MBB: Duke-Temple Pre-Game and In-Game thread

[sagegrouse]

The Devils host the Temple Owls Wednesday at 7PM ET (ESPN2). I am impressed with the Owls' record, but I really haven't seen them play. The Owls (21-5) have notable wins over Georgetown, Maryland, Richmond, Georgia and Seton Hall. Their losses outside the A-10 were close games with Cal, Texas A&M, and hometown rival Villanova. They are second in the A-10 to Xavier.

Like many of you, I have trouble picturing a Temple team not coached by John Chaney. I saw a lot of Fran Dunphy when he coached at UPenn (daughter was a cheerleader for the Quakers) and was the perennial Ivy League favorite. But there, he had to meld studs and students, so Temple is a different opportunity.

The Owls' scoring is balanced, and there is not a lot of size and bulk -- but most of the guards are 6-4 or taller, led by whippet-like Ramone Moore at 6-4, 180 (which probably means 170).

Questions for the Peanut Gallery have, therefore, a Duke flavor:


Will the staff figure out some way to juice the Devils for the first ten minutes? Most of us are tired of trailing almost everyone (except hapless State) at the beginning of the game.

Will this be the game where The Toe has officially healed? Surely, the first announcement will be when he suits up with the team.

Will the frontcourt continue to improve, as it has almost every week during the ACC season? Mason and Kelly are impressive, and Miles has made a few very good offensive plays in his limited minutes.

Will Andre be called on for more offense? Clearly he needs some TLC (or, alternatively, a stronger effort in practice), but we will need his lights-out shooting come tournament time.

sagegrouse

[Bob Green]

Will the frontcourt continue to improve, as it has almost every week during the ACC season? Mason and Kelly are impressive, and Miles has made a few very good offensive plays in his limited minutes.

sagegrouse

I also have not seen Temple play. Taking a look at their stats page at ESPN reveals Lavoy Allen (6'9" 225) leads the team in rebounding with 7.1 per game. He is also the 3rd leading scorer at 10.1 points per game. In their most recent victory over ST. Joseph's, Allen became the Owls' all time leader in rebounds:

http://basketball.realgm.com/wiretap/211195/Lavoy_Allen_Sets_Temple_Rebounding_Record

The DraftExpress.com scouting report (http://www.draftexpress.com/profile/Lavoy-Allen-5781/) states:


At 6'9 with a solid frame and solid length, Allen is a highly mobile and coordinated athlete, but not a very explosive one...Allen has a pretty nice set of skills, though he's very content being a cog in Temple's offense as opposed to consistently asserting himself and taking over games...Allen does the majority of his damage operating with his back to the basket, where he has a diverse arsenal of moves and a very strong feel for the game.

It sounds like Lavoy Allen will be a solid test for our front court players. I'm convinced Miles Plumlee is our best low post defender so he should see extended playing time against Temple as long as he remains out of foul trouble.

[gumbomoop]

Temple has been hit badly - badly - by injuries recently. Their starting center and 2d-leading rebounder is out for the season. And now their 2d-leading scorer is doubtful for the Duke game, perhaps longer.

http://phillysportsdaily.com/college/2011/02/21/temple-scootie-randall-has-bad-foot-status-uncertain/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+PhillySportsDaily+%28Philly+S ports+Daily%29

They were already guard-oriented, now more so. One would think we might see Kyle at the 4 a bit more Wed eve. A couple of additional questions would be: (1) Do Temple's guards get into the lane easily, and if so, how well will Duke defend this problem? (2) Will Temple be forced to shoot lots of 3s?

[Saratoga2]

It appears that Ramone Moore is Temple's #1 threat. At 6'4" he might be difficult for our guards to defend. I wonder if Nolan gets to defend him or whether it is Kyle. He is their high scorer and will likely play 40 minutes.

There is a question whether Scootie Randall can play on Wednesday. He could be tough for our back line to defend, but the recent injury may sideline him. It appears there is also a question about Juan Fernandez and his knee.

