MBB: Duke 66, Gonzaga 52 Postgame Thread

[hurleyfor3]

Indy!

[House G]

One of K's better coaching jobs!

[CR9]

4928efense

[hurleyfor3]

Points allowed in tournament games so far: 56, 49, 57, 52.

[ChicagoCrazy84]

Points allowed in tournament games so far: 56, 49, 57, 52.

Absolutely fabulous defense. I still can't believe we held Pangos to 4 points. Final Four!!!!!

[Troublemaker]

Wooohooo!!!!

Don't mess with Texas!!! Justise and Matt!

[TruBlu]

When do tickets go on sell through the Duke ticket office?

[Troublemaker]

Live postgame presser will be here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9I8l9-nAZVw

Check out ESPN News for maybe the trophy presentation / net-cutting

[Tripping William]

Dominance at winning time. Awesome!

[Jackson]

My first Duke final four that I watched was 1978. This never gets old!!!

[g-money]

Gary, I'm going to go out on a limb here and guess that this is the happiest you've ever been to be wrong. :)

On to Indy!!!!!!

[crdaul]

How sweet it is!!!!

[NancyCarol]

Bite me Barles Charkley :)

[brevity]

I've been saving it for a couple of weeks, but it's now safe to say...

Jahlil Okafor, Justise Winslow, Tyus Jones: the OAD to the Final Four.

[arnie]

Dominance at winning time. Awesome!
Absolutely - makes us winners and is big difference tween us and Chapel Hill.

[NYBri]

WWWWWWWWOOOOOOOOOOOOO HHHHHHHHOOOOOOOOOOOO

Down by 4 and then come roaring back. This team has great heart and greatness is coming from all sorts of different places...Matt Frickin' Jones. Who knew.

[conmanlhughes]

3 out of the 4 teams in the Champions Classic are in the final 4.

[ChicagoCrazy84]

When do tickets go on sell through the Duke ticket office?

As much as it pains me to say, I dont think Final Four tickets just go "on sale" at the box office.

[InSpades]

Tyus gets MOP? Matt and Justise both on all-tournament team. Tough to not give MOP to Justise. Maybe that was a mistake? Either way... Go Duke!

[cptnflash]

Regional all-tournament team:
Tyus Jones (MOP)
Justise Winslow
Matt Jones (!)
Kyle Wiltjer
Domantas Sabonis

[Billy Dat]

Final Four baby!!!! What an accomplishment for this squad. I am thrilled for Quinn Cook above everyone else for making his mark as a senior!

This game reminded me so much of our title game against Butler. Both teams were playing so hard, shots were really tough to come by. Everyone on the court was fighting and clawing for every inch.

After not catching a good bounce for most of the game, we got the break we needed when Wiltjer choked that bunny. That was the play of the game.

The next biggest play was Justise getting that o-board and getting fouled on the attempted put back. He nailed every big foul shot, and then nailed that epic 3 which was pretty much the dagger.

Matt Jones was HUGE. He really is feast or famine on offense but he brought the feast.

K did an excellent job with subs in the second half. I thought he pushed all the right buttons.

Jones and Cook were their usual solid selves. Being able to rely on their foul shooting is so vital.

It's weird to be winning these games without Jah making a big mark on the offensive end, but, again, we play off his gravity to open things for others.

Only 3 turnovers today, amazing.

DEFENSE DEFENSE DEFENSE...are we suddenly a defensive force again?

Back to Indy where we have had so much good fortune in the Final Four. What a feeling. This feels great every time we can do it!!!!!!!!!!

[pfrduke]

Can we all take a moment to acknowledge Quinn Cook's defense? Delon Wright on Friday, 10 pts, 4-13 shooting, 2 turnovers; Kevin Pangos today, 4 pts, 2-8 shooting, 3 turnovers. His ability to shut down the other teams' lead guards was key to our defensive efforts and helped win the weekend.

[Utley]

Tooting my horn here - from the Utah postgam misread


We should go easy with the Matt bashing. What's so,great about this team is that you never know who the next games hero is going to be. We need to keep riding all 8 horses.

Love this team - what a special season!

[dairedevil]

If you had told me before this weekend that Okafor would have two of his worst games all season, Cook and Winslow would have tweaked their ankles again, and that we would get to the Final Four on stellar defense, I would say you were crazy!

Yowza! I'm loving this team!

[NYBri]

Can we all take a moment to acknowledge Quinn Cook's defense? Delon Wright on Friday, 10 pts, 4-13 shooting, 2 turnovers; Kevin Pangos today, 4 pts, 2-8 shooting, 3 turnovers. His ability to shut down the other teams' lead guards was key to our defensive efforts and helped win the weekend.

^^^^ This.

[FerryFor50]

How about Matt Jones?

I've said a number of times that he was going to come up big and boy did he ever tonight. Great defense and timely shooting. He was really feeling it. So much for that "lacking confidence" theory. :)

He even made the all-South tournament team!

Tyus Jones (Duke) - MOP
Justise Winslow (Duke)
Matt Jones (Duke)
Kyle Wiltjer (Zags)
Domantas Sabonis (Zags)

And that defense... vintage Duke defense. But let's also give credit to Gonzaga's defense - they were solid, too. Neither team came in with a great reputation, but both played excellent on that end.

Zags really took Okafor out of the game. But Duke took Pangos and figured out how to slow down Wiltjer after his hot start.

Getting Karnowski and Sabonis in foul trouble was huge, though. They were really presenting problems when they were in the game.

Ultimately, it came down to Duke being more battle tested than Gonzaga and wearing them down. And Winslow really came on strong late in the game.

My favorite play of the game was the Tyus Jones "steal and knock it off Karnowski laying on the ground" play.

Just awesome to get that Zags game out of the way and on to play Michigan St. Even though Duke beat them once, don't overlook them. Hopefully they don't overlook them.

[dairedevil]

Just awesome to get that Zags game out of the way and on to play Michigan St. Even though Duke beat them once, don't overlook them. Hopefully they don't overlook them.

Better not overlook the Spartans - they've got the revenge factor, and Izzo is a good coach.

