MBB: (ACCT Quarters) Duke 87, Maryland 71 Post-Game Thread

[pfrduke]

Survive and advance






... and let Nolan be okay, please.

[Zerogee]

Five players in double-figures, one more (Dawkins) with 9...

and none of them are named Nolan Smith.

Great balanced performance. So THAT'S where you've been hiding, Singler's shot - welcome back. Get well soon Nolan.

[Bluedevil114]

Big win tonight. The supporting cast was huge along with Kyle Singler. It was actually comical watching the team leave the court and Kyrie was trying to leave the court but was being slowed down by Nolan and his jammed toe. Ironic huh?

[g-money]

Awesome to see virtually everyone on the team step up in the face of Nolan's tough game. Kyle, Andre, Miles, Seth, Ryan, Mason: Great job!

If we can keep playing as a team like we did tonight, the sky is the limit.

[Chris Randolph]

I just stubbed my middle toe walking to get my computer... The curse has hit me now!!!!! :D

Great game by the "other" guys tonight. And Singler was dyn-o-mite!

[dukebluelemur]

Man, it was good to see Kyle working the midrange/paint. Hope he keeps it up even once his 3 is back.

[NashvilleDevil]

Score 87 points and Nolan has his worst game of the year. Loved seeing the confidence in Dre not only on offense but he was bringing it on the defensive end as well.

Get well soon Nolan and hopefully Duke can beat Va. Tech or FSU to avenge the regular season losses.

[Kishiznit]

Nice minutes from Kelly in 1st half and that is what we need from the Plumlees each night. Kyle is a baller. Get well NOLAN!! Seth and Dre are legit. It's great to be a Devil.

On a side note, I really enjoyed Cory Alexander tonight - need more of his commentary.

[dairedevil]

Nice game. Glad to see more guys involved in the scoring. 5 players in double figures - Kyle with 29 - and Dawkins was close, with 9 pts. Nolan was having somewhat of an off night before going down with the injury and only had 7.

Want to be really excited about tomorrow and an opportunity to pay back one of our losses, but it's hard without knowing the extent of Nolan's injury.

[dukelifer]

One of the better efforts by Duke this year- lots of passing- a diverse offense- the bigs all played really well- Andre was aggressive, Kyle was the man- the only bummer was Nolan's play and the now the injury. But the guys all stepped up. Maryland played well for a good portion of the game and then ran out of steam. We will see what happens tomorrow if Nolan is not back in the lineup.

[jv001]

Awesome to see virtually everyone on the team step up in the face of Nolan's tough game. Kyle, Andre, Miles, Seth, Ryan, Mason: Great job!

If we can keep playing as a team like we did tonight, the sky is the limit.

I agree we did look better offensively. Good inside out game, Seth with some great dishes, Mason the same, Ryan played a great first half and Andre looked very comfortable on offense and defense. Oh and Kyle Singler played like Kyle Singler. Well that's unfair. All that's been missing with Kyle is his shot. Go Duke!

[DMV2434]

Loved the balanced scoring and Andre looking confident again. Mason and Miles were outstanding too.

Anyone else really like Cory Alexander on Raycom/ACC Network?

[lotusland]

Kyle was the man tonight. Lots of help from almost everyone too. Seth looked comfy running the point to close it out. Dawkins and Ryan got their shot going and both Miles and Mason played BIG and with and little bit of a chip on their shoulders. Tough night for Smitty hope he's OK. Otherwise no worries tonight.

[oldnavy]

Nice game, VERY nice.. Kyle was the man, Seth was the man, Mason was the man, Miles was the man, Ryan was the man.... Andre, gets a shout out too!! Tyler did well in his limited role!! Refs sucked! But it was a great game.

I though Nolan had probably the worst game of the year for him, but hey he is allowed that after what he has done for us. It is super sad if he is hurt badly, but how cool was it that we went on an 11-0 run without him!!

Dread tomorrow's game no matter who we play... both are VERY physical, I just hope we escape uninjured!!

[DukeBlueNV]

For those looking for a couple of toe updates, News14 Carolina has the post game press confrence live. Should start in a few mins. MD at the podium now.

