WBB: Duke vs UConn

[wandalee]

The big match-up is tonight at 7:00 on ESPN2. Instead of us trying to break UConn's undefeated record it will be UConn trying to break ours.
We'll need a great game from everyone tonight! Storrs is a tough place to play, but we've won there before!:D

[MChambers]

The big match-up is tonight at 7:00 on ESPN2. Instead of us trying to break UConn's undefeated record it will be UConn trying to break ours.
We'll need a great game from everyone tonight! Storrs is a tough place to play, but we've won there before!:D
Hope Jessica Foley is watching.

[stillcrazie]

The big match-up is tonight at 7:00 on ESPN2. Instead of us trying to break UConn's undefeated record it will be UConn trying to break ours.
We'll need a great game from everyone tonight! Storrs is a tough place to play, but we've won there before!:D

I believe that UConn still has a 70+ home game win streak to fight for.

[Duvall]

I believe that UConn still has a 70+ home game win streak to fight for.

UConn should know better than to let Duke near another one of those streaks. It's not like they've ever beaten Duke in the state of Connecticut before.

[burnspbesq]

The big match-up is tonight at 7:00 on ESPN2. Instead of us trying to break UConn's undefeated record it will be UConn trying to break ours.
We'll need a great game from everyone tonight! Storrs is a tough place to play, but we've won there before!:D

I'm not sure we've ever played in Gampel. The Jess Foley Game was at what was then known as the Hartford Civic Center.

[CameronBornAndBred]

I'm nervous about this one, but I don't think the women will be. They have shown all year that they have nerves of steel, the seniors have done a great job of passing along that attitude to the younger players. I'm sure we'll see the same smothering D, and if we see the same offense that they have played for the last three halves, we'll be ok. If we come out slow and shooting poorly on offense..it's going to be a long night. We'll be chatting in Section 21 (http://www.dukebasketballreport.com/forums/www.crazietalk.net/ourhouse/chat).

[OZZIE4DUKE]

I'm not sure we've ever played in Gampel. The Jess Foley Game was at what was then known as the Hartford Civic Center.
We haven't. Coach P discussed that at the Blue Devil Club last week. That's one of the reasons she scheduled the game - to expose her five freshman to the loudest arena they will ever play in as freshmen. Yes, she basically said it is louder than Cameron, at least for women's games.

That there is only one undefeated team playing in this game is no surprise to anyone. That that team is Duke is a surprise to everyone! Good luck ladies! May the force be with you and my your shots be true and go in the hoop tonight! :cool:

[YourLandlord]

Well this is going well.

[msdukie]

As expected.

When you have not learned how to score, you cannot win.

[stillcrazie]

Worse than I expected thus far. Let's go, Duke!

[terrih]

I did not expect this. We can't do ANYTHING. Ugh.

2 to 23 currently with 9:36 left in 1st half.

[miramar]

1/20 vs. 11/21. Yikes!

[Kfanarmy]

This team cries for someone to teach some offense. You can have the greatest D in the world, but ultimately winner is determined by who scores the most points. Duke women in all three games I've seen this year simply don't seem to have any defined offense. Need to hire someone to complement the D....of course they aren't getting much off the D tonight either.

[stillcrazie]

This is getting harder and harder to watch. I love this team, but Coach P needs to make some adjustments. Now.

[Kfanarmy]

Not sure what her name is but the UCONN center is extremely heavy and is running down the court on offense and slamming into Duke defenders. She could be called for a push on almost every trip down the floor.

[gus]

This is getting harder and harder to watch. I love this team, but Coach P needs to make some adjustments. Now.

THis is the first women's game I've watched in a very long time. This is painful.

"So they *don't* set a record for lowest points in a half..."

ouch.

[chadlee989]

Not good at all. We did not look to be on the same level as they are.

[Mike Corey]

Coach McCallie and staff are tremendous recruiters.

Time to recruit some heart out of the team at halftime.

[Duvall]

Coach McCallie and staff are tremendous recruiters.

Time to recruit some heart out of the team at halftime.