[dukelifer]

Toting my horn here - from the Utah postgam misread


We should go easy with the Matt bashing. What's so,great about this team is that you never know who the next games hero is going to be. We need to keep riding all 8 horses.

Love this team - what a special season!

If Matt bashing leads to this performance - bash away! Seriously Matt has made some big shots this year. The kid has some holes in his game- but he plays well in big moments and you cannot teach that.

[Indoor66]

If you had told me before this weekend that Okafor would have two of his worst games all season, Cook and Winslow would have tweaked their ankles again, and that we would get to the Final Four on stellar defense, I would say you were crazy!

Yowza! I'm loving this team!

I disagree with you evaluation of Jah. He did what was needed in both games - he occupied two defenders most of the time. That is huge for the team. It is not all about statistics.

[dukelifer]

Better not overlook the Spartans - they've got the revenge factor, and Izzo is a good coach.

But Izzo's son will likely pick Duke

[subzero02]

Points allowed in tournament games so far: 56, 49, 57, 52.

Pomeroy is going to love those numbers..... back to the promised land.... Indian apolis

[FerryFor50]

Pomeroy is going to love those numbers..... back to the promised land.... Indian apolis

I though KenPom top 10 in defense was the promised land? :-P

[dukelifer]

I disagree with you evaluation of Jah. He did what was needed in both games - he occupied two defenders most of the time. That is huge for the team. It is not all about statistics.

I am fine with it as well given the outcome. He is due for a big game.

[Utley]

Better not overlook the Spartans - they've got the revenge factor, and Izzo is a good coach.

It will be tough - but Kseems to do well against Izzo.

[hurleyfor3]

He just updated. #17 defense, second best of the four remaining teams. #3 offense, behind Bucky (#1) but ahead of 'Tucky (#5).

[Troublemaker]

Pomeroy is going to love those numbers..... back to the promised land.... Indian apolis

Up to #17 on D.

Overall ranking now #4, surging past Villanova and UVA

[dukelion]

Duke now a top 20 Defense according to KenPom.

What a sift over the past few weeks.

[Utley]

Better not overlook the Spartans - they've got the revenge factor, and Izzo is a good coach.

It will be tough - but K seems to do well against Izzo.

[brevity]

The Chronicle Twitter feed Duke Basketball (https://twitter.com/dukebasketball) has some postgame photos of the celebrating group and the net cutting.

CBS Sports Network has Coach K, Quinn Cook, and the Joneses live in their press conference.

[subzero02]

we are now #4 overall according to ken pomeroy.... #3 in offense and up to #17 in defense... nice movement since selection sunday. Let's enjoy the win today and start thinking about the Spartans on the plane. Go Duke!!!

[Troublemaker]

Tyus gets MOP? Matt and Justise both on all-tournament team. Tough to not give MOP to Justise. Maybe that was a mistake? Either way... Go Duke!

The media must've voted around the under 12 timeout or something. Before Justise's surge that sealed the game for Duke. I agree it should've gone to him.


Can we all take a moment to acknowledge Quinn Cook's defense? Delon Wright on Friday, 10 pts, 4-13 shooting, 2 turnovers; Kevin Pangos today, 4 pts, 2-8 shooting, 3 turnovers. His ability to shut down the other teams' lead guards was key to our defensive efforts and helped win the weekend.

Indeed. Senior shutting down another team's key senior. So happy for Quinn that he has a Final Four.



My favorite play of the game was the Tyus Jones "steal and knock it off Karnowski laying on the ground" play.

Same! That save took Larry Bird-esque level of awareness and poise to pull off.

[cptnflash]

Quinn with the net around his neck in the postgame press conference. Awesome!!

[g-money]

I'm ebullient, and buzzed. A few quick hitters:

- Who says Coach K can't coach OADs? (ducks)

- Charles Barkley appeared to choke on the words "credit to Coach K" after the game. How's that crow taste, Sir Charles?

- Quinn Cook with the Final Four net around his neck in the post-game presser: Priceless.

- Correct me if I'm wrong Troublemaker, but Duke is 4-0 against the spread in the tournament so far while UK is 1-3. I think this bodes well for us should both teams make it to Monday - and not just for covering.

[CR9]

Better not overlook the Spartans - they've got the revenge factor, and Izzo is a good coach.


It will be tough - but Kseems to do well against Izzo.

Remember '05...

[91devil]

Up to #17 on D.

Overall ranking now #4, surging past Villanova and UVA


EPIC surge in Overall Defense. I think we were mid-50s start of the Tournament. That's what stifling two Top-10ish offenses will do.

[Utley]

Remember '05...

Absolutely no guarantees - but I think K is 8-1.

[Native]

wooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo oooooooooo

[snewman92]

to me is only 3 TOs. Remarkable!

[Saratoga2]

I really believe all of our players competed at a high level and the coaches made very smart moves to beat a very good team that played very hard.

Obviously, Matt had his best game ever at Duke. When he was in the defense was at it's best and he did hit critical shots at several junctures.

Quinn had most of the responsibility of guarding Pangos and essentially shut him down. What a defensive job and he pushed hard on offense and did really well.

Justise played so hard. He was everywhere on defense with his strength and athleticism he was a force that Gonzaga couldn't deal with. He is a great rebounder and his offense was excellent. Hit his foul shots and a critical dagger 3 near the end.

Tyus really carried the team by driving and Mark Few made several moves to try to neutralize him without success. Having his foul shooting along with Quinn near the end of the game seals the game.

Don't look now, but Jahlil's defense and rebounding has gotten much better and he was playing two very large and talented centers plus a 6'11" forward. He is still dangerous on offense and did well but was a focus of their defense and no center could score big with that pressure.

Amile came in and did some great rebounding and defense. I have never seen him fight harder or more effectively. What an advantage to have him doiing so well.

Can't forget MP3, he was in there fighting with their big centers and his efforts were positive.

Grayson didn't get much PT but with the others doing so well it was the right decision. Notice he was put in the game att the end in recognition of his fine foul shooting.

Great game where the guys played hard for 40 minutes and Gonzaga was a very capable opponent. Some of the best basketball any Duke team has played.