[dukelifer]

Loved the balanced scoring and Andre looking confident again. Mason and Miles were outstanding too.

Anyone else really like Cory Alexander on Raycom/ACC Network?

The Plumlees were both outstanding tonight. Best game by Miles in a long time.

[lotusland]

Loved the balanced scoring and Andre looking confident again. Mason and Miles were outstanding too.

Anyone else really like Cory Alexander on Raycom/ACC Network?

Yep first time I've heard him and I thought he was solid.

[ajgoodfella7]

The Plumlees were both outstanding tonight. Best game by Miles in a long time.

Agreed. If we can get production like this from here on out, we will be in good shape.

[SCMatt33]

That may have been the best team offensive performance of the year, considering we didn't get much of anything from Nolan. The Plumlee's crashed the offensive boards, Curry was able to get to the bucket. Dawkins had a few nice plays. Ryan took smart shots. Kyle took over.

Probably the most impressive thing to me was Ryan because he did the smart thing in the first half. His shots against Carolina weren't "bad shots" in a vacuum, but he passed up easier shots to take three's. Today he set himself up inside the arc to get a rhythm, and drove when the lane was wide open. Only then did he step out and take the three. I really want to give the whole team MOTM because that was great execution.

[SMO]

I agree we did look better offensively. Good inside out game, Seth with some great dishes, Mason the same, Ryan played a great first half and Andre looked very comfortable on offense and defense. Oh and Kyle Singler played like Kyle Singler. Well that's unfair. All that's been missing with Kyle is his shot. Go Duke!

2 things stood out for me:

1. More movement on offense, including what I thought was added freedom for Mason (handling the ball farther from the basket, taking people off the dribble)
2. Better team play at both ends. You could actually hear a lot of the talk on defense which I'm sure was due in part to the relatively quiet arena, but at least we know it was happening.

[M B Walker]

Anyone else really like Cory Alexander on Raycom/ACC Network?

I don't think I had ever heard him do the color before, but he was excellent. Really impressed by his knowledge and his even-handed commentary. He even talked about the game. Wish ESPN would hire him.

[jv001]

The Plumlees were both outstanding tonight. Best game by Miles in a long time.

except in the post game. He said that a toe injury is not that bad and the trainers can do wonders with that injury. He evidently hasn't seen the Kyrie Toe thread. Go Duke!
that was suppose to be n response to the Cory Alexander post. Sorry. Go Duke!

[hurley1]

Score 87 points and Nolan has his worst game of the year. Loved seeing the confidence in Dre not only on offense but he was bringing it on the defensive end as well.

Get well soon Nolan and hopefully Duke can beat Va. Tech or FSU to avenge the regular season losses.

i am a big dawkins fan too.....i want to see him do well, and he did very well tonight.....man, he has a beautiful shot......

[Aditya]

Yep first time I've heard him and I thought he was solid.

I also thought he did a solid job. I was thinking about muting my TV before the game, but I'm glad I did not.

[simmias]

K not sure about Nolan's status, won't know until the morning, concerned that he wasn't able to return to the game.

[Saratoga2]

Tournament games are never easy so it was good to see Dukie come out and be competitive from the word go. Singler was on and he started us off well. It continued throughout the game with player after player contributing. Nolan had his worst game this year with his handle, his decision making and his shooting off. Who know why, but the team played better tonight when he went out. His toe doesn't sound serious and I expect Nolan to be the same great player as he was for the entire year until this game. We need him to play his best to move on in the tournaments.

Observations:
1. Singler was great getting inside, making shots, getting rebounds, playing defense and hitting from the line. His three point shooting and that of Nolan was 0-8. He is better sticking with the game that was working.

2. Kelly's mid range game was great in the first half. Both Plumlees did very well tonight but I was surprised Kelly didn't see much PT in the second half. Maybe coach K feels his rebounding isn't as good as the Plumlees.

3. Both Plumlees had stellar games, providing scoring, rebounding and defensive pressure. Also Mason provides a reliable outlet for our in bounds play.

4. Curry started off slow but was instrumental in the win, particularly with Nolan not having his usual good game and then going out with a toe issue. Curry handled the ball well and was able to get inside and score or get fouled. Excellent game for him.

