MBB: Duke vs. Davidson Pre-Game and In-Game Thread

[gofurman]

Dont we play them Friday night? Nothoughts on this?

[Reilly]

Looking forward to the "904" hats tomorrow night ... going for the record ....

[gofurman]

Thoughts - matchups? I saw a thread on wanting RIvers to "come around".. hes only played 3 games... this is a friendly game (at Cameron) vs a decent opponent but not a great on (better than PC - worse than MSU and Belmont). Good game for him to put up 15+. By the way, I personally think it is ridiculous to say anything but positive about Rivers. He had 15 and 16 against PC and Belmont and is basically a HS Senior. Look at how much better Dawkins and Curry are now. Give him at least to mid-year.. February...

Anyway, thoughts on Davidson? First they beat a usually good Richmond team by 10+. That's impressive.
They have a 6'10 post averaging a double double so they aren't short inside... and next guy is 6'7" ... Not bad

Lot of juniors and sophomores so they should be fairly cohesive. Gaurds are long like Maryland style.. 6'3, 6'4, 6'6. I always am impressed with McKillop teams

[OldPhiKap]

McKillop is an outstanding coach who always has his teams ready to play. Some points from Davidson's web site (http://www.davidsonwildcats.com/news/2011/11/16/MBB_1116110311.aspx?path=mbball ) :

• Davidson returns seven of its top eight scorers and four starters from last season. Players who accounted for 81 percent of the team’s scoring and 87 percent of the team’s rebounding are back in uniform this year.
• JP Kuhlman and Jake Cohen were selected preseason All-SoCon by the league’s coaches. Both players have been starters for the bulk of their careers.
• Kuhlman is 160 points away from 1,000 for his career, and Cohen is 159 points shy.
• The ‘Cats, who have posted nine straight winning seasons, were picked to win the SoCon South Division in the league’s Coaches and Media Polls.

But . . .

• Davidson is 13-78 all-time when playing a ranked opponent (AP Poll) and has lost its last seven. The Wildcats are 8-53 versus teams in the top-10.



All in all, a program that is probably ahead of Belmont and with talent on the bench and floor. Not sure how the individual match-ups line up, though.

[Reilly]

...
...8-53 versus teams in the top-10.

8 top-10 wins is impressive .... how many of those are Lefty's ....

[OldPhiKap]

8 top-10 wins is impressive .... how many of those are Lefty's ....

Good points, both before and after the elipses.

[Olympic Fan]

All in all, a program that is probably ahead of Belmont and with talent on the bench and floor. Not sure how the individual match-ups line up, though.

Not quite sure what you mean. Historically, yes -- Davidson is ahead of Belmont. But I think few would suggest that this Davidson team is as strong as the Belmont team that lost to Duke last week.

Both return four starters and most of their key players off last year's team. The difference is the Belmont returns them off a 30-win team; Davidson returns four starters from an 18-win team that played in the CBI. Pomeroy has Belmont at No. 27 ... Davidson at No. 87.

Agree that Davidson is a solid, well-coached team. But they are not the threat Belmont was.

Just for the record, Duke leads Davidson 87-17 with nine of the losses coming before 1930. Davidson does have a few memorable wins in the series -- most noteably 1962-63 when the Wildcats beat No. 2 Duke (a team that played in the Final Four) in the Charlotte Coliseum. K lost his first game with Davidson in December of 1981 in the old Iron Duke Classic. Since then, he's won 23 straight in the series. The '81-'82 win in Cameon is Davidson's only win in Cameron (although they won a couple in Card Gym before Cameron was built in 1940).

[DukieTiger]

Looking at Davidson's numbers on KenPom (and admittedly it's a little early in the season for these statistics to be incredibly relevant) a couple of things jump out at me.

First, Davidson surrenders a TON of free throws. Opponents' are getting 44% of their points from the free throw line, and the ratio between fta and fga is 71.7, which is pretty darn high. Last year they also ranked near the top (or bottom) of the nation in both categories, although their current numbers are slightly inflated and just ridiculous. Duke, on the other hand, has been pretty awesome at getting to the FT line this year: a function of an increased role for the bigs and Austin Rivers (who is awesome at getting to the FT line.) I'm guessing Duke will exploit that advantage in this game.