Even with their injuries, they are still winning and are well coached. This will be a good test that we have to pass if we want to be considered an elite team. With Nolan playing like a NPOY, Kyle back to his solid performance level and the growth in Mason, Ryan and Seth, we appear to be too much for them, but that is why we play the games.

[OldPhiKap]

One would think we might see Kyle at the 4 a bit more Wed eve.

Kyrie
Nolan
Seth
Kyle
Mason


Yup.

[moonpie23]

don't forget.....this is what they watch right before taking the floor...


YOU TALKING TO ME? (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=51-4sJTf7iQ)

let's don't underestimate them........duke needs to come out strong...

[MChambers]

Kyrie
Nolan
Seth
Kyle
Mason


Yup.

Only problem with this lineups is that Temple's guards are relatively tall, so our guards could get posted up. Paging Mr. Dawkins.

[OldPhiKap]

Only problem with this lineups is that Temple's guards are relatively tall, so our guards could get posted up. Paging Mr. Dawkins.

Good point. Andre will need to spell each of the four guards for two minutes each, per half, which will have him in for at least 16 minutes. Plus, Kyrie will probably play less than 20 minutes so there's extra time for him as well.

[-bdbd]

Good point. Andre will need to spell each of the four guards for two minutes each, per half, which will have him in for at least 16 minutes. Plus, Kyrie will probably play less than 20 minutes so there's extra time for him as well.

You could certainly argue that playing Kelly with Mason creates some nasty match-up issues going the other way... Or can we invision a 6'4" Temple Guard trying to guard a posting-up 6'10" Ryan Kelly?? It goes both ways of course.

No doubt that we'll see some of that mentioned line-up if KI is back (I for one am dubious - why waste his return for a non-conference game... give him another three days of rehab and come back when it is more important - at VPI or him with Clemson) :
Kyrie (I actually favor Andre here)
Nolan
Seth
Kyle
Mason

But I'd predict as more likely that we start with Nolan at PG, with Seth and Andre on the wings.

I also would expect K and staff to run a few plays early-on for Andre to get him involved from the get-go.

This Temple squad is not to be taken lightly. They are really good, and this match-up mimics a possible Sweet-16 caliber game. Let's defend that #1 ranking team!

[KyDevilinIL]

No doubt that we'll see some of that mentioned line-up if KI is back (I for one am dubious - why waste his return for a non-conference game... give him another three days of rehab and come back when it is more important - at VPI or him with Clemson)

Count me in the dubious camp as well, but the Temple game makes no more or less sense as any if he's ready to go. As long as he's healed, the sooner he can see game action the better.

[94duke]

Why is there so much discussion about starting Kyle at the "4?"
Mason and Ryan have Started the last 11 games.
Before that Miles and Ryan started a few. Mason and Miles started a few.
Actually, 2 of the 3 have started every game this year. I see no reason for the starting line-up to change against Temple. We should see 2 bigs to start the game. Size is our advantage. We should use it.

[Matches]

Count me in the dubious camp as well, but the Temple game makes no more or less sense as any if he's ready to go. As long as he's healed, the sooner he can see game action the better.

This. If he's ready to go, no reason to hold him back. Obviously that's a huge IF.

This will be a tough game, a nice non-conference test for us. Injuries or no, Temple is a quality opponent.

[ice-9]

Quality opponent? To pollsters eyes Temple is the second strongest team we will face this regular season! This is absolutely a must win - given it's at Cameron, even more so than our finale against UNC. Lose this and I think it'll be an upward battle to get a 1 seed as the loss "proves" the notion that we simply haven't beaten any one good.

[NSDukeFan]

Why is there so much discussion about starting Kyle at the "4?"
Mason and Ryan have Started the last 11 games.
Before that Miles and Ryan started a few. Mason and Miles started a few.
Actually, 2 of the 3 have started every game this year. I see no reason for the starting line-up to change against Temple. We should see 2 bigs to start the game. Size is our advantage. We should use it.

