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View Full Version : MBB: Duke 68, California 53 (NCAA Tournament) Post-Game Thread



Jumbo
03-21-2010, 07:27 PM
I love the Three S's. But I like these two s's even more: Sweet Sixteen!

juise
03-21-2010, 07:29 PM
Great game by Zoubs and Nolan. Kyle and Miles both had some big plays. I can't say anything else until I get over the intensity of the Purdue/A&M game.

CLW
03-21-2010, 07:29 PM
Solid win with the 3s not falling the defense and rebounding was huge. Big game from Zoubs.

AlaskanAssassin
03-21-2010, 07:30 PM
:) Let's keep it up!

COYS
03-21-2010, 07:30 PM
I love the Three S's. But I like these two s's even more: Sweet Sixteen!

Handled an underrated cal team with great great great play from our post players and smith. Best passing as a team all year. If we can get scheyer's shot on track we will be very very tough to beat. Love it!

devildownunder
03-21-2010, 07:31 PM
It's hard to imagine how the first two rounds could have gone any better for Duke. Two victories in which we were in total control throughout. Our depth and size inside is really causing teams some problems and we can beat teams with or without filling it up from outside.

What could be better? Some hot shooting from Dawkins, maybe? It's hard to find anything to complain about.

superdave
03-21-2010, 07:31 PM
We shot 24/40 inside the arc.

Zoubek was big today.

NSDukeFan
03-21-2010, 07:31 PM
A very solid win. The team did not shoot well from 3 but still defended and rebounded superbly and dominated inside. Great job. Nice double double by Zoubek. Nolan looked great, I loved his D on Randle to end the half, and he did a very solid job on Randle overall. I am very impressed with the defensive effort. I don't think Cal had enough good looks to win the game. Exciting to be headed back to the sweet 16 in a one-and-done tournament where the best team doesn't always win and didn't even make it to the sweet 16 this year.

ice-9
03-21-2010, 07:32 PM
Very impressive win.

Nolan and Singler were very, very good.

The post players stepped up and Zoubs was a beast today.

If Scheyer can only get back to where he was, this team is easily a Final Four team.

gwwilburn
03-21-2010, 07:32 PM
It's nice to see we can beat a good team with Scheyer shooting 1-11 and the team shooting 3-17 from three. However, I think that we'll need a lot of our game to be clicking if we want to succeed in the third weekend of the tournament, and quite possibly the second. (Sorry to be a negative Nancy).

DukieInBrasil
03-21-2010, 07:32 PM
Awesome win, despite a mini-run to open the 2nd half, which K shut down with a TO and 2 finishes from Z, Cal never really threatened to make a game of it after the first 5 minutes. Awesome stuff.
Great game from Z, just dominated.
Sweet game from Nolan, especially nice following his blah game in the opener.
Special congrats to Jon for reaching an impressive milestone, 2,000 pts ain't easy.

mapei
03-21-2010, 07:33 PM
Looked to me like Cal was star-crossed, missing so many bunnies. Great, great game by Zoubs, maybe his best.

BlueintheFace
03-21-2010, 07:34 PM
Theme for the tourney continues, Defense and Rebounding. Big men looking better every game.

The team played well and everybody is at a good place for a legit run except for one player.... arguably our most important one. I am starting to get very concerned.

mapei
03-21-2010, 07:34 PM
Oh- I was also glad to see Boykin play well in the loss.

arnie
03-21-2010, 07:34 PM
Team has dramatically changed since this time last year - Zoubs and the Plums give us so much. Great to win a game against a good opponent without shooting well.

Give Scheyer some rest and maybe his shot will show up next weekend. Go Purdue!

cspan37421
03-21-2010, 07:35 PM
Zoubs and Nolan were equally valuable today. Jon and Kyle both were off from the outside today; if that "reverts to the mean" we're in excellent shape.

What a dreadful way to spend the last 3 minutes of game time, though. That was ugly and boring.

SupaDave
03-21-2010, 07:35 PM
Nolan's pass to Zoubek for the dunk said a whole lot about our growth and our season to me. No way we would have seen that last year...

roywhite
03-21-2010, 07:37 PM
Looked to me like Cal was star-crossed, missing so many bunnies. Great, great game by Zoubs, maybe his best.

Well, they were looking for Duke big guys around the rim.

And I don't feel too sorry for them, since many of those in-close shots resulted from moving picks.

devildownunder
03-21-2010, 07:39 PM
Oh- I was also glad to see Boykin play well in the loss.

Same. He really seems like a good guy.

gumbomoop
03-21-2010, 07:40 PM
Theme for the tourney continues, Defense and Rebounding. Big men looking better every game.

D and rebounding, definitely. Add to those:

1. low TOs; only 4 v Cal; keep the TOs to 6-7, big +

2. hard to stop all 3-S in a game; as long as 2 of 3-S are on, we're in any game

House G
03-21-2010, 07:40 PM
Good win to get past the second round. It is nice to have a team with so many options and so much depth. So far we have been able to weather "off" shooting nights by certain players but I'm afraid we will have trouble beating the more elite teams without a 3-point game.....now I think I'll have a marguerita to celebrate the "W" and get ready for south Texas!

roywhite
03-21-2010, 07:42 PM
Coach K in postgame news conference:

teams of last couple years did not under-achieve, but were limited teams...could not play defense this team can play...this is a better team, it can play total defense, we had to rely on 3-point shots in the past...this team is not a great team, but it's better...an excellent defensive team.

House G
03-21-2010, 07:43 PM
Bring on Purdue!

hq2
03-21-2010, 07:46 PM
A tale of two halves.

