM
Here are a few pics from ESPN Game Day -

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=215520707925&ref=nf#!/group.php?v=photos&ref=nf&gid=215520707925

whoops! try this one - http://bluedevilnation.net/

slower
03-06-2010, 01:39 PM
I don't recall seeing any floor slaps this year. Was that just a "Paulus thing"? How cool would it be to see some floor slaps tonight? I could see Lance busting one out, and I think the place would go nuts. Regardless, I expect Lance to do something emotional to whip the crowd into a frenzy.

moonpie23
03-06-2010, 02:46 PM
anyone that predicts a blowout for EITHER team in this matchup has been talking to my friend Jose' already

CDu
03-06-2010, 02:54 PM
I don't recall seeing any floor slaps this year. Was that just a "Paulus thing"? How cool would it be to see some floor slaps tonight? I could see Lance busting one out, and I think the place would go nuts. Regardless, I expect Lance to do something emotional to whip the crowd into a frenzy.

Duhon, Wojo, Battier, and many others have done it, so it definitely wasn't a Paulus thing. I don't have a good reason as to why we haven't seen it as much this year though.

dukebballcamper90-91
03-06-2010, 03:06 PM
Kong123 I feel your pain

Dukeface88
03-06-2010, 03:09 PM
Duhon, Wojo, Battier, and many others have done it, so it definitely wasn't a Paulus thing. I don't have a good reason as to why we haven't seen it as much this year though.

K was actually asked this at the talk he gave a couple of weeks ago. He said it was largely because we don't pressure as much on D.

-bdbd
03-06-2010, 04:13 PM
Anybody know the biggest victory margin for Duke ever in this series??

While you never want to predict such a thing, as anything can happen -- heck, I hear even not-so-mid-majors like College of Charleston can even beat "top-10" teams sometimes -- but this NC@CH team's propensityt to collapse under pressure has to make you wonder if a blowout is possible tonight.

By the way, the biggest margin for the series in the "modern era" - say last 50 years - turns out to be Duke by 35 back in the 60's. Hmmm.

I just don't see K inclined to run it up that bad. Though, personally, it would sure be fun to quiet all of those imperious heels fans.


:eek:

Bob Green
03-06-2010, 04:31 PM
Anybody know the biggest victory margin for Duke ever in this series??

Duke defeated Carolina by 35 points in 1964. That is Duke's biggest margin of victory in the series.

OldPhiKap
03-06-2010, 04:33 PM
Duhon, Wojo, Battier, and many others have done it, so it definitely wasn't a Paulus thing. I don't have a good reason as to why we haven't seen it as much this year though.

. . . Dawkins, Amaker, Billy King . . . .

shoutingncu
03-06-2010, 04:35 PM
Yep you are probably correct. We will not be able to take advantage of your bad passing, poor hands, poor spacing, poor movement without the ball, double didgit turnovers, lack of outside shooting, and overall lack of team cohesivness. And of course your team has the advantage over us in the emotion and desire factors as you have demonstrated over and over this year! I agree with you, we don't have a chance!

Yes, but will you be able to capitalize on all our missed free throws?! Advantage: Heels.

OldPhiKap
03-06-2010, 04:39 PM
I have a bad feelihg about the tip-off, frankly. But our free-throw defense has been gettng better lately.

slower
03-06-2010, 05:07 PM
Duhon, Wojo, Battier, and many others have done it, so it definitely wasn't a Paulus thing. I don't have a good reason as to why we haven't seen it as much this year though.

I guess my question was whether it was an individual choice (Wojo, Paulus, etc.) to slap the floor and whether Greg was the last player to do it regularly.

But it sounds like the explanation may be that it's used to remind the players to get in good defensive position for pressure D (in other words, it has a practical application, it's not just for show) - is that a reasonable explanation?

If so, then it sounds as if the practice may return if our defensive style changes.

And I guess I just wanted to make the point that, having hardly seen any floor slaps this year, breaking one out in tonight's game would definitely get the crowd pumped.