Agreed. I can't see the team changing its starting line-up against Temple, especially when all five starters played at least 27 minutes the game before. Even if Kyrie were to play (big if, but I am getting very excited at the possibility of seeing him in a Duke uniform again), he might not start at least in the beginning.

[4decadedukie]

I have seen a few Temple games this season, mostly televised but one at the Palestra. They are a VERY SOLID team (as you would expect with Fran Dunphy's experience, expertise and leadership), and we will certainly be challenged by the Owls. It would be a tremendous error for Duke (and I especially mean the Crazies) to overlook this game, in anticipation of VPI, Clemson and UNC. We will require strong fan support tomorrow night.

[MChambers]

Agreed. I can't see the team changing its starting line-up against Temple, especially when all five starters played at least 27 minutes the game before. Even if Kyrie were to play (big if, but I am getting very excited at the possibility of seeing him in a Duke uniform again), he might not start at least in the beginning.
I think we'll have the usual five starters, although I wouldn't be surprised if we used the lineup with Andre at the 4 and Kyle at the 4 quite a bit (not that Duke has positions).

I have to think that if Irving returns this year he'll come off the bench, at least at first, and quite possibly the rest of the year, like Mr. Hill did in 1992.

[OldPhiKap]

Quality opponent? To pollsters eyes Temple is the second strongest team we will face this regular season! This is absolutely a must win - given it's at Cameron, even more so than our finale against UNC. Lose this and I think it'll be an upward battle to get a 1 seed as the loss "proves" the notion that we simply haven't beaten any one good.

MSU and K-State were both top-five when we played them. But, yeah, this is a tough match.

I don't agree that a win here would mean more than beating UNC, but that's me.

[NSDukeFan]

MSU and K-State were both top-five when we played them. But, yeah, this is a tough match.

I don't agree that a win here would mean more than beating UNC, but that's me.

I have to agree that I would be much happier with a win at UNC that may clinch the regular season conference title and #1 seed in the tournament than a win at home vs. Temple. Of course, I think a win over UNC would be better than a win over Temple even if the regular season conference lead wasn't at stake.

[MChambers]

I have to agree that I would be much happier with a win at UNC that may clinch the regular season conference title and #1 seed in the tournament than a win at home vs. Temple. Of course, I think a win over UNC would be better than a win over Temple even if the regular season conference lead wasn't at stake.
I'm not going to be very happy with a loss to either Temple or UNC. The good news is that I think Duke will win both games.

[loran16]

See the Vigil thread, but basically my point is this:

Kyrie isn't back. There's no official word on the subject, nor unofficial from good sources (Watzone, Airowe). He was in street clothes for last game, and people came into the chat asking if he was dressed for the game. Of course he wasn't. His rehab is going well according to him, but that does NOT MEAN ANYTHING regarding game status other than that he hasn't been ruled out for the rest of the season.

Kyrie being back would be awesome. But if it was happening, the media would be all over it. It's not. So continue hoping that hes' back in time for the season, but don't even bother speculating. It's driving me crazy.

[Billy Dat]

I just did some searching in an attempt to read about Temple's style of play under Dunphy as I didn't remember much from when he'd come to Cameron with Penn, and the talent disparity was too glaring to make many conclusions.

Looks like they play a similar style to us - intense man-to-man (don't know about constant switching) and an un-temp offense that runs when it can and plays a motion otherwise.

For specifics on their motion style, I found the following. It may be a year or two old, but I think this is what Temple still runs.

http://coachingbetterbball.blogspot.com/2008/02/temples-3-out-2-in-motion-offense.html

"The Owls use an old school 3-out 2-in motion offense and work the ball inside and out. They try to get their bigs scores down low, and when they start drawing help, they skip it for open 3-pointers. With the 3-out 2-in, usually the emphasis is on pounding the ball down low. And the Owls do that. But when you're best scorers are your guards, you must get them the ball in a position to score, the Owls do that by drawing help in the post and skipping it for open 3-pointers, where their great scorers do most of their damage.