I don't think heart is the issue here. This team has shown plenty of heart over the course of the season. But there are things you can survive in a home game against a good team that will get you embarrassed in a road game against a very good team.

[jtelander]

This team cries for someone to teach some offense. You can have the greatest D in the world, but ultimately winner is determined by who scores the most points. Duke women in all three games I've seen this year simply don't seem to have any defined offense. Need to hire someone to complement the D.....

Is there any reason to be optimistic this might happen?

[Mike Corey]

I don't think heart is the issue here. This team has shown plenty of heart over the course of the season. But there are things you can survive in a home game against a good team that will get you embarrassed in a road game against a very good team.

Over the course of the season, absolutely. Tonight? Not yet.

I bet that changes in the next 20 minutes.

[Duvall]

Is there any reason to be optimistic this might happen?

It's pretty unusual for a top five team to fire an assistant at midseason, so I would have to say no.

[jtelander]

It's pretty unusual for a top five team to fire an assistant at midseason, so I would have to say no.

I didn't mean midseason...lack of offense is a longstanding criticism/concern

[HateCarolina]

It is not looking like a good two days in the Duke vs Big East world...maybe some of our smaller unheralded sports can beat a Big East team to make us all feel a little better.

I just saw the halftime score at the half of the Louisville/G-Town game and the quote from the studio was "Undefeated Duke...yadayadayada....this would be their worst loss of the season". It seems they're referring to the butt whooping applied to us in the first half, but even if we lost by 1 point in quadruple OT it would still be our "worse loss of the season" since we're thus far undefeated. Just thought I would share this little nugget of wisdom from the ESPN studio. :eek:

[wandalee]

At least Coach P is trying something - starting Alison & Richa in the 2nd.

[stillcrazie]

Kara Lawson was beside herself with what she described as Duke's lack of heart. I agree with the poster who said that they did not think this was the issue. Duke has had plenty of heart this season, all season long. They just had that deer-in-the-headlights look the entire half, like they didn't know what hit them. Hard to believe I am watching the same 20-0 team I've been watching all season. Maybe UConn is just that much better than we are. Maybe our offensive strategy is lacking. Honestly, I have no idea.

[throatybeard]

It is not looking like a good two days in the Duke vs Big East world...maybe some of our smaller unheralded sports can beat a Big East team to make us all feel a little better.

I'm pretty sure we beat Rutgers football about two decades ago.

[MCFinARL]

Kara Lawson was beside herself with what she described as Duke's lack of heart. I agree with the poster who said that they did not think this was the issue. Duke has had plenty of heart this season, all season long. They just had that deer-in-the-headlights look the entire half, like they didn't know what hit them. Hard to believe I am watching the same 20-0 team I've been watching all season. Maybe UConn is just that much better than we are. Maybe our offensive strategy is lacking. Honestly, I have no idea.

Well, generally speaking, they are a lot better than we are--based on their play all season, not just tonight--but I think "deer in the headlights look" may be just what Kara Lawson meant when she said lack of heart--she wants them to step up and get more engaged in the game instead of being overwhelmed. There have been some flashes of that in the second half, and maybe we can build on them. At this point, if we could lose by fewer than 20, that would be a minor victory--losing by 10-15 would be a really strong second half showing.

[tieguy]

Maybe our offensive strategy is lacking.

Our offensive strategy has been lacking all season. We're 20-0 because the mediocre offense has been repeatedly bailed out by the combination of Jasmine and/or our insanely good D. It'll be good enough to get us a long way in March, and we should hang another set of conference banners, which I suppose we should be pretty happy with given how most teams would kill for that. But obviously it is very hard to beat truly elite teams like UConn and Stanford (last year) without any semblance of an organized offense, no matter how insanely great the D is.

[wandalee]

Now this is more like the team I've been watching lately. We are definitely showing more hustle.

[hurley1]

Getting drilled now.....score almost doubled up.......

[Devilsfan]

If it wasn't for a walk on's wide field goal we beat uconn a few years ago. He made it up though by having Dad give millions to the program.