ReformedAggie
03-06-2010, 07:25 PM
lol you think the crowd WON'T be pumped otherwise?
having said that, I love the floor slaps.

chi
03-06-2010, 08:07 PM
http://www.justin.tv/tvosports30#r=fA201eg~

Wheat/"/"/"
03-06-2010, 08:10 PM
Anyone know what happened to WHEAT.

I'm here...just barely. I've been super busy the past few weeks dealing with a swarm of killer snowbirds...and a long tournament road trip.

Game thoughts:

Duke has been playing very well. The Md loss was no big deal, there were some big time shots that fell for them at home.

This Duke team is enjoyable to watch. This is the team if you like seeing players work together. Screens, cuts, crisp passes, toughness...it's all good. There has not been any superstar play from Duke, but in a weak ACC, the good team play has been getting it done. I don't think my Duke friends are going to like the results when Duke has to play any number of the other top teams in the country tournament time, but they are the best team in the ACC.

UNC seems to finally be playing with some passion, if not with any sound execution. Don't know why it took so long, but we are not in the locker room to have any idea.

The same issues are still there for UNC, too many TO's, poor FT shooting, inability to create off the dribble in the 1/2 court. Also injuries continue to plague this years team.

All that said, UNC can win this game. But it will take a good games from Strickland, McDonald and Ginyard.

I am confident Drew will play well. I think Drew has been doing OK, with the exception of his poor foul shooting of late. His 3pt shooting is about 38% which is probably average(same as Singler, for example), and he's averaging a strong 6 assists a game with a team that dosen't shoot well, and struggles to finish around the rim. His roughly 3 TO's a game come from trying to force things, which I know he has to do to make things happen. He rarely turns it over from the dribble. He protects the ball well.

He needs some help from the wings.

Duke is too smart to leave Graves with open looks. And Graves is too slow to create them. His play is not likely to be the difference maker, unless it's a final shot situation.

Ginyard played with more quickness than I've seen from him all season in the last game. Not sure why, maybe he's getting his injuries behind him, but UNC will need him to be aggressive and finish, as well as make a few shots for him to be a key tonight.

McDonald showed some new found aggressivness the past two games too. He will also need to bring it. When these two force defenders to guard them, it opens things up inside. That has been lacking for most of the season. A solid game from these two and UNC is in it.

Strickland is the wild card. I think we will get about what we expect from Henson, Deon, Zeller and Wear. But what game will Strickland bring tonight?

Will it be the TO waiting to happen and the matador D, or will he light up the transition game and get to the rim himself? Can he break Duke down with the dribble and feed the secondary break for Zeller and Henson?

For UNC to win, Strickland and Drew have to push it up the floor and find a way to score before Duke can get set.

Defensively, it's the same as last game. Stay in front of the ball and force outside shots over a hand in the face. Don't leave a man to help the driver looking to dish it out. Duke is a smart passing team and will find the open man. Force Duke to finish inside over Henson/Deon/Zeller.

Ever the optimist...UNC by 5...McDonald surprise player of the game.

sivartrenrag
03-06-2010, 08:16 PM
Good to hear from you, Wheat, even though I wholeheartedly disagree with your prediction :D

Wheat/"/"/"
03-06-2010, 08:37 PM
Wheat/"/"/"s top ten keys to the game...in order of importance for a UNC win.

1) Limit UNC turnovers.
2) Hold Duke team outside shooting % down... 38%< good- 38%> bad
3) UNC foul shooting.Make the damn free ones.
4) Duke offensive rebounding. Don't let them do it.
5) Refs...Tight game calls + UNC...Let 'em play + Duke
6) UNC blocked shots. Own the paint.
7) Nolan's mid range game...on or off?
8) Ginyard shooting 3's?
9) Can UNC get in transition?
10) Zoubek foul trouble? Will a ref ever call the moving picks Duke sets?

riverside6
03-06-2010, 08:39 PM
live tempo-based stats for duke/unc here...

http://scacchoops.com/ViewHDGame.asp?hSchedule=3849

Starters are posted for both teams.

