MBB: Duke vs. Eastern Michigan Pre-Game and In-Game Thread

[JBDuke]

Put your pre-game and in-game thoughts here.

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Game is this Saturday, Dec 28th, at 2 pm EST. TV will be ESPN2.

Duke's first game since the win over UCLA on Dec 19th.

[OldPhiKap]

I really miss the "next game" listing on the front page. For many reasons.

Please ask the power(s) that be to see if they can add this to the front page. It cannot be that hard, if this software is worth a flip.

But yeah, wherever and whenever, go Duke!

[mbwalker]

I really miss the "next game" listing on the front page. For many reasons.

Please ask the power(s) that be to see if they can add this to the front page. It cannot be that hard, if this software is worth a flip.

But yeah, wherever and whenever, go Duke!

Amen. I like the new format, but absolutely HATE the loss of the next game listing on the front page. Surely there's a way to get it back!

[Jim3k]

Amen. I like the new format, but absolutely HATE the loss of the next game listing on the front page. Surely there's a way to get it back!

It's there. Just click on Home and look between the pictures and the headlines.

[OldPhiKap]

It's there. Just click on Home and look between the pictures and the headlines.

Maybe on the mobile lay-out, not on my desk top.

That is really the only down side to the new site so far, it would be great if they could somehow fix that too. That's the best way to know who we play, where, when, and what channel in a simple glance.

What's more important than our next game?

[Ggallagher]

It doesn't jump out at you like it did on the old web site - but this is the view on my desktop.


Maybe on the mobile lay-out, not on my desk top.

That is really the only down side to the new site so far, it would be great if they could somehow fix that too. That's the best way to know who we play, where, when, and what channel in a simple glance.

What's more important than our next game?

3764

[flyingdutchdevil]

Anywho, back to the game.

E Mich is 143 on Pomeroy. Around the same as Vermont and E Carolina. Good measuring stick to see how far we've come. Go Duke!

[pfrduke]

EMU should be an interesting test for both our offense and our defense. When we have the ball, EMU presents the toughest front court challenge we've seen outside of Arizona. Da'Shonte Riley is a legit 7-footer who's 7th in the nation in block percentage; playing behind and/or next to him is Glenn Bryant, a rangy 6'8" forward who's 11th in the nation in block percentage. Led by those two, as a team the Eagles have blocked 76 of their opponents' 348 2-point attempts* - that's better than one out of every 5 shots, and good for second in the country (behind only St. John's). In part because of their blocking tendencies, and in part because they play a lot of zone, the Eagles have been atrocious on the defensive glass, letting opponents gather over 40% of their misses. Duke will need to be dogged to get good inside scoring opportunities and to pursue second chances. Also as a result of the shot-blocking tendencies, the Eagles foul quite a bit - Riley averages over 5 fouls per 40, so getting him in trouble early could open up the inside. Duke has focused a lot on getting Parker and Hood post opportunities, even against a zone. They'll have to resist the tendency to drift to the perimeter (like 1st half UCLA) and instead probe the middle to get the zone off balance and create open looks (like 2nd half UCLA).

The test for our defense is a different one - EMU is cover-your-eyes bad on offense, the kind of team that should get shut down against a quality defense. They don't really shoot well from anywhere on the floor, they're susceptible to shot blocking (although some of that is attributable to schedule - Kentucky and UMass, both good shot-blocking teams, swatted 9 a piece against EMU), and they don't chase down their own misses. Against the three major opponents played to date (UK, UMass, Purdue), EMU has scored 184 points in 211 possessions. That's just bad. If Duke plays good defense, EMU should not score well. Conversely, letting the Eagles hang a lot of points would not be a good sign for our continued development on the defensive side of the ball.

*Note, this assumes all blocks are on 2s, which may not exactly be the case (although 2-point field goals are far more likely to be blocked than 3s). Still, they block a lot of shots any way you slice it.

[OldPhiKap]

It doesn't jump out at you like it did on the old web site - but this is the view on my desktop.



3764

Thanks, but I checked again and it's not there on mine. Drag. Maybe it's a formatting issue that is unique to my computer, but I have looked several times before and after your post.