Great offense in the first half; lots of balance, ball movement, good
drive and dish passes to the Plumlees, Zoubs putbacks, everything worked.
We looked stagnant most of the 2nd half on offense, (lots of missed 3s again **&**&(&() but played lock-down D when it mattered. Now why we can't play that well on both ends in both halves? We'd be final four bound for sure! MOTM - Zoubs!

Bluedevil114
03-21-2010, 07:49 PM
Man it is too bad Zoubek had all the injuries. It like we are finally seeing what this kid can do. I so wish he developed sooner. That dunk was great to see. Scoring, screens and rebounds. He is playing incredible. It is like he is a sophomore and now he is leaving. Hopefully after four more games.

GO DUKE!!

GoingFor#5
03-21-2010, 07:51 PM
Coach K in postgame news conference:

teams of last couple years did not under-achieve, but were limited teams...could not play defense this team can play...this is a better team, it can play total defense, we had to rely on 3-point shots in the past...this team is not a great team, but it's better...an excellent defensive team.

I think that sums it up. Last couple years we had so many Achilles heels...this year we don't really have one and it would take a really good opponent playing well to take us down.

sagegrouse
03-21-2010, 07:52 PM
Duke-Cal finished before the Xavier and Purdue games, even though they started earlier.


sagegrouse

Devilsfan
03-21-2010, 07:54 PM
Zoub is playing himself into a shot at the NBA.

mgtr
03-21-2010, 07:54 PM
Have we shot the 3 that badly all year? I don't think so. Our defense held up, though. We were about a 1 1/2 S team today, but Zoubs, Miles, Thomas all had great games. Glad to see Miles get his reverse slam, even if his brother did beat him to it.

IBleedBlue
03-21-2010, 07:56 PM
Now only if St.Marys could beat Baylor, we should be having the vegas lines in our favor to get to FF. I realize SMC is very dangerous sleeper team, but playing Baylor in E8 is like playing on an opponents homecourt. They will have huge home court advantage. So, I am rooting for SMC in their S16 game.

Lord Ash
03-21-2010, 07:59 PM
Great game.

This was a very interesting first round. First game we saw a lot of Ryan and Andre... almost as if K was getting them minutes so they could get the kinks out early, and almost as if K was trying to rest the Big 3... almost as if K heard people discussing how important it was for the two frosh to get minutes this year in prep for a big-time situation.

Then, second game, we saw the "bigs" get involved, involved early, and actively involved, almost as if K said 'Okay, got the frosh started, now lets get the bigs started,' almost as if K heard people discussing how important it is to get the bigs producing this year.

Next game, look for the Big 3 to step up as they complete the "Tournament Puzzle" and the whole shebang fires on all cylinders the rest of the way.





On an aside: congrats to Jamal Boykin for his career.

Loved Jamal when he was at Duke, and tonight he reminded us all why he would have been great to still have at Duke. He PLAYS like a Duke player... especially on those few "diving for it!" plays. Congrats to Jamal on a good career, sorry he wasn't on the side of right tonight... it was great to hear the "Who let Jamal out!" chant right at the end there, one last time:)

Saratoga2
03-21-2010, 07:59 PM
We had a size advantage and played excellent defense. It wasn't only our bigs that had an advantage, as Nolan also did it and used it to get his shot away. Great and consistent scoring from him, while our bigs really added wwith Zoubek at 14, Miles fpr 6. and Mason and Thomas both with 2, for 24 points from our bigs. Singler stepped it up in the second half and wound up at 17 by my count. It wasn't Scheyer's day as his shooting was ice cold. He really didn't try to go inside for some reason. I wonder what is really going on with him.

Our defense was outstanding and we need to continue that in the next rounds. I expect we will have a size advantage against Purdue as well, so our game plan can be similar to today.

Great win for the guys.

devildeac
03-21-2010, 08:02 PM
On to ZZZouston;)

Newton_14
03-21-2010, 08:11 PM
Way to go Duke! On to the Sweet Sixteen!

Great team performance! Nolan drove the bus tonight. He set the tone in the first half with great offense and great defense. And agree with the poster who said the passing in the first half was the best all year. Easy. Hands down. I love the drives by Kyle where he hit a big on the baseline. That play is there so often, really when any of The Firm drive because they draw so much attention.

The dunk off of the lob by Miles was great with a degree of difficulty of about 99 on a scale of 1 to 10 and he made it look easy. The slo-mo replay of that was awesome. Miles played a really good game today. Had the one short sequence in the 2nd half where he messed up, as he should have shot the ball from the wing with the clock running out. Other than that though, great game.

And Zoubs was a monster. Did not mean to overlook the Big Fella. He dominated and ruled the paint. The nasty dunk was long overdue!


Cognrats to Jon for reaching 2K. I was slightly worried when he got stuck on 5 there for awhile, but nice to see him put that behind him!

It's on to Houston to face Purdue!! Go Duke!

devildeac
03-21-2010, 08:13 PM
5 TO! Are you kidding me? That is really amazing. At one point, cbs flashed a stat that we had 1 TO out of our previous 43 possessions about midway throughout the 2nd half, IIRC.

jkidd31
03-21-2010, 08:13 PM
Man it is too bad Zoubek had all the injuries. It like we are finally seeing what this kid can do. I so wish he developed sooner. That dunk was great to see. Scoring, screens and rebounds. He is playing incredible. It is like he is a sophomore and now he is leaving. Hopefully after four more games.

GO DUKE!!

