MBB: Duke vs. Va Tech Pre-Game and In-Game Thread

[JBDuke]

The Devils visit the Hokies this Thursday. They're 1-5 in the ACC so far this year, 12-9 overall. Lost Saturday at Maryland after a woeful first half, scoring only 19 points, followed by a furious comeback in the second half, scoring 50. Which team shows up in Cameron?

[arnie]

The Hokies come to visit this Thursday. They're 1-5 in the ACC so far this year, 12-9 overall. Lost Saturday at Maryland after a woeful first half, scoring only 19 points, followed by a furious comeback in the second half, scoring 50. Which team shows up in Cameron?

Actually, this game is at VPI - I think they'll be a tough out.

[ChillinDuke]

I haven't followed them closely, but I have to imagine that Greenberg is feeling the heat at this point. After the annual tournament bubble bursting, now a poor start to the conference season...look out, Seth.

For this reason (and because we're Duke) I think Va Tech is going to give us a battle. I think we'll all be looking closely at our defense.

- Chillin

[Bob Green]

The trip to Blacksburg is never easy. We lost there last season 60-64 and in the previous trip we came away with a seven point victory 72-65 in 2009. I expect the Hokies to put up a tough fight but in the end Duke should walk away with a win.

[dyedwab]

The trip to Blacksburg is never easy. We lost there last season 60-64 and in the previous trip we came away with a seven point victory 72-65 in 2009. I expect the Hokies to put up a tough fight but in the end Duke should walk away with a win.

...are how Duke responds to what will be the inevitable initial intensity of Va. Tech, and how long it knocks us back AND, should we be fortunate enough to build a lead, how we handle the furious attempts at Va. Tech comeback.

Obviously, there's more to it than that. I'd like to see 40 minutes of defense. I'd like to see us use our size to own the boards.

But I expect an initial flurry from the Hokies, and I think if we weather than storm, we will be ok.

[DUKIE V(A)]

In the portions of games I have watched the Hokies, they have struggled to score the ball. Green and Hudson are certainly dangerous, but I like our match ups down low. We are bigger, more athletic, and much more skilled down low. It's never easy on the road, but I like our chances to win comfortably if we are patient and attack them down low.

[jv001]

In the portions of games I have watched the Hokies, they have struggled to score the ball. Green and Hudson are certainly dangerous, but I like our match ups down low. We are bigger, more athletic, and much more skilled down low. It's never easy on the road, but I like our chances to win comfortably if we are patient and attack them down low.

To me this is the key. Get the ball to our bigs in scoring position and put them down early. Let the threes come in the flow of the offense. That way we shouldn't give up run outs. Of course the big key is to play Duke defense and I'm not talking about 2012 Duke defense. GoDuke!

[Chris Randolph]

I've never liked Va Tech in any sport. As far as basketball is concerned, I've especially never liked playing in Blacksburg. They can be a different beast in Blacksburg as we've seen over the years. They played UNC well for a half before UNC's superior talent took over. Green is the only Hokie that puts fear in me. If he goes off for them, upset alert. If we can keep him contained, I like our chances against the other Hokies. Should be a competitive game and I look forward to Duke's response of the criticism received from Coach K.

Redemption game for Seth Curry!!!!!!

[OldPhiKap]

I would expect them to try to out-physical us and play bruiser ball like FSU. This will be a very tough game.

I assume Quinn and {g} will be good to go?

[Oriole Way]

I'd like to see Seth Curry get benched; if not tonight, soon. He's part of the problem in terms of poor team defense, and I don't feel he's played well enough on either side of the ball to keep starting. Rivers, Miles, Dawkins, Kelly, Cook, and Thornton have all been benched after seeing the starting lineup - I think it's overdue for Curry to come off the bench to see if it can improve the team's play.

[weezie]

As far as basketball is concerned, I've especially never liked playing in Blacksburg.

It's got some horrible sight lines and the floor seems dead. Truly, it doesn't smell very good either, not kidding.

[Reilly]

Per Sagarin, if you give the home team 4 points like he says, then it's only Duke favored by 2.5. Are any point spreads out? What sort of margin is Kenpom predicting?

[Duvall]

Per Sagarin, if you give the home team 4 points like he says, then it's only Duke favored by 2.5. Are any point spreads out? What sort of margin is Kenpom predicting?

Duke by 3. But VPI may be the only team in the league that's struggled more against projections lately than Duke.

[roywhite]

Uncle Fester is brewing up some mischief.

I doubt this game will be artistic, but the Devils will display some toughness and win by 6 or 7 points.
Mason Plumlee continues his good play.

[arnie]

Duke by 3. But VPI may be the only team in the league that's struggled more against projections lately than Duke.

Bet the Vegas lines will be higher - maybe Duke by 6 or 7.

[UrinalCake]

Redemption game for Seth Curry!!!!!!

Indeed - he played horribly last year in an emotional game against his father's alma mater, hopefully he can put that past him and come up strong. I don't agree that he should be benched but I do think it will be a physical game and he's not a very physical player so he'll need to come prepared. I'm also looking forward to seeing how Austin handles the inevitable cheap shots and bad calls that come with playing against VT and on the road. If everyone keeps their composure and we can show a little more on D then I think we'll win comfortably.

[Kedsy]

I'd like to see Seth Curry get benched; if not tonight, soon.

It would surprise me if your wish came true in this regard.

[phaedrus]

It's got some horrible sight lines and the floor seems dead. Truly, it doesn't smell very good either, not kidding.

On the other hand, their indoor track facility is among the best in the ACC.

[Reilly]

Indeed - he played horribly last year in an emotional game against his father's alma mater...

... and his mother's alma mater (where she was a varsity athlete) and 15 miles away from his mom's hometown, where she was a state champion basketball player herself ... if I'm recalling the lead-up to last year's game, Dell was his usual cool customer self, but Seth's mom was more emotional about it all ...

[Chris Randolph]

I think this is a big game for Seth and could have an affect on the rest of his season. This game will tell us a lot about him. He has been inconsistent throughout this season, in a season in which the expectations for him were pretty high considering the success he sustained last year. Plus it is at Va Tech and we know the connection for him there and the horrid game he had one year ago.

A self-redemption game/challenge like this is where the good players SHOULD rise up and play at their best. If Seth can do that (which I think he can), this could give him a big boost going into the last 2 months of the season. If he doesn't, not ALL is lost but I think it is an indication of inconsistency that will continue through the last game of the season.

[devildeac]

I'm expecting the usual slugfest with a relatively low scoring event, lots of VPI FT, less FT for us (grr...) and hoping for a narrow win for us. Gotta maintain our better ACC away record than our ACC home record ;>)) .

[COYS]

I think this is a big game for Seth and could have an affect on the rest of his season. This game will tell us a lot about him. He has been inconsistent throughout this season, in a season in which the expectations for him were pretty high considering the success he sustained last year. Plus it is at Va Tech and we know the connection for him there and the horrid game he had one year ago.

A self-redemption game/challenge like this is where the good players SHOULD rise up and play at their best. If Seth can do that (which I think he can), this could give him a big boost going into the last 2 months of the season. If he doesn't, not ALL is lost but I think it is an indication of inconsistency that will continue through the last game of the season.

