MBB: Duke vs Temple Pre-Game and In-Game Thread

[Bob Green]

Duke has opened as a 7.5 point favorite with the over/under set at 148. That equates to a 78-70 victory for Duke:

http://www.vegasinsider.com/college-basketball/odds/las-vegas/

The game is at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia so it is technically a neutral site game. Temple starts three 6'4" guards so we will have a chance to see how our perimeter performs against larger players. Mason Plumlee, Ryan Kelly and Miles Plumlee will have a size advantage in the front court.

Here are the game notes from GoDuke.com:

http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?ATCLID=205355469&DB_OEM_ID=4200

The game is being broadcast on ESPN2 at 7 pm with Carter Blackburn (play-by-play) and Jimmy Dykes (analyst) as announcer.

[OldPhiKap]

As long as Mark Macon isn't playing, or Bill Cosby doesn't have a sweatshirt bet on the game, I'm feeling pretty good.



(Perhaps K's first big tourney upset -- still remember watching that during "beach week" and marveling at Billy King's lock-down. But I digress).

[Bigdukeboi22]

Interesting to see who dominates the boards this game as Duke rebounds 37 times a game while Temple rebounds 36 times a game. Micheal Eric averages a double double with 10.5 ppg and 11.3 rebounds a game so Im eager to see if the Plums and Ryan Kelly and Hairston can out rebound him. Also Anthony Lee is 6'9 and averages close to 6 rebounds a game so it looks like due to our height we should out rebound them in this game which should be key. We need to score down low in this game and use our height to our advantage. Temple has 3 guards who all average more than 13 ppg so Seth, Quinn, Thorton, Rivers and Dawkins better be ready to play some defense. This might be a much tougher game than most people see, but I still see Duke winning by 10 or more points. Lets hope so...Go Duke!!!

[devildeac]

As long as Mark Macon isn't playing, or Bill Cosby doesn't have a sweatshirt bet on the game, I'm feeling pretty good.



(Perhaps K's first big tourney upset -- still remember watching that during "beach week" and marveling at Billy King's lock-down. But I digress).

Jell-o pud-ding: clap, clap, clap/clap/clap.;)

[Kedsy]

The game is at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia so it is technically a neutral site game.

Is this true? Not sure how many games Temple is scheduled to play at Wells Fargo this year, but I was under the impression that this still counts as a Temple home game.


Micheal Eric averages a double double with 10.5 ppg and 11.3 rebounds a game so Im eager to see if the Plums and Ryan Kelly and Hairston can out rebound him.

I'm not sure Michael Eric is playing tomorrow. He has been injured and from what I've seen it's unlikely he's going to suit up. If he does play it will be his first game back after a month and a half layoff.

[Bigdukeboi22]

lets hope Micheal Eric doesn't play then well really dominate(should at least ) the boards

[gumbomoop]

Micheal Eric averages a double double with 10.5 ppg and 11.3 rebounds a game....

Eric re-injured his right patella in late November - same injury that caused him to miss last 10 games last season - and was to be out of action for about 6 weeks. According to the Temple site game notes, he's out another couple of weeks. Lots of useful info on this site; recommend EK posters check it out. Scroll down for info on Eric.

http://www.owlsports.com/documents/2012/1/2/game_notes_duke_010412.pdf

[Bob Green]

Is this true? Not sure how many games Temple is scheduled to play at Wells Fargo this year, but I was under the impression that this still counts as a Temple home game.

According to Temple's schedule, the Duke game is the only one which will be played at Wells Fargo Center:

http://www.owlsports.com/schedule.aspx?path=mbball

The game is listed in italics as are the early season games which were played in Puerto Rico and the A10 Tournament games, which indicates neutral site games. The home games are in bold type and the away games in regular type. My interpretation is this is a neutral site game.

[gwlaw99]

Neutral site in the same way the Verizon Center is neutral vs Maryland.

[Dev11]

Neutral site in the same way the Verizon Center is neutral vs Maryland.

...but we don't play Maryland at Verizon, so what's the point?

This game scheduling is unlike any in recent years, in that we are playing a random non-con game in the opposing team's city but not their home arena. Games against Georgetown and St. John's are at their regular home NBA-style arenas, and against Butler in the tournament was in the postseason.