[OZ]

Matt Jones was sensational!
Quinn Cook's defense was outstanding (again).
Ball control was incredible.... only three turnovers...when was the last time that happened in a game of this magnitude?
Coach K just keeps making the right moves... the man can just flat out coach! His 12TH Final Four!
Justise should be the regional MVP

[dukelifer]

EPIC surge in Overall Defense. I think we were mid-50s start of the Tournament. That's what stifling two Top-10ish offenses will do.

Took them a while- but they finally figured out how to play D as a team. Feeling better about this team because of the improvement in D. Great maturity.

[Duke79UNLV77]

- Charles Barkley appeared to choke on the words "credit to Coach K" after the game. How's that crow taste, Sir Charles?

Heard Barles Charkley on K's radio show recently. There's a lot of mutual respect there. He just picked wrong.

[subzero02]

The net cutting is available on cbs sports... A 7 minute clip

[Troublemaker]

- Correct me if I'm wrong Troublemaker, but Duke is 4-0 against the spread in the tournament so far while UK is 1-3. I think this bodes well for us should both teams make it to Monday - and not just for covering.

That's correct, g-money, although the Utah game was essentially a push and we were lucky to cover there.


EPIC surge in Overall Defense. I think we were mid-50s start of the Tournament. That's what stifling two Top-10ish offenses will do.

This is why it's sometimes very misleading when, during the season, people say "Only a Top X defense has ever made a Final Four blah blah blah."

Honestly, sometimes the cause and effect is completely backwards. IF you make the Final Four, THEN you can have a top 20 defense.

[Bluedog]

to me is only 3 TOs. Remarkable!

And it was really 2 because that includes the intentional shot clock violation at the very end. Pretty ridiculous.

[InSpades]

to me is only 3 TOs. Remarkable!

1 of the 3 was the shot clock violation w/ like 5 seconds left. Another was an offensive charge call that was close. There was only 1 bad one, the Justise turnover that led to a runout. Amazing job of valuing the ball by Duke today.

[subzero02]

Cook was scared to climb too high on the ladder ... He says he's scared of heights. Good thing he doesn't have to personally hang the banner that will hang in Cameron because of his efforts

[bluenorth]

One of the keys to the game was the job that Cook did on Pangos. In the handshake line Coach K spoke to Pangos for a long time (as these things go); would be interesting to know what was said. Wiltjer was never the same after missing that bunny, kind of took himself out of the game mentally. Wonder what the weather's like in Indy, and if their golf courses are open.

[gofurman]

Great job Duke !!

Matt jones today. Justise all tournament. Tyus all along. Justise 6-6 FT today - That really helped.

Get back but two quick questions - why do you think the last two games have been such struggles for jah? Low points, less ability to throw to an open shooter when doubled and also he seems to be playing farther from the basket a lot. Be a Big man. Thoughts?? (I know he was told to play at the free throw line in second half today but I mean last two games total - 80 minutes vs Utah and Gonzaga Jah seems to not even be getting many of his typical attempts from close in we saw all season. It's like he isn't strong enough or trying hard enough to post hard. Gonzaga big man shoved jah under the basket a few times when Gonzaga was on O. Rarely saw Jah within 5 feet of basket where he should be. Help me understand.

Don't misread this. I am elated. But like they say ( or jimmy at the end of Hoosiers taking the shot) - your big time players gotta be big time in the big games. We can't just have Jah as a decoy next week. He needs to put up a 15/10. He can't just distract two defenders. He needs to produce a little more... Help me understand how Utah and Gonzaga have done so well against him. Thanks!

[FerryFor50]

Great job Duke !!

Matt jones today. Justise all tournament. Tyus all along. Justise 6-6 FT today - That really helped.

Get back but two quick questions - why do you think the last two games have been such struggles for jah? Low points, less ability to throw to an open shooter when doubled and also he seems to be playing farther from the basket a lot. Be a Big man. Thoughts?? (I know he was told to play at the free throw line in second half today but I mean last two games total - 80 minutes vs Utah and Gonzaga Jah seems to not even be getting many of his typical attempts from close in we saw all season. It's like he isn't strong enough or trying hard enough to post hard. Gonzaga big man shoved jah under the basket a few times when Gonzaga was on O. Rarely saw Jah within 5 feet of basket where he should be. Help me understand.

Because the last two games featured a pair of massive, physical 7 footers that actually had talent to challenge him on both ends of the floor.

[Bob Green]

I was very confident in my pregame comments that Coach K would ride the starters hard. Bench minutes:

Jefferson - 20
Plumlee - 8
Allen - 3

[FerryFor50]

Interesting stat - only the starters scored. 0 bench points. Still won by 14.

[cptnflash]

The net cutting is available on cbs sports... A 7 minute clip

Does anyone have a link to this? I can't seem to locate it on cbssports.com.

[Les Grossman]

My first Duke final four that I watched was 1978. This never gets old!!!
my last year at Duke. It was awesome then, and still is!!
What a blast this team has been. Thanks guys for making my week!

[fuse]

Those that feel the need as fans to criticize any individual player or effort can use this game as exhibit A as to why we should support every member of the team.

What a game! Win for Quinn!

[subzero02]

Remember '05...

I remember 05... And all of our turnovers. I expect to see a similar rotation to what we saw today. If Cook sticks to Trice like he stuck to Pangos we are money. Defense wins championships and we are playing great D. I'm impressed and so grateful that we didn't make this close at the end.

[cptnflash]

EPIC surge in Overall Defense. I think we were mid-50s start of the Tournament. That's what stifling two Top-10ish offenses will do.

Four straight games holding the opponent to under 0.9 points per possession! Gonzaga posted their lowest offensive efficiency of the year against us, and Utah their 3rd lowest. We're starting to resemble the 2009 Tar Heels... epic offence all year, and three weeks of defence at the end!

[Utley]

Where we down 5 minutes in the first two rounds?

[DukieInKansas]

The Chronicle Twitter feed Duke Basketball (https://twitter.com/dukebasketball) has some postgame photos of the celebrating group and the net cutting.

CBS Sports Network has Coach K, Quinn Cook, and the Joneses live in their press conference.