Zoubek with his play over the 2nd half of the season will probably result in him making money playing basketball somewhere. You can't teach 7 foot and he does the little things well.

roywhite
03-21-2010, 08:20 PM
http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=22724&SPID=1845&DB_OEM_ID=4200&ATCLID=204913208

From the boxscore (some points already noted)
Duke shot 24-40 from inside the arc
Only 5 turnovers for the game
Duke played very good defense and committed only 15 fouls
Our 11 assists were spread around; good team passing

On to Houston!

miramar
03-21-2010, 08:20 PM
Coach K in postgame news conference:

teams of last couple years did not under-achieve, but were limited teams...could not play defense this team can play...this is a better team, it can play total defense, we had to rely on 3-point shots in the past...this team is not a great team, but it's better...an excellent defensive team.

1) It seems that this year we are getting better matchups. While Purdue and (presumably) Baylor are tough teams, they don't seem to be the quick and athletic ball clubs that give Duke fits. In fact, some of the biggest threats to Duke are now gone: Kansas, Georgetown, Villanova...

2) This year's team is obviously the best rebounding team we have had in a number of years.

CDu
03-21-2010, 08:20 PM
Whew! Fantastic weekend. Obviously it was not the best shooting night for Scheyer and Singler (at least from 3 for Singler), but to win comfortably in spite of struggling so much from 3 was great.

The key to the game was whether or not we could limit Cal's 3pt shooting, dribble penetration, and fast breaks, and whether or not our bigs could dominate the boards with their size advantage. Well, we didn't completely dominate the boards, but we did fairly well. And we did a great job of challenging their shots. The only area where they did well was off the dribble, but even then they tended to make mistakes once they got in the lane.

Great game by the big guys in this one. They combined for 24 and 26, along with 3 blocks. Zoubek had one of his best games in a game where he needed to step up. But more than that, they just moved so well as a group without the ball. I can think of several buckets for Zoubek and Miles where they made nice cuts to the hoop without the ball.

Also, the passing was fantastic tonight. Thomas made a couple of terrific passes, as did Singler and others.

Tough night for Scheyer, and he continues to not look quite right out there. But I'm glad that he got to 2,000. Hopefully he can shake whatever is affecting him and give us great performances next weekend.

I'm just so glad we've won the first two-game tournament. Now, let's hopefully go out and win the second two-game tournament. That starts with Purdue.

delfrio
03-21-2010, 08:25 PM
Aargh, the bar I was at only decided to show the regular CBS feed, at least for part of the game. So I missed the Z-dunk. If a video of it pops up online, make sure to post the link please.

Newton_14
03-21-2010, 08:25 PM
I know Pomeroy showed Cal as a weak defensive team, but I thought their defense was really good for most of the game tonight. Especially on the perimeter. They defended on the ball really well on the wings, and for awhile there Singler was looking like the Kyle of early in the year that struggled driving the ball. Nolan was the only guy that was able to consistently beat his man off of the dribble drive.

Back to Zoubs, I was in the house the day that Zoubs played his Freshman Blue White game and literally destroyed Josh McBob on both ends. He had 27 points that day and multiple blocks and rebounds. I went home believing that Duke had the best big man in the ACC. Then the season started and it all went wrong. Could not buy a call from a ref. If he touched it in the post it was a walk. (A walk call that is!). Then came the injuries.

While he is nowhere near as mobile now as he was that day, he is now showing that my eyes did not lie to me that day and Zoubs has a lot of skills. Had those injuries not happened?? Who knows how good he could have been..

A shout out to Jamal Boykin. He ended up reshaping his body and his game and became a fine player who made a impact on his team. I echo the earlier comment that he played like a Duke player out there tonight.

diveonthefloor
03-21-2010, 08:30 PM
One other big key to the game was the officiating.

The refs didn't anticipate foul calls....they actually called fouls after the foul occurred. A VERY welcome development. We had NOBODY in foul trouble despite playing lights-out defense. This is probably the best all-around defensive team we've had since the championship years.

GODUKEGO
03-21-2010, 08:31 PM
Great win in so many ways, low TO'S (5), rebounding, 5 block shots, 11 assists. As the competition gets tougher, we need Jon to step up. Our 3 point shooting was 3-17 for 17.6%, well below our average of 38%. From the field 47% which is 3 percent higher than our average. If the big three can all find their range in the next four games and we play D like that, rebound and not turn the ball over, well this could be FUN!!

elvis14
03-21-2010, 08:36 PM
I'm really happy to make it out of this weekend and on to the Zweet Zixteen. We played a really solid game tonight despite one stretch of no scoring and Jon's shooting issues. In the pre-game thread, several people mentioned that Cal would be in trouble because they had not seen a defense like Duke all year. I have to say they were right and the D and rebounding made all the difference. I think someone must have noticed on film that Cal's PG wasn't a good on the ball defender or something because it was obvious from the opening tip that Nolan intended to wear him out.


Oh- I was also glad to see Boykin play well in the loss.

I couldn't agree more. I think he would have eventually been a contributor at Duke but I'm glad he found his niche at Cal and was successful.


Man it is too bad Zoubek had all the injuries. It like we are finally seeing what this kid can do. I so wish he developed sooner. That dunk was great to see. Scoring, screens and rebounds. He is playing incredible. It is like he is a sophomore and now he is leaving. Hopefully after four more games.

I feel the same way. Z has really stepped up his senior year. I love it.

Dr. Tina
03-21-2010, 08:38 PM
Great, great game by the team! I'm very encouraged by their performance in the first two rounds.

Zoubs & the Low Post Company were AWESOME! Great buckets, passing, and rebounding!!! If they can keep this kind of production and support up, we'll go a long way. Also, they were not very foul prone tonight.

Nolan was ballin bigtime! He really took advantage of his height and drove to the lane a lot. He was just hitting so many things.

Kyle was Kyle...a warrior. His shots weren't always falling, but he was working his way to the basket and getting fouled to get to the line.