[Duvall]

See the Vigil thread, but basically my point is this:

Kyrie isn't back. There's no official word on the subject, nor unofficial from good sources (Watzone, Airowe). He was in street clothes for last game, and people came into the chat asking if he was dressed for the game. Of course he wasn't. His rehab is going well according to him, but that does NOT MEAN ANYTHING regarding game status other than that he hasn't been ruled out for the rest of the season.

Kyrie being back would be awesome. But if it was happening, the media would be all over it. It's not. So continue hoping that hes' back in time for the season, but don't even bother speculating. It's driving me crazy.

I don't disagree with anything else you've written here, but I'm not sure that it's true that the media will be talking about it in advance. It's entirely possible, if not probable, that the media won't know or say anything until after Duke makes an official announcement, and that is unlikely to come more than a few hours before his return, if at all.

[SCMatt33]

Just looked at the game notes on GoDuke (http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?&ATCLID=205101391&DB_OEM_ID=4200) and noticed with with a non-ACC game comes non-ACC announcers: Rece Davis and Bob Knight. This is certainly a refreshing change of pace, especially since we don't have to deal with Brent Musberger to have Knight. Those two together always end up sounding like a couple of bickering old men.

[DukieTiger]

Just looked at the game notes on GoDuke (http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?&ATCLID=205101391&DB_OEM_ID=4200) and noticed with with a non-ACC game comes non-ACC announcers: Rece Davis and Bob Knight. This is certainly a refreshing change of pace, especially since we don't have to deal with Brent Musberger to have Knight. Those two together always end up sounding like a couple of bickering old men.

I really, really, really enjoy the way the in-game conversation flows between Knight and Rece Davis. I think Davis does a really good job at asking the right questions to get some great insight from RMK on the game.

[ice-9]

I have to agree that I would be much happier with a win at UNC that may clinch the regular season conference title and #1 seed in the tournament than a win at home vs. Temple. Of course, I think a win over UNC would be better than a win over Temple even if the regular season conference lead wasn't at stake.

I agree that a UNC win would mean more than a Temple win, but at the same time a loss to Temple would hurt more than a loss to UNC.

To outsiders, we've only played one top 25 non-conference team -- St. John's -- which we lost in a bad fashion. That coupled with the perception that the ACC is terribly weak creates the view that we simply haven't played anyone good yet, that like a mid-major we are untested.

Temple would then be our next big test; a non-conference, top 25 opponent. Lose to Temple at home and it would just reinforce the notion that we are not a top tier team and our NCAA tournament seed would be duly punished. Win, and we would have our first non-conference top 25 win.

Contrast that with UNC. Even if we lose our game there, as long as we keep it close, it would be a very understandable loss on the road -- our NCAA tournament seed will hold steady. Moreover, we still have another shot at UNC in the ACC tournament to go up 2-1. Win at Temple, lose at UNC, beat everyone else and win the ACC tournament and we should still be a #1 seed.

But the Temple game is an absolute must win in terms of seeding implications.

[wilson]

Just looked at the game notes on GoDuke (http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?&ATCLID=205101391&DB_OEM_ID=4200) and noticed with with a non-ACC game comes non-ACC announcers: Rece Davis and Bob Knight. This is certainly a refreshing change of pace, especially since we don't have to deal with Brent Musberger to have Knight. Those two together always end up sounding like a couple of bickering old men.I would listen to Bob Knight pick his nose for two hours. I think he's the single best analyst in any sport on ESPN.

[UrinalCake]

To outsiders, we've only played one top 25 non-conference team -- St. John's -- which we lost in a bad fashion. That coupled with the perception that the ACC is terribly weak creates the view that we simply haven't played anyone good yet, that like a mid-major we are untested.