5. Andre had a very good game. His 2 made threes with one more in and out was a good showing from 3 point land. His drive and 1 was also beautiful. He also played decent defense and got a couple of important rebounds. You could see he enjoyed the moments in the game. Hope it leads to more time going forward.

All in all a good game with a lot of players contributing. We should learn from this game and it may be helpful in tournament play going forward.

[CDu]

Congrats to Singler for passing Gminski tonight! The 3pt shot is still off for him but it was nice to see him show his scoring versatility.

Great game from pretty much everyone but Smith and Thornton tonight. Thank goodness the depth showed up tonight.

I hope Smith is okay. We won't go far without him.

But it was a strong performance tonight. I'm very pleased with the team's play. It's good to get the first day out of the way!

[Kishiznit]

I also thought he did a solid job. I was thinking about muting my TV before the game, but I'm glad I did not.

Big fan already of Cory Alexander....enjoyed watching him and Junior Burrough play back in the day. He dropped some Oak Hill knowledge as well but was smooth throughout the game's entirety.

[PallasAthena]

On a side note, I really enjoyed Cory Alexander tonight - need more of his commentary.

Cory Alexander was VERY good. He added great basketball insights. Dealt with the irrelevancies and errors of his broadcast partner with class and humor.

[DukeDevilDeb]

Nice minutes from Kelly in 1st half and that is what we need from the Plumlees each night. Kyle is a baller. Get well NOLAN!! Seth and Dre are legit. It's great to be a Devil.

On a side note, I really enjoyed Cory Alexander tonight - need more of his commentary.

Ryan was brilliant in the first half, doing exactly what I hoped he would--hitting 2s before even trying a 3.

But why wasn't he in during the second half?

Great game, everyone! Even before Nolan got hurt, the other guys really stepped up. Mason with 5 assists! I LOVE IT!!!

[FellowTraveler]

Pending Nolan's status, this was either the most satisfying Duke win in quite a while, or the most devastating.

Focusing on the positives for now:

Good things happen when Mason Plumlee touches the ball. 4-5 shooting, 5 assists (could easily have been 6 had a Dawkins three that was halfway down not found a way out of the hoop.) And 2-3 of those assists were of the jaw-dropping variety. Mason’s playmaking is just a tremendous asset.

Andre hit a couple of threes, could easily have hit a third (see above), played solid defense … he also made his first two-point shot since January 30 against St. Johns, and his first FT since Feb 2 against Maryland.

Ryan went 5-5 by taking good shots -- a couple of mid-range jumpers, a dunk off a drive-and-dish, a driving layup off a pump-fake from the perimeter, and a wide-open three off a great pass from Mason.

Kyle shot 10-15 -- 10-11 from inside the arc.

8 (!) offensive rebounds for Miles.

Duke made only 20 percent of their threes, but won -- in large part because they were 3-15 from outside rather than 6-30.

I could pick a few nits, but there was a lot to like about this game, and to build on going forward. I’d like to see them get the ball to Mason even more in upcoming games.

[mr. synellinden]

Ryan was brilliant in the first half, doing exactly what I hoped he would--hitting 2s before even trying a 3.

But why wasn't he in during the second half?



Kelly sparked our offense at the end of the first half - looked very confident and comfortable doing so. Why didn't he play in the second half? Did he even get off the bench?

[pfrduke]

Kelly sparked our offense at the end of the first half - looked very confident and comfortable doing so. Why didn't he play in the second half? Did he even get off the bench?

He was on the court during the entirety of Maryland's 8-0 early second half run, and then he stayed on the bench the rest of the game.

[Bluedevil114]

Kelly sparked our offense at the end of the first half - looked very confident and comfortable doing so. Why didn't he play in the second half? Did he even get off the bench?

He was very good on the offense but his defense was lacking and only had two rebounds. Miles and Mason were killing on the boards. Miles on the offensive boards and Mason on the defensive boards.

[lotusland]

Ryan was brilliant in the first half, doing exactly what I hoped he would--hitting 2s before even trying a 3.

But why wasn't he in during the second half?

Hard to say except that the MPs were playing well and giving us some needed toughness. Also Kyle slid down to the 4 to give us another ball handler. having Kyle handle the ball against MD's 4 was a good call. You could hear K yelling "dribble" to Kyle once just before he got fouled and went to the line there at the end.