While I agree that it would be wonderful to see him rebound from his past few games and his showing at VPI last season, I don't think we can read too much into this game no matter how he does. If he does well, it means he's had another good game (he's had a lot of those this season). If he does poorly, it means he's had another tough game (he's had some of those, as well). Consistency has been the biggest issue for Seth, but also for the rest of the team. One game won't change that in either direction. If Seth and the team have a bounce-back game, I hope it is the start of a stretch of games where we play consistently on both ends.

[NSDukeFan]

I don't understand the criticism of Curry. To me, he is one of the team's best (if not the best) perimeter defenders and his inconsistency after his fabulous start includes averaging 11ppg in 2012 with 5 of 9 games in double figures scoring with single digit scoring games of 6, 8, 9 and 9. Unfortunately, he has only shot 38.6% from the field in 2012, including just 28.2% from 3 and 83% from the line. I hope he shoots a bit better, but if not, I think he is good enough defensively and is enough of a threat offensively that he should be playing as much as possible.

[COYS]

I don't understand the criticism of Curry. To me, he is one of the team's best (if not the best) perimeter defenders and his inconsistency after his fabulous start includes averaging 11ppg in 2012 with 5 of 9 games in double figures scoring with single digit scoring games of 6, 8, 9 and 9. Unfortunately, he has only shot 38.6% from the field in 2012, including just 28.2% from 3 and 83% from the line. I hope he shoots a bit better, but if not, I think he is good enough defensively and is enough of a threat offensively that he should be playing as much as possible.

Plus, we all know he can shoot better than 28.2% from three. It's just a matter of time before he breaks out. I also agree with your assessment of his perimeter defense. He's no Nolan Smith, but he's actually been pretty good this season. Plus, it's not like the people who would take his minutes (Quinn and Tyler) have been able to make a strong claim to the spot, either.

[Chris Randolph]

I don't understand the criticism of Curry. To me, he is one of the team's best (if not the best) perimeter defenders and his inconsistency after his fabulous start includes averaging 11ppg in 2012 with 5 of 9 games in double figures scoring with single digit scoring games of 6, 8, 9 and 9. Unfortunately, he has only shot 38.6% from the field in 2012, including just 28.2% from 3 and 83% from the line. I hope he shoots a bit better, but if not, I think he is good enough defensively and is enough of a threat offensively that he should be playing as much as possible.

Going into this season, I guess I had higher expectations of Curry than others. His overall play has been inconsistent and he seems to vanish throughout games. Coach K was calling for someone to be the guy of this team and after his play last season, I expected Seth to move into the role of go to guy/leader on this team. As you noted his shooting percentages are down and he has just as many turnovers as assits. I thought he'd be a 16-18 point scorer this year and more importantly lead in his 3rd year in the program.

Look, I'm not calling for his head or him being benched. And I really do believe this game can be a big boost for his confidence/swagger going forward.

[jv001]

Plus, we all know he can shoot better than 28.2% from three. It's just a matter of time before he breaks out. I also agree with your assessment of his perimeter defense. He's no Nolan Smith, but he's actually been pretty good this season. Plus, it's not like the people who would take his minutes (Quinn and Tyler) have been able to make a strong claim to the spot, either.

We can't blame just one player for our short comings. Every player has room for improvement. With a record of 18-3 against a pretty tough schedule, we should be pretty happy. I'm sure each player has been disappointed in their play at one time or another this year. The next few games will tell us where this edition of our Blue Devils are. I look for a good solid game from Seth against VT. GoDuke!

[roywhite]

Going into this season, I guess I had higher expectations of Curry than others. His overall play has been inconsistent and he seems to vanish throughout games. Coach K was calling for someone to be the guy of this team and after his play last season, I expected Seth to move into the role of go to guy/leader on this team. As you noted his shooting percentages are down and he has just as many turnovers as assits. I thought he'd be a 16-18 point scorer this year and more importantly lead in his 3rd year in the program.

Look, I'm not calling for his head or him being benched. And I really do believe this game can be a big boost for his confidence/swagger going forward.

I posted some of Seth's quotes after the St. John's game and will add them here. Highights are mine:

“It was bad. It was pretty much an embarrassment to go out there and play well for 20 minutes and then in the second half, be a totally different team. That’s totally on my shoulders to go out there and try and handle the ball and not turn it over and try and get us in a position to win games. We didn’t do that.”

On Duke’s missing piece at the end of games:
“I don’t know. I don’t know what it is. Maybe it’s my role as the point guard out there at the end of the games to handle the ball and get us in the right situation to finish off games. Maybe I’m not doing that as much as I should be right now.”

My comment is that IMO this is exactly the type of response Coach K wants to see....a key player stepping up and taking responsibility and vowing to play better.

Coach K said he was going to go back and read all his books for clues and tips about developing this team. Seth's comments are right out of a leadership textbook.

[sagegrouse]

Going into this season, I guess I had higher expectations of Curry than others. His overall play has been inconsistent and he seems to vanish throughout games. Coach K was calling for someone to be the guy of this team and after his play last season, I expected Seth to move into the role of go to guy/leader on this team. As you noted his shooting percentages are down and he has just as many turnovers as assits. I thought he'd be a 16-18 point scorer this year and more importantly lead in his 3rd year in the program.

Look, I'm not calling for his head or him being benched. And I really do believe this game can be a big boost for his confidence/swagger going forward.

I think there is a game-coaching aspect to this as well. Given that we have five guards for three positions -- that's ten different combinations of guards. And there is a strong case for each one to play. It might be almost impossible to come up with a rotation or a situation-based substitution pattern that enables each player to perform his best.

The wheels are turning on the brain trust; it'll be interesting to see what emerges.


sagegrouse

[RoyalBlue08]

I am very interested to see how the team is going to respond to Coach's obvious disappointment in them.....I honestly think this could be a turning point of the season if the guys use this as motivation. That said, I wouldn't read too much into anything any of our players say after a game. They almost always repeat exactly what the coaches just told them....in this way Duke controls the message about as well as any sports team on the planet on my opinion. I think a much better way to see if the players took any of this to heart will be the energy and hustle they show in this game.

[OldPhiKap]

I posted some of Seth's quotes after the St. John's game and will add them here. Highights are mine:

“It was bad. It was pretty much an embarrassment to go out there and play well for 20 minutes and then in the second half, be a totally different team. That’s totally on my shoulders to go out there and try and handle the ball and not turn it over and try and get us in a position to win games. We didn’t do that.”

On Duke’s missing piece at the end of games:
“I don’t know. I don’t know what it is. Maybe it’s my role as the point guard out there at the end of the games to handle the ball and get us in the right situation to finish off games. Maybe I’m not doing that as much as I should be right now.”

My comment is that IMO this is exactly the type of response Coach K wants to see....a key player stepping up and taking responsibility and vowing to play better.

Coach K said he was going to go back and read all his books for clues and tips about developing this team. Seth's comments are right out of a leadership textbook.