Initially announced that Justise Winslow would be there, but then said no Justise. I hope that doesn't mean his ankle is bothering him. (Vigil time? :D )

[Troublemaker]

Coach K and Justise postgame on-court interview with Tracy Wolfson: http://cbsprt.co/1ESq5Ch

[MChambers]

Four straight games holding the opponent to under 0.9 points per possession! Gonzaga posted their lowest offensive efficiency of the year against us, and Utah their 3rd lowest. We're starting to resemble the 2009 Tar Heels... epic offence all year, and three weeks of defence at the end!
Offence? Defence? I think you mean DEEFENSE!

But yeah, your point is right. Maybe, just maybe, this team is turning on the defense at the right time. Like UNC in 2009, although I hate to admit it.

[WakeDevil]

After a trip to IC, I have only one thing to say about all the I'm a real wanker for saying this.I'm a real wanker for saying this.I'm a real wanker for saying this.I'm a real wanker for saying this.I'm a real wanker for saying this.ing and moaning over there - oh, and let's not forget the conspiracy theories: Denial. It's not just a river in Egypt.

[subzero02]

Does anyone have a link to this? I can't seem to locate it on cbssports.com.

the videos are labeled at the bottom of the page.... plenty of clips from the game too

http://www.ncaa.com/march-madness

[cptnflash]

Offence? Defence? I think you mean DEEFENSE!

But yeah, your point is right. Maybe, just maybe, this team is turning on the defense at the right time. Like UNC in 2009, although I hate to admit it.

Not from the UK originally, but have been living in London the past two years so I've been corrupted by British spellings!

[NM Duke Fan]

I was very confident in my pregame comments that Coach K would ride the starters hard. Bench minutes:

Jefferson - 20
Plumlee - 8
Allen - 3

When I saw Allen trying to guard Wiltjer, I did not think he would get many more minutes, a bad match up and Wiinslow soon came back in.

[trinity79]

. . . but in the keepin' it real category, don't forget that beating Michigan St. and then Kentucky will require a Herculean effort coupled with a stern and terrible resolve.

Give 'em Hell Duke!

[DukieInKansas]

Coach K and Justise postgame on-court interview with Tracy Wolfson: http://cbsprt.co/1ESq5Ch

I loved it when Quinn came up and Justise told the interviewer that she should be talking to him. He was the one pushing them everyday.

[Saratoga2]

Excellent performance by the ACC and saying that, Duke is the sole remaining ACC team to make the final 4.

[Brockt10]

I'll admit I was down on this team mid-season. It reminded me a lot of last year with poor defense but a lot offensive talent coupled with a coach that wouldn't change his defensive schemes (I'll get flack for this but I love coach k and think he's an amazing coach). With that said, coach K is my poy with his openness to different defenses that, in my opinion, really sparked this team. I haven't witnessed K this excited and dynamic in years. The players have totally bought in to his plan and it has been a privledge to be a fan this season.

im still in disbelief of the ability for anyone on this team to step up and take over a game. Every single player on this team has had a game where they were the player of the game.

With that said, let's take down Michigan state and cut down the nets over anyone who stands in our way!

And GTHC

[subzero02]

Coach K and Justise postgame on-court interview with Tracy Wolfson: http://cbsprt.co/1ESq5Ch

that clip is awesome... Justise loves Cook... that was great. This team has "it", whatever "it" may be.

[NM Duke Fan]

I was really impressed with how well Karnowski did over all in guarding Jah one on one. And his passing was tremendous, an under-rated player. I really like the team they had and sorry they had to lose.

The turning point in the game was when Wiltjer missed that easy lay up after a great Karnowski pass late in the game. That would have changed the whole completion of the game, but instead Duke went on a massive run and never looked back.

This has become a really good defensive team in the last few weeks. And Jah is due for a breakout monster game ...

[Newton_14]

Awesome game Blue Devils! Just awesome! Have to agree with Billy Dat, I am the most happy for Quinn Cook. He finally got those nets and a Banner that will hang in Cameron forevermore, and now he gets a true shot at the biggest banner of them all. Could not be happier for that young man!

Matt Freakin Jones and Justise The Beast Winslow!! I have no idea who votes for MOP but Justise won that MOP and it wasn't even close. Tyus was good today but Justise brought it for both games. But if that is all we have to complain about then life is good! In addition to the four 3's and two layups, Matt played great defense, with key steals, one of which was huge. Justise also played great D and had several key rebounds on both ends. Those two guys carried the load on offense.

But what a team effort on defense, and what a coaching job by the Master. K slowed the game down early in the 2nd half and went all in on halfcourt defense taking us to Indy, and the guys responded. Props to whoever it was in the pre-game thread that said Jah can and would play great post defense! Great call. Jah was great on that end. That is partly what drained his energy and slowed him offensively as well. Great job by Quinn all day on Pangos too. Like with Jah, that defensive effort also likely slowed Quinn a little on offense but he still made timely buckets and free throws.

Well done Blue Devils!! ON TO INDY!!! Another Final Four and a great chance to play on Monday where anything can happen!

CONGRATS TO THE SOUTH REGION CHAMPION DUKE BLUE DEVILS!!!!!

[vick]

I was very confident in my pregame comments that Coach K would ride the starters hard. Bench minutes:

Jefferson - 20
Plumlee - 8
Allen - 3

Barring fouls, injuries, or a large lead, that would be my prediction for the rest of the tournament. There's a pretty large drop after our top 6. Maybe Plumlee or Allen gets hot in the first half and K plays him significant second-half minutes, but I think less likely than not.

[rfaison]

Heard Barles Charkley on K's radio show recently. There's a lot of mutual respect there. He just picked wrong.

Agree about the respect. Whatever year it was (Kyrie's year) when we lost to Arizona, Barkley called that so he had my attention when he picked Utah Friday but we know how that worked out ... so he can just keep on not picking us!!

And, Kenny gave us full credit right of the bat today calling us by name "Duke University" and not "that school from Durham. It's just his schtick - imho - I enjoy listening to them both and usually learn something.

[Newton_14]

Agree about the respect. Whatever year it was (Kyrie's year) when we lost to Arizona, Barkley called that so he had my attention when he picked Utah Friday but we know how that worked out ... so he can just keep on not picking us!!