[Kfanarmy]

basic offensive strategy here seems to be dribble pass dribble pass, run the shot clock down dribble some more and shoot a contested two.

[miramar]

basic offensive strategy here seems to be dribble pass dribble pass, run the shot clock down dribble some more and shoot a contested two.

Turnovers are down this year, so we actually get to that contested two.

[Kfanarmy]

Turnovers are down this year, so we actually get to that contested two. Ball handling in general doesn't seem to be a problem...a semblance of an offensive plan on the other hand....UCONN does have incredible talent, some incredibly, and routine, helpful officiating and they get the benefit everywhere they go at the moment. Mis that with the reality that if you have a better recruiting class than someone else in womens BBall you should win 9 out of 10 times. Biggest thing Coach Mc needs to learn is how to beat UCONN in recruiting.

[Duvall]

Biggest thing Coach Mc needs to learn is how to beat UCONN in recruiting.

Not the problem.

[buddy]

At some point you have to score. Our offense seems to predicated on turning the opponent over. We have no concept of half court offense. We need one.

[miramar]

Our offense seems to be predicated on turning the opponent over. We have no concept of half court offense.

7 out of the 11 players shoot under 40%.

[dukelifer]

This was a classic "the wheels fell off game". UConn was going to win this- but Duke got hit hard early and they froze up and were a bit embarrassed. It happens. This team just destroyed a team last game out (worse than this game if possible) and got destroyed themselves tonight. They will regroup and get refocused. It was hard to watch but UConn was on tonight and they are very hard to beat when they are playing well. If they play again- Duke will not be as nervous.

[stillcrazie]

At some point you have to score. Our offense seems to predicated on turning the opponent over. We have no concept of half court offense. We need one.

Yes, and it's strange that we even have to say this about something that is so basic to the game. I appreciate the transition game and pressure D, but I am not sure if you can make those things your bread and butter. They are important condiments, but you can only eat so many mustard and ketchup sandwiches before you realize there's no burger. Sorry about mixing the food metaphors.

[stillcrazie]

This was a classic "the wheels fell off game". UConn was going to win this- but Duke got hit hard early and they froze up and were a bit embarrassed. It happens. This team just destroyed a team last game out (worse than this game if possible) and got destroyed themselves tonight. They will regroup and get refocused. It was hard to watch but UConn was on tonight and they are very hard to beat when they are playing well. If they play again- Duke will not be as nervous.

I am not so sure. Their players looked bigger and stronger, they moved better with the ball, they played with poise, their shots went in. I am not sure how much progress we can make in such a short time.

[CameronBornAndBred]

Kara Lawson was beside herself with what she described as Duke's lack of heart. I agree with the poster who said that they did not think this was the issue. Duke has had plenty of heart this season, all season long. They just had that deer-in-the-headlights look the entire half, like they didn't know what hit them. Hard to believe I am watching the same 20-0 team I've been watching all season. Maybe UConn is just that much better than we are. Maybe our offensive strategy is lacking. Honestly, I have no idea.
Lawson was disgusting with her "wants the last 45 minutes of my life back" comment.

[CameronBornAndBred]

Burn the tape and forget the game, or watch it over and learn? I'm not sure there was anything to really learn from that this team isn't already aware of. Once again, horrendous offense. That's an issue they know about, UCONN merely it exposed it worse than other teams have been able to do.

[stillcrazie]

Lawson was disgusting with her "wants the last 45 minutes of my life back" comment.

I noticed she toned it down a little later. I think I am going to have a hard time appreciating her commentary from here on out.

[CameronBlue]

Lawson was disgusting with her "wants the last 45 minutes of my life back" comment.

Yes. Instead offering some reasonable analysis she resorted to snide remarks as did the game announcers a good portion of the game. I want the 15 minutes of my life back I spent listening to her halftime drivel. As a consultant I make about 85 bucks an hour. Kara, send me a twenty, we'll call it even.

[-bdbd]

Not sure what her name is but the UCONN center is extremely heavy and is running down the court on offense and slamming into Duke defenders. She could be called for a push on almost every trip down the floor.