[Duvall]

...but we don't play Maryland at Verizon, so what's the point?

This game scheduling is unlike any in recent years, in that we are playing a random non-con game in the opposing team's city but not their home arena. Games against Georgetown and St. John's are at their regular home NBA-style arenas, and against Butler in the tournament was in the postseason.

Except that Duke has been playing Temple in the First Union/Wachovia/Wells Fargo Center for a full decade. Duke played Villanova there shortly after the building opened as the CoreStates Center.

[roywhite]

Is this true? Not sure how many games Temple is scheduled to play at Wells Fargo this year, but I was under the impression that this still counts as a Temple home game.

I'm not sure Michael Eric is playing tomorrow. He has been injured and from what I've seen it's unlikely he's going to suit up. If he does play it will be his first game back after a month and a half layoff.


Hi, Kedsy and Happy New Year to you and the other forum posters.

Is this game getting much buzz in the Philadelphia area?
Good crowd expected?
Temple given a good chance by the local media?

Seems to me like this game will be a real good gauge on our current level of development.

[sagegrouse]

...but we don't play Maryland at Verizon, so what's the point?

This game scheduling is unlike any in recent years, in that we are playing a random non-con game in the opposing team's city but not their home arena. Games against Georgetown and St. John's are at their regular home NBA-style arenas, and against Butler in the tournament was in the postseason.


Neutral site in the same way the Verizon Center is neutral vs Maryland.


According to Temple's schedule, the Duke game is the only one which will be played at Wells Fargo Center:

http://www.owlsports.com/schedule.aspx?path=mbball

The game is listed in italics as are the early season games which were played in Puerto Rico and the A10 Tournament games, which indicates neutral site games. The home games are in bold type and the away games in regular type. My interpretation is this is a neutral site game.


Except that Duke has been playing Temple in the First Union/Wachovia/Wells Fargo Center for a full decade. Duke played Villanova there shortly after the building opened as the CoreStates Center.

"Home game" means a game in the team's home arena dominated by the teams fans.

"Home nets" means a game in the home arena but, as in a conference tournament, with no home crowd. It is still an advantage. For example, it was no accident that, in the SoCon/early ACC days, Duke had an advantage in the tournaments played in the Indoor Stadium but State won most of the tournaments when they moved to Reynolds.

"Home cooking" means a game in a nearby arena -- i.e., which does not involve travel.

"Home crowd" means a game at an arena dominated by your own fans. Duke vs. Baylor at the Houston regionals in 2010 is one example. Fact is, Houston is a lo-n-n-n-ng way from Waco in both distance and culture. And I have attended a couple of the Duke games in Philadelphia, and the Duke fans, while not a majority, were evident and vocal.

I know I am missing some categories, but this is a start.

sagegrouse

[Kedsy]

Hi, Kedsy and Happy New Year to you and the other forum posters.

Is this game getting much buzz in the Philadelphia area?
Good crowd expected?
Temple given a good chance by the local media?

Seems to me like this game will be a real good gauge on our current level of development.

It's getting buzz in the sort of way that most people know it's happening (even non-basketball fans) but not too many people are talking about it. Philadelphia's relationship with Duke is interesting, in that there are a lot of Duke alum but it's also a Big East town so there's a lot of Duke hate.

From what I can gather, nobody's giving Temple much of a chance in the game, in large part because of injuries to Michael Eric and Scootie Randall (who may redshirt). Temple will either come out nervous or fighting, hopefully the latter, but I'm not sure they have it in them to actually win the game.

I do expect a pretty good crowd, probably half and half. My son, brother, nephew, and I will be in section 123.

[Turk]

Hi, Kedsy and Happy New Year to you and the other forum posters.

Is this game getting much buzz in the Philadelphia area?
Good crowd expected?
Temple given a good chance by the local media?

Seems to me like this game will be a real good gauge on our current level of development.

No buzz whatsoever in Philly (other than whatever made today's papers.)