Jon...2000 career pts!!!! That's awesome! However, I'm pretty concerned about him. I thought he played decent in the 1st round game, but he struggled with his shot a lot tonight. I'm not sure if he's pressing or trying too hard or what, but he hasn't been ON in the past several games. I hope...whatever it is...he'll rebound from it because we need him to be a threat when playing other teams.

NEXT PLAY....PURDUE!!!!

DukieInBrasil
03-21-2010, 08:42 PM
Zoub is playing himself into a shot at the NBA.

If Z continues to have performances of this quality on this, the largest stage the NCAA has to offer, he should get a few looks from NBA execs. He won't excel in the 1-on-1 matchings that the evaluation procedure likes to use, but he is an excellent team player who does what the team needs first. Plus he's huge, with potential to get even stronger.

GODUKEGO
03-21-2010, 08:51 PM
Jon...2000 career pts!!!! That's awesome! However, I'm pretty concerned about him. I thought he played decent in the 1st round game, but he struggled with his shot a lot tonight. I'm not sure if he's pressing or trying too hard or what, but he hasn't been ON in the past several games. I hope...whatever it is...he'll rebound from it because we need him to be a threat when playing other teams.

NEXT PLAY....PURDUE!!!!

Agree!!! If Kyle is not hitting his outside shot, he has been able to get inside or get some put backs. If Nolan is not hitting from the outside, he can penetrate. Jon does not have those abilities. He needs to step up in the next four games and shoot like we all know he can. In the last five games (ACC Tournament and two in the NCAA) he is 18-58 for 31%.

HDB
03-21-2010, 08:58 PM
It is such a breath of fresh air for Duke to be so solid on the glass. I love it!

roywhite
03-21-2010, 08:59 PM
Agree!!! If Kyle is not hitting his outside shot, he has been able to get inside or get some put backs. If Nolan is not hitting from the outside, he can penetrate. Jon does not have those abilities. We need for him to step up in the next four games. In the last five game (ACC Tournament and two in the NCAA) he is 18-58 for 31%.

Well, Jon has scored plenty on drives, sometimes with some very agile moves, but the outside shot and the drives are not currently working.

This team is good at disproving "we won't win if we don't do (fill in the blank) better the next game" statements. They find ways to win.

The need for a complete game and good overall shooting will increase as we go deeper in the tournament, but it's amazing what this team can do even if some key element or player is off.

AlaskanAssassin
03-21-2010, 09:08 PM
What do you guys think of these words from Lance? I may be over-thinking, but seems a bit too much.

"Nolan, he just dominated that matchup," Blue Devils forward Lance Thomas said. "Randle had nothing for him. He took the initiative and picked him up from three-quarters of the court and let him know it was going to be a fight all game. And Nolan knocked him out."

and

"If we defend and rebound, I think we can beat anyone," Thomas said. "I don't care who we play. If we stick to our defensive game plan, we can take anyone out."

roywhite
03-21-2010, 09:19 PM
What do you guys think of these words from Lance? I may be over-thinking, but seems a bit too much.

"Nolan, he just dominated that matchup," Blue Devils forward Lance Thomas said. "Randle had nothing for him. He took the initiative and picked him up from three-quarters of the court and let him know it was going to be a fight all game. And Nolan knocked him out."

and

"If we defend and rebound, I think we can beat anyone," Thomas said. "I don't care who we play. If we stick to our defensive game plan, we can take anyone out."

Fine with me. Go for it, Lance.

One of the major positives of this team has been the development of Lance Thomas and Brian Zoubek; honestly, these were two guys who had not been consistent in their previous years. They now know their roles and play with confidence.

Coach K made some remarks on his TV show, which I see on Saturday mornings on Fox Sports South. He said this team is good because "Brian Zoubek now has an ego" and "Lance Thomas now has an ego".

If that new confidence and ego leads to some woofing, so be it. I'm so proud of those guys and so thankful for the contributions of the senior class.

ChicagoCrazy84
03-21-2010, 09:20 PM
What do you guys think of these words from Lance? I may be over-thinking, but seems a bit too much.

"Nolan, he just dominated that matchup," Blue Devils forward Lance Thomas said. "Randle had nothing for him. He took the initiative and picked him up from three-quarters of the court and let him know it was going to be a fight all game. And Nolan knocked him out."

and

"If we defend and rebound, I think we can beat anyone," Thomas said. "I don't care who we play. If we stick to our defensive game plan, we can take anyone out."


I don't think there's anything wrong with that. He was speaking of Nolan's great game rather than Randle's lack of game.

Anyways, awesome win for us. I wasn't overly concerned about it, but it seemed like there were a lot of overly-concerned peeps on here yesterday that got me over thinking the game. Great effort overall and another beast of a game from Zoubs. I see no reason why he can't continue this against Purdue.

In regards to Scheyer struggling, there isn't anything wrong with him is there? I figured we could just chalk it up as a tough game/stretch, but some posters on here have made suggestions that there is something bothering him. It's good that they'll have the week to rest and prep. I think he'll be fine.

BlueintheFace
03-21-2010, 09:21 PM
What do you guys think of these words from Lance? I may be over-thinking, but seems a bit too much.

"Nolan, he just dominated that matchup," Blue Devils forward Lance Thomas said. "Randle had nothing for him. He took the initiative and picked him up from three-quarters of the court and let him know it was going to be a fight all game. And Nolan knocked him out."


Randle was spewing filth all game long. The things he was saying on the floor to Nolan would make a Terp blush.

AtlDuke72
03-21-2010, 09:21 PM
[

"Back to Zoubs, I was in the house the day that Zoubs played his Freshman Blue White game and literally destroyed Josh McBob on both ends. He had 27 points that day and multiple blocks and rebounds. I went home believing that Duke had the best big man in the ACC. Then the season started and it all went wrong. Could not buy a call from a ref. If he touched it in the post it was a walk. (A walk call that is!). Then came the injuries.