Yeah, but if we beat Temple and then lose to UNC then UNC would likely end up being ranked higher than Temple. Also, we would most likely end up tied for the conference lead, and by the way things currently stand would cost us the #1 seed in the ACC tournament (since we lost to FSU, who is #3 in the ACC).

There's sort of a fundamental question of whether a "good win" is worth more than a "bad loss" will cost you. If you're going to play one really good team and one really bad team, is it better to beat the good team and lose to the bad team, or vice versa? This is something the Selection Committee never seems to agree on from year to year.

[SuperTurkey]

I would listen to Bob Knight pick his nose for two hours. I think he's the single best analyst in any sport on ESPN.

Lou Holzszsz disagreeshes.

[ice-9]

Yeah, but if we beat Temple and then lose to UNC then UNC would likely end up being ranked higher than Temple. Also, we would most likely end up tied for the conference lead, and by the way things currently stand would cost us the #1 seed in the ACC tournament (since we lost to FSU, who is #3 in the ACC).

There's sort of a fundamental question of whether a "good win" is worth more than a "bad loss" will cost you. If you're going to play one really good team and one really bad team, is it better to beat the good team and lose to the bad team, or vice versa? This is something the Selection Committee never seems to agree on from year to year.

All good points, but the key difference is that with UNC we have a tiebreaker game with them in the ACC tournament. If we split the regular season games and win the tournament final in a neutral setting, nobody will question whether we are better than UNC.

Whereas if we lose to Temple, that's it, we have no other chances to show any good non-conference wins unless Michigan St or Kansas St goes on a tear in their respective conferences.

Going 1-0 vs. Temple and 2-1 vs. UNC I would argue is better for our tournament seed than 0-1 vs. Temple (at Cameron!) and 3-0 vs. UNC. With the latter, some people will just say it's proof that the ACC is really, really bad and that we couldn't do anything outside of it.

[OldPhiKap]

All good points, but the key difference is that with UNC we have a tiebreaker game with them in the ACC tournament. If we split the regular season games and win the tournament final in a neutral setting, nobody will question whether we are better than UNC.

Whereas if we lose to Temple, that's it, we have no other chances to show any good non-conference wins unless Michigan St or Kansas St goes on a tear in their respective conferences.

Going 1-0 vs. Temple and 2-1 vs. UNC I would argue is better for our tournament seed than 0-1 vs. Temple (at Cameron!) and 3-0 vs. UNC. With the latter, some people will just say it's proof that the ACC is really, really bad and that we couldn't do anything outside of it.

Do we have the tiebreaker with Carolina?

[dukelifer]

I agree that a UNC win would mean more than a Temple win, but at the same time a loss to Temple would hurt more than a loss to UNC.

To outsiders, we've only played one top 25 non-conference team -- St. John's -- which we lost in a bad fashion. That coupled with the perception that the ACC is terribly weak creates the view that we simply haven't played anyone good yet, that like a mid-major we are untested.

Temple would then be our next big test; a non-conference, top 25 opponent. Lose to Temple at home and it would just reinforce the notion that we are not a top tier team and our NCAA tournament seed would be duly punished. Win, and we would have our first non-conference top 25 win.

Contrast that with UNC. Even if we lose our game there, as long as we keep it close, it would be a very understandable loss on the road -- our NCAA tournament seed will hold steady. Moreover, we still have another shot at UNC in the ACC tournament to go up 2-1. Win at Temple, lose at UNC, beat everyone else and win the ACC tournament and we should still be a #1 seed.

But the Temple game is an absolute must win in terms of seeding implications.

What happens if Temple falls out of the top 25 because of all their injuries - would a win be viewed as the same against K-State and Mich State when they were more highly ranked.

As for seedings - a lot can happen. But it is all in Duke's control. Win out the regular season and get into the semi-finals of the ACC tourney and Duke should get a 1 seed.

[devildeac]

Do we have the tiebreaker with Carolina?

Yes. We go 2-0 with them in the regular season;).