And, Kenny gave us full credit right of the bat today calling us by name "Duke University" and not "that school from Durham. It's just his schtick - imho - I enjoy listening to them both and usually learn something.

Yeah, it's kind of silly to think Barkley doesn't like Duke or K just because he picked Gonzaga to win. Gonzaga has a great team and could have won that game. Picking them is no huge sin or anything. I thought he gave honest and sincere props to K and Duke after the game.

[killerleft]

I disagree with you evaluation of Jah. He did what was needed in both games - he occupied two defenders most of the time. That is huge for the team. It is not all about statistics.

I was thinking about this, too! Jahlil doesn't have to score to be a very large chunk of our offense. Gravity (as someone mentioned above) intended. :)

[Kfanarmy]

What a fun weekend of college basketball. Some incredibly close games and the Duke players responded to every run that Utah and Gonzaga threw at them. Great effort, some great D, and headed to the FF.

I'm so glad I stayed away from the in-game thread during the game...Matt Jones was apparently getting pummeled by the DBR posters, but he did the pummeling on the court. Keep the faith.

[NashvilleDevil]

. . . but in the keepin' it real category, don't forget that beating Michigan St. and then Kentucky will require a Herculean effort coupled with a stern and terrible resolve.

Give 'em Hell Duke!

Can we enjoy the final four for a day before discussing those games? And if Duke wins Sat they will be playing Wisconsin for the title.

[FerryFor50]

What a fun weekend of college basketball. Some incredibly close games and the Duke players responded to every run that Utah and Gonzaga threw at them. Great effort, some great D, and headed to the FF.

I'm so glad I stayed away from the in-game thread during the game...Matt Jones was apparently getting pummeled by the DBR posters, but he did the pummeling on the court. Keep the faith.

Wha?

I wish I had been there to stick up for him@

[Tjenkins]

Great ending to a good weekend of basketball. And a weird ending to Duke/Gonzaga. It was a 5-point lead, I nervously walked out the kitchen to set the table. By the time I got to the table it was 14-point lead, or that's how it felt. If any Zags fans are looking in (not likely), I've got a lot of respect for their program, if they played anyone else but Duke, I would've been pulling for them this weekend.

Great tournament, I love this group of kids, on to Michigan State, 6:09 Easter Time Saturday can't get here soon enough!

[InSpades]

What a fun weekend of college basketball. Some incredibly close games and the Duke players responded to every run that Utah and Gonzaga threw at them. Great effort, some great D, and headed to the FF.

I'm so glad I stayed away from the in-game thread during the game...Matt Jones was apparently getting pummeled by the DBR posters, but he did the pummeling on the court. Keep the faith.

No one killed Matt today. Some got down on him for his play during the Utah game but I bet even Matt's mom would have said that wasn't his best game. Glad he didn't let it impact his defense or his confidence going into this game. He was HUGE today.

[wgpatrick]

Anyone have a link to the K post-game press conference?

[CharlestonDave]

Better not overlook the Spartans - they've got the revenge factor, and Izzo is a good coach.

Sorry to disagree but Tom Izzo is not a good coach , Tom Izzo is a GREAT COACH. One of the 5 best in college basketball today, if not in the top 3

[Duke3517]

Very happy for Duke! They have peaked at the right time!!! Couldn't be happier for the program and our fans!

Defense has really stepped up too. It seemed as if Coach K's defense takes a very long time to fully learn.

Justise is looking more and more like a top 3-5 pick.

[Steven43]

I've been saving it for a couple of weeks, but it's now safe to say...

Jahlil Okafor, Justise Winslow, Tyus Jones: the OAD to the Final Four.

Okafor, yes, though his star has dimmed the last two games.

Winslow, yes, absolutely. He looks like the best pro of anyone in college right now.

Tyus? No. He has kind of lost his mojo just a bit. Does not seem like more than a pretty good to good college PG right now. His drives to the basket are mostly ineffective, though he picks up a fair number of foul calls. His handle is good, not great. Quickness is pretty good, not great. Shooting from outside is streaky. He used to have several GREAT passes every game with the rest being good. Now I see fewer great passes with a reduced number of good passes.

I don't know what's going on with him, but he does not seem like the same player, though he made the regional tourney team. Obviously, with Duke winning the region they had to pick mostly Duke players. Thank goodness for his free throw shooting. That part of his game is excellent. That's a given for an NBA guard, though. Well, unless you're Austin Rivers.

Don't get me wrong. I love Tyus Jones as a college player. He is my favorite Duke PG since Jason, though JW did play 2-guard, also. I just don't see Tyus as an NBA player right now, that's all.

[jmck214]

- Correct me if I'm wrong Troublemaker, but Duke is 4-0 against the spread in the tournament so far while UK is 1-3. I think this bodes well for us should both teams make it to Monday - and not just for covering.

Duke is also 4-0 straight up as an underdog this year which bodes well for a potential UK matchup since Duke will be about a 4 point underdog.

[gwlaw99]

Get back but two quick questions - why do you think the last two games have been such struggles for jah? Low points, less ability to throw to an open shooter when doubled and also he seems to be playing farther from the basket a lot. Be a Big man. Thoughts?? (I know he was told to play at the free throw line in second half today but I mean last two games total - 80 minutes vs Utah and Gonzaga Jah seems to not even be getting many of his typical attempts from close in we saw all season. It's like he isn't strong enough or trying hard enough to post hard. Gonzaga big man shoved jah under the basket a few times when Gonzaga was on O. Rarely saw Jah within 5 feet of basket where he should be. Help me understand.

Don't misread this. I am elated. But like they say ( or jimmy at the end of Hoosiers taking the shot) - your big time players gotta be big time in the big games. We can't just have Jah as a decoy next week. He needs to put up a 15/10. He can't just distract two defenders. He needs to produce a little more... Help me understand how Utah and Gonzaga have done so well against him. Thanks!

Gonzaga fronted him. For some reason we didn't do a pin and lob. He was really tired at the end. He wasn't even trying to post up for the last 5 minutes.

[Tjenkins]

Sorry to disagree but Tom Izzo is not a good coach , Tom Izzo is a GREAT COACH. One of the 5 best in college basketball today, if not in the top 3

Absolutely one of the best. I don't think anyone is looking past Michigan State.