While he is nowhere near as mobile now as he was that day, he is now showing that my eyes did not lie to me that day and Zoubs has a lot of skills. Had those injuries not happened?? Who knows how good he could have been.."

I thought the same thing at that Blue-White game. Coach K switched the teams at half time to put McRoberts on Zoubek's team. I thought it was to spare McRoberts being embarrassed further.

Boykin was a great team player when he was at Duke. I am also glad that he had such a good year at Cal. He almost kept them in the game today.

juise
03-21-2010, 09:24 PM
Fine with me. Go for it, Lance.

One of the major positives of this team has been the development of Lance Thomas and Brian Zoubek; honestly, these were two guys who had not been consistent in their previous years. They now know their roles and play with confidence.

Coach K made some remarks on his TV show, which I see on Saturday mornings on Fox Sports South. He said this team is good because "Brian Zoubek now has an ego" and "Lance Thomas now has an ego".

If that new confidence and ego leads to some woofing, so be it. I'm so proud of those guys and so thankful for the contributions of the senior class.

I agree. I think that confidence from Lance (and Brian) will only be goodness for Duke. I think that our team would have to blatantly cross the line to provide meaningful bulletin board material for the other team. Our opponents are always pumped up to play Duke.

DevilHorns
03-21-2010, 09:25 PM
Randle was spewing filth all game long. The things he was saying on the floor to Nolan would make a Terp blush.

Were you at the game? Didn't really notice it during the game (or the camera didn't highlight it, at least)?

I do remember Nolan helping Randle up off the ground after a foul, thats about it.

miramar
03-21-2010, 09:30 PM
[

"Back to Zoubs, I was in the house the day that Zoubs played his Freshman Blue White game and literally destroyed Josh McBob on both ends. He had 27 points that day and multiple blocks and rebounds. I went home believing that Duke had the best big man in the ACC. Then the season started and it all went wrong. Could not buy a call from a ref. If he touched it in the post it was a walk. (A walk call that is!). Then came the injuries.

While he is nowhere near as mobile now as he was that day, he is now showing that my eyes did not lie to me that day and Zoubs has a lot of skills. Had those injuries not happened?? Who knows how good he could have been.."

I thought the same thing at that Blue-White game. Coach K switched the teams at half time to put McRoberts on Zoubek's team. I thought it was to spare McRoberts being embarrassed further.

Boykin was a great team player when he was at Duke. I am also glad that he had such a good year at Cal. He almost kept them in the game today.

I also saw that game, but apparently an important factor was that Zoubs hated McBob. Several undergraduates at the time told me the same thing, and also that they were convinced that was the reason he went after McBob so hard.

rsvman
03-21-2010, 09:35 PM
Awesome win.

I hope Scheyer can get back on track. I feel that if he's playing like his usual self, this team will be a very difficult out for anybody.

Troublemaker
03-21-2010, 09:35 PM
Duke played a great game and did everything it needed to do to beat Cal. Z was able to stay on the floor and dominated inside. The Plumlees provided great minutes and were sound defensively within the scheme. And the rest of the guys in combination with the bigs did a great job limiting open looks from Cal's perimeter players. I was thrilled to see Duke play so well defensively against a spread offense.

dairedevil
03-21-2010, 09:57 PM
How much more are we going to hear about Duke having the easiest bracket ? They are the only team that will be playing the highest seed in the next game. #1 Duke v. #4 Purdue
#3 Baylor v. # 10 St. Mary's
In the East, # 1 Kentucky plays #12 Cornell, and #2 WVU plays #11 Wash !!!
Okay, that may still wind up in a #1 v. #2 for the final four.

in the West, both the 1 and 2 are still alive but they will be playing the 5 & 6 seeds.

the Midwest is crazy with #2 v #6 and #5 v # 9

Just saw the strength of regions thread....probably should have posted this there. Glad to know I'm not the only one with these thoughts.

mgtr
03-21-2010, 09:57 PM
Happy to see the Plums do well -- after all, they will be our main bigs next year!

Johnboy
03-21-2010, 09:58 PM
I also saw that game, but apparently an important factor was that Zoubs hated McBob. Several undergraduates at the time told me the same thing, and also that they were convinced that was the reason he went after McBob so hard.

Can we convince Z that he hates all our other opponents this tournament? :)

Great game from Z, Smith and the whole team - excellent rebounding, tough defense and way to value the ball. I love this team!

dukelifer
03-21-2010, 10:13 PM
Excellent win by Duke.They seemed to score at will inside but tended to go away with what was working. They shot way too many threes when they did not need to. The rebounding was excellent for most of the game and Duke forced Cal to play their game. Duke exerted their will. I liked that Duke did not have to shoot lights out to win. This is a much more complete team than last year. The Plumlees both played well. Miles is much better when he sees the ball go through the hoop. Duke needs to use its size much more going forward. The interior passing was outstanding. Nolan had a very nice afternoon. . His mid-range game is really outstanding of late. If Scheyer can right his shot over the next week- Duke will be a tough out. We shall see. With all the upsets- nice to see Duke in the second weekend.

ambitiouspear
03-21-2010, 10:36 PM
A great win (heck, any win in March is great!). I loved the play of our bigs. I got a little frustrated when we were launching nothing but 3's in the second half for about 4 minutes but other that a treat to watch.

I also enjoyed seeing Jamal Boykin play. He really has developed into a very good player. 2nd Team Pac-10. Not too shabby at all. I wish him the very best in the future. He always seemed like a great person/teammate.

Greg_Newton
03-21-2010, 10:45 PM
The team played well and everybody is at a good place for a legit run except for one player.... arguably our most important one. I am starting to get very concerned.