Seriously, if we tie and are 1-1 with them and f$u finishes 3rd, they have the tie breaker, even if they lose to them in Tallahassee, as we will remain 0-1 with f$u and they would be 1-1. But, at this point, there are still WAY too many games to be played for me to analyze the multiple possibilities yet.

[UrinalCake]

I think ice-9 meant that if we lose to UNC in the regular season, we still have a chance at playing them a third time in the ACC tournament, which would allow us to avenge that loss.

[OldPhiKap]

Yes. We go 2-0 with them in the regular season;).

Seriously, if we tie and are 1-1 with them and f$u finishes 3rd, they have the tie breaker, even if they lose to them in Tallahassee, as we will remain 0-1 with f$u and they would be 1-1. But, at this point, there are still WAY too many games to be played for me to analyze the multiple possibilities yet.

Thanks, that's what I thought but too late to do the math/comparison.

Thanks too, UrinalCake. I think that was what was meant, although I think that hurts us in the "race" for a #1 seed if we are not the first seed in the tourney. Being a #2 ACC seed, and playing #1 (gulp) UNC in the tourney late Sunday, probably does not move us up to a #1 seed.

(BTW, does anyone else remember the urinal cakes with Dean Smith's image on them? Those were the days).

[ice-9]

I think ice-9 meant that if we lose to UNC in the regular season, we still have a chance at playing them a third time in the ACC tournament, which would allow us to avenge that loss.

Yep! Don't get me wrong, I would LOVE to get that win against UNC -- that would look very, very good on our resume.

I am only talking about how bad a Temple loss would be because there doesn't seem to be much energy/interest/hype for this game on DBR...and this is a big game for us. Let's get up for it DBR, Cameron Crazies, Blue Devils!!

[Saratoga2]

We have had a habit of coming out weakly. In some cases we show weak and confused defense and our offense doesn't get going for 10 minutes, in other cases the defense seems to be there but our offense runs around the perimeter and we hoist up 3 point shots, which then seems to result in a defensive letdown.

This would be a great time for our team to start strongly with in your face man to man defense, such as how Tyler plays, along with a slashing offense with the big men participating early. We probably will have an advantage inside with size and numbers, so I hope we try to exploit it. They have size advantages at the guard position and some really good scorers. We have premier defensive players with Nolan and Kyle to counter that.

It is a little unsettling to see this team have to make up for poor starts. Temple is not a team that we can give an early advantage without risking a loss. Let us see if this team is really becoming dominant from the get go or they are still weak starters.

[MarkD83]

Yes. We go 2-0 with them in the regular season;).

Seriously, if we tie and are 1-1 with them and f$u finishes 3rd, they have the tie breaker, even if they lose to them in Tallahassee, as we will remain 0-1 with f$u and they would be 1-1. But, at this point, there are still WAY too many games to be played for me to analyze the multiple possibilities yet.

One correction. If UNC loses at FSU they will have 3 conference losses and if Duke beats VT and Clemson, Duke will have only 1 conference loss. Duke would win the regular season no matter what happens in Chapel Hill.

[Indoor66]

One correction. If UNC loses at FSU they will have 3 conference losses and if Duke beats VT and Clemson, Duke will have only 1 conference loss. Duke would win the regular season no matter what happens in Chapel Hill.

That winning thing always solves these issues. :cool:

[smfree31]

As a Temple alum and huge fan maybe I can shed some light on my team.

Temple's bread and butter is their defense. They are athletic and play a very aggressive man-to-man. Depending on how much the refs let them play it could be a great matchup or a very long night for Temple fans if the refs have quick whistles.

On offense, they pass the ball around and are very unselfish and balanced. However, this is not John Chaney's offense. They will run when the opportunity is there.
The injuries do not help, and the short bench may mean they need to slow things down. Especially on the road against a tough team.
They are streaky shooters, and like most teams if they are hitting their 3's and open shots they can be very tough.