Dick Jerardi is the main college hoops writer in town:
http://www.philly.com/philly/sports/colleges/temple/20120104_Dick_Jerardi__There_will_never_be_another _like_Coach_K_in_hoops_again.html

Mike Jensen is next in line (allegedly responsible for inflicting the term "bracketologist" on an unsuspecting world). His piece revolves around Zoubek's take:
http://www.philly.com/philly/sports/colleges/temple/20120104_Hoop_dreams_with_Coach_K_OFF_CAMPUS.html

Main buzz has been train wreck of Eagles season, future of Andy Reid and coaching staff, plus Flyers and hype over Winter Classic hockey game. College hoops mostly in the background right now; Temple lost a couple key guys to injury (one most likely to redshirt), Villanova not very good in a rebuilding year, St. Joe's much improved but still under the radar; LaSalle and Penn afterthoughts...

Crowd should be good; appears to be sellout with a few hundred tix available on secondary sites. Dunphy is a very good coach but expectations are low due to the injuries. Should be sizable Duke presence in the stands (I'll guess 20-25% - counting 4 Duke fans in section 210).

[MChambers]

It's getting buzz in the sort of way that most people know it's happening (even non-basketball fans) but not too many people are talking about it. Philadelphia's relationship with Duke is interesting, in that there are a lot of Duke alum but it's also a Big East town so there's a lot of Duke hate.

From what I can gather, nobody's giving Temple much of a chance in the game, in large part because of injuries to Michael Eric and Scootie Randall (who may redshirt). Temple will either come out nervous or fighting, hopefully the latter, but I'm not sure they have it in them to actually win the game.

I do expect a pretty good crowd, probably half and half. My son, brother, nephew, and I will be in section 123.

Temple is a good, well coached team, so I don't expect an easy game. Temple's veteran guards worry me. (And last year's game at Cameron wasn't easy, either.)

I'm a little worried, but I hope Duke's size and depth will be a problem for the Owls, especially if Duke is able to push the tempo.

[superdave]

Dick Jerardi is the main college hoops writer in town:
http://www.philly.com/philly/sports/colleges/temple/20120104_Dick_Jerardi__There_will_never_be_another _like_Coach_K_in_hoops_again.html

Complimentary article on coach K here.

[superdave]

The game is at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia so it is technically a neutral site game.


Is this true? Not sure how many games Temple is scheduled to play at Wells Fargo this year, but I was under the impression that this still counts as a Temple home game.



Just went through the January through March schedule for Wells Fargo and this is Temple's only game here. Villanova plays 4 games here in that time frame.

[77devil]

Except that Duke has been playing Temple in the First Union/Wachovia/Wells Fargo Center for a full decade. Duke played Villanova there shortly after the building opened as the CoreStates Center.

This is correct. These games are about revenue for the local schools and their arenas hold about the same as CIS. I noticed that Maryland is playing Temple later this month in the Palestra. That would be a great venue for tonight but not big enough for the ticket demand. CIS and the Patestra were built by the same architectural firm, and share the same close to court seating/not a bad seat in the house characteristics.

[loran16]

That's our lowest chance of victory until February when we play @VTech.

[sagegrouse]

CIS and the Palestra were built by the same architectural firm, and share the same close to court seating/not a bad seat in the house characteristics.

Remember the name, Julian Abele

This was from another thread --



Originally Posted by Kedsy

And which (if I'm not mistaken) was designed by the same architect who designed the Palestra.


Not true, although the interior is virtually identical to the Palestra. The Palestra opened in 1927 and was designed by Charles Klauder, a Philadelphia architect (1872-1938). The similarity to Cameron (opened in 1940) is not as obvious now after the paneling and other accoutrements added after 1992.