Secondlly, Davidson is pretty good at both limiting opponent's offensive rebounds, and they are good at offensive rebounding themselves. This isn't just skewed by their level of competition this year- they were a good rebounding team last year as well. They will be competitive with Duke on the boards, and it will be a solid performance for the team if we can outrebound them.

Also, they have surrendered a LOT of steals so far this year (almost 15% of their possessions result in steals) but their overall turnover rate is mid-range; they turn the ball over on 22% of their possessions. This tells me that this is a team that doesn't commit a great amount of unforced errors, but will succumb to pressure defense. We've been above average at getting steals this year, but I see this game as a good opportunity to take a step forward when it comes to pressure, ball hawking defense. Austin, Seth, Tyler and Andre are all averaging close to 2 steals per game right now and this game could be a good chance for them to build on that and play solid defense.

Finally, these guys have been shooting pretty well from 3 so far this year (upwards of 37%) but they haven't been hitting their twos- sitting at a mere 41% from 2pt range. It should be no surprise, but I think we take away the 3 and if we do that, they will (should) have a hard time scoring on us. Add to that our shot-blocking potential and the fact that they got a decent amount of shots blocked last year, and I look for a pretty solid performance from our defense in this game against a top-100 offense (so far this year.) Offensively for Duke, Davidson has been limiting their opponents to 20% shooting from threes, but I don't think that is statistically significant- they were about average at defending against the three last year. The way we've been shooting, I'm not worried about that. I just hope we don't settle for threes, attack the basket (they're not a great shot-blocking team) and get to the free throw line.

I'm looking for an aggressive mindset against an overmatched but still quality opponent, where we attack attack attack and get to the line a lot, play pressure defense and get steals and just assert our dominance on them early and often. Other than that, I'm just looking forward to watching the GOAT break the record for all time wins!! (don't think I'll tire from that joke any time soon.)

Cheers folks, and Go Duke!!

[slower]

Other than that, I'm just looking forward to watching the GOAT break the record for all time wins!!

Um, didn't he already do that?

[MCFinARL]

Um, didn't he already do that?

Well, yes--but every time wins now he sets a new record. Whether you call it breaking a record when the record is your own is a debatable semantic question, though.

[OldPhiKap]

Not quite sure what you mean. Historically, yes -- Davidson is ahead of Belmont. But I think few would suggest that this Davidson team is as strong as the Belmont team that lost to Duke last week.

Correct, I was referring to the programs and not this year's teams.

[mgtr]

Well, yes--but every time wins now he sets a new record. Whether you call it breaking a record when the record is your own is a debatable semantic question, though.

Perhaps a clearer way of stating it would be that he sets a new record every time he wins.

[slower]

Perhaps a clearer way of stating it would be that he sets a new record every time he wins.

Although, hopefully, people won't have to make note of that after every subsequent win. I mean, we get it.

[Matches]

Any word on whether Alex Murphy will be available tonight?

[DuKe4LiFe#30]

Maybe Andre can put back to back good games together 2nite

[nocilla]

8 top-10 wins is impressive .... how many of those are Lefty's ....

How many were with Steph Curry?

[stillcrazie]

How many were with Steph Curry?

I don't know this for a fact, but I am guessing none. I was at the game in Cameron a few years ago and we beat them fairly easily. Steph only had 8 points in the first half (Scheyer guarding him) but still ended up with close to 30.

[MCFinARL]

I don't know this for a fact, but I am guessing none. I was at the game in Cameron a few years ago and we beat them fairly easily. Steph only had 8 points in the first half (Scheyer guarding him) but still ended up with close to 30.

Haven't been able to find what they were ranked, but Davidson did beat Georgetown, a regional 2-seed (so possibly a top 10 team), in the 2008 NCAA tournament. They followed up with a win over three-seed (so probably not top 10) Wisconsin and a 2-point loss to eventual tournament champion Kansas.

[nocilla]

Haven't been able to find what they were ranked, but Davidson did beat Georgetown, a regional 2-seed (so possibly a top 10 team), in the 2008 NCAA tournament. They followed up with a win over three-seed (so probably not top 10) Wisconsin and a 2-point loss to eventual tournament champion Kansas.