Lots to be disgusted with in this one - the Duke squad not showing up, the announcers, the refs, Coach Geno, the crowd, etc., etc. Like someone said, "burn the tape."

I'm not sure who played more like "deer in the headlights," the Duke team or the referees. Not that it affected the outcome greatly, but it sure was demoralizing, especially early on (I thought some of the second-half calls were make-ups for a grossly uneven tally of foul calls by the refs). In the end, the disparity was "just" 21 Duke fouls, to 13 UCON fouls -- but that was only after a first half that (I'm guessing) had a very physical UCON team called for less than half as many calls as the timid Dukies. I just ran out of things to throw at the TV after repeatedly seeing Duke offensive players getting hammered, knocked to the ground, elbowed off balance and so-on, usually with no call, only to see them run down the other way after a resultantant turnover and get a ridiculous touch-call (or worse!) at the other end. Geez! The zebras seemed more initimidated by UCON and the crowd than Duke - and that's saying something!

It says a lot about Geno the man that in a game that saw his lead approaching 40, he essentially played his "six starters" the entire game, with the three stars getting 35+ minutes, and no sub beyond those first 6 logging double-digit minutes. Of course, he's not a coach who's ever been lauded for an overabundance of class.

Give UCON credit for getting over 10K fans there. And they were loud and obnoxious all the way through - continuing to pour it on even when up by 30+. Pretty brutal. They follow the lead of their coach.

Lawson is a joke as an analyst, and I seem to recall that she has a well-known ax to grind with Duke. But I thought the in-game announcers began to follow her pile-it-on-Duke lead in the second half. (Funny note: more than once those same announcers "announcing" a Duke bucket and UCON foul, only to see it called the other way and the Duke bucket taken away and the confused announcers being "countermanded" by the reffing -- see my first point above.)

But most of all, I was just fundamentally disappointed that our squad just showed so little poise and confidence in a 2-vs-3 national-TV match-up. The offense wasn't just a matter of "shots just not going down"..... b/c after the first few minutes there were long stretches of just looking totally panicked, passing to fans in the first row, dribbling around w/o an apparent plan of attack, or just throwing up wild prayers that OFTEN barely touched iron.

I sure hope that they can get some confidence back quickly, especially before the UNC game. We ARE a good team, but UCON sure seems to have our number.... But the recent great recruiting, and the growth of a pretty young team will pay dividends soon - this year or next. We'll be back.

Like I said, just burn the tape!!!!

:( :mad: :p :eek:

[stillcrazie]

If we don't come up with a better offensive game plan in the near future, you have to wonder if the recruiting is going to suffer. I know it was only one game and we are still 20-1. Let's go Duke!

[gotoguy]

Lots to be disgusted with in this one - the Duke squad not showing up, the announcers, the refs, Coach Geno, the crowd, etc., etc. Like someone said, "burn the tape."

Like I said, just burn the tape!!!!

:( :mad: :p :eek:

Here's to never forgetting!

[uh_no]

In the end, the disparity was "just" 21 Duke fouls, to 13 UCON fouls -- but that was only after a first half that (I'm guessing) had a very physical UCON team called for less than half as many calls as the timid Dukies. This is the exact same argument Duke haters make when duke gets more calls than the other team. Ucconn was bigger and faster last night. just like with our men, better teams generally end up with more calls....there is no 'rule' that says teams should be called for more fouls.
I just ran out of things to throw at the TV after repeatedly seeing Duke offensive players getting hammered, knocked to the ground, unlike the 5 times or so tiffany hayes went down hard with no foul


It says a lot about Geno the man that in a game that saw his lead approaching 40, he essentially played his "six starters" the entire game, with the three stars getting 35+ minutes, and no sub beyond those first 6 logging double-digit minutes. Of course, he's not a coach who's ever been lauded for an overabundance of class.
First of all, Uconn really only plays 6 players....ever....their starting point guard is out for the year, and their center just transferred....they start 2 freshmen and only have 7 (i think) scholarship players....what the heck is Geno supposed to do?