Also can't say enough about what a great job Kyle did in-bounding the ball against the press tonight. He used the whole baseline, kept his poise and got it to the right guy almost every time without a 5-second violation. Pretty good considering his low BB IQ;)

[RockyMtDevil]

Sans Nolan, we really looked like a well oiled machine tonight. I liked the passion from our bench guys and there was a shared feeling of "us" out there tonight, just just Kyle/Nolan and then everyone else. This was a great team win and should boost confidance in Kelly, Andre, Mason and Miles. Really proud of our boys and proud of Maryland forcing us to play so well in order to win.

We were focused, sharp and tough.

[Dr. Tina]

We played light years better than UNC did in their game today. Miami pissed that one away!

[Saratoga2]

He was on the court during the entirety of Maryland's 8-0 early second half run, and then he stayed on the bench the rest of the game.

I really don't think the 8-0 run was Ryan's fault as implied by this. In truth, I thought Nolan had more to do with their run and Ryan.

[pfrduke]

I really don't think the 8-0 run was Ryan's fault as implied by this. In truth, I thought Nolan had more to do with their run and Ryan.

Wasn't implying fault - just identifying when he was on the court.

[Teton Jack]

Offensively, I thought this was a very solid performance. Balanced scoring from people who don't always score consistently and some really nice passing (Mason) and rebounding (both Plumlees and Singler). Glad to see that Kyle didn't push the three like he has the past few games. Defense didn't always seem intense until near the end when Smith was out. Hope the solid play continues tomorrow.

[Reddevil]

Ryan was brilliant in the first half, doing exactly what I hoped he would--hitting 2s before even trying a 3.

But why wasn't he in during the second half?



To me it looked like Maryland's quickness was causing problems. I remember thinking that they could do what St. John's did if Duke didn't settle down. This is my guess at why Kelly was not utilized much in the 2nd half.

Man both teams were playing SO hard though. The scrum for the ball on the floor when Kyle got the ball and Mason called a TO really summed up the kind of game it was. Gary got 'em to play for 40 minutes, but so did K. The intensity was at times astonishing.

[roywhite]

Official Boxscore (https://www.nmnathletics.com//pdf8/746652.pdf?ATCLID=205114125&SPSID=22724&SPID=1845&DB_OEM_ID=4200)

Great scoring balance, and good games by many.

Two stand out in particular:
Mason 38 minutes 4-5 FG 11 rebs 10 pts 5 asst 1 block 1 steal
Kyle with 29 pts and 9 rebounds.

Gotta say, Kyle, there's one stat area that doesn't fit with the others
10-11 FG from 2-pt range
9-9 FT
9 rebounds
0-4 3-pt

Fine with me if he limits shots from beyond the arc.

[DukeDevilDeb]

Official Boxscore (https://www.nmnathletics.com//pdf8/746652.pdf?ATCLID=205114125&SPSID=22724&SPID=1845&DB_OEM_ID=4200)

Great scoring balance, and good games by many.

Two stand out in particular:
Mason 38 minutes 4-5 FG 11 rebs 10 pts 5 asst 1 block 1 steal
Kyle with 29 pts and 9 rebounds.

Gotta say, Kyle, there's one stat area that doesn't fit with the others
10-11 FG from 2-pt range
9-9 FT
9 rebounds
0-4 3-pt

Fine with me if he limits shots from beyond the arc.

Kyle said in his postgame comments that he knew that, although his 2 and his free throws were falling, he still missed all of his 3s. He also said that he would keep on shooting them and he would guarantee that soon they would be back!

[delfrio]

Mason was great in this game, despite the one fall-away jump shot. Great awareness as evidenced by the 5 assists and really bringing down the rebounds early. I love that the Plumlees aren't making the silly mistakes, although they could stay in front of the people they're guarding a bit better. Way to keep stepping up!

[Duke79UNLV77]

very good balanced game on the offensive end for everyone but nolan, who is entitled to an off game every month or two. some defensive lapses, but it tightened up the last 10 minutes. dawkins seems more spirited. if we can get/stay healthy, we could be coming together.