The listed architects are Horace Trombauer and Julian Abele (1881-1950). Trumbauer was the nominate partner in the law firm, and Julian Abele, an African-American, was the chief designer for the firm for 20 years. Abele is credited as the designer of the entire Duke West Campus, and specifically recognized for the Duke Chapel. He was the first A-A graduate of the Penn School of Architecture and studied extensively in Europe. One display on Abele I saw on the Penn campus 15 years ago claimed that he never visited the Duke campus. Yikes!

sagegrouse

[SCMatt33]

"Home game" can be a very subjective term and it depends on who you ask, but unless something has changed, this will be an official Temple home game in the eyes of the selection committee and RPI. They only have three designations, no "semi home" ore any of that stuff. I don't have the rule in front of me (it's in the officials selection guidelines of someone wants to find it), but I believe that it is based on ticket sales and location. I think the ticket part has I do with it being available for Temple season tickets, but not Duke. Usually I try and find the rule, but I'm on my phone. Even if I'm to not quite right on the rule, I'm pretty certain that this goes down as a road game for tourney purposes. As a side note, Temple does not do this regularly like Nova. In the last 8 years or so, Duke is the only team to play a road game against Temple in the Wells Fargo center.

My experience with the buzz around here is the same as everyone: absolutely none. I will add though that in addition to college ball getting almost no buzz until March is the norm around here unless Someone really looks like a Final Four contender. It's too much of a pro sports town.

[roywhite]

A bit off-topic here, but of interest to this former Philly area resident from way back:

Do they still have the Big 5 games? Held at the Palestra, Wells Fargo Center, or some combination?
If I recall, the teams played only once against each other unless they were in the same conference, yet the competition and excitement was intense.

[Duvall]

A bit off-topic here, but of interest to this former Philly area resident from way back:

Do they still have the Big 5 games? Held at the Palestra, Wells Fargo Center, or some combination?
If I recall, the teams played only once against each other unless they were in the same conference, yet the competition and excitement was intense.

Looks like it (http://www.philadelphiabig5.org/about/schedule.html).

Not sure how they handle the fact that Temple and Saint Joseph's are both in the A-10. I guess they just designate one of the matchups as a Big 5 game and alternate the site.

[77devil]

A bit off-topic here, but of interest to this former Philly area resident from way back:

Do they still have the Big 5 games? Held at the Palestra, Wells Fargo Center, or some combination?
If I recall, the teams played only once against each other unless they were in the same conference, yet the competition and excitement was intense.


Looks like it (http://www.philadelphiabig5.org/about/schedule.html).

Not sure how they handle the fact that Temple and Saint Joseph's are both in the A-10. I guess they just designate one of the matchups as a Big 5 game and alternate the site.

My recollection from the halcyon days of the Big 5 was that most, if not all, the games were played in the Palestra. No more. I have no idea when that changed as I have lived most of my life elsewhere since making the trek to Durham in the early '70s. Think of CIS filled half each with Duke and UNC students and fans facing each other-very, very loud and rocking.

When I attended these games in the late '60s and early '70's, the Big 5 was a big deal in college basketball with all 5 schools being national powers. That all changed as a lot of the areas top talent left the city to play elsewhere. The Big 5 is a shell of what it once was, and I would argue, exists in name only. The rivalries just aren't that important anymore. Some argue that Gene Banks' decision to attend Duke was the beginning of the end. It was a huge deal to the revitalization of the Duke program, as was discussed in other threads, but it was a huge blow to the Big 5 and Philadelphia city basketball. I wasn't here at the time but a sportswriter friend of mine at the Daily News told me Gene was under a lot of pressure to stay local.

[Kedsy]

That's our lowest chance of victory until February when we play @VTech.

I don't think Pomeroy takes injuries into account when he makes these determinations, right? If so, we have a bit more leeway than Pomeroy's ratings would suggest.


My recollection from the halcyon days of the Big 5 was that most, if not all, the games were played in the Palestra. No more. I have no idea when that changed...

I believe it changed when Villanova built it's 6,500 seat arena in 1986 and then flat-out refused to play every Big 5 game at the Palestra. For a while, the other teams continued to play the games at the Palestra, perhaps thinking Villanova might change its mind, but when Nova stuck to its guns, the other teams decided they'd just as soon not have to play every Big 5 game on either Penn's or Villanova's campus.

This is all from rumor and memory, so I may not have every detail correct.


When I attended these games in the late '60s and early '70's, the Big 5 was a big deal in college basketball with all 5 schools being national powers.

When I attended these games in the '80s, they were still a big deal. Villanova and Temple had some great teams, Penn was tops in the Ivy, and St. Joes and LaSalle had their moments as well. I remember watching Penn beat #3 in the nation Villanova at the Palestra in 1984 and it was really something.