YourLandlord
03-06-2010, 08:45 PM
Hubert Davis just had a funny line:


"Whhuuu uh uhhh uhh whuuu uhh uh yeah."

sandinmyshoes
03-06-2010, 08:45 PM
McDonald surprise player of the game.

Your prediction is off to a bad start. I've heard that McDonald is out with a hamstring injury.

I honestly can't remember a team with as many injuries as this year's UNC team. Maybe Williams is too hard on them in practice.

Wheat/"/"/"
03-06-2010, 08:48 PM
Just found out McDonald is out with a hamstring strain at practice...the hits just keep coming this season, I really can't say I'm surprised.

YourLandlord
03-06-2010, 08:51 PM
Thank you to ESPN for showing this part -- great stuff.

K crying?

strawbs
03-06-2010, 08:58 PM
LET'S GO DUKE!!!

would love to see Jordan, LT, BIG Z, and Jon go perfect in CIS as seniors.

grad_devil
03-06-2010, 09:02 PM
K crying?

I hope the recruits in attendance see how much K loves his players. Very moving.

--grad_devil

DevilHorns
03-06-2010, 09:05 PM
Whah whah whah I've never had so many injuries whah whah its like I have a cast on my foot whah whah whah ow my back hurts whah whah whah

man up carolina. sheez. complaining to erin andrews about injuries... stop making excuses!

ps, erin andrews looks very very nice in duke blue.:cool:

mike88
03-06-2010, 09:39 PM
excellent start, especially by the 3S's, but Miles and Mason are going to have to play better defense- the last 4 minute segment was really poor defensively

strawbs
03-06-2010, 09:40 PM
ps, erin andrews looks very very nice in duke blue.:cool:

yes sir! I don't know if she's ever looked so good. ;)

Greg_Newton
03-06-2010, 09:55 PM
Best.



Half.



Ever!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

DevilHorns
03-06-2010, 09:55 PM
Man I wish I had a camcorder on Franklin St right now!

All the bars must be completely empty. Wow. Just wow!

bl33dblu3
03-06-2010, 09:55 PM
wow i say....talk about the 6th man.

how many all-americans does it take to score 30 pts in 20 mins???

moonpie23
03-06-2010, 09:57 PM
I bet K wasn't happy about that 3 at the end of the first half.


20 more minutes....

UrinalCake
03-06-2010, 09:59 PM
I almost don't want to say anything, it's like we've got a pitcher throwing a perfect game right now. Kicking I'm a real wanker for saying this.I'm a real wanker for saying this.I'm a real wanker for saying this.I'm a real wanker for saying this.I'm a real wanker for saying this. and taking names. Let's keep it going!

bl33dblu3
03-06-2010, 09:59 PM
espn guys cracking me up

Saratoga2
03-06-2010, 10:00 PM
While we are killing Carolina, the play of the Plumlees has not been good. They still need to learn to sprint back on defense. Also, our best defense is single pressure on the ball with the rest going back.

Awesome performance by Zoubek, very good by Thomas and the big three are getting it done. Scheyer is missing quite a few, but they can afford it.

Keep the pressure on and lets win by 40.

GoingFor#5
03-06-2010, 10:02 PM
You guys should check out the InsideCarolina forum....hilarious!

jv001
03-06-2010, 10:04 PM
While we are killing Carolina, the play of the Plumlees has not been good. They still need to learn to sprint back on defense. Also, our best defense is single pressure on the ball with the rest going back.

Awesome performance by Zoubek, very good by Thomas and the big three are getting it done. Scheyer is missing quite a few, but they can afford it.

Keep the pressure on and lets win by 40.

Yes, but I think Jon has 7 assists at half time. That is if the stat guys don't cheat him out of some. I like it when he's running the team and getting everyone involved. Wish he had run the team for 3 years. Go Duke!

dukebballcamper90-91
03-06-2010, 10:04 PM
will Jon ever pass the ball to Andre?