[Vincetaylor]

Best team effort post-Kyrie. Great performance.

[fowlerdukeman]

I'm glad we finally played a well balanced game without having to rely so much on perimeter shooting. That will kill us in the Big Dance, Hopefully Nolan is alright and will play Saturday. Encouraging signs for Kyrie. Singler did fantastic along with Curry. But the thing that impressed me the most was the Plumlee bros showing some athleticism. Tomorrow will be big! Let's continue on that road to a repeat on both championships, ACC and NCAA. Go Duke!

[sporthenry]

Have to like what you saw tonight. That is why K is a great coach. I thought we'd see Duke turn on the March switch eithe against Va. Tech or UNC but this team appears to be hitting on most cylinders. I like how he got Nolan some rest early and it seemed the offensive gameplan involved getting everyone involved.

But as mentioned, Kyle's outside shot appears to be a bit off still and I think that makes him the complete threat as there will be a game where he will need to hit his outside shots.

[fowlerdukeman]

How many times have they won by two this year? Today had to be pure luck. Roy doesn't even compare to Coach K.

[sagegrouse]

The Plumlees were both outstanding tonight. Best game by Miles in a long time.

One measure of Miles's effectiveness is that Ryan Kelly, he of the 5-5 shooting and 11 points in the first half, was kept on the bench in the second half. Miles grabbed eight -- EIGHT -- offensive rebounds.

sagegrouse

[ncexnyc]

This appears to be what they call a bittersweet moment. A fantastic game from start to finish, probably the most complete game by this team all year. Unfortunately we have the spectre of another serious toe injury hanging over our collective heads.

Kyle had an exceptional game and stepped up when we needed it most. Keep taking it to the hole and getting to the charity stripe big guy. Leave the 3's for Seth and Dre.

Seth has had some really nice games this year, but this was probably his most complete game all year. He did all of the things we had heard him capable of during. If it comes down to it, I have confidence that he can run the point at a very high level.

Alert Air Defense Command. We had a long range bomber sighting tonight in Greensboro. Welcome back Dre. The kid had his stroke going and he was really bringing it on the defensive end of the court as well.

Miles played like the elder brother tonight. He continues to hit that short jumper and brings much needed bulk and toughness to this team.

Mason showed some flashes of superior talent tonight. It's games like this one that helps you understand why he is so highly touted.

Ryan had a great bounce back game from last Saturday's disaster. I'd say his only issue is holding his position in the post on the defensive end and I believe that is why Miles and Mason got the bulk of the minutes in the second half.

Tyler was Mr. Agressive tonight. Took it to the hole a couple of times and played his trademark in your face D.

I like our chances no matter what tomorrow. Tech will be on their third game in three days and they're already shorthanded.

[Kedsy]

But the thing that impressed me the most was the Plumlee bros showing some athleticism.

Did you think they were lacking athleticism before?

[oldnavy]

One measure of Miles's effectiveness is that Ryan Kelly, he of the 5-5 shooting and 11 points in the first half, was kept on the bench in the second half. Miles grabbed eight -- EIGHT -- offensive rebounds.

sagegrouse

I totally agree. I wouldn't necessarily look at Ryan not getting much PT in the second half as a reflection on him as much as K saw something going on and put the best five he had on the court. That is one of the things that he does so well, sees the game and makes personnel and strategy calls in the game... Miles was being a beast and Mason was showing a side of himself we haven't seen much of as well.

However, Ryan was a big part of this win for us tonight. His first half was critical!!

[Saratoga2]

Nolan is a great player and has been throughout the year. Tonight the Maryland team really went after him and he had one of his worst games in memory, also going out with a potentially serious injury.

That said, it appeared that the team was somehow empowered by Nolan being off/out, as they all picked up the slack for him. Duke had more balance tonight than at any other time this year. Lots of contributors playing together with few of the one-on-one moves we have become accustomed to. Sure Kyle and Seth did at times, but it wasn't the offensive theme.

Quick turnaround for the next game, but that is also true for VT, only they have played more minutes (games) than our team.

[Indoor66]

I thought our interior defense was the best I have seen all year. We did a great job on Jordan Williams. We kept him away from the ball, kept him off the boards and generally made his day lousy.