[gwlaw99]

Yeah, it's kind of silly to think Barkley doesn't like Duke or K just because he picked Gonzaga to win. Gonzaga has a great team and could have won that game. Picking them is no huge sin or anything. I thought he gave honest and sincere props to K and Duke after the game.

He picked Utah as well.

[Clay Feet POF]

justise is looking more and more like a top 3-5 pick.



plus tax

[MarkD83]

What a great team.!!! We as Duke BBall fans are very spoiled 16 final fours in all 12 since 1986 with the longest gap being 5 years. BTW Wikipedia has already updated the list of final fours.


App. School
18 North Carolina
17 Kentucky, UCLA*
16 Duke
14 Kansas

What is interesting is the * means "Indicates one vacated appearance not included in total." Hummm...I wonder if an asterisks might be added to this list in the near future.

[subzero02]

Anyone have a link to the K post-game press conference?

Ditto, is there a link

[rfaison]

Ditto, is there a link

Here you are (thanks to whoever posted it much earlier in this thread).

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=9I8l9-nAZVw

[Tjenkins]

I can't find links to the postgame presser, but I hadn't seen the net cutting until I stumbled on this, since CBS seemed to cut away quickly:
http://www.ncaa.com/video/basketball-men/2015-03-29/mbk-504-gonzaga-duke-elite-eight

[NashvilleDevil]

Okafor, yes, though his star has dimmed the last two games.

Winslow, yes, absolutely. He looks like the best pro of anyone in college right now.

Tyus? No. He has kind of lost his mojo just a bit. Does not seem like more than a pretty good to good college PG right now. His drives to the basket are mostly ineffective, though he picks up a fair number of foul calls. His handle is good, not great. Quickness is pretty good, not great. Shooting from outside is streaky. He used to have several GREAT passes every game with the rest being good. Now I see fewer great passes with a reduced number of good passes.

I don't know what's going on with him, but he does not seem like the same player, though he made the regional tourney team. Obviously, with Duke winning the region they had to pick mostly Duke players. Thank goodness for his free throw shooting. That part of his game is excellent. That's a given for an NBA guard, though. Well, unless you're Austin Rivers.

Don't get me wrong. I love Tyus Jones as a college player. He is my favorite Duke PG since Jason, though JW did play 2-guard, also. I just don't see Tyus as an NBA player right now, that's all.

I was really enjoying the fact Duke is back in the Final Four and then I read this post. They just made the Final Four and instead of being excited or happy you come here and let us know the flaws of the point guard who just helped lead Duke to the Final Four?

[flyingdutchdevil]

1) CONGRATULTIONS COACH K, OKAFOR, WINSLOW, T JONES, M JONES, AMILE, MP3, AND GRAYSON!!! But, most importantly, CONGRATULATIONS QUINN!!!!! As the heart and soul of this team, you finally have a banner. A well, deserved, badass banner. You (and Nolan) have represented Duke better than any player I can recall in the last 15 years (social media probably has something to do with that).

2) What the hell happened with the defense? No really - what happened? We were mediocre/okay for 85% of the season and now it's winning us games? I am so confused. Whatever led to the change (and Cook has a lot to do with that), I like it. Troublemaker - hopefully a steak on me!

3) I've never I'm a real wanker for saying this.I'm a real wanker for saying this.I'm a real wanker for saying this.I'm a real wanker for saying this.I'm a real wanker for saying this.ed about M Jones's offense cus I love his defense and how it compliments this team (and, frankly speaking, his O is never needed with the four-headed monster out there scoring left, right, and center). But dear lord- thank you for your points today! You were a rock star.

4) Winslow's F-YOU mode is a thing of beauty.

5) Who said that depth is an issue for Duke? When you really only play 6 guys depth is overrated. Coach K doesn't like long benches, that's for sure. And you know what? I've accepted it. It definitely works.

6) I have only one problem with anything Duke-related thus far in the tournament. How did T Jones win MOP? Nothing against Tyus, and he probably deserved to be on the all Regional Team, but how does this award not go to Winslow? Between Utah and his second half explosion, I thought this would have been the easiest decision since Redick-over-Morrison for player of the year (sorry, had to have a quick jab against Gonzaga there).

7) Go Goliath!!

[jcastranio]

my last year at Duke. It was awesome then, and still is!!
What a blast this team has been. Thanks guys for making my week!

My Freshman year. What a ride!

[Steven43]

I was really enjoying the fact Duke is back in the Final Four and then I read this post. They just made the Final Four and instead of being excited or happy you come here and let us know the flaws of the point guard who just helped lead Duke to the Final Four?

Huh? I just pointed out how I disagreed with a DBR poster who said Tyus is a One-And-Done. And I mentioned specifics about his game that tell me he is not ready for the NBA. I want him to stay at Duke and I think he should. Why do you have a problem with that?

[NYBri]

Coach K and Justise postgame on-court interview with Tracy Wolfson: http://cbsprt.co/1ESq5Ch

These guys love each other. Big Time. Coach, too!

[devildeac]

Gonzaga scored 14 points in the last 16:24 of the game with 8 in the last 9:20 and 2 FT and no FG in the last 6:40. I'm having trouble letting that sink in as we outscored them 32-14 in that 16 + minutes. Pretty amazing D.

[gofurman]

Gonzaga scored 14 points in the last 16:24 of the game with 8 in the last 9:20. I'm having trouble letting that sink in as we outscored them 32-14 in that 16 + minutes. Pretty amazing D.

Good stat. I hadn't quite put that together. Man. Strong!

[rsvman]

That game was tiring just watching it! What a hard-fought battle. About 5 minutes into the second half I was not a happy camper, but then it was the Jones and Jones show for awhile, and it was great to watch.

I am so happy for Quinn, in particular, who finally gets to hang a banner in Cameron. He really earned it. I think his lock-down defense on the opposing team's best guard was really the key to victories over both Utah and Gonzaga, same as it was to our victories over UNC earlier in the year. When he focuses that much attention on defense he is really, really clutch. We lose a little bit of his offensive firepower in the meantime, but the trade-off is well worth it, IMO.