[subzero02]

I very interested in seeing how Austin and Cook perform against a quality veteran backcourt.

[Turk]

A lot of old-timers have memories about sneaking into the Palestra for Big 5 double headers.

Villanova (rightly or wrongly) gets most of the blame for the decline of the Big 5, but they really didn't have much of a choice to play the full home-and-home Big East slate plus four Big 5 games plus the usual pre-season cupcakes. To me, it was the combination of the Big East and ESPN TV broadening the horizons beyond the Schuylkill and Delaware rivers.

St. Joe's was the last Palestra die-hard; until this year, they played all their Big 5 "home" games at the Palestra. Last year, they refurbished their gym and added some seating, and last month they hosted Villanova on campus for the first time ever, and laid a 16 or 18 point beat-down on the Wildcats. With those results, I suspect some of the hard-core St. Joe fans would have been glad to kiss the Palestra good-bye years ago... That rivalry is still intense. So at this point, pretty much all Big 5 games are at on-campus gyms.

They tried to revive the Big 5 doubleheaders at the Spectrum several years ago, but at 17,000 seats, there was too much empty space in the upper deck. It was still a nice night of hoops, though.

Philly college basketball is still pretty special though; Drexel has been pretty good too. Certainly a nice fringe benefit when I started roosting here a long time ago; I try to catch at least one game there every season...

I was able to bring a Philly hoops guy to a game in Cameron back in the mid-90s; he walked into the gym and the first words out of his mouth were "It's an upside-down Palestra", referring to the bleachers at courtside and the seats upstairs.

[jv001]

I very interested in seeing how Austin and Cook perform against a quality veteran backcourt.

I'm interested in: seeing how we defend the 3 point line. Temple like you say has a good backcourt. Another thing I'm looking forward to is seeing Miles continue his solid play. Not so much scoring, but playing good defense and rebounding. I think Seth has gotten his shooting eye back and look for a good game from him. I say Duke 79-Temple 70. GoDuke!

[jv001]

A lot of old-timers have memories about sneaking into the Palestra for Big 5 double headers.

Villanova (rightly or wrongly) gets most of the blame for the decline of the Big 5, but they really didn't have much of a choice to play the full home-and-home Big East slate plus four Big 5 games plus the usual pre-season cupcakes. To me, it was the combination of the Big East and ESPN TV broadening the horizons beyond the Schuylkill and Delaware rivers.

St. Joe's was the last Palestra die-hard; until this year, they played all their Big 5 "home" games at the Palestra. Last year, they refurbished their gym and added some seating, and last month they hosted Villanova on campus for the first time ever, and laid a 16 or 18 point beat-down on the Wildcats. With those results, I suspect some of the hard-core St. Joe fans would have been glad to kiss the Palestra good-bye years ago... That rivalry is still intense. So at this point, pretty much all Big 5 games are at on-campus gyms.

They tried to revive the Big 5 doubleheaders at the Spectrum several years ago, but at 17,000 seats, there was too much empty space in the upper deck. It was still a nice night of hoops, though.

Philly college basketball is still pretty special though; Drexel has been pretty good too. Certainly a nice fringe benefit when I started roosting here a long time ago; I try to catch at least one game there every season...

I was able to bring a Philly hoops guy to a game in Cameron back in the mid-90s; he walked into the gym and the first words out of his mouth were "It's an upside-down Palestra", referring to the bleachers at courtside and the seats upstairs.

When I was in the US Army serving in Hawaii and then VietNam, I had a good friend named James Buscavage from Pennsylvania who happened to like Duke basketball. However his number one team was Temple. We tried to follow Duke and Temple when we could. Back then there was no ESPN but we heard some games on the Armed Services network. I often wonder if he still follows Duke and Temple. We both loved those Bubas teams. GoDuke!

[SCMatt33]

Sitting here I'd guess about 90% full with 40% blue shirts. Big ime wine and cheese duke crowd though. Temple students making any king of consistent noise.

[mpholt]

Miles is playing great... BEAUTIFUL post move.