At various points, K has singled out Seth and Tyler as being leaders on the floor. Our frountcourt is playing very well, and if these two can take control of the backcourt and team we could take several steps forwards. And it starts on the defensive end. Both of them are capable of really setting the tone in that regard, and the offense will follow.

[Newton_14]

Going into this season, I guess I had higher expectations of Curry than others. His overall play has been inconsistent and he seems to vanish throughout games. Coach K was calling for someone to be the guy of this team and after his play last season, I expected Seth to move into the role of go to guy/leader on this team. As you noted his shooting percentages are down and he has just as many turnovers as assits. I thought he'd be a 16-18 point scorer this year and more importantly lead in his 3rd year in the program.

Look, I'm not calling for his head or him being benched. And I really do believe this game can be a big boost for his confidence/swagger going forward.

I don't feel your comments here are unfair. I had/have the same expectations. Seth has it in him. He started the year on fire. The first 7 games he led the team in assists, shot 50%+ from 3, and was a big reason for the wins against MSU and in Maui. The OSU game knocked him back, and he lost the starting PG role. I still believe there was an over reaction to that loss, and I still believe our best backcourt is Seth at PG and Andre/Austin on the wings. IF Seth is playing at his best that is. If he can return to the level he was at in those first 7 games, it will give this team the boost they need. If that happens and this team can figure out a way to consistently play active defense, they will be fine.

Let's hope it starts against Vatech.

[ThePublisher]

Seeing as how our only easy ACC win was against Wake, I am quite worried about this game. I believe we are quite overrated at #5 in the country with our suspect D. Hopefully we can outscore them...

[Duvall]

Seeing as how our only easy ACC win was against Wake, I am quite worried about this game. I believe we are quite overrated at #5 in the country with our suspect D. Hopefully we can outscore them...

Well, Wake *beat* VPI, so that shouldn't be a problem, right?

Virginia Tech is better than they've shown in conference play, but they've been pretty bad in conference play.

[OldPhiKap]

Well, Wake *beat* VPI, so that shouldn't be a problem, right?

Virginia Tech is better than they've shown in conference play, but they've been pretty bad in conference play.

I wish we could measure teams like FSU and VTech by how they play normal conference games. Unfortunately, we're circled on all of their calendars as soon as the schedule is published. They will have their A game with their A crowd.

Happy with any win up there. Go Duke!

[MCFinARL]

I wish we could measure teams like FSU and VTech by how they play normal conference games. Unfortunately, we're circled on all of their calendars as soon as the schedule is published. They will have their A game with their A crowd.

Happy with any win up there. Go Duke!

Granted, this is true. And granted, Blacksburg is a tough place to play. But at some point, don't we just have to say "so what"? That's what it is to play basketball at Duke. Hopefully, Duke's players will get as charged up by the challenge of taking everyone's best shot as the other teams get by the challenge of giving it.

[OldPhiKap]

Granted, this is true. And granted, Blacksburg is a tough place to play. But at some point, don't we just have to say "so what"? That's what it is to play basketball at Duke. Hopefully, Duke's players will get as charged up by the challenge of taking everyone's best shot as the other teams get by the challenge of giving it.

Agreed. Al Featherston's article on the front page addresses this better than I can, and is a good read.

[nobodybutDUKE]

Whether UNC or Kentucky believe it or not the Duke Blue Devils are the New York Yankees of college basketball.
We will get everyone's super human shot when we play. If all teams played at the level they play against us at
their homecourts, their seasons would be much different.

Unfortunately, I don't know if this years team really realizes this fact yet. If a Duke basketball season does not
end with some type of significant championship, our foes and fans look at it somewhat of a downer. Hopefully,starting Thursday night, our team will finally realize that the name on the jersey requires a different
mindset, effort, and performance than is required by basically any other college basketball program. If you come
to Duke it is required. We've earned it!!!

[davekay1971]

I'm focusing on two things after the SJU game and Coach K's post-game and post-post-game comments

1) Defensive intensity and consistency

2) End game ball handling and decisionmaking.

I am a natural optimist, so I absolutely believe we're going to see a solid 40 minutes of defense and better decisionmaking end game.

Also want to give props to Al Featherston's main page article. Great, great review of where this team is and the issues to be dealt with in the next 5 weeks.

[Albert]

Somewhat surprisingly to me, given how irked Coach K clearly was after the St. John's game, he then gave the team two days off to recharge.

I think we were all expecting wind sprints starting at 4:00 on Saturday afternoon.

This seems to happen -- just when you think he's going to throttle them, he takes it easy. I think that reinforces that the Coach views our problems as a state of mind. We're thinking wrong. He's going to help us think right. To paraphrase a movie.

[devildeac]

Somewhat surprisingly to me, given how irked Coach K clearly was after the St. John's game, he then gave the team two days off to recharge.

I think we were all expecting wind sprints starting at 4:00 on Saturday afternoon.

This seems to happen -- just when you think he's going to throttle them, he takes it easy. I think that reinforces that the Coach views our problems as a state of mind. We're thinking wrong. He's going to help us think right. To paraphrase a movie.

From my distant memory from one of his books, probably Season is a Lifetime, he did something like this after a particularly irksome loss, perhaps at WFU. Just when the team was expecting another level of intensity at practice, he had all the managers take them outside where he/they had ice cream/sundaes waiting for them. And, if it was 1991 or 1992, we all know the end result that year(s) ;>)) .

[dukeballboy88]

I posted this in another thread but maybe Silent G is the missing piece. Throw him in there when we get a lead and let his D energize the rest of the team. He can get in the passing lanes, get his hands on passes and maybe get us some easy break away buckets to bump the lead. Plus he is 6'7". Go ahead an get him ready for the stretch run so he can guard HB twice and Gilchrist in the elite 8.

K said earlier in the year, prior Duke teams took 20 pt leads to 30 but this team aint quite figured it out yet. So maybe a shake up in the lineup is coming, I dont know. I love this team because you dont know who has the weapon. We have 5 guys on any given night that can drop 20 and I actually like that aspect of this team. We dont depend on 1 guy to score every time down the court.

K obviously aint as pleased as I am so maybe a Elliot Williams move coming?

Is a full court trapping press out of the question? We have the depth to do it. It may hide the fact we cant guard anyone. VA Tech aint loaded with ball handlers, im just saying!

[gumbomoop]

I'm focusing on two things after the SJU game and Coach K's post-game and post-post-game comments

1) Defensive intensity and consistency

2) End game ball handling and decisionmaking.

Amen. For me, not blocking out and thus giving up O-rebounds to the other team is a big indication of absence of defensive intensity, consistency, and frankly, just individual and collective attention-span-deficit. It's most glaring when our guys - having lost focus - forget to block out on opponent's FTs. I think I've noticed, too, that our guards tend to ball watch a bit, and forget to block out to protect against opponents' O-rebound. Our guards may not be able to secure 0-rebounds for themselves, but they have to stop opposing guards/wings from sneaking in for O-rebounds and easy put-backs.

The absence of intensity also manifests itself in end-game softness, not valuing the ball, and maybe even those occasional missed FTs that would come close to icing the game.