[wilson]

...he thing that impressed me the most was the Plumlee bros showing some athleticism.


Did you think they were lacking athleticism before?Well, I guess now we're "even more athletic than people don't think we are."

[mapei]

Re: Plumlees' athleticism: the raw talent has always been there, but last night it was more refined and effective.

[gw67]

That was a fun game to watch and one that was much closer than the final score would imply. My post prior to last night's game is repeated below:

"I expect the Devils to play very well tonight coming off the loss to UNC. I expect Singler to have another terrific game against the Terps. He is a matchup nightmare for them. The 6-3 Mosley simply cannot guard him and they may try the bigger Palsson on him for a while. Relying on a 6-6 inexperienced freshman against a 6-8 skilled, experienced and physical player is not a recipe for success on their part. The Terps have also made supporting players (McDonald of UNC; Brown of Miami; and Zelinski of UVA) look like All Americans in recent games. Therefore, I expect Curry and/or Kelly to have a big game. Since they played the Devils 12 or 13 games ago, Stoglin has taken a bigger role in the offense, the team foul shooting has improved (e.g. Williams is shooting 74% for last 13 games) and the team defense is not nearly as good. At this point in time, I expect Duke to win by double figures."

Singler came through like I expected. Maryland simply has no one who matches up with him and as a result he plays with great confidence. Supporting players Kelly and Curry (late in the game) had terrific games. I thought that Duke's size and help defense also played major roles. Williams was battling three big men the entire game and the Terps perimeter players were seldom able to get free even when they got past the player guarding them. Overall, I thought that the Devils played a very good game.

From the Maryland perspective, I thought that this game reminded me of several early season games (Pitt, Illinois, BC, Temple, NOVA) where Maryland played very well for 30-35 minutes and simply was not able to get over the hump. In addition, they reverted to their early season foul shooting woes. There were some good performances. Williams got 16 points and 16 rebounds although he often was battling two bigger players and one player roughly his size (He is closer to 6-8 than 6-10). Bowie and Tucker played very well against Smith holding him to 2-11 shooting and causing him to make 5 turnovers.

gw67

[mgtr]

One measure of Miles's effectiveness is that Ryan Kelly, he of the 5-5 shooting and 11 points in the first half, was kept on the bench in the second half. Miles grabbed eight -- EIGHT -- offensive rebounds.

sagegrouse

I was impressed by Miles tonight. Now, if he could get a few offensive putbacks from those rebounds, we might even see an upside down "Marry Me, Miles" sign!

[UrinalCake]

Seth looked great out there at the point, not only the plays he made but his body language and calmng influence once Nolan went out. I noticed we had him bring the ball down the court several times even while Nolan was still in there. Perhaps we knew Maryland's defense would focus on Nolan and so we tried to keep the ball out of his hands until we got into the half court

Tyler didn't have a very good game, I thought he was trying to do a little too much on both ends of the court. Fortunately his mistakes didn't end up hurting us too much. Great game overall.

[dyedwab]

1. Mason was great - probably his best floor game of the year. The most important stat - 38 minutes. Which means he was being effective on both ends of the floor, and he wasn't committing one or two silly fouls that force him to the bench. This was especially key because Jordan Williams is really good - and had a good game. Mason's passing was excellent, and Cory Alexander focused immediately on Mason's heads up call of the timeout during Kyle's scrum on the floor.

2. Seth took over when Nolan went down - that was an excellent show of leadership. And, I've noticed in the past few games that Seth has good on-court repoire with both Mason and Andre - getting them the ball where they can get good shots.

3. Miles and Ryan gave us important minutes on both ends of the floor - which helped mitigate the MD defense that was set up to and did an effective job containing Nolan.

[sagegrouse]

I was impressed by Miles tonight. Now, if he could get a few offensive putbacks from those rebounds, we might even see an upside down "Marry Me, Miles" sign!

I agree that Miles was beginning to channel Zoubek. Do you think a beard would put him over the top?

sagegrouse

[Dr. Tina]

Towards the end of the game, there appeared to be some jawing between Duke and MD players. I think Kyle and Seth both said something to them, but Seth seemed to be a bit more reluctant to let it go. I loved the way Mason hooked his arm around Seth's neck and dragged him into the middle of their Duke huddle to prevent him from saying or doing anything stupid. It may be small, but I thought Mason's move to rein Seth in showed a lot of maturity and leadership.