That said, Geno has 1 job at Uconn, and that's to win championships. In case you haven't noticed, he is exceptionally good at it. With such a limited team, he knows his starters will have to play big minutes in the tournament. In games such as this, where the opponent utterly fails to compete, Geno has to do something to ensure that his team actually benefits from the game, and pulling maya doesn't do anything (not to mention, duke did get it down to 15.....so no reason to pull the starters). Perhaps the real problem is not that Geno didn't pull maya, but that Duke couldn't field a remotely competitive team


Give UCON credit for getting over 10K fans there. And they were loud and obnoxious all the way through - continuing to pour it on even when up by 30+. Pretty brutal. They follow the lead of their coach. This is a ridiculously hypocritical piece of criticism (not the least of all because Uconn actually draws fans to their women's games) but pouring it on when up big? that sounds like exactly what the Cameron crazies would do....ESPECIALLY if someone like uconn was in the building (remember Maryland 2 years ago????? 60-20???? yeah....must be as unclassy as those uconn fans)




Lawson is a joke as an analyst, and I seem to recall that she has a well-known ax to grind with Duke. But I thought the in-game announcers began to follow her pile-it-on-Duke lead in the second half. Second rate announcing....yeah...it was pretty unprofessional.....


but UCON sure seems to have our number.... [/I]

They have everyone's number, and they exposed huge weaknesses in a Duke team that had an inflated record due to not playing the top competition

I wish the best to this Duke team, but what happened last night would likely be pittance compared to what brittany griner would do to this duke team

All in all, Uconn is very good, and duke is just another of the nameless victims of the huskies

[Lid]

This is the exact same argument Duke haters make when duke gets more calls than the other team. Ucconn was bigger and faster last night. just like with our men, better teams generally end up with more calls....there is no 'rule' that says teams should be called for more fouls.
I agree with your sentiment here. There were, IMO, quite a few odd (no-)calls last night, however. You don't typically see Karima Christmas get flung across the floor unless she's fouled. Not her style. Then again, I couldn't see the play very well because OMG THE CAMERA ANGLES WERE TERRIBLE. What was up with the constant glamour shots of the Huskies DURING GAME ACTION?


unlike the 5 times or so tiffany hayes went down hard with no foul
True, I was super-impressed with the two times her knee was apparently broken and magically re-healed within seconds. I wonder if she used the magic soccer spray? ;) In all seriousness, she had some dramatics trying to get fouls called early in the game, and I wonder if it bit her later. The refs seemed disinclined to call fouls when she was the object of the foul that they were definitely calling when her teammates were the recipients.


First of all, Uconn really only plays 6 players....ever....their starting point guard is out for the year, and their center just transferred....they start 2 freshmen and only have 7 (i think) scholarship players....what the heck is Geno supposed to do?
This is another argument that any Duke fan should be familiar with, so making it against another team seems hypocritical at best. As a partisan Devil, yes, I was irritated to see Maya in so late last night. One the one hand, you do have to dance with the one who brung you. However, I don't like seeing stars in late with Duke, either, mostly because I worry about injuries in late-game blowouts. In my mind, that is precisely the situation in which walk-ons and late bench players should be playing. If not then, when? (Unless, of course, you're trying to embarrass the other team even more than they've already embarrassed themselves. I don't know Geno personally, so I don't know if that is a motivation for him.)


Second rate announcing....yeah...it was pretty unprofessional.....
I turned off the sound pretty early in this game, and it sounds like that was the best decision I made all day.


...they exposed huge weaknesses in a Duke team that had an inflated record due to not playing the top competition.
With all due respect, you lost me here. Going into this game, Duke had the #1 SOS in the country, compared to UConn at #10. What are you talking about exactly?


All in all, Uconn is very good, and duke is just another of the nameless victims of the huskies
IMO, that was unnecessary and rude. Also, Duke should be capitalized, as any proper noun, unless your point is to be rude.