This pretty much sums it up for me. Given that the Plumlees and Andre kind of are what they are this year, we're at a point where both individually and as a team we're playing about as good as we're going to play. That is... except for quarterback.

I'm not knocking Jon's effort at all because I believe he's playing through an injury, but in his current state he's been no better than an average ACC guard. He doesn't create advantages situations on offense anymore - he just brings the ball up, passes it before he gets with 25' of the basket, and moves off the ball in hopes of getting a jump shot (which he hasn't been hitting). Take our current team and change that "average guard" back into "all-american guard", and we've got a legitimate final four team. With no improvement, we're going to need some breaks in our favor.

BTW, Nolan did dominate the matchup with Randle (20 points and 2 assists on 50%FG to 12, 1 and 42%). And it's nice to hear Lance say that, given what happened last year against Nova - to paraphrase, after that game, Nolan said "They came and punched us in the mouth, and we were trying to figure out how to respond to their punches all game." Good to see they're conscious of how we need to be the aggressor this time around.

mike88
03-21-2010, 10:47 PM
I know Pomeroy showed Cal as a weak defensive team, but I thought their defense was really good for most of the game tonight. Especially on the perimeter. They defended on the ball really well on the wings, and for awhile there Singler was looking like the Kyle of early in the year that struggled driving the ball. Nolan was the only guy that was able to consistently beat his man off of the dribble drive.


Except that they couldn't force turnovers. We only had 5 turnovers for the game (8.6% of possessions). Our eFG was 50%, which is more than sufficient for us, given that we got shots on almost every possession. It will be very hard for anyone to beat us if we continue to avoid turnovers like today.

Classof06
03-21-2010, 11:53 PM
As a Duke fan, you really couldn't ask for any more than this team accomplished this weekend. They handled both games, start to finish, like a #1 seed ought to do. Magnificent job by the staff and players.

I said on Thursday that Duke fans would be pleasantly reminded of what it's like to finally have frontcourt depth in March, and how much that affects your chances in a tournament like this. That was exactly what happened in today's game. Duke shot 3-17 from 3 and still won the game quite comfortably. A rebound is a powerful weapon and Duke no longer lives and dies by the 3. Great day to be a Devil.

GO DUKE

bluedevil2012
03-22-2010, 12:54 AM
Would've been nice to see Andre get some more playing time, especially considering that we were up by double digits for much of the 2nd half.

Mudge
03-22-2010, 01:32 AM
I know Pomeroy showed Cal as a weak defensive team, but I thought their defense was really good for most of the game tonight. Especially on the perimeter. They defended on the ball really well on the wings, and for awhile there Singler was looking like the Kyle of early in the year that struggled driving the ball. Nolan was the only guy that was able to consistently beat his man off of the dribble drive.

Back to Zoubs, I was in the house the day that Zoubs played his Freshman Blue White game and literally destroyed Josh McBob on both ends. He had 27 points that day and multiple blocks and rebounds. I went home believing that Duke had the best big man in the ACC. Then the season started and it all went wrong. Could not buy a call from a ref. If he touched it in the post it was a walk. (A walk call that is!). Then came the injuries.

While he is nowhere near as mobile now as he was that day, he is now showing that my eyes did not lie to me that day and Zoubs has a lot of skills. Had those injuries not happened?? Who knows how good he could have been..

A shout out to Jamal Boykin. He ended up reshaping his body and his game and became a fine player who made a impact on his team. I echo the earlier comment that he played like a Duke player out there tonight.

While I don't believe Zoubek's injuries explain his lack of offensive production for the last 4 years, I have to admit, I saw that freshman year Blue-White game, and thought that Zoubek would be much better than advertised-- instead he has been as or less than advertised... don't really know (no one but him can know what he feels) how much his injuries prevent him from being able to get off the floor and use his size inside to score, but he did look like a better player as a new freshman than he has over the last 4 years.

COYS
03-22-2010, 01:46 AM
Would've been nice to see Andre get some more playing time, especially considering that we were up by double digits for much of the 2nd half.

This had to be in here somewhere, haha.

Of all the games to complain about Dre's playing time, this game is probably the worst. Dre can't run the offense and, at this point, isn't ready to handle the small, speedy guards of Cal on defense. Our defense was virtually flawless, tonight, and it made things so easy. Nolan played lights out on both sides of the ball. Scheyer's defense has been overlooked because of his poor shooting. Why upset that perfection by forcing Dre into the lineup? He'll get his chance this tournament . . . of that I am certain. But tonight wasn't the night.

bluedevil2012
03-22-2010, 02:05 AM
This had to be in here somewhere, haha.

Of all the games to complain about Dre's playing time, this game is probably the worst. Dre can't run the offense and, at this point, isn't ready to handle the small, speedy guards of Cal on defense. Our defense was virtually flawless, tonight, and it made things so easy. Nolan played lights out on both sides of the ball. Scheyer's defense has been overlooked because of his poor shooting. Why upset that perfection by forcing Dre into the lineup? He'll get his chance this tournament . . . of that I am certain. But tonight wasn't the night.
Yeah that's a fair point. It was just weird that he got put in and then was pulled out so quickly.

oldnavy
03-22-2010, 07:07 AM
For once a speedy little guard did not exert his will on us! This team plays excellent TEAM DEFENSE and that is what is going to get us to the FF if we go. We are not an offensive juggernaught, but we are able to disrupt the other teams offense just enough, and with our rebounding get second chance points that haven't been there in the recent past. I like the way we play.

Skitzle
03-22-2010, 07:35 AM
Did anyone give props to the transition D?