[lotusland]

MP1 is a beast tonight but our guards are getting manhandled so far.

[moonpie23]

duke is not focused tonight.....too many chippys missed....layups, close in, temple is disrupting everything that duke is trying it seems except mp1.....

i got a bad feeling about how this is going....

[chadlee989]

So glad to see we finally went small. We need to stay in a four guard type mode all night. MP1 and MP2 should not be on the floor at the same time for the rest of this game.

[AAA1980]

Kinda alarming how easy Temples penterating past the guards

[moonpie23]

got half time adjustments......??

[Devilsfan]

According to the wonderful announcers, Duke SGs stand for small guards.

[chadlee989]

How do you get out rebounded by a team playing small most of the first half. We got to play with more heart.

[lotusland]

So glad to see we finally went small. We need to stay in a four guard type mode all night. MP1 and MP2 should not be on the floor at the same time for the rest of this game.

Hmmm I was just thinking that we cannot afford to go with 3 guards. Seth, AR and Tyler/QC is not a good matchup defensively against their guards. We need either AR and Dre in together with Seth/TT/QC or possibly SG with 2 small guards. I don't see our bigs being a weak spot tonight. Mason and Ryan have gotten beat off the boune a couple times but our size is causing them a lot of trouble too. I see our biggest weakness tonight as our size matching up with them at the 1-3 spots. Neither TT or Seth have enough quickness to beat their bigger more physical guards so advantage Temple. Honestly QC has been dominated too.

[JBDuke]

How do you get out rebounded by a team playing small most of the first half. We got to play with more heart.

Looks to me like our bigs think that they don't have to work to rebound against a smaller team - they're just counting on their height to get them the ball. I've seen Temple box us out, and I've seen us fail to fight for position on multiple occasions.

On the bright side, it's nice to see Miles breaking out the offense. I hope this becomes a trend...

[Bigdukeboi22]

Letting Temple shoot 64 percent(only 9 first half field goal misses by Temple) is not going to cut it...im like screaming at my house for duke to play better defense and I hope coach K is giving it to them in the locker room...with better defensive play and better production from Duke guards Duke should take it..but if it continues the unthinkable could happen..a loss(right before acc play)

[CajunDevil]

There is no need for the bigs to play up on their "bigs" on the perimeter... That is why we are getting outrebounded. Our bigs are out of position. Also, Temple is playing tougher than we are...

[moonpie23]

we look slow and out of sync.....

[lotusland]

Not a good start to the 2nd half. I like SG starting but I don't much benefit in starting Josh unless K is trying to light a fire under Ryan and MP2. TT is a physical defender but he just turned the ball over with an awful pass. I'd rather see Seth or QC in this game.

[CajunDevil]

Dunk it mason...

[stillcrazie]

Missing the experience and leadership of Kyle and Nolan right now.

[CoachJ10]

mason making free throws, missing layups...left is right, up is down.

[JBDuke]

Not a good start to the 2nd half. I like SG starting but I don't much benefit in starting Josh unless K is trying to light a fire under Ryan and MP2. TT is a physical defender but he just turned the ball over with an awful pass. I'd rather see Seth or QC in this game.

On the replay, it looked like that pass was tipped. TT could have done a better job of disguising it, but the pass wasn't as bad as it seemed.

[terrih]

Dunk it mason...



Not Mason's fault. Bad dish from Curry. Too late and too low.

[DownEastDevil]

Another turnover by TT resulting in easy basket!!

[Gthoma2a]

Tyler keeps getting fouls every time he goes against good guards. We have to get him over that. Plus, Mason just isn't finishing anything right now. His hands are just not working right at the moment.

Are we going to play Quinn in the second half since we now saw Tyler throw a pass directly to the defender? Our defense isn't getting it done right now, so I'd like us to put our best offense out there.

[ChrisP]

Seth is having a HORRIBLE game. He is a turnover machine tonight. It seems like every pass he makes to our bigs is poorly executed. How in the world did he manage to screw up that 2 on 1 fast break with Mason a minute ago???

[DukeHoopsGuru]

Is Dawkins that hurt?

[CajunDevil]

Not Mason's fault. Bad dish from Curry. Too late and too low.