[uh_no]

With all due respect, you lost me here. Going into this game, Duke had the #1 SOS in the country, compared to UConn at #10. What are you talking about exactly?
Women's basketball is much different from mens basketball....there are a level of top teams, this year as far as I can tell there are 3, and everyone else is everyone else. You could play 100 games against teams from 10-25, win every one of them, and it would not be as impressive as being able to compete with the top elite teams. Duke had the quantity of wins against tough teams, but last night they showed they could not compete with the upper echelon. Its the old quantity vs quality argument. I think a team that plays to close losses to stanford, uconn, and baylor shows a lot more than a team that wins close games against a ton of the dukes, UNCs and whoever else (even though they have a higher quantity of those games, making a better SOS)



IMO, that was unnecessary and rude. Also, Duke should be capitalized, as any proper noun, unless your point is to be rude.
As a duke alumnus and graduate student, I think you should be careful who you are calling out as being 'rude' to the school.
I'm a uconn fan. I grew up in connecticut, I am proud of my time as much as I am proud of the duke men. I rarely capitalize duke or uconn, or names for instance

[sagegrouse]

All in all, Uconn is very good, and duke is just another of the nameless victims of the huskies

OK, you've had your victory lap -- now back to men's basketball, where we have some interests in common.

sagegrouse

[Lid]

Women's basketball is much different from mens basketball....there are a level of top teams, this year as far as I can tell there are 3, and everyone else is everyone else. You could play 100 games against teams from 10-25, win every one of them, and it would not be as impressive as being able to compete with the top elite teams. Duke had the quantity of wins against tough teams, but last night they showed they could not compete with the upper echelon. Its the old quantity vs quality argument. I think a team that plays to close losses to stanford, uconn, and baylor shows a lot more than a team that wins close games against a ton of the dukes, UNCs and whoever else (even though they have a higher quantity of those games, making a better SOS)
I see this point, and agree with it. As someone who has attended (and sweated through) a series of close wins in Cameron this year against that 2nd level of teams, I had no illusions that Duke was playing at the same level as Stanford, Baylor or UConn. I did have hope for the game last night, though, since UConn is more human this year that recent years.


As a duke alumnus and graduate student, I think you should be careful who you are calling out as being 'rude' to the school.
I'm a uconn fan. I grew up in connecticut, I am proud of my time as much as I am proud of the duke men. I rarely capitalize duke or uconn, or names for instance
I'm struggling with how to respond to this politely. I do believe it is rude and poor sportmanship to demean your opponent after you win. This is what I teach my children, and what I believe. I realize you are a UConn fan, as I have been reading your posts since you started posting here, and do not at all believe you should minimize that passion. However, I personally cannot imagine referring to a team Duke beat as "another of our nameless victims." (Let's use Michigan State this year as an example, since they had a likely-inflated ranking at the time Duke won that game. I would consider it rude to refer to them with that phrase. Clearly, YMMV.)

[Kfanarmy]

Women's basketball is much different from mens basketball....there are a level of top teams, this year as far as I can tell there are 3, and everyone else is everyone else. You could play 100 games against teams from 10-25, win every one of them, and it would not be as impressive as being able to compete with the top elite teams. Duke had the quantity of wins against tough teams, but last night they showed they could not compete with the upper echelon. Its the old quantity vs quality argument. I think a team that plays to close losses to stanford, uconn, and baylor shows a lot more than a team that wins close games against a ton of the dukes, UNCs and whoever else (even though they have a higher quantity of those games, making a better SOS)

This is baloney and you know it...if UCONN were undefeated at number one this year, I'm guessing your cutoff would have been "there is 1, and everyone else..." Were UConn number 10 it would have been "there are 10, and everyone else." You're going to define the upper echelon as wherever your team is, so I recommend just skipping attempts to appear logical and stick with being a "fan"atic of the one team you really cheer for. As you state "I'm a uconn fan. I grew up in connecticut, I am proud of my time as much as I am proud of the duke men. I rarely capitalize duke or uconn, or names for instance," you've chosen sides in WBB as UCONN and MBB as DUKE (wonder which mens team you were a fan of in 2004). Given the way your post reads. I'm guessing your a fan of whichever is dominant at the moment. In any case rubbing it in at your alma mater seems a bit foolish.