[jv001]

I posted this in another thread but maybe Silent G is the missing piece. Throw him in there when we get a lead and let his D energize the rest of the team. He can get in the passing lanes, get his hands on passes and maybe get us some easy break away buckets to bump the lead. Plus he is 6'7". Go ahead an get him ready for the stretch run so he can guard HB twice and Gilchrist in the elite 8.

K said earlier in the year, prior Duke teams took 20 pt leads to 30 but this team aint quite figured it out yet. So maybe a shake up in the lineup is coming, I dont know. I love this team because you dont know who has the weapon. We have 5 guys on any given night that can drop 20 and I actually like that aspect of this team. We dont depend on 1 guy to score every time down the court.

K obviously aint as pleased as I am so maybe a Elliot Williams move coming?

Is a full court trapping press out of the question? We have the depth to do it. It may hide the fact we cant guard anyone. VA Tech aint loaded with ball handlers, im just saying!

I commented on your post in the measuring this team thread. So I will not repeat myself. But we can't press and Michael Gbinije is not the answer to our defensive problems. It's a team thing and not one person thing. GoDuke!

[DukieInBrasil]

I posted this in another thread but maybe Silent G is the missing piece. Throw him in there when we get a lead and let his D energize the rest of the team. He can get in the passing lanes, get his hands on passes and maybe get us some easy break away buckets to bump the lead. Plus he is 6'7". Go ahead an get him ready for the stretch run so he can guard HB twice and Gilchrist in the elite 8.


We've seen Silent G a few times this season and he has consistently shown that he is not ready to guard mediocre NCAA players. Why on earth would you assume that he's ready to guard 2 of the best in the nation at the SF position? I really hope that he keeps improving every day and becomes a better player while at Duke, but i haven't seen anything yet to suggest that he's ready to guard elite SFs as a Fr.

[Kedsy]

I posted this in another thread but maybe Silent G is the missing piece. Throw him in there when we get a lead and let his D energize the rest of the team. He can get in the passing lanes, get his hands on passes and maybe get us some easy break away buckets to bump the lead. Plus he is 6'7". Go ahead an get him ready for the stretch run so he can guard HB twice and Gilchrist in the elite 8.

I agree Michael is 6'7". Not sure why you think all the rest of the above quoted passage is true. He certainly hasn't showed us that yet when he's been on the floor.


K said earlier in the year, prior Duke teams took 20 pt leads to 30 but this team aint quite figured it out yet.

Actually, I know a lot of Duke fans who have been complaining for years (all the way back to K's early teams in the '80s) that we can't keep a big lead. The intensity with which we usually play and the natural tendency to take a deep breath when you're way ahead will very often lead to this tendency. This team just has it worse than some other Duke editions, that's all. But I don't believe consistently taking "20 pt leads to 30" has been as common as you seem to think.


Amen. For me, not blocking out and thus giving up O-rebounds to the other team is a big indication of absence of defensive intensity, consistency, and frankly, just individual and collective attention-span-deficit. It's most glaring when our guys - having lost focus - forget to block out on opponent's FTs. I think I've noticed, too, that our guards tend to ball watch a bit, and forget to block out to protect against opponents' O-rebound. Our guards may not be able to secure 0-rebounds for themselves, but they have to stop opposing guards/wings from sneaking in for O-rebounds and easy put-backs.

I agree with everyone in the world that sporadic lack of intensity and concentration is probably our biggest problem. But, FWIW, this team gives up fewer offensive rebounds (looking at offensive rebounding percentage) than the 2010 championship team. So maybe it's not as bad as it sometimes seems.

[Kfanarmy]

Somewhat surprisingly to me, given how irked Coach K clearly was after the St. John's game, he then gave the team two days off to recharge.

I think we were all expecting wind sprints starting at 4:00 on Saturday afternoon. Didn't Coach k say in the post game press conference that he thought the team might be at low point in their energy cycle....perhaps he's thinking they were a bit worn mentally/physically...

[gofurman]

Granted, this is true. And granted, Blacksburg is a tough place to play. But at some point, don't we just have to say "so what"? That's what it is to play basketball at Duke. Hopefully, Duke's players will get as charged up by the challenge of taking everyone's best shot as the other teams get by the challenge of giving it.

man, this game scares me as a fan.. vegas has it as a mere 3 pt line in favor of duke which mean va tech winng is not an upset. VT has the "advantage" af being underrated in conference by being 1-5 but having lost so many close games. this is not a bad team. they lost to wake by 3, fsu by 4, bc by 2, unc by 14, BEAT a gret uva team at uva... lost to md by 2.. they are 15 points from being 3-3 or having a winng record in conference. And I guarantee we see an inspired bunch tomorro

[Bob Green]

Here are links to the game notes and full game notes at GoDuke.com:

http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=22724&SPID=1845&DB_LANG=C&ATCLID=205372270&DB_OEM_ID=4200

https://www.nmnathletics.com//pdf8/821417.pdf?ATCLID=205372270&SPSID=22724&SPID=1845&DB_LANG=C&DB_OEM_ID=4200

The Vegas line has Duke as a three points favorite with the over/under set at 141.5:

http://www.vegasinsider.com/college-basketball/teams/team-page.cfm/team/duke

We should be looking for a score in the neighborhood of 72-69.

[devildeac]

Here are links to the game notes and full game notes at GoDuke.com:

http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=22724&SPID=1845&DB_LANG=C&ATCLID=205372270&DB_OEM_ID=4200

https://www.nmnathletics.com//pdf8/821417.pdf?ATCLID=205372270&SPSID=22724&SPID=1845&DB_LANG=C&DB_OEM_ID=4200

The Vegas line has Duke as a three points favorite with the over/under set at 141.5:

http://www.vegasinsider.com/college-basketball/teams/team-page.cfm/team/duke

We should be looking for a score in the neighborhood of 72-69.

Thanks, Bob. Now I'm going to have to go out and find a cardiologist so I can watch this tense affair.

Oh, wait a minute...

[AsiaMinor]

I anticipate that the team will go out on the floor and do the best they can on that night. I forsee some mistakes on defense, some ill advised 3 point shots, a few bad passes, and on a couple trips down the court our little one-and-done will lose the ball attempting to dribble in and forget to see a defender slide up so he'll foul.

I also think the kids - and they are kids - will remember to get the ball into a Plumlee. I never question K, but as a fan I hope Quinn will play so he can get Dre the ball where he needs to have it to get going on 3's, Tyler will come in and do his Tyler thing, Seth will be, as he always is, dependable - and we will have a break out game that is the season turner.

I love this team. They have my full support, mistakes and all. There's a difference between learning and earning a title and feeling that you're entitled to have it because you are Duke. Like we fans, this team has to learn that and I think they are. From some of the posts, not sure fans have figured that out quite yet.

[Indoor66]

Thanks, Bob. Now I'm going to have to go out and find a cardiologist so I can watch this tense affair.

Oh, wait a minute...

Heal thyself.

[OldPhiKap]

Thanks, Bob. Now I'm going to have to go out and find a cardiologist so I can watch this tense affair.

Oh, wait a minute...