Georgetown was #8 at the time, but that appears to be his only win over a top 10 team. I thought there were more. Earlier that same year they lost to #7 Duke by 6 and #1 UNC by 4.

[CarmenWallaceWade]

Hope we can continue the hot hand from 3 point range: 48% over the first three games!

[peterjswift]

Although, hopefully, people won't have to make note of that after every subsequent win. I mean, we get it.

I'm going to be honest....I plan on mentioning this after every subsequent win from Coach K. Sorry!

[stillcrazie]

Haven't been able to find what they were ranked, but Davidson did beat Georgetown, a regional 2-seed (so possibly a top 10 team), in the 2008 NCAA tournament. They followed up with a win over three-seed (so probably not top 10) Wisconsin and a 2-point loss to eventual tournament champion Kansas.

Sorry, I thought the post was about Davidson wins over Duke, not other top 10 teams. My bad.

[CDu]

Sorry, I thought the post was about Davidson wins over Duke, not other top 10 teams. My bad.

Yeah, Davidson has 17 wins all-time over Duke (87 losses). All but one of those wins came prior to Coach K arriving at Duke. Coach K is 22-1 against Davidson, having won the last 22. His only loss to Davidson came in Dec 1981.

All of this from GoDuke:
http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_LANG=C&ATCLID=205334971&DB_OEM_ID=4200

[DukieTiger]

Um, didn't he already do that?

Sorry, I guess I should have stated it in a more clearly ironic way. I look forward to watching the all time wins leader come back to Cameron and extend his lead on the rest of the pack! :)

[rocketeli]

Everyone always seems to have much love for the Davidson coach and he has had a lot of success, but for some reason he seems to get a pass (perhaps because he's got that Tressel look thing going) on their style of play.
I have watched several Duke-Davidson games and they are without a doubt the dirtiest, chippiest team I have watched, and I'm including GT and VT. That has to come from the coaching staff--at the least they are willing to overlook it or tolerate it

[chrishoke]

Everyone always seems to have much love for the Davidson coach and he has had a lot of success, but for some reason he seems to get a pass (perhaps because he's got that Tressel look thing going) on their style of play.
I have watched several Duke-Davidson games and they are without a doubt the dirtiest, chippiest team I have watched, and I'm including GT and VT. That has to come from the coaching staff--at the least they are willing to overlook it or tolerate it

Wow, I can't believe your comment. I have never thought that and I have seen all 22 games played in the Coack IK era. I have also never heard anyone else express such an opinion.

[Dr. Rosenrosen]

Anyone know if the game will be available online as well?

[stillcrazie]

Anyone know if the game will be available online as well?

If anyone finds a link, please post. You guys have helped tremendously in the past.

[summerwind03]

Any chat tonight?

[DU82]

Ryan starting in place of Miles.

[summerwind03]

Ryan starting in place of Miles.

I guess that's not too much of a surprise. (Hi bud! Cheer for me!)

[DU82]

I guess that's not too much of a surprise. (Hi bud! Cheer for me!)

Will do, even without a ten-month old on my lap.

A little sloppy to start. Mason, if you get a steal in traffic, find a guard rather than dribbling the ball away. It happens too often.

Bad call on Rivers' foul. ThemDavidson playermclearly slid into him. K "calmly" let the refs kmow.

[Dukeface88]

If anyone finds a link, please post. You guys have helped tremendously in the past.

Try here (http://www.firstrowsports.tv/watch/92727/2/watch-davidson-vs-(6)-duke.html).

[stillcrazie]

Try here (http://www.firstrowsports.tv/watch/92727/2/watch-davidson-vs-(6)-duke.html).

You rock.

[loldevilz]

Lots of time left but this may be a trap game

[Dukeface88]

Bad plays going into halftime are becoming a trend. Gotta play to the buzzer.

[jv001]

Miles is either the unluckiest player or has the lowest basketball IQ on the Duke team, lol. Go Duke!

[riverside6]

halftime stats here:

http://www.scacchoops.com/ViewHDGame.asp?hSchedule=10361&bView=7

Duke getting no offensive rebounds, only grabbing 7% of their own misses. The other key is clearly the Davidson 3 point shooting.