I think Cal made only 1 or 2 shots in transition. Our guys got back fast on missed shots and didn't allow easy buckets. This was a problem for us in very recent history. It's nice to know we've made the appropriate (effort) adjustment.

This team is Jon Scheyer's Shooting % away from making a very deep run.

NYDukie
03-22-2010, 08:18 AM
Awesome win by the team. The team excuted well on both ends, rebounded very well and received contributions all around. Being in NYC, they did go away from the game with about 12-15 minutes left so I didn't see the entire second half in order to get a full game perspective but it seems based on posters all went well afterward. The only minor concern is Scheyer having a off game again, which may lead some to panic that he is in a lata season malaise that he must get out of. I look at this way, goes to show you that they are just not a 3 player team and that others can step up, even if not pouring in 20 pts, they contribute 10,8 or whatever points here and there. And more importantly, the defense is freaking tremendous!!!! Don't get me wrong, as the tourney gets deeper, Scheyer needs to shoot a bit better but I don't necessarily think we need all three of the 3 S's to play their A game all the time to win.

Quick question, I know a lot was made our bracket but is it me or does it seem this Duke team, is flying a bit under the radar here in the tourney after the first weekend? After all the hoopla about our bracket leading up to the tourney, the Duke talk has gone away like the wind. I've read a nubmer of articles this morn and its either about UK or Syracuse (deservingly so!!) or Cornell/NI which is fair but nothing about Duke. Same goes for the TV reports. I guess boring and methodical is good!!!!! Have to admit, I kind of like it!

roywhite
03-22-2010, 08:47 AM
Quick question, I know a lot was made our bracket but is it me or does it seem this Duke team, is flying a bit under the radar here in the tourney after the first weekend? After all the hoopla about our bracket leading up to the tourney, the Duke talk has gone away like the wind. I've read a nubmer of articles this morn and its either about UK or Syracuse (deservingly so!!) or Cornell/NI which is fair but nothing about Duke. Same goes for the TV reports. I guess boring and methodical is good!!!!! Have to admit, I kind of like it!

Jim Nantz and Clark Kellogg, who called our games, realize what they are saying...a team capable of going to the Final Four and winning the championship.

Let the flashy Kentucky Kids and some others get the publicity; that's fine.

NYDukie
03-22-2010, 09:32 AM
Jim Nantz and Clark Kellogg, who called our games, realize what they are saying...a team capable of going to the Final Four and winning the championship.

Let the flashy Kentucky Kids and some others get the publicity; that's fine.

Thanks...might have missed that or it happened after they went away from the game in NYC.

Yep, no Duke news is good news for them here on out for them in my opinion.

CDu
03-22-2010, 09:49 AM
Did anyone give props to the transition D?

I think Cal made only 1 or 2 shots in transition. Our guys got back fast on missed shots and didn't allow easy buckets. This was a problem for us in very recent history. It's nice to know we've made the appropriate (effort) adjustment.

This team is Jon Scheyer's Shooting % away from making a very deep run.

It's amazing how efficient we were offensively even given Scheyer's rough shooting night. We had a 116.6 efficiency offensively, despite Scheyer missing 10 of 11 shots from the field (of which we only got one offensive rebound. If he hits two of those shots, we're in the mid 120s offensively. And that's still without a good shooting game from Scheyer.

JohnGalt
03-22-2010, 10:22 AM
It's amazing how efficient we were offensively even given Scheyer's rough shooting night. We had a 116.6 efficiency offensively, despite Scheyer missing 10 of 11 shots from the field (of which we only got one offensive rebound. If he hits two of those shots, we're in the mid 120s offensively. And that's still without a good shooting game from Scheyer.

Thus the benefit of the "Big Three." It has been criticized ad nauseam, but I've always looked at it as a positive...

JimBD
03-22-2010, 10:23 AM
Our "bigs" are so incredibly important to this team. We are winning primarily with great defense. The bigs are allowing us to pressure the perimeter because if someone drives to the basket, the bigs are playing great help defense, clogging up the middle, altering shots, and rebounding.

jdj4duke
03-22-2010, 10:27 AM
Yeah that's a fair point. It was just weird that he got put in and then was pulled out so quickly.

I was at the game about 4 rows behind the bench. I think Jon got pulled for a bit of an attitude adjustment, having missed another shot (can't recall if that was the airball or not). I think K just pulled him for a "that's ok so buck up and keep playing we need you" moment.

Also, points above about Andre being able to defend the Cal perimeter are spot on.

Another noticeable highlight throughout was the interior passing; some tremendous looks from Singler and Thomas especially. There were several instances where we looked so jammed up under and close to the basket that no escape was apparent, and then lo and behold there would be a great feed to Zoubs or one of the P's. On top of the defense, the ability to get the ball out of confusion and into scoring position seemed really to grind Cal down.

camion
03-22-2010, 10:51 AM
Our "bigs" are so incredibly important to this team. We are winning primarily with great defense. The bigs are allowing us to pressure the perimeter because if someone drives to the basket, the bigs are playing great help defense, clogging up the middle, altering shots, and rebounding.

Yes, it isn't as sexy as behind-the-head dunks, but we are succeeding in making other teams have bad games. We held each of our first two NCAA opponents at least 20 points below its season scoring average.

Oh, and we threw down a behind-the-head dunk too. :)

JohnGalt
03-22-2010, 10:55 AM
Yes, it isn't as sexy as behind-the-head dunks, but we are succeeding in making other teams have bad games. We held each of our first two NCAA opponents at least 20 points below its season scoring average.

Oh, and we've threw down a behind-the-head dunk too. :)

Miles' behind the head dunk was impressive, but not so much as the other alley-oop where he caught the pass and just laid it in. I don't think he was expecting it, but he got off the floor quickly, remained in control of his body and laid it in. These unathletic kids from Duke keep making these athletic plays look easy. The more I watch Miles, the more impressed with him I get. He should continue to get better and better as his game becomes more and more polished.