These guys really like to win, and seem to find a way to get it done when the chips are down.


Love, love the trip to the Final Four. Anything that happens from here on out is just gravy. This season is already an absolutely outstanding one for this team.

Let's take it to Michigan State!

[BlueDevilBrowns]

I love watching this year's team, not just because they're 33-4, not because they're in the FF, not because they're so darn talented...

It's because they genuinely enjoy being each other's teammate. They are truly a family.

It's that level of real chemistry that is proof positive this is one of Coach K's
greatest years of coaching ever.

[Atldukie79]

Fantastic ride this year....thank you team!

Let's see:

1991-Indianapolis-NC
1992-Minneapolis-NC
2001-Minneaplois-NC
2010-Indianapolis-NC
2015-Indiannapolis-________

Hmmmm...I see a trend here. Care to fill in the blank?

Any-apolis has been berry berry god to Duke

[MartyClark]

I was really enjoying the fact Duke is back in the Final Four and then I read this post. They just made the Final Four and instead of being excited or happy you come here and let us know the flaws of the point guard who just helped lead Duke to the Final Four?

I hate this discussion of who is going to be a good NBA player. I'm living in the moment and savoring this victory. I wish all of the Duke kids well if they choose the NBA but that next step is not very relevant today.

Tyus Jones is the man. He is a great point guard for Duke.

[-jk]

Fantastic ride this year....thank you team!

Let's see:

1991-Indianapolis-NC
1992-Minneapolis-NC
2001-Minneaplois-NC
2010-Indianapolis-NC
2015-Indiannapolis-________

Hmmmm...I see a trend here. Care to fill in the blank?

Any-apolis has been berry berry god to Duke

It's all about being In The Annapolis!

Uh oh...

-jk

[dyedwab]

Fantastic ride this year....thank you team!

Let's see:

1991-Indianapolis-NC
1992-Minneapolis-NC
2001-Minneaplois-NC
2010-Indianapolis-NC
2015-Indiannapolis-________

Hmmmm...I see a trend here. Care to fill in the blank?

Any-apolis has been berry berry god to Duke

So, a random thing that I wanted to post somewhere about the confluence of religious holidays and the Final Four.

This year, the National Semis will be on the night of the 2nd Passover Seder. The next day wlll be Easter Sunday, and Monday Night's Final will be on the 4th night of Passover.

This is EXACTLY how these holidays fell in 1991.

So, same city, same way the holidays fall....any other coincidental good omens?

[Duke76]

These guys love each other. Big Time. Coach, too!

In my opinion, his shots tonight were reminiscent of Andre's big 3's against Baylor in our last championship yr. Without Dawkins we don't go to final four and believe the same here for Matt!!!!!!

[hurleyfor3]

So, a random thing that I wanted to post somewhere about the confluence of religious holidays and the Final Four.

This year, the National Semis will be on the night of the 2nd Passover Seder. The next day wlll be Easter Sunday, and Monday Night's Final will be on the 4th night of Passover.

This is EXACTLY how these holidays fell in 1991.

So, same city, same way the holidays fall....any other coincidental good omens?

Easter Sunday also occurred during Final Four weekend in 2010. Not sure about Passover.

[dyedwab]

Easter Sunday also occurred during Final Four weekend in 2010. Not sure about Passover.

It was during passover, but at the end of the 8 days

[Bluedog]

In my opinion, his shots tonight were reminiscent of Andre's big 3's against Baylor in our last championship yr. Without Dawkins we don't go to final four and believe the same here for Matt!!!!!!

Not to diminish Andre's role in that game and his two clutch shots, but Matt's contributions in this game were much much larger. He led the team with 16 points on 4-7 shooting from 3, notched 3 boards and 3 assists, started the game and played a lot of minutes. Dawkins had two timely threes off the bench. Matt was THE man this game!

[mr. synellinden]

So, a random thing that I wanted to post somewhere about the confluence of religious holidays and the Final Four.

This year, the National Semis will be on the night of the 2nd Passover Seder. The next day wlll be Easter Sunday, and Monday Night's Final will be on the 4th night of Passover.

This is EXACTLY how these holidays fell in 1991.

So, same city, same way the holidays fall....any other coincidental good omens?

How about an undefeated #1 team that some people think is unbeatable?

[BobbyFan]

It's weird to be winning these games without Jah making a big mark on the offensive end, but, again, we play off his gravity to open things for others.

It shows that there is some legitimacy to the numbers offered in the Ewing Theory piece a few weeks back. Much of it is due to the fact that we are very talented offensively outside of Okafor. It helps, too, and is a credit to the maturity of his offensive game, that Okafor rarely forces shots. An argument can be made that he could be more aggressive immediately when he catches the ball, but because of said offensive talent, I don't mind that he veers on the side of passivity.

And there is no question that, given Okafor's limitations in stamina, expending less energy on offense has contributed to his elevated play on the other end.

[Duke76]

Not to diminish Andre's role in that game and his two clutch shots, but Matt's contributions in this game were much much larger. He led the team with 16 points on 4-7 shooting from 3, notched 3 boards and 3 assists, started the game and played a lot of minutes. Dawkins had two timely threes off the bench. Matt was THE man this game!

you''re right, should have used maybe Mike Dunleavy's 3's or Billy McCaffrey's 3's in pressure tournament games....anyway my point was its great to see guys that are mainly 3 point shooters step up and hit clutch 3's over and over when they are on your team

[jipops]

Best defense I've seen our guys play for a full game in about 5 years. Those last 14 minutes or so were just awesome.

[Mike Corey]

Agreed with all identifying our defensive play.

It's been outstanding in the tournament, with expected lapses here and there.

Quinn Cook's pride in his defense, and the message it sends to his teammates, has been outrageous.

Just keep ridin' this wave, Blue Devils.

[NYBri]

So, a random thing that I wanted to post somewhere about the confluence of religious holidays and the Final Four.

This year, the National Semis will be on the night of the 2nd Passover Seder. The next day wlll be Easter Sunday, and Monday Night's Final will be on the 4th night of Passover.

This is EXACTLY how these holidays fell in 1991.

So, same city, same way the holidays fall....any other coincidental good omens?