[arnie]

Miles is either the unluckiest player or has the lowest basketball IQ on the Duke team, lol. Go Duke!

Oh but he's young, wait till he's a senior!

[Dr. Rosenrosen]

halftime stats here:

http://www.scacchoops.com/ViewHDGame.asp?hSchedule=10361&bView=7

Duke getting no offensive rebounds, only grabbing 7% of their own misses. The other key is clearly the Davidson 3 point shooting.

I'd say our inability to defend against screens is our biggest problem right now. Not fighting thru. Poor job on the switches. It's not like they're hitting threes with a defender in their face or anything...

[60's Devil]

Moon Pie may have been right!

[_Gary]

I know we are heavy at guard, but I'd like to see Quinn get a few more minutes than he's gotten thus far. So far he's been our best drive and dish player. I'm not necessarily advocating less time for any of the other guards because of any poor play on their part, I just like the way Cook is aggressive on the offensive end of the court. If we could combine his offense with Tyler's defense, I believe we'd have a truly dynamic player on our hands.

This definitely has the feel of a trap game. I'd hate to see the 88 game streak come to a close, but if we don't buckle down on defense and hit a better percentage of free throws it might just happen tonight.

[diveonthefloor]

I'd say our inability to defend against screens is our biggest problem right now. Not fighting thru. Poor job on the switches. It's not like they're hitting threes with a defender in their face or anything...
You are exactly correct.
We had the same issue with Belmont.

One more minor problem.

Free throws!!!!!

[cbnaylor]

Well it makes it kind of hard to guard a screen when they can move every time.

[Jeff0r3]

Ryan Kelly is just too valuable to take off the court.. Defensively and Offensively.. I feel a lot better about our team when he's on the floor.

[DU82]

Better defense leads to easier baskets!

[Tucknut]

Time for that early second half spurt!

I understand MP3 not getting any minutes (if he'll be redshirted) but what about Murphy? I thought he was playing well preseason. Why no minutes?

[pfrduke]

Time for that early second half spurt!

I understand MP3 not getting any minutes (if he'll be redshirted) but what about Murphy? I thought he was playing well preseason. Why no minutes?

This has been discussed in other threads on here, but it seems he was concussed in a recent practice, and the staff is understandably playing it safe.

[NYBri]

He is finishing!

[Tucknut]

This has been discussed in other threads on here, but it seems he was concussed in a recent practice, and the staff is understandably playing it safe.

Makes sense. Thanks. Looking forward to seeing him play.

[diveonthefloor]

Better start 2nd half because:

Better switching/fighting through screens
Taking advantage of size inside
Better intensity on the boards

[1 24 90]

I know we are heavy at guard, but I'd like to see Quinn get a few more minutes than he's gotten thus far. So far he's been our best drive and dish player. I'm not necessarily advocating less time for any of the other guards because of any poor play on their part, I just like the way Cook is aggressive on the offensive end of the court. If we could combine his offense with Tyler's defense, I believe we'd have a truly dynamic player on our hands.

This definitely has the feel of a trap game. I'd hate to see the 88 game streak come to a close, but if we don't buckle down on defense and hit a better percentage of free throws it might just happen tonight.

Good call on putting Quinn in the game.

[DU82]

Good call on putting Quinn in the game.

Nice sequence for Quinn. Good 3, free throws and really good on-ball D.

[Dukeface88]

So, has anyone else stepped into some bizzaro world where Mason is our best offensive option, we only take four 3's in a half and Miles is out best free-throw shooter? Cause I'm sort of wierded out right now.

[DU82]

And then two bad series without ball pressure ends up with 5 points for them.

[diveonthefloor]

And then two bad series without ball pressure ends up with 5 points for them.

Great time-out by K. We relaxed a bit after building that lead. K didn't like it....
Hopefully will maintain great intensity down the stretch.
Seeing a bit of Cook, Thornton, Hairston, Gbinije, may help the intensity.

[diveonthefloor]

I wish Austin would learn when NOT to try to split the double team.

If I see him get stripped one more time trying to do this in crunch time, I may pound my head against the wall!