I'm told that red wine is good for the heart.

Wait, I think you told me that.

Must be true, then.

[RockyMtDevil]

DBR warns us again that although yet another one of our conference opponents is struggling mightily this year, we should still fear them. But why is that? A typical 18-3 Duke team should go in and take care of business, but this team continues to allow mediocre and inferior teams to play with them for major stretches of games, and in many cases those teams are taking it to us until we finally pull ahead. We should be nervous not because of Va Tech, but because this team turns mediocre teams into all-stars on a regular basis. St. John's is abysmal, Maryland is not very good, Belmont, Davidson, Clemson, Ga. Tech, Tennessee and on and on....We let inferior opponents dictate to us, that's why we should be nervous. I'm tired of hearing the party line say basically the same thing, "throw out the records on this one, they always play us tough". Well, they shouldn't, not if we played Duke basketball.

Let's start now, bury these guys, have some passion and heart and go out and bury these dudes on their home court. I'm tired of watching our guys make all stars out of guys nobody has ever heard of.

[UrinalCake]

I know this question has been asked before but what happened to the snrub chats? I really enjoyed getting to discuss the game as it's happening in that format. Any chance the host of that site could set one up for tonight?

[Lar77]

I'm told that red wine is good for the heart.

Wait, I think you told me that.

Must be true, then.

Our experiences in Cassel are never walks in the park. Interesting looking at our performance against the spread (as a market oriented indicator) - we don't do so well if you throw out the presumed blowouts (spread>20).

Carolina struggled at VT for the first half after their blowup against FSU, but VT always gears up for us so beating them is always a little special (still remember McRoberts to Dockery with 1.4 left a few years ago).

I would love to see our guys bring it and keep it for the whole 9 yards (whoops, mixing metaphors)

[devildeac]

I'm told that red wine is good for the heart.

Wait, I think you told me that.

Must be true, then.

Just had a delivery to the office today. Should be good for what ales (sic) me during the game. Moon Man, Fat Squirrel, Spotted Cow and Two Women from New Glarus Brewing. Just about as good as wine.

See you tonight in Section 21. Nervous as usual. Never easy in Hokie land.

[BlueDevilCorvette!]

I posted this in another thread but maybe Silent G is the missing piece. Throw him in there when we get a lead and let his D energize the rest of the team. He can get in the passing lanes, get his hands on passes and maybe get us some easy break away buckets to bump the lead. Plus he is 6'7". Go ahead an get him ready for the stretch run so he can guard HB twice and Gilchrist in the elite 8.

K said earlier in the year, prior Duke teams took 20 pt leads to 30 but this team aint quite figured it out yet. So maybe a shake up in the lineup is coming, I dont know. I love this team because you dont know who has the weapon. We have 5 guys on any given night that can drop 20 and I actually like that aspect of this team. We dont depend on 1 guy to score every time down the court.

K obviously aint as pleased as I am so maybe a Elliot Williams move coming?

Is a full court trapping press out of the question? We have the depth to do it. It may hide the fact we cant guard anyone. VA Tech aint loaded with ball handlers, im just saying!

I'd also like to see more of Silent G but we don't have the luxury of seeing what he is doing in practice so I can't say for sure if he would be an enhancement to our defensive woes. However, if some guys routinely makes the same mistakes and have these mental defensive lapses, why not insert Silent G...at best he couldn't do any worse or then again he could surprise us. Nonetheless, I'm just a fan and not the HOF coach so I'd defer to Coach K's judgement.

[BluDvlsN1]

I'm focusing on two things after the SJU game and Coach K's post-game and post-post-game comments

1) Defensive intensity and consistency

2) End game ball handling and decisionmaking.

I am a natural optimist, so I absolutely believe we're going to see a solid 40 minutes of defense and better decisionmaking end game.

Also want to give props to Al Featherston's main page article. Great, great review of where this team is and the issues to be dealt with in the next 5 weeks.

I think this post is well stated and reflects my thoughts as well!

Earlier in the thread there was some discussion about Seth's offense... Now we know his shot is off right now, BUT, he's a shooter and it will come back... Here is what I've noticed about Seth in recent games , and I don't have the "stats" to back it up...but, I remember him getting to the rack quite a bit for layups, many off the dribble others off of good cuts and a feed...this wasn't the norm before... When his shot returns and it will ..
That's going to be a "great package"!!

One of the things I'm looking for on the interior "D", is the help side defense response consistently..
Important in all games , but will be critical on the 8th!!!

Let's have some fun tonight, "it's game day"!!!

[OldPhiKap]

Just had a delivery to the office today. Should be good for what ales (sic) me during the game. Moon Man, Fat Squirrel, Spotted Cow and Two Women from New Glarus Brewing. Just about as good as wine.

See you tonight in Section 21. Nervous as usual. Never easy in Hokie land.

Actually, I only drink grain alcohol mixed with fresh rain water. Purity Of Essence.

I hope we go all Slim Pickens on the Hokies, but think we're in for a fistfight.

[Kedsy]

DBR warns us again that although yet another one of our conference opponents is struggling mightily this year, we should still fear them. But why is that? A typical 18-3 Duke team should go in and take care of business, but this team continues to allow mediocre and inferior teams to play with them for major stretches of games, and in many cases those teams are taking it to us until we finally pull ahead. We should be nervous not because of Va Tech, but because this team turns mediocre teams into all-stars on a regular basis. St. John's is abysmal, Maryland is not very good, Belmont, Davidson, Clemson, Ga. Tech, Tennessee and on and on....We let inferior opponents dictate to us, that's why we should be nervous. I'm tired of hearing the party line say basically the same thing, "throw out the records on this one, they always play us tough". Well, they shouldn't, not if we played Duke basketball.

Let's start now, bury these guys, have some passion and heart and go out and bury these dudes on their home court. I'm tired of watching our guys make all stars out of guys nobody has ever heard of.

You act like this is a new thing. Here's some history:

2010 season
-------------
80-71 win @Duke over unranked St. John's
74-88 loss @ unranked and struggling NC State
66-63 win @ unranked and struggling BC
81-74 win @ unranked and struggling Miami

2004 season
-------------
68-78 loss to unranked Purdue
68-60 win @ unranked and struggling Maryland
56-49 win @Duke over unranked and struggling Florida State
70-65 win @ unranked and still struggling Florida State

2001 season
-------------
63-61 win over unranked Temple
84-78 win @ unranked and struggling NC State
82-80 win @ struggling (lost 9 of 15, no idea how they were ranked) Wake Forest

1992 season
-------------
68-62 win @ unranked Virginia
95-85 win @ unranked and low-major BU
71-62 win @ unranked Georgia Tech
71-63 win @ unranked NC State
91-89 win @ unranked Maryland
68-72 loss @ unranked Wake Forest
76-67 win @Duke over unranked Virginia
98-97 win @ unranked Clemson

1991 season
-------------
85-77 win over unranked Notre Dame
89-95 loss @ unranked NC State
77-86 loss @ unranked Wake Forest
72-65 win @Duke over unranked NC State


I didn't have access to opposing 1991 or 1992 schedules to know whether the opponent was struggling or not.