Not the one on the break... the 12 other times he's had it in the paint... ugh

[dukemsu]

Temple playing far more aggressively, but Duke is still in this thing.

dukemsu

[Gthoma2a]

I really wish that Curry would pass the ball instead of dribbling through the lane. A three pointer makes me a little less unhappy, but the four turnovers need to be prevented in the future. Our team has 12 of turnovers. Cook has none. That is why we need him out there IMO. He is our best option to manage the game.

[Devilsfan]

Announcers: "Curry careless with the ball". Wrong, he just isn't a ball handler. Very Good shooter but he should never be the one pushing the ball up the court. Not his strength.

[hustleplays]

I really wish that Curry would pass the ball instead of dribbling through the lane. A three pointer makes me a little less unhappy, but the four turnovers need to be prevented in the future. Our team has 12 of turnovers. Cook has none. That is why we need him out there IMO. He is our best option to manage the game.

This is a young team. There are physical attributes figuring in, but we are lacking seasoned, tough floor leadership.

[CoachJ10]

is bordering on moving into the Len Elmore "mute button" territory.

[duke09hms]

This is a young team. There are physical attributes figuring in, but we are lacking seasoned, tough floor leadership.

We are NOT a young team. We start 2 of 3 bigs Mason (JR), Ryan (JR), Miles (SR), and 3 of 4 guards Andre (JR), Seth (SR, redshirt JR), Austin (FR), and Tyler (SO). So at most we only start 1 sophomore and 1 freshman. The rest are at least juniors.

Btw, Tyler fouls a lot.

[Cameron]

Does anybody know how Temple got to the game? I forgot.

[FerryFor50]

is bordering on moving into the Len Elmore "mute button" territory.

You mean you're tired of hearing about how a push off isn't a push off, but simply Temple/Fernandez "squaring their shoulders"?

[lotusland]

is bordering on moving into the Len Elmore "mute button" territory.

I think Dykes has been spot on in his analysis. Sometimes the truth hurts...

[Gthoma2a]

This is a young team. There are physical attributes figuring in, but we are lacking seasoned, tough floor leadership.

Tyler is just as flustered. Look at the fouls.

The problem, offensively, to me is that Rivers is having a bad game (getting blocked and not finishing), Mason isn't finishing strong, and Seth is handling the ball too much. That means we have to keep up with them with defense, and we just aren't doing it right now for whatever reason.

[FerryFor50]

Does anybody know how Temple got to the game? I forgot.

I think it was rickshaw. You know, to remember where they came from.

[CoachJ10]

I think Dykes has been spot on in his analysis. Sometimes the truth hurts...

Are you referring to when the replay shows Fernandez swatting Tyler's arm...and Dykes states that Tyler was clearly the fouler (and praising Fernadez)? Don't think you meant that.


It is more his incessant tone..

[Gthoma2a]

I know we are still very much in this game, but my heart hurts. Thank you Mason for saving us there!

[duke09hms]

When was the last time our frontcourt was better than our backcourt? The backcourt looks like our weak spot this year, losing Kyrie and Nolan is just too much.

The bright spot is it looks like Austin should come back next year.

[dukemsu]

Dykes loves the word "jackhammer"

dukemsu

[dcar1985]

If we're not getting any offense outta Dre I would rather Mike be played....I would take his defense over Andre's at this point....Dre's just sooo slow laterally

[Channing]

I am shocked coach K hasn't made adjustments this game. All game our bigs have been overplaying out on the perimeter, and all game they have been beat. We just look bad - our offense is useless outside the Plumlees. What happened to finding the open shooter?

[lotusland]

It's tough when they are hitting threes because we can keep them out of the lane if we get out on them. Gotta pick your poison...

[hustleplays]

We are NOT a young team. We start 2 of 3 bigs Mason (JR), Ryan (JR), Miles (SR), and 3 of 4 guards Andre (JR), Seth (SR, redshirt JR), Austin (FR), and Tyler (SO). So at most we only start 1 sophomore and 1 freshman. The rest are at least juniors.

Btw, Tyler fouls a lot.