BTW I think there are about 6 teams this year who CAN beat UCONN on a neutral floor with a reasonably officiated game. I don't think most teams will get either of those.

[devildeac]

This is baloney and you know it...if UCONN were undefeated at number one this year, I'm guessing your cutoff would have been "there is 1, and everyone else..." Were UConn number 10 it would have been "there are 10, and everyone else." You're going to define the upper echelon as wherever your team is, so I recommend just skipping attempts to appear logical and stick with being a "fan"atic of the one team you really cheer for. As you state "I'm a uconn fan. I grew up in connecticut, I am proud of my time as much as I am proud of the duke men. I rarely capitalize duke or uconn, or names for instance," you've chosen sides in WBB as UCONN and MBB as DUKE (wonder which mens team you were a fan of in 2004). Given the way your post reads. I'm guessing your a fan of whichever is dominant at the moment. In any case rubbing it in at your alma mater seems a bit foolish.

BTW I think there are about 6 teams this year who CAN beat UCONN on a neutral floor with a reasonably officiated game. I don't think most teams will get either of those.
IIRC, Stanford met one of those two criteria;). I do remember the Baylor-UCon game was very close but am not sure where that was played. Connecticut?

[Duvall]

If you would like to make an argument that duke is on the same level as uconn baylor and stanford, please do so, because they have played 1 opponent of that caliber and lost by 30 something, and in their other games against top competition, they scraped out wins....elite womens teams blow those teams out.

Hard luck for Baylor then after beating Texas A&M by just 3. Guess that means we're down to two elite teams this year - that is, if a team that lost to DePaul by 20 can really be said to be elite.

Man, this is more complicated than I thought.

[-bdbd]

Here's to never forgetting!

Touche! Actually I think it was after the ACCT loss by 40+ to Ralph Sampson-led UVA circa 1983 the Coach K uttered those famous words at a post-game team dinner (in Atlanta?). Great quote Gotoguy!


This is the exact same argument Duke haters make when duke gets more calls than the other team. Ucconn was bigger and faster last night. just like with our men, better teams generally end up with more calls....there is no 'rule' that says teams should be called for more fouls. unlike the 5 times or so tiffany hayes went down hard with no foulFirst of all, Uconn really only plays 6 players....ever....their starting point guard is out for the year, and their center just transferred....they start 2 freshmen and only have 7 (i think) scholarship players....what the heck is Geno supposed to do?

I don't believe that I said ipso facto, "since we got more foul calls therefore the reffing was unfair." In the end, the evenness of the reffing is a subjective thing. But it is certainly illustrative that the team that was very clearly playing the more physical brand of BB was called for HALF as many fouls in the decisive first half. And there is just NO WAY that you could objectively look at the tape of the first half - which as a UCON fan you might enjoy doing anyway - and say the the Duke side got anythinng remotely approaching half of the close calls. In the first half it seemed like over half of Duke's shots involved physical contact from UCON. Look, UCON played a very physical brand of BB last night, and Duke didn't respond to it well, which was a big part of that blowout. But my simple (and I think fairly obvious) point is that the refs allowing that physicality, and not calling it evenly on both ends in front of a very intimidating crowd, certainly played a role in making it as one-sided as it was.



That said, Geno has 1 job at Uconn, and that's to win championships. In case you haven't noticed, he is exceptionally good at it. With such a limited team, he knows his starters will have to play big minutes in the tournament. In games such as this, where the opponent utterly fails to compete, Geno has to do something to ensure that his team actually benefits from the game, and pulling maya doesn't do anything (not to mention, duke did get it down to 15.....so no reason to pull the starters). Perhaps the real problem is not that Geno didn't pull maya, but that Duke couldn't field a remotely competitive team This is a ridiculously hypocritical piece of criticism (not the least of all because Uconn actually draws fans to their women's games) but pouring it on when up big? that sounds like exactly what the Cameron crazies would do....ESPECIALLY if someone like uconn was in the building (remember Maryland 2 years ago????? 60-20???? yeah....must be as unclassy as those uconn fans)