[Ping Lin]

I totally agree. I wouldn't necessarily look at Ryan not getting much PT in the second half as a reflection on him as much as K saw something going on and put the best five he had on the court. That is one of the things that he does so well, sees the game and makes personnel and strategy calls in the game... Miles was being a beast and Mason was showing a side of himself we haven't seen much of as well.

However, Ryan was a big part of this win for us tonight. His first half was critical!!

I feel bad for criticizing Ryan since this was such a solid win, but I imagine one reason that K didn't play him in the second half as much was not only Miles' rebounding prowess, but the fact that Miles was playing better defense.

Several times in the first half, Ryan would overplay on screens -- not a problem, except through lack of communication, lack of quickness, or whatever, he never rotated back to his man (Dino Gregory I think?), leaving him consistently wide open on jumpers near the top of the key. I literally balled my hands into fists whenever Kelly was screened during the first half because of this. Perhaps, of course, it was K's intention to leave that shot for Gregory, but it seems unlikely to me.

Regardless, this isn't to take away from Miles, whose aggressive demeanor in the second half was a welcome sight. I would imagine that we'll see another dose of double Plumlee to start the VT game.

[NSDukeFan]

(good points)...

Also can't say enough about what a great job Kyle did in-bounding the ball against the press tonight. He used the whole baseline, kept his poise and got it to the right guy almost every time without a 5-second violation. Pretty good considering his low BB IQ;)
Great line.

Kyle said in his postgame comments that he knew that, although his 2 and his free throws were falling, he still missed all of his 3s. He also said that he would keep on shooting them and he would guarantee that soon they would be back!
Great to hear. I am very much looking forward to Kyle continuing to shoot the open 3s and to start hitting like I know he can.

I thought our interior defense was the best I have seen all year. We did a great job on Jordan Williams. We kept him away from the ball, kept him off the boards and generally made his day lousy.
I agree with most that the team's offensive movement looked really good and it was great to get solid contributions from everyone. I would agree that our interior defense was generally pretty good on Williams. He rebounded very well, but seemed to have to make some difficult shots for his field goals. I didn't feel like this was overall one of the team's better defensive efforts, however. I could be imagining things but, until the team went on the run when Nolan went out, I didn't feel like the team was consistently stopping a not particularly strong Maryland offense, or making them take difficult shots. I am, of course, very pleased with the win and the offensive contributions and team play, but hope the team can improve the defense a bit.

I feel bad for criticizing Ryan since this was such a solid win, but I imagine one reason that K didn't play him in the second half as much was not only Miles' rebounding prowess, but the fact that Miles was playing better defense.

Several times in the first half, Ryan would overplay on screens -- not a problem, except through lack of communication, lack of quickness, or whatever, he never rotated back to his man (Dino Gregory I think?), leaving him consistently wide open on jumpers near the top of the key. I literally balled my hands into fists whenever Kelly was screened during the first half because of this. Perhaps, of course, it was K's intention to leave that shot for Gregory, but it seems unlikely to me.

Regardless, this isn't to take away from Miles, whose aggressive demeanor in the second half was a welcome sight. I would imagine that we'll see another dose of double Plumlee to start the VT game.

I didn't notice this and this may be part of the reason I didn't feel the team's D was that great. I usually find that Ryan positions himself quite well defensively, but perhaps he wasn't last night and that is one of the reasons (Miles' continued strong player being an even bigger one) he didn't see the floor a lot in spite of great shooting.

[toooskies]

I didn't get to watch the game, but was following the stats on my phone. I was rooting for one more Miles rebound in the game, for what I was hoping would be a "double Plumlee double-double". Alas, it was not to be.

[basket1544]

I didn't get to watch the game, but was following the stats on my phone. I was rooting for one more Miles rebound in the game, for what I was hoping would be a "double Plumlee double-double". Alas, it was not to be.

And if Kyle had gotten one more board he would have had a double-double. How often do 3 players on one team get a double-double?