I could list every other year we had teams with great records and/or did great things but I'm too lazy. My point is every Duke team "allow[s] mediocre and inferior teams to play with them for major stretches of games." And "in many cases those teams [take] it to us until we finally pull ahead." People have been saying "throw out the records on this one, they always play us tough" for at least the past 34 years (and probably before that, but I didn't follow Duke basketball before that).

[mike88]

DBR warns us again that although yet another one of our conference opponents is struggling mightily this year, we should still fear them. But why is that? A typical 18-3 Duke team should go in and take care of business, but this team continues to allow mediocre and inferior teams to play with them for major stretches of games, and in many cases those teams are taking it to us until we finally pull ahead. We should be nervous not because of Va Tech, but because this team turns mediocre teams into all-stars on a regular basis. St. John's is abysmal, Maryland is not very good, Belmont, Davidson, Clemson, Ga. Tech, Tennessee and on and on....We let inferior opponents dictate to us, that's why we should be nervous. I'm tired of hearing the party line say basically the same thing, "throw out the records on this one, they always play us tough". Well, they shouldn't, not if we played Duke basketball.

Let's start now, bury these guys, have some passion and heart and go out and bury these dudes on their home court. I'm tired of watching our guys make all stars out of guys nobody has ever heard of.

All the teams you mention are in KenPom's top 150, including Belmont at #38; our losses have been to OSU (#1), FSU (#18), and Temple (#40)- and our strength of schedule is #1 overall- we are a pretty good team (very good on offense, very average on defense) playing a very tough schedule- I think we should expect most non-home games to be tough and relatively close for the rest of the season, except maybe at BC and at WF + whoever we get in Round 1 of the NCAAs.

[Kfanarmy]

DBR warns us again that although yet another one of our conference opponents is struggling mightily this year, we should still fear them. But why is that? A typical 18-3 Duke team should go in and take care of business, but this team continues to allow mediocre and inferior teams to play with them for major stretches of games, and in many cases those teams are taking it to us until we finally pull ahead....

5 of the last 6 Ls by VT are by 4 points or less, including by 4 to FSU at home....so even though they are 1-5 in the ACC, they've been a tough out.

[Kedsy]

You act like this is a new thing. Here's some history:

2010 season
-------------
80-71 win @Duke over unranked St. John's
74-88 loss @ unranked and struggling NC State
66-63 win @ unranked and struggling BC
81-74 win @ unranked and struggling Miami

Just realized I left out the 69-73 loss @ unranked Wisconsin that season.

[COYS]

Just realized I left out the 69-73 loss @ unranked Wisconsin that season.

An interesting difference between this season and the 2010 season is that, in many ways, this year's team is far more "proven" at this point in the season the 2010 team in terms of quality wins. In 2010, the ACC was devoid of any top teams besides Duke and Maryland to a lesser extent. Duke lost two of it's highest profile games against Wiscy and Georgetown, the latter in embarrassing fashion. While a sweep of UNC would be a nice resume builder in most years, 2010 was definitely the exception (82-50, anyone?). This year, Duke has already met and defeated some of the best teams in the country. The Spartans, JayHawks, and Wolverines have all been defeated. Virginia doesn't have the pedigree in recent times of a top team, but they are proving to be a top 25 caliber opponent. A bad loss to an Ohio State team that is completely dominant at home but not nearly as strong on the road doesn't appear nearly as bad as getting rolled over by a Georgetown team that wasn't the best in the Big East or an NC State team that wasn't even a top team in a weak ACC.

I'm not really sure that this means anything, other than going beyond W-L record is important for really understanding a team. It is interesting to see how much the 2012 team has to prove to the fans, the national media, and itself despite how much it's already accomplished.

[rsvman]

... Given that we have five guards for three positions -- that's ten different combinations of guards. .....

sagegrouse

Where did the number 10 come from? Is this a combinations or a permutations question? It's been 25+ years since I took a math class, but I get 20. 5! divded by 3!, right?

[CDu]

Where did the number 10 come from? Is this a combinations or a permutations question? It's been 25+ years since I took a math class, but I get 20. 5! divded by 3!, right?

Depends on whether you define their positions or not. It's 10 combinations if position (i.e., order) doesn't matter: 5!/(3!*(5-3)!). If position (order) matters, I think you have 60 permutations: 5!/(5-3)!.

[Olympic Fan]

Depends on whether you define their positions or not. It's 10 combinations if position (i.e., order) doesn't matter: 5!/(3!*(5-3)!). If position (order) matters, I think you have 60 permutations: 5!/(5-3)!.

If you count five guards -- Curry, Dawkins, Rivers, Thornton and Cook and concede that position doesn't matter (Thorntn and Cook are the closest to two pure points and they have played together at times), then I also get 10 possible combinations of three.

I think we've probably seen all 10 combos.

[rsvman]

Thanks, guys. I told you it had been a long time since I'd taken a math class.

[RoyalBlue08]

I'm waiting for someone to give me the season +/- for all ten possible combinations.......................still waiting....................

[MChambers]

I'm waiting for someone to give me the season +/- for all ten possible combinations.......................still waiting....................

team efficiency ratings on both ends of the court and stop percentages would be nice, too. :)

[Newton_14]

DBR warns us again that although yet another one of our conference opponents is struggling mightily this year, we should still fear them. But why is that? A typical 18-3 Duke team should go in and take care of business, but this team continues to allow mediocre and inferior teams to play with them for major stretches of games, and in many cases those teams are taking it to us until we finally pull ahead. We should be nervous not because of Va Tech, but because this team turns mediocre teams into all-stars on a regular basis. St. John's is abysmal, Maryland is not very good, Belmont, Davidson, Clemson, Ga. Tech, Tennessee and on and on....We let inferior opponents dictate to us, that's why we should be nervous. I'm tired of hearing the party line say basically the same thing, "throw out the records on this one, they always play us tough". Well, they shouldn't, not if we played Duke basketball.

Let's start now, bury these guys, have some passion and heart and go out and bury these dudes on their home court. I'm tired of watching our guys make all stars out of guys nobody has ever heard of.

You happen to catch the recent St Johns- West Va game? Kentucky vs Tennessee? Syracuse at home against West VA? UNC against Wake? UNC at VPI? Seen any of Ohio St's conference road games? Kansas vs Texas, see that one? Baylor, Missouri, I could go on and on and on and on and on.....

If you think Top 10 teams regularly blowout conference opponents on the road you apparently don't watch much College Basketball.

[OldPhiKap]

I'm waiting for someone to give me the season +/- for all ten possible combinations.......................still waiting....................

18 wins, three losses, give or take. Best I can do.

[riverside6]

Live tempo-based stats for the game here, Hairston and Thornton get the start.

http://www.scacchoops.com/ViewHDGame.asp?hSchedule=10549

[pfrduke]

Live tempo-based stats for the game here, Hairston and Thornton get the start.

http://www.scacchoops.com/ViewHDGame.asp?hSchedule=10549

Well that's certainly a shakeup. First start for Josh, yes?