In any event, it will be interesting to see how we play against a big front court, this is going to be a constant theme through the season I suspect.

[El_Diablo]

Thanks, but I checked again and it's not there on mine. Drag. Maybe it's a formatting issue that is unique to my computer, but I have looked several times before and after your post.

In any event, it will be interesting to see how we play against a big front court, this is going to be a constant theme through the season I suspect.

Click on "Blue Devils" (in between "Library" and "Tickets"). It has both the last game and next game posted there.

[53n206]

found "next game" and schedule. Now I know, no sweat, but until now-----

[Saratoga2]

EMU should be an interesting test for both our offense and our defense. When we have the ball, EMU presents the toughest front court challenge we've seen outside of Arizona. Da'Shonte Riley is a legit 7-footer who's 7th in the nation in block percentage; playing behind and/or next to him is Glenn Bryant, a rangy 6'8" forward who's 11th in the nation in block percentage. Led by those two, as a team the Eagles have blocked 76 of their opponents' 348 2-point attempts* - that's better than one out of every 5 shots, and good for second in the country (behind only St. John's). In part because of their blocking tendencies, and in part because they play a lot of zone, the Eagles have been atrocious on the defensive glass, letting opponents gather over 40% of their misses. Duke will need to be dogged to get good inside scoring opportunities and to pursue second chances. Also as a result of the shot-blocking tendencies, the Eagles foul quite a bit - Riley averages over 5 fouls per 40, so getting him in trouble early could open up the inside. Duke has focused a lot on getting Parker and Hood post opportunities, even against a zone. They'll have to resist the tendency to drift to the perimeter (like 1st half UCLA) and instead probe the middle to get the zone off balance and create open looks (like 2nd half UCLA).

The test for our defense is a different one - EMU is cover-your-eyes bad on offense, the kind of team that should get shut down against a quality defense. They don't really shoot well from anywhere on the floor, they're susceptible to shot blocking (although some of that is attributable to schedule - Kentucky and UMass, both good shot-blocking teams, swatted 9 a piece against EMU), and they don't chase down their own misses. Against the three major opponents played to date (UK, UMass, Purdue), EMU has scored 184 points in 211 possessions. That's just bad. If Duke plays good defense, EMU should not score well. Conversely, letting the Eagles hang a lot of points would not be a good sign for our continued development on the defensive side of the ball.

*Note, this assumes all blocks are on 2s, which may not exactly be the case (although 2-point field goals are far more likely to be blocked than 3s). Still, they block a lot of shots any way you slice it.

Duke is a serious academic institution and as such schedules a break in the schedule during exams. Likewise is gives the students and coaches a break during the holidays to have time with family and friends. We don't tend to schedule powerhouse teams on the first game back from these breaks, presumably since the team is expected to be rusty and will take some time to play up to their potential. I would expect the same to be true tomorrow and expect misplays, etc. but not to worry, Duke should win. Look forward to another winning effort as they head toward conference play.

[UrinalCake]

Thanks for the analysis pfrduke. I'll be interested to see if MP3 gets a chance to see what he can do against the big dude, or if we'll go small and not even try to get anything inside. Hopefully it's the former. I think we'll win the game either way, but would like to get some experience for games when we can't just rely on the three.

One quibble I have though... Kansas's front line was pretty big too and I would expect it to be better than EMU's. Though admittedly I haven't actually seen EMU play.

[sagegrouse]

Thanks for the analysis pfrduke. I'll be interested to see if MP3 gets a chance to see what he can do against the big dude, or if we'll go small and not even try to get anything inside. Hopefully it's the former. I think we'll win the game either way, but would like to get some experience for games when we can't just rely on the three.

One quibble I have though... Kansas's front line was pretty big too and I would expect it to be better than EMU's. Though admittedly I haven't actually seen EMU play.

Or, we can go right at the big guys and foul them out, like Laettner against future NBAer Matt Geiger -- 17 minutes, five fouls.