DevilHorns
03-06-2010, 10:04 PM
While we are killing Carolina, the play of the Plumlees has not been good. They still need to learn to sprint back on defense. Also, our best defense is single pressure on the ball with the rest going back.

Awesome performance by Zoubek, very good by Thomas and the big three are getting it done. Scheyer is missing quite a few, but they can afford it.

Keep the pressure on and lets win by 40.

Agreed, a little unfocused on transition D. I cant believe Ginyard had such a wide open look at the end of the half.

But all in all, how can anyone complain about this performance.

We want it more + we are flat out better = 27pts up at the half.

_Gary
03-06-2010, 10:05 PM
...but Miles and Mason are going to have to play better defense

The development, or lack thereof, of the Plumblees over the last month is the only big negative I see for Duke entering the ACC Tournament. Had both guys actually progressed, even just a little, since the last UNC game I'd feel extremely good heading into the NCAA's. I still love our team and feel like we realistically should make the Elite Eight and have a legit shot at the Final Four. But with Miles and Mason seemingly regressing over the last month (both offensively and defensively) I'm not quite as confident that we have a realistic shot at a national title. Had they come on like I had hoped, I think I'd feel differently. It's not a deal breaker or anything, but it sure would help to see those two get on track in the 2nd half of this game and the ACC Tourney.

Go Duke!

cptnflash
03-06-2010, 10:06 PM
While we are killing Carolina, the play of the Plumlees has not been good. They still need to learn to sprint back on defense. Also, our best defense is single pressure on the ball with the rest going back.

Awesome performance by Zoubek, very good by Thomas and the big three are getting it done. Scheyer is missing quite a few, but they can afford it.

Keep the pressure on and lets win by 40.

Agreed, the Plumlees have been awful so far. Only reason Miles got back in the game was Lance picking up his second foul. They both get so little out of so much raw talent. Very disappointing that they haven't made any progress since the Wake game.

We're within reach of the all time record for margin of victory in the series, which is 37 according to Gameday. Here's hoping that this turns into the most lopsided Duke/UNC game OF ALL TIME!!

Poincaré
03-06-2010, 10:10 PM
Let's keep it going! I'm lovin' it!!!!!! 9F! 9F! 9F!!!

statik73
03-06-2010, 10:11 PM
HB has got to be hating is decision.

Andre Buckner Fan
03-06-2010, 10:17 PM
Is Henson hoping that the fauxhawk will make him look taller?

strawbs
03-06-2010, 10:21 PM
nolan with the floor slap!

DevilHorns
03-06-2010, 10:22 PM
Henson with the taunt. Come on Miles, get the ball and dunk it in his face

DevilHorns
03-06-2010, 10:25 PM
Haha that was a blatant travel my kyle....

ChicagoHeel
03-06-2010, 10:28 PM
Much like the season, this is turning out far worse than I thought- and I went in pessimistic.

bl33dblu3
03-06-2010, 10:28 PM
k will hopefully take the starters out early this game. i can see the thugs on their side giving some exceptionally hard fouls

Bob Green
03-06-2010, 10:30 PM
k will hopefully take the starters out early this game. i can see the thugs on their side giving some exceptionally hard fouls

There is neither evidence of your accusation so far in this game nor a historical precedence. I do not expect any dirty play from Carolina.

UrinalCake
03-06-2010, 10:35 PM
are these announcers actually going to talk about the game at any point? Dawkins just drove for a layup over three defenders and they're rambling on about their production van

DevilHorns
03-06-2010, 10:35 PM
Henson needs to go pro. Please oh please.

Greg_Newton
03-06-2010, 10:38 PM
Currently down 3 points to 1921. We've got a nail-biter!

DevilHorns
03-06-2010, 10:39 PM
I dont understand how Dickie V can say "Roy is still coaching his heart out"

His body language for me is the exact opposite. He hasnt made any adjustments in the game. Theyre down by over 30. Whats Dickie V talking about?

gumbomoop
03-06-2010, 10:40 PM
are these announcers actually going to talk about the game at any point? Dawkins just drove for a layup over three defenders and they're rambling on about their production van

A fine drive by Andre, worthy of comment as a non-3, but DV and DS, esp with the excuse that the game's a blowout, seem to think even more than is usually the case that they need to fill up air time with ....... crap.