[nocilla]

looks like firstrowsports has been seized by homeland security. Here is a Justin.tv link; not the best quality, but decent.

http://www.justin.tv/sportzzworld31#/w/2553530704

[moonpie23]

what did i do to deserve this OVER and OVER again?

[RoyalBlue08]

Good seats still available!

[moonpie23]

what did i do to deserve this OVER and OVER again?

honestly....he couldn't be happy about these assignments....right?

[ChrisP]

Love the energy :D Love the effort :D Hate the refs :mad:

[DukieInBrasil]

such a weird game so far. Almost fights, jawing, Ts. We still got the lead early in.

[_Gary]

Wow, from my vantage point that was a totally bogus tech called on Andre. His head wasn't shaking demonstratively. He didn't run up to anyone and get in their face. Whatever he may have said it couldn't have been more than a word or two based on the instant replay. I think that was just a garbage call.

[lotusland]

I don't usually like a lot of trash talk but I think it may be good for Dre to get a little animated. T'd up say we'll see.

[toughbuff1]

Andre Dawkins is the new Daniel Ewing.

[JMarley50]

Len Elmore and Hess..This is gonna be a long game. Anybody notice Nate sending Josh to switch seats with Quinn so he could talk to him and Quinn refusing to get up and go down there?

[Cameron]

I don't care if Andre picked up Seth Greenberg and threw him into the crowd after that three-ball, he is downright nasty. I love the demeanor. I think Andre's in for a big night (once he gets off the bench due to the technical:D). As Christian Laettner once said, "It's only natural for a little arrogance to creep in." This is Duke, and we are back to showing it early.

Let's go Devils.

[jamos14]

These referees are calling some garbage basketball right now. Also, the announcers LOVE the foul calls on Duke. Almost tried to make it sound like Dawkins was a thug.

[CoachJ10]

honestly....he couldn't be happy about these assignments....right?

Curmudgeons love to be curdmudgeonly. I think he wants as many Duke games as possible...

[jamos14]

9 fouls on Duke already....wow!

[ChrisP]

OMG, that was so NOT a flop on Mason - just watched the replay and um, that, Mr. Patrick, was no flop!

[Tucknut]

Len Elmore is confused

[wandalee]

Flopping can be called a foul??? I've never heard that before!

[MartyClark]

9 fouls on Duke already....wow!

These refs are killing me. The alleged "flop" by Mason was clearly an offensive foul. Davila lowered his shoulder and plowed into Mason.

[moonpie23]

refs letting them play......by that i mean, letting VATECH play...

[_Gary]

OMG, that was so NOT a flop on Mason - just watched the replay and um, that, Mr. Patrick, was no flop!

Agreed. That was actually a very bad no call.

[DukieInBrasil]

Rivers with a now-patented beyond NBA 3pt miss early in the shot clock following an opponent's score.
Kelly with a moving screen, ugh.
Likin' that Curry and Dawkins have hit 3s early.

[Dr. Rosenrosen]

Wow, davila sure did lower the shoulder. Easy to see. But love hearing Len stick to his guns. Sheesh...:rolleyes:

[Bluedog]

Why does Karl Hess get assigned to Duke 9% of ALL his games? More than any other team? I don't get it...Listening to Elmore and watching Hess is very frustrating and doesn't allow me to enjoy other aspects of the game, ha. Normally officiating doesn't get to me, except Hess (and maybe Valentine...).

[Son of Jarhead]

... it sure didn't look like Andre deserved a T. Wonder what word he said? Hate that he got his second on that. Anyway, hopefully, the refs will let them play. Go Duke!

[SCMatt33]

Duke REALLY can't adjust to the refs right now. They are clearly calling the game very tight on the outside, and somewhat loose in the paint, yet they play extremely aggressive on the outside on D, but passive on the outside on O. That's a formula for having a lot more fouls than your opponent. Somebody needs to be putting the ball on the floor and go towards the rim to draw fouls.

[Dukehky]

"You can't do that" is the single worst chant in all of college athletics. I'm ashamed when it gets yelled in Cameron and I hate it when it's done everywhere else.

They just showed all the close games we had with them, all VT wins. I hope Len Elmore gets sick off of some of the terrible food that exists in Blacksburg.

[SCMatt33]

By the way, you have to be a statue before the guy gets within 5 feet to get a charge, which is bad enough, but for some reason, we think that they're magically going to start calling the charge. How can you play like that?

[MartyClark]

I like the effort tonight. They seem to playing with passion.

[kostar]

I'm sorry, i'm checking into the game late while at work, did Marshall really start the game as per ESPN Box Score?

[DukieInBrasil]

Kelly is taking advantage of his matchup with Davila and is looking strong going to the rack. Nice.

[SCMatt33]

Major props to Kelly right now. He seemed to figure out that even though he's not the best driver, with the tight officiating, he can get into the lane and expect a foul or a clear path to the rim.

[JNort]

Really liked that sequence there. Dawkins plays good D and gets fired up about and gets the rest of the team fired up then goes back on offense and drains the 3. The technical was not very good but I am all for it if the team responds well to it.

[Ggallagher]

Nope, Marshall did not start

[jamos14]

Elmore is a huge tool. The only reason he isnt fired is because all the duke haters love to listen to him and start conspiracy theories based on his idiocy.

[kostar]

Nope, Marshall did not start

Fail ESPN, Fail.

[jamos14]

Great shot/score by Dawkins

[jamos14]

BTW, does anyone know why SNRUBCHAT doesnt work anymore?

[CoachJ10]

First time in awhile that our guys are playing "strong". Really like to see that. Esp. from Dre and Mase.

[DukieInBrasil]

We're playing some super-efficient ball on the offensive side and VT has missed some open looks , but we've played some good D most of the game.

[jamos14]

Mason has improved A LOT on free throws the last 2-3 weeks.

[ChrisP]

I say we keep taking it to the rim until they stop it. No 3's from 30 feet right now guys...

[JBDuke]

Quinn with the hook shot!!!!

[Ggallagher]

Nice work by Cook - he's making big difference right now.

[Bluedog]

Cook is looking really good. Also, our D this half looks a LOT better than against St. John's, but maybe Va Tech is just really bad. At least, it looks like we're having a lot more intensity on the defensive end which is always good to see.

[JBDuke]

Ugh. ANOTHER buzzing-beating 3 pointer???

[slower]

I mean - you just KNEW that last 3 was going in.

[Tucknut]

Lost count of the number of traveling calls the refs missed.

[RoyalBlue08]

Effort is 1000% better compared to St. Johns game. Let's see if we can keep it up for 40 mins

[ChrisP]

Ugh, just what I was afraid of - we miss a wide open 3 and they make a highly contested one! Dang!!! It was a great look for Quinn though so can't fault him. It still sucks though - six point swing!

Love the energy and effort tonight for sure though - don't care what the score is.

[Dukehky]

Is it just me or do other teams always hit the first half buzzer beater?

We need to step on their freaking throats in the second half. Send a message to the rest of the league that just because you "get up" for a game doesn't mean you have a shot. We need to beat the hell out of them. Gottliebs and punk too.

[JMarley50]

Is it just me or do other teams always hit the first half buzzer beater?