As for Geno refusing to play any subs in the first 35 minutes, despite being up by 36, the "we don't PLAY more than six players" excuse just doesn't fly here. There is no need for it and, frankly I'd be personally very embarrassed if my (Duke) team ever did such a thing. As for the assertion of K doing this, I challenge you to show us a game where Duke was up by 36 and where none of the subs played double-digit minutes, and most of the starters still played 35+. It doesn't happen b/c K is better than that. That said, there certainly has been the occasional game - typically with Duke's men up by 20 or so - where a couple Duke starters still sat only about ten minutes,where I (and many Duke fans) have voiced a desire to see more bench depth play. But we're usually talking about a bench with 3-4 players already getting double digit minutes anyway -- and nothing like Geno's show last night. As another poster said earlier, I don't know Geno (and rarely have paid much attention to him), but I am aware of his "cutthroat" reputation, and the anger with which many other coaches view him. My view remains unchanged - his substitution pattern last night was quite a bit less than "classy." But consistent with his rep. (BTW, coaches most certainly DO have more than "one job" at their school, and it doesn't end at simply winning games and by as much as possible!)

As for the fans, I believe I recognized them for getting 10K+ to the game. But - and I certaibly could be the exception view here - it isn't typical protocol in ACC circles for crowds to continue pouring it on in a blowout in WBB games. I think the expectation of "meanness" is a bit different for womens' games vs mens' games. But, since you bring up last year's MBB MD game - a game that involved a LOT of trash talking beforehand from Vasquez and MD - I don't recall such intense, obnoxious behavior from the Crazies once they were up by 30. In the games I've attended in recent years, when Duke gets up by a lot, the crowd still cheers of course, but the intensity gets turned down a couple notches, and the environment becomes more "festive." I mean, what's the point of that intensity, ridicule, taunting, nasty edge once you're up by 30+?? It just seems pretty petty from where I sit.


All in all, not a good weekend to be a Duke fan.... :rolleyes:

[Rudy]

Lawson was disgusting with her "wants the last 45 minutes of my life back" comment.
I didn't mind that comment. I was glad I had recorded it and could fast forward through large chunks of it once the score was 21-2. Whenever a top five pair meet and the score is that lopsided I would agree it's not worth watching. It wasn't lack of heart, though, since effort seemed to be there. Panic is more like it. Too bad.

The Duke women are probably just not a top three team. That doesn't mean they're a bad team or failures. Lace 'em up for the next game.

[Duvall]

I wish the best to this Duke team, but what happened last night would likely be pittance compared to what brittany griner would do to this duke team

That's not exactly a hypothetical scenario. Somehow I think Duke would have a chance to survive.

[GADevilFan]

I am a fan of this team, but man that was no fun to watch. There is a school of thought in basketball that I heard a coach speak of once .... put shooters on the court and teach them defense. We seem to be putting defensive players on the court, and hoping they can score. We have a good team, but we really get a few pure shooters.

[DU82]

I am a fan of this team, but man that was no fun to watch. There is a school of thought in basketball that I heard a coach speak of once .... put shooters on the court and teach them defense. We seem to be putting defensive players on the court, and hoping they can score. We have a good team, but we really get a few pure shooters.

The more offensive minded players are the freshmen, who for the most part were overwhelmed last night. Chelsea and Chloe at least looked like they were not totally intimidated. But Trisha and Haley sure looked like it (watching on TV.) Allison was her usual on offense, and looked bewildered by some of the calls against her on defense. However, the more aggressive team won the battle early, and won the calls by being that good (and us that ugly on offense.)

I bet on Monday, when we go into Carmichael and destroy the Smurfs, Sylvia will be complaining just as we are now. (Of course, based on her remarks after the loss to Maryland, she already has a track record of complaining about the opposing "football players".)

[uh_no]

I bet on Monday, when we go into Carmichael and destroy the Smurfs,

GTHC