We simply must wait for postgame to get real analysis.

UrinalCake
03-06-2010, 10:43 PM
His body language for me is the exact opposite. He hasnt made any adjustments in the game. Theyre down by over 30. Whats Dickie V talking about?

Yes, but didn't you see him screaming loudly and waving his arms?

DevilHorns
03-06-2010, 10:45 PM
Yes, but didn't you see him screaming loudly and waving his arms?

Haha, I forgot that was Dickie V's criteria for coaching.

77devil
03-06-2010, 10:54 PM
Ever the optimist...UNC by 5...McDonald surprise player of the game.

Not quite. Bye Bye.

Wheat/"/"/"
03-06-2010, 10:58 PM
This is just a bad UNC team. No intangibles, no heart or intensity.
Don't worry about a hard foul from them, have you seen them even seen get into a pushing match or get mad all season?

DevilHorns
03-06-2010, 11:04 PM
This is just a bad UNC team. No intangibles, no heart or intensity.
Don't worry about a hard foul from them, have you seen them even seen get into a pushing match or get mad all season?

The only emotion I saw all game from UNC was Henson's taunt. One word Henson, SCOREBOARD

(also I'm sure Davidson's pick-pocket at the end of the game made him feel great)

77devil
03-06-2010, 11:08 PM
This is just a bad UNC team. No intangibles, no heart or intensity.
Don't worry about a hard foul from them, have you seen them even seen get into a pushing match or get mad all season?

Don't forget badly coached.

ChicagoHeel
03-06-2010, 11:09 PM
This is just a bad UNC team. No intangibles, no heart or intensity.


Exactly. With no disrespect intended, Duke played hard, but didn't play that great- none of the big three shot lights out and other than Zoubek you had no significant contributions from anyone else and you still won by thirty. We are just so woefully bad it's hard to comprehend.

slower
03-06-2010, 11:11 PM
Duke played hard, but didn't play that great-

Good thing - otherwise, it might have been ugly ;) (mini-Wheat)

jv001
03-06-2010, 11:12 PM
Exactly. With no disrespect intended, Duke played hard, but didn't play that great- none of the big three shot lights out and other than Zoubek you had no significant contributions from anyone else and you still won by thirty. We are just so woefully bad it's hard to comprehend.

I'm going to let a unc fan ruin this game for me. We just layed a stomping on you guys. Admit it. I have to admit that ole roy and the players were pretty gracious and showed some class. Well except henson, but he's just young. Go Duke!

Wheat/"/"/"
03-06-2010, 11:13 PM
Henson did pay hard.

It was painful to watch drew beat a man with the dribble and have nowhere to pass because every one was blanketed simply because they were standing around or just too slow.

jv001
03-06-2010, 11:15 PM
Henson did pay hard.

It was painful to watch drew beat a man with the dribble and have nowhere to pass because every one was blanketed simply because they were standing around or just too slow.

It was nice to see him throw it away and see some of his good passes get fumbled away. Agree henson played hard and is looking like an NBA first rounder. Go Duke!

ChicagoHeel
03-06-2010, 11:18 PM
I'm going to let a unc fan ruin this game for me. We just layed a stomping on you guys. Admit it. I have to admit that ole roy and the players were pretty gracious and showed some class. Well except henson, but he's just young. Go Duke!

What part of my post argued that we were not stomped? My point was that Duke played less than perfect and still stomped us.

Buzzy Duke
03-06-2010, 11:19 PM
I love this team....

jipops
03-06-2010, 11:19 PM
Henson did pay hard.

It was painful to watch drew beat a man with the dribble and have nowhere to pass because every one was blanketed simply because they were standing around or just too slow.


Hard to believe that lack of speed would actually be an issue with this Carolina crew.