I agree with you, regarding class level. But we are lacking the one or two guys who are seasoned LEADERS and who can play at a high level, making their on-floor leadership credible. We are also young with respect to our roles, most notably at PG. It's pretty obvious. It doesn't take too much stress, on-game pressure, to rattle us. It's interesting to me how our highly touted perimeter shooters can be shut down.

[DukeHoopsGuru]

Couple of points. Duke has a ways to go defensively. Ways to go. Austin Rivers will go pro, and shouldn't. He has a lot to learn just about playing the game of basketball. His game is still very raw. Curious to see why K didn't try a rotation of Kelly and the 2 Plums.

[Channing]

and someone made the point in another thread that our high turnover rate wasn't a problem because our efficiency was still good. I think the turnovers are clearly a huge problem - we can't go three times down the court without turning it over.

[duke09hms]

If we're not getting any offense outta Dre I would rather Mike be played....I would take his defense over Andre's at this point....Dre's just sooo slow laterally

Just about all of our guards get blown by on a regular basis, not just Dre.

[dcar1985]

Just about all of our guards get blown by on a regular basis, not just Dre.

Yea but Mike doesn't play the 1 or 2...

[slower]

Just about all of our guards get blown by on a regular basis, not just Dre.

It's not just the guards that get blown by, it's everybody.

[FerryFor50]

Weird... perimeter bumps are now fouls. Go figure.

[duke09hms]

Yea but Mike doesn't play the 1 or 2...

Oh yeah, I definitely agree about Mike's defense probably being superior to Andre. Just saying that lack of lateral quickness isn't only limited to Andre.

[dukebluelemur]

I am shocked coach K hasn't made adjustments this game. All game our bigs have been overplaying out on the perimeter, and all game they have been beat. We just look bad - our offense is useless outside the Plumlees. What happened to finding the open shooter?

Why does that shock you? Thats been standard practice for anyone named Plumlee since theyve been here. For whatever reason, K's either encouraged or allowed it for years.

[Gthoma2a]

Why not play the freshman more? We're not going to be much worse than 15 turnovers against a mid major that isn't picked to win their league.

We just got embarrassed on that defensive possession.

[FerryFor50]

Gosh, didn't see that behind the back pass coming (again). :rolleyes:

[Gthoma2a]

WOW... we are not heading into conference play with any positive momentum.

[Sixthman]

Soft. Who is the leader on the court for this team?

[Gthoma2a]

Soft. Who is the leader on the court for this team?

Nolan Smith?:confused:

[moonpie23]

i fear this is our sweet 16 fate this year....

[terrih]

Hope we can win one on the road soon.....

Didn't see this one coming at all. Got to get more focus at the beginning of the game from many of the guys. Not really worried about the # 3 ranking, but we have to figure out how to play better on the road. Not counting Maui, we haven't done that well yet.

[lotusland]

K put the ball in AR's hands at crunch time and he has been solid although too little too late. The thing that is most impressive is how quickly he learns from mistakes. Yes he still has flaws but he's already our best player. He's an NBA player without a doubt and he will be fine in the league next year.

[Gthoma2a]

i fear this is our sweet 16 fate this year....

If we make it there. I don't think Temple is that good. We just made them look like Gods with a night without toughness.

[duke09hms]

Why not play the freshman more? We're not going to be much worse than 15 turnovers against a mid major that isn't picked to win their league.

We just got embarrassed on that defensive possession.

Make that 16.
Let's not hear any more Duke-tinted talk about how our guys Andre and Seth have NBA futures ahead of them.

Man, this is a Temple team ravaged by injuries and lost to Bowling Green, what an ugly loss for us. Hopefully Coach K will alter our defensive strategy to match our personnel, like he did in 2010.

[A-Tex Devil]

Yeah ummm. I watched Temple lose to an average Texas team a couple of weeks ago. I get that this is in Philly but Temple is not really even a top tier A-10 team this year. This is a bad loss but luckily means little in the long run. We arent a top 5 team this year. We will need to be hot in Marchfor the elite 8 run we are hoping for and we can expect a few of this type of loss on road in ACC.

This busts my theory that good Duke teams never lose to mid majors. At least I hope it does.