[OldPhiKap]

Or, we can go right at the big guys and foul them out, like Laettner against future NBAer Matt Geiger -- 17 minutes, five fouls.

I remember him taking Shaq outside, making him defend the perimeter (and sit on the pine with foul trouble). "1-2-3-4, Shaq can't play this game no more." Parker can do that, not sure if we really have someone who can draw the center out though. (Man, we could use a Ryan Kelly right now)

[WillJ]

A little EMU history.

Of course they beat us back in 1996, the first year in Duke's recovery after the disastrous 1994-95 season, with us getting abused by Earl Boykins, a 5-5 guy who we should *never* let beat us....or so I thought at the time. Boykins, of course, went on to make me look stupid by having a long NBA career.

Further back, George Gervin played at EMU in the early 1970s and was a really fantastic player in college, in the ABA and then in the NBA. If we were to rank schools by the ranking of their best alumnus (http://www.basketball-reference.com/awards/slam_500_greatest.html), then EMU would have Duke beat:). Gervin's #45 on this particular list...I think Duke's highest is Grant Hill at #98.

[roywhite]

Further back, George Gervin played at EMU in the early 1970s and was a really fantastic player in college, in the ABA and then in the NBA. If we were to rank schools by the ranking of their best alumnus (http://www.basketball-reference.com/awards/slam_500_greatest.html), then EMU would have Duke beat:). Gervin's #45 on this particular list...I think Duke's highest is Grant Hill at #98.

The Iceman was quite a scorer but his career at Eastern Michigan was a little bumpy.

George Gervin ESPN bio (http://espn.go.com/nba/player/bio/_/id/4131/george-gervin)


Gervin accepted a scholarship to attend Long Beach State and play for Jerry Tarkanian. But being in Southern California gave Gervin such culture shock that he went back to Michigan before his first semester had ended. He enrolled at Eastern Michigan University, where he averaged 29.5 points as a sophomore forward in 1971-72.

Then a momentary loss of control derailed a career that was just getting back on track. While competing in a Division II tournament in Evansville, Indiana, Gervin punched a Roanoke College player named Jay Piccola. Eastern Michigan coach Jim Dutcher resigned. Gervin was suspended for the following season and eventually was kicked off the team. The official reason for the dismissal was Gervin's inadequate performance on an NCAA eligibility exam; Gervin believed otherwise. Invitations to try out for the Olympic and Pan-American teams were withdrawn.

[hudlow]

Put your pre-game and in-game thoughts here.

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Game is this Saturday, Dec 28th, at 2 pm EST. TV will be ESPN2.

Duke's first game since the win over UCLA on Dec 19th.


Thanks for including the date, game time and TV listing....I wish it was mandatory for these pre-game threads.

hud

[riverside6]

Live tempo-based stats for Duke/Eastern Michigan, starters posted

http://www.scacchoops.com/ViewHDGame.asp?hSchedule=20006

Thornton and Hairston still starting for Duke.

[JNort]

Hood on the bench????

[Acymetric]

Hood on the bench????

Looks like he was in the locker room...anyone watching on tv or listening to radio got the scoop?

[ICP]

Anyone heard anything about why Hood didn't start today?

[wacobluedevil]

Anyone heard anything about why Hood didn't start today?

He's in there now.

[Duvall]

Anyone heard anything about why Hood didn't start today?

He was sick. Still is, I imagine, though he's playing.

[meloveduke]

Anyone heard anything about why Hood didn't start today?

Forgot to pee.. lol

[DU82]

Anyone heard anything about why Hood didn't start today?

He was announced as a starter, but during the pre game timeout, ran off the court, presumably to the locker room. Andre then went out on the floor.

[meloveduke]

He was announced as a starter, but during the pre game timeout, ran off the court, presumably to the locker room. Andre then went out on the floor.


When you gotta go, you gotta go...lol

[wacobluedevil]

So far Hood does not seem himself. Perhaps he is ill.

[noworries]

Great play by Sheed right there, good to see K fired up after it...Sheed having a good game

[Ggallagher]

Just noticed them wrapping Rodney's wrist on the bench - haven't heard what happened though.