OldPhiKap
03-22-2010, 11:02 AM
Miles' behind the head dunk was impressive, but not so much as the other alley-oop where he caught the pass and just laid it in. I don't think he was expecting it, but he got off the floor quickly, remained in control of his body and laid it in. These unathletic kids from Duke keep making these athletic plays look easy. The more I watch Miles, the more impressed with him I get. He should continue to get better and better as his game becomes more and more polished.

Miles had an excellent game, as did Lance. Really, a great TEAM effort.


Re: Jon -- K said that he is pressing too hard and that's the issue on offense. I don't think it is anything more than that. He just needs to relax and have it come to him; if he was injured or fatigued he would not be playing the minutes he is. And, for those who are concerned, I would point out that Jon continues to provide great defense; great vocal leadership; and had the best assist of the night after a tip-out to Nolan. I'll take him on the floor any day, for all the time he can go -- whether he scores or not.

tbyers11
03-22-2010, 11:38 AM
I was at the game about 4 rows behind the bench. I think Jon got pulled for a bit of an attitude adjustment, having missed another shot (can't recall if that was the airball or not). I think K just pulled him for a "that's ok so buck up and keep playing we need you" moment.



I was at the game too. Andre did substitute for Jon shortly after Jon shot that airball. I watched what happened when Jon went to the bench. After Jon sat on the bench, Chris Collins got down on one knee and said a few quick words (it wasn't more than a couple of seconds) right in Jon's face. Collins then stood up, walked away and nothing else abnormal happened and Jon subbed back in for Andre about 30 seconds later.

Jon may have a bit of a back issue but after witnessing this it definitely appears that Jon's shooting and offensive issues seem to be a more on the psychological side than the physical side. That being said he is still playing great defense and I hope his shot gets on track next weekend.

Troublemaker
03-22-2010, 12:11 PM
Some pretty cool quotes from Cal about Duke's defense:

"It was shocking," said forward Jamal Boykin, who had a team-high 13 points and 11 rebounds. "Not being able to score."

"Nothing came easy," forward Theo Robertson said. "They communicated really well and each guy was able to cover multiple positions. It was by far the toughest defense we've faced."

"They did a great job at taking away what we do," Christopher said. "They denied us the ball - I couldn't even come off a screen."

JAMAL BOYKIN: Well, we've played against teams with size and competed. They just seemed to know us very well. It seems like the scouting report, they executed it to the tee, so when you have that size and length and you're executing the scouting report very well, it makes it difficult to play against.

COACH MONTGOMERY: As I said before, Duke forces you to put the ball on the floor, and we were -- the ball was in Jorge's hands and Theo's hands a lot because they were the two guys that could get open and make some penetration. But they simply were not going to let Pat catch the ball, and same thing with Jerome. So we had a difficult time.

Duvall
03-22-2010, 12:18 PM
JAMAL BOYKIN: Well, we've played against teams with size and competed. They just seemed to know us very well. It seems like the scouting report, they executed it to the tee, so when you have that size and length and you're executing the scouting report very well, it makes it difficult to play against.

If only we could get rid of some of Duke's assistants. Those guys just aren't pulling their weight.

DevilHorns
03-22-2010, 12:35 PM
Anyone have links to post-game video interviews? thanks in advance!

jdj4duke
03-22-2010, 12:37 PM
If only we could get rid of some of Duke's assistants. Those guys just aren't pulling their weight.

Johnny Dawkins, as implied by Montgomery, clearly took off his Pac 10 gear, put on a Duke alumni shirt, and shared all the deep dark secrets that he learned about Cal while losing to them twice this year. Hence, Duke's ability to administer a beat-down.

OldPhiKap
03-22-2010, 01:02 PM
Anyone have links to post-game video interviews? thanks in advance!

Tournament press conferences can be found at www.ncaa.com -- follow the link to "Postgame Centra" or somesuch -- you can get videos of all press conferences as well as game highlights.

Really, really cool. I watched more games on the internet this year than on tv -- especially when they cut away from the game last night on CBS.

juise
03-22-2010, 01:11 PM
Tournament press conferences can be found at www.ncaa.com -- follow the link to "Postgame Centra" or somesuch -- you can get videos of all press conferences as well as game highlights.

Really, really cool. I watched more games on the internet this year than on tv -- especially when they cut away from the game last night on CBS.

Great call. Here's a direct link (http://www.ncaa.com/sports/m-baskbl/champpage/inc/div1/postgamecentralmen2010.html).

jdj4duke
03-22-2010, 01:14 PM
Anyone have links to post-game video interviews? thanks in advance!

This should get you there-
http://all-access.cbssports.com/player.html?code=ncaa&media=174569

OldPhiKap
03-22-2010, 01:17 PM
Johnny Dawkins, as implied by Montgomery, clearly took off his Pac 10 gear, put on a Duke alumni shirt, and shared all the deep dark secrets that he learned about Cal while losing to them twice this year. Hence, Duke's ability to administer a beat-down.

"Cover their guards."

No offense to Mike Montgomery, but with a team our size it was pretty clear what we had to do. It's not like we had one of the best three-point defenses this year or anything.

DevilHorns
03-22-2010, 04:06 PM
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/multimedia/photo_gallery/1003/leading.off.0321/content.5.html

from the arkpb game, but still a sweet picture (see 5 of 16)

roywhite
03-22-2010, 04:11 PM
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/multimedia/photo_gallery/1003/leading.off.0321/content.5.html

from the arkpb game, but still a sweet picture (see 5 of 16)

...tossing aside mere mortals, unrestrained, ferocious...