We need to step on their freaking throats in the second half. Send a message to the rest of the league that just because you "get up" for a game doesn't mean you have a shot. We need to beat the hell out of them. Gottliebs and punk too.

I was just about to say the same thing!

[slower]

Is it just me or do other teams always hit the first half buzzer beater?

We need to step on their freaking throats in the second half. Send a message to the rest of the league that just because you "get up" for a game doesn't mean you have a shot. We need to beat the hell out of them. Gottliebs and punk too.

Unfortunately, I get the sense that we'll go down to the wire tonight. But, yeah, if anybody deserves to get the hell beat out of them, it's VT. I was watching the way that number 31 on VT was setting screens and it seemed like he was raising his elbow up as our guys ran past him. Same as it ever was.

I don't know what's wrong with Curry, but he's in a MAJOR funk. I hope the guys realize that they need to value the ball on EVERY possession. No strips from the backside, no bonehead passes, no wild drives into traffic. Hopefully, Mason and Ryan (AKA The White Raven, as per Grantland's Shane Ryan) can decimate them inside. Of course, as we all well know, it's impossible to predict anything. Except perhaps, that VT will have at least one run in them before the game's over.

[sagegrouse]

Everybody happy? Looks like we are staying in front of the Hokies on defense. -- sage

[KShip21]

Lost count of the number of traveling calls the refs missed.


I was thinking the same thing all half. Must be their "fouls only" whistles.

[DukieInBrasil]

HOw many halves have opponents ended by hitting a 3 as time expired?
Washington did. FSU did it 2x in the same game. Right now.
Any others?

[Newton_14]

Nice that Uncle Festus thinks the only reason Duke went on a run is due to the ref not calling a shot clock violation on Duke. No way it was Tech's poor defense or Duke's good offense and good defense... nah, could'nt have been..

[ChrisP]

Everybody happy? Looks like we are staying in front of the Hokies on defense. -- sage

Yep, pretty happy with the D, overall. Much, much better effort tonight, IMHO.

[Tucknut]

Wow, another traveling call not called.

[loldevilz]

Fail ESPN, Fail.

I saw this and i almost went into psychiatric shocks

[ChrisP]

Ugh, how did Curry mess up that layup?

[RoyalBlue08]

How could anyone be as bad as their job as Mike Patrick and still be employed?

[ChrisP]

Wow, Mike Patrick has apparently had an extra 3 bourbons before airtime. Jeez dude, try to get one call right!

[Dukehky]

I was really excited to say that Mike Patrick had gone senile first, but I was beat to it. He literally just cantgetright. I think that the refs got together before this game and decided that calling charges was juvenile. Or they listened to Chris Mullin who said that charges shouldn't be a part of the game...

[Dr. Rosenrosen]

Come on espn. Who cares about watching the coaches. Show me the #$%@ game.

[ChrisP]

Not doing as good a job handling screens early in this 2nd half - VT seems to be getting more open looks. Gotta tighten up that D guys.

[cruxer]

Dealing with turtlehead elmore and drunky patrick all season has been one of the most trying experiences of my long Duke fandom. I'm going to try psyops since ESPN clearly is following this board and inflicting this on us just to be cruel.

I LOVE TURTLEHEAD ELMORE AND DRUNKY PATRICK! WISH THEY'D DO ALL OF OUR GAMES.

Think it'll work?

We're playing much better this game. If Mase was hitting on his post moves at the rate he was against UMD, I suspect we'd be up 25.

-c

[JMarley50]

It's nice of Elmore to keep reminding everyone just how much Va Tech is struggling this year every time he has to give our D credit tonight.

[DesertDevil]

Man, you can't hand check on the perimeter, but you can absolutely beat the tar out of someone inside. :confused: This officiating crew needs some consistency.

[Ggallagher]

That was a nice change - Rivers smiled broadly after that three - and we didn't get called for a foul.

[duke09hms]

Looks like a whole new team out there tonight! Love the FOCUS! Tough defense leads to crisp focused offense. Love it!

[DesertDevil]

Time to step on Tech's throat & make this lead 30.

[JMarley50]

Watch out boys... The lead has been cut. (from 22 to 20) per Mike Patrick. This is comical.

[Dukeface88]

They just showed all the close games we had with them, all VT wins.

They've been doing that for a while now. Pretty much any time they show past game, they're games we lost.

[throatybeard]

Just had a delivery to the office today. Should be good for what ales (sic) me during the game. Moon Man, Fat Squirrel, Spotted Cow and Two Women from New Glarus Brewing. Just about as good as wine.

Better far. Even more so if you had Uff Da, Double IPA, or Raspberry Tart.

[DesertDevil]

Get up 22 and the focus on D goes out the window. :(

[ChrisP]

Time to step on Tech's throat & make this lead 30.

Or not :confused:

[UrinalCake]

Nice of the announcers to show all of those highlights from when St. John's beat us.

Oh wait, you mean we actually won that game?

VT fans wondering why they haven't been doing this all game.

[Kfanarmy]

went into celebration mode and have lost focus on the past couple of posessions.

[Cameron]

Coach K, per usual, makes a much needed mid-season lineup adjustment to revitalize the energy of the team and it pays off brilliantly. What a night for Josh Hairston. Good for him.

Let's finish this off boys and get back to Durham where we belong, at the top of the ACC.

[Ggallagher]

Get up 22 and the focus on D goes out the window. :(

I think Mason heard you....

[throatybeard]

BTW, does anyone know why SNRUBCHAT doesnt work anymore?

No, but I just contacted Breen.

[DukieInBrasil]

Got up by 22 for the 2nd strait game in the 2nd half. We were giving signs of deflating in the same way as we did vs SJ, but the way we shut down that VT fast-break may be indicative of more fire in the belly in this game.

[cruxer]

Is it wrong to admit I liked the Glengarry Glenross reference?

-c

[Tucknut]

"..over the back." <- most ridiculous Elmore comment all night.:confused:

[DesertDevil]

Is it wrong to admit I liked the Glengarry Glenross reference?

-c

Nope. It was actually pretty clever & apt.

[cruxer]

"..over the back." <- most ridiculous Elmore comment all night.:confused:

Yep. Totally negated the Glengarry Glenross love. They rarely show replays when he's clearly wrong, and when they do, he sticks with it. See the Mason "flop" in the first half. "No contact!"

-c

[UrinalCake]

Regarding fans throwing stuff on the court... what's to stop a Duke fan at the game from throwing something, thus giving VT a technical foul?

[Bluedog]

The moment of the game is a technical foul on Dre? Seriously ESPN? I know we have been on a 30 minute run since that point, but I don't think it was a result of that play. Ridiculous. Like what we're seeing this half. :)

[DesertDevil]

I've been a bit critical of Rivers so far this year, but he's played a really good game tonight. Very under control.

[Tucknut]

Yep. Totally negated the Glengarry Glenross love. They rarely show replays when he's clearly wrong, and when they do, he sticks with it. See the Mason "flop" in the first half. "No contact!"

-c
You're right. The "over the back" comment was the second most ridiculous Elmore comment tonight. :D