Lavoy Allen can be a monster on the boards, and Ramon Moore has come up big in big games, like 30 against Georgetown earlier this season. The injuries are piling up, but they are a very resilient and tough team.

All in all it's a good game for both teams as they get ready for the rigors of the tourney. I expect a closer game than people think.

[TNDukeFan]

. This is certainly a refreshing change of pace, especially since we don't have to deal with Brent Musberger to have Knight.

Thank God no Musberger -- and no Len Elmore for everyone to go nuts about.

[DukieInBrasil]

again, out of the gate allowing too many easy shots and shooting poorly. Mason is pressing too much, a horrible decision to dribble through the lane led to a travel and a horrendous jumphook from the FT line.

[DukieInBrasil]

Duke is getting killed in the lane, giving up multiple Oboards on the same possession. Nolan getting blocked 2x in a row.
Nice move by TT, doing his best Nolan imitation.

[grossbus]

These slow starts are maddening.

[Bluedevil114]

11 minutes and no Dawkins. Hairston gets some run along with Thornton.

[DukieInBrasil]

It looks like Wojo's fiery sideline display has energized the frontcourt, as we've started to eliminate Temple's Oboards and a little more flash on O, nice move from Kelly. We've also forced their bigs into a couple of travels.

[DukieInBrasil]

Mason has been seriously mistake prone so far, just trying too hard. And now our bigs can't do anything right, again.

[Bluedevil114]

Why are we not shooting the ball? We are trying to pound the ball in the middle and we are just turning the ball over. We need shots.

[Son of Mojo]

This is some ugly hoops being played. Mason looks clueless unless he's grabbing a rebound. A few missed chip shots could have more of a lead for us, but that's fallen in line with all the other shots that've been missed.

[DukeDiva]

Dre!!! It would certainly help if he gets rolling.

[DukieInBrasil]

just terrible shooting from the Devils. Nice to see Andre hit his 1st 3. Nice 3 from Curry to finish the half, with a lucky bounce.
If there is a silver lining to this, it's possible that Temple will expend so much energy here that their lack of depth will cause them to wear down in the 2nd half. But that's a pretty lame thing to hang your hat on though.

[moonpie23]

another clunky start.....ugh..


hopefully they will get some rhythm going in the second half.......temple doing a very good job on the boards...

[oldnavy]

We have to start being more aggressive and well, we need to get MEAN!! Mason, just let someone take the ball right out of his hands, letting guys get layups without trying to pin them, standing around pounding the ball into the court on offense... come on!!!

This team needs a passion infusion, or we will be making an early exit in the ACCT and the NCAAT. Better get it in gear SOON!

[slower]

After experiencing anger and frustration while watching the seemingly endless procession of pathetic first half performances, I've actually been able to calm down by coming to EXPECT a lame first-half effort. So I'm not too upset by tonight's first half. We'll see...

[Bluedevil114]

Much better start in the second half especially considering we were robbed on the goal tending or non goal tending call with Singler.

[DukieInBrasil]

Why can't we start games the way we play in the 2nd half? Why does it take so long for us to figure out what it takes to play our opponents? It's a great credit to coach K to be able to make such precise adjustments, but I'm wondering how is it that so many teams are able to come in to Cameron and really make us play poor basketball for the 1st half.

[oldnavy]

Much better start in the second half especially considering we were robbed on the goal tending or non goal tending call with Singler.

Agree, much better. Now we just need to keep up the intensity to the end.

[DukeGirl4ever]

Bon Knight has a man crush on Kyle Singler. Totally OT, but oh so true! :p

Kyle has played an excellent game. This is the type of game he needs to get him going. Get easy buckets in the paint. I wish he would start out most games this way - post up, get an easy bucket or get fouled. He seems to get in to the rhythm of the game better that way.

[timmy c]

Underneath the media table is a banner that states, "35 ALL-AMERICAS". Shouldn't this read 35 ALL-AMERICANS?