MOTM: Duke vs. Virginia Tech (Feb 2, 2012)

[JBDuke]

Who was Man of the Match in Duke's 75-60 win over Virginia Tech?

[Duvall]

Gotta be Karl Hess, right?

[NM Duke Fan]

Austin

[RoyalBlue08]

That was Austin's best game of the season...by far in my opinion. Made good decisions with the ball and got others easy shots, shot the ball well himself, and really stepped it up on defense. I think we saw that Austin has the ability to be a very good perimeter defender if he is willing to make that an emphasis.

[jv001]

Almost voted for Austin, but changed my mind. I voted for Josh. He came out and played good defense. Moved his feet better than I thought he could. I thought he keyed the defense to begin the game. GoDuke!

[wallyman]

He did everything. But great to see Josh step up, too.

[weezie]

Gotta love the Rivers.

[91_92_01_10_15]

Almost voted for Austin, but changed my mind. I voted for Josh. He came out and played good defense. Moved his feet better than I thought he could. I thought he keyed the defense to begin the game. GoDuke!

Josh set the tone.

[devildeac]

What a complete game by Rivers. Good shooting/shot selection (except one time, IIRC), on-ball D, help D, 5 A, 2 TO, 5 boards. Really liked Josh's effort and stat line. Kelly also very solid from the bench. Very complete effort with few lapses tonight. And a better ACC record on the road than at home so far;).

[Newton_14]

I went with Austin. Honorable Mention to Josh. Not only did he bring energy and good defense, he played within himself better than any other game of his career imo. Very nice job.

Austin was MOTM though. Best all around game of his young career. I agree with others that Austin is our best on ball defender, though Seth and Tyler have both stepped it up in that area as well.

A+ to the team defense as well.

[UrinalCake]

Great games by lot of people. Josh getting the start was a statement by Coach K that defense comes first, and everyone heard it. I agree that Josh played under control - sometimes when a "high energy" guy gets on the floor he's too amped up and overdoes it, but that didn't happen. Loved the energy shown by the whole team. I voted for Austin as he took what the defense gave and played smart.

For Sunday's game, will a current Crazy please make a sign that looks like the Austin Powers logo but instead says Austin Rivers? How has this not happened yet?

[Bob Green]

And a better ACC record on the road than at home so far;).

I realize you are joking around but this really is an important point. We continue to win conference road games and everyone knows winning on the road in conference is a challenge.

[Native]

Threw up a vote for Cook. Felt like he came in and gave the team a real spark on offense. Had a great sequence with a lay-up and then connected with Ryan for a big 3. Really provided some instant offense tonight.

Rivers also had a great game!

[devildeac]

I realize you are joking around but this really is an important point. We continue to win conference road games and everyone knows winning on the road in conference is a challenge.

Actually, part joking, mostly serious. We have 4 road wins which are huge. Granted they are not against unc, f$u and UVa but any road wins are to be cherished and are tough to accomplish. We could have stumbled in any of those but ended up with the W, putting us back into a tie for first place and hopefully gaining more confidence in the process. I am very pleased so far with 4-0 on the road.

[magjayran]

Josh set the tone.

He absolutely did and I almost voted for him because I enjoyed the good plays he made so much. But then I voted for Austin instead. He was pretty much all-around awesome.

[OldPhiKap]

Josh, for earning the start and having his practice play carry over to the game.

Sometimes, the most important parts of winning happen before the ball is even jumped . . . .

[Nrrrrvous]

Eric Green steals a pass and is gone for an easy layup on the other end. Other guys and even Austin at other times say "oh well, next play" and let him go. Not this time. Austin follows Green, times his jump perfectly, completely alters the layup, without fouling, and is still in position to get the rebound of the miss. That's a Kyle/Jon/Shane play.

[CLW]

Voted for Austin but I thought Hairston and Thornton really provided the team with an "edge" early which was key. However, the real MOTM IMO has to go to K who's press conference/quotes ripping into the team clearly got their attention (along with a week of what was surely tough practices). I noticed also a quote in the ESPN recap about the team stopping their focus on their Twitter families and instead focussing on the Duke family.

Should be interesting to see if the team can keep the intensity they had last night.

[Wander]

Tough to argue against Rivers or our two new defensive starters, but the key moment in the game was Kelly owning Davila for that dunk and layup in the first half.

[JNort]

I went with Rivers not so much for his 18 points but for the improvement in his ability to drive and still look for open teammates. He also drove without getting the ball knocked out once tonight I believe. Also his defense was superb on and off the ball. The points he brought in were just a bonus to me.

[MChambers]

Actually, part joking, mostly serious. We have 4 road wins which are huge. Granted they are not against unc, f$u and UVa but any road wins are to be cherished and are tough to accomplish. We could have stumbled in any of those but ended up with the W, putting us back into a tie for first place and hopefully gaining more confidence in the process. I am very pleased so far with 4-0 on the road.

5-0 on the road would be wonderful.

[JNort]

5-0 on the road would be wonderful.

Shhhh don't mention it to early or it wont happen!

[ACCBBallFan]

Austin had the best overall metrics and scored at key moments.

Mason led in +/-, with Ryan and Dre tied for second

Duke VA Tech +/- Metrics Total Duke Blue Devils
69 (56) 13 62 75 Austin Rivers, G

61 (41) 20 47 67 Mason Plumlee, F

58 (40) 18 39 57 Ryan Kelly, F

40 (22) 18 28 46 Andre Dawkins, G

54 (48) 06 32 38 Tyler Thornton, G
39 (40) (1) 35 34 Seth Curry, G

23 (14) 09 20 29 Quinn Cook, G
19 (22) (3) 23 20 Josh Hairston, F

12 (17) (5) 15 10 Miles Plumlee, F
375 (300) 75 TOTALS
75 (60) 15

Column labelled Metrics is sum of all positive stats like points, boards, assists minus TO's minus fouls.

For the season since I started tracking in Davidson game, Austin contiunues to be +/- leader, after I throw out best + and worst - as anomolies.

Ryan who leads in past 5 games +/- is still second Overall but Mason who led versus VA Tech has leaped past Tyler.

VA T Last 5 ~Hi/Lo Duke +/- since Davidson game

13 56 176 Austin Rivers, G

18 65 144 Ryan Kelly, F

20 44 124 Mason Plumlee, F

06 43 117 Tyler Thornton, G

(1) 33 106 Seth Curry, G

18 34 094 Andre Dawkins, G

09 (3) 063 Quinn Cook, G

(5) (6) 061 Miles Plumlee, F

(3) (6) 031 Josh Hairston, F

00 (6) 000 Michael Gbinije, G-F

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