I was a Duke fan in 1991 as well. :cool:

[turnandburn55]

You (and Nolan) have represented Duke better than any player I can recall in the last 15 years (social media probably has something to do with that).


Who's yo daddy?

[_Gary]

Gary, I'm going to go out on a limb here and guess that this is the happiest you've ever been to be wrong. :)

On to Indy!!!!!!

Yes! Yes! Yes!

I was at church tonight and we had an afterglow so I didn't get to see one minute of the game live. Sorry, I'm the pastor and had no choice. :)

But I did, of course, DVR the game (I admit I caved and checked the score on my phone several times and knew we had won) and just finished watching it a few minutes ago.

So happy for the team, and very glad for Matt. He absolutely had his game of the year in my opinion! Way to go young man!! I told you guys to let up on him... :p

In all seriousness, I really am happy as can be and like our chances to return to the championship game, although Izzo and the Spartans will be a seriously tough out this coming Saturday evening.

P.S. Tried to spork you, g-money. But I wasn't allowed. Gotta spread the love around more according to the computer. Sorry.

[devildeac]

Gonzaga scored 14 points in the last 16:24 of the game with 8 in the last 9:20 and 2 FT and no FG in the last 6:40. I'm having trouble letting that sink in as we outscored them 32-14 in that 16 + minutes. Pretty amazing D.

To follow this up, we shot 37.5% and won tonight (including 8/19 from 3 point range). I also realize (we got all the calls:o) that we killed it from the FT line, too. All I can think of is the comment Tom Butters made in 1980 about why he hired K. He said something to the effect of "some nights we're going to shoot 35% and I want to be able to win (some of) those games." Thank you again, Mr. Butters.

[NYBri]

Yes! Yes! Yes!

I was at church tonight and we had an afterglow so I didn't get to see one minute of the game live. Sorry, I'm the pastor and had no choice. :)

But I did, of course, DVR the game (I admit I caved and checked the score on my phone several times and knew we had won) and just finished watching it a few minutes ago.

So happy for the team, and very glad for Matt. He absolutely had his game of the year in my opinion! Way to go young man!! I told you guys to let up on him... :p

In all seriousness, I really am happy as can be and like our chances to return to the championship game, although Izzo and the Spartans will be a seriously tough out this coming Saturday evening.

P.S. Tried to spork you, g-money. But I wasn't allowed. Gotta spread the love around more according to the computer. Sorry.

Sporked him for you.:cool:

[_Gary]

Sporked him for you.:cool:

Thanks! Just gave you some love too! :)

[Troublemaker]

Vine of Tyus' save off Karnowski: https://vine.co/v/OLOzKQ7mP7O

I really loved that in the background, Justise -- on a bad ankle -- immediately reacted by leaping up from the bench onto the raised floor

[InSpades]

Vine of Tyus' save off Karnowski: https://vine.co/v/OLOzKQ7mP7O

I really loved that in the background, Justise -- on a bad ankle -- immediately reacted by leaping up from the bench onto the raised floor

Such basketball intelligence. Amazing play by Tyus.

[Ima Facultiwyfe]

Heard Barles Charkley on K's radio show recently. There's a lot of mutual respect there. He just picked wrong.

It struck me at the time that Barles was assigned, or volunteered, to pick Gonzaga. Somebody had to do it. They didn't want all the talking heads to pick Duke. They may have flipped for it before air time.
Love, Ima

[subzero02]

Vine of Tyus' save off Karnowski: https://vine.co/v/OLOzKQ7mP7O

I really loved that in the background, Justise -- on a bad ankle -- immediately reacted by leaping up from the bench onto the raised floor

Great find. I wish it started a half second sooner so you could see the great play Tyus made in anticipating the pass to Pangos from Karnowski.

[DukeDevil]

Yes! Yes! Yes!
I was at church tonight and we had an afterglow so I didn't get to see one minute of the game live. Sorry, I'm the pastor and had no choice. :)


I have a mental image of you streaming the game on a tablet or phone hidden in the pulpit, with a lot of "HALLELUJAH"s and "PRAISE THE LORD"s getting through around during a sermon.

[NYBri]

I have a mental image of you streaming the game on a tablet or phone hidden in the pulpit, with a lot of "HALLELUJAH"s and "PRAISE THE LORD"s getting thrown around during a sermon.

...with references to the new Saint Justise and Apostle Matt.

P.S. Fixed it for you.

[gofurman]

Gonzaga fronted him. For some reason we didn't do a pin and lob. He was really tired at the end. He wasn't even trying to post up for the last 5 minutes.

Right. I don't mean to be a Debbie downer. It's a great day to be a Blue Devil!! Just woulda thought a man with his talent could deal with being played behind OR in front. I heard the announcers say we missed him a few times when he got good position. Gotta feed him when he works hard or it gets discouraging. I just love watching him work and if they front him then we should lob over them. I do think Jah gets tired a little easily. Gonzaga had more big men to throw at him. I wish our 'other' bigs were better scorers. I was looking at. Gonzaga - they had the huge guy who scores some plus is a great passer. Then Wiltjer who can both hit the deep ball and drive (at 4 spot). And the Sabonis. All three can score. We lack a little here with Jah who is awesome but Amile and Plumlee who are only put back guys. They work hard but are no real O threat. Thus the move of Winslow to the 4 so we aren't playing 4 on 5 when on O. This has worked great. But is a little tough when the opponent is huge. Again, it's a wonderful day to be a Duke fan. Just wish we were getting a little mire production out of the front court. We may need it. Thanks Winslow and. Tyus and Matt frickin jones for putting up points today !!

[gofurman]

Okafor, yes, though his star has dimmed the last two games.

Winslow, yes, absolutely. He looks like the best pro of anyone in college right now.

Tyus? No. He has kind of lost his mojo just a bit. Does not seem like more than a pretty good to good college PG right now. His drives to the basket are mostly ineffective, though he picks up a fair number of foul calls. His handle is good, not great. Quickness is pretty good, not great. Shooting from outside is streaky. He used to have several GREAT passes every game with the rest being good. Now I see fewer great passes with a reduced number of good passes.

I don't know what's going on with him, but he does not seem like the same player, though he made the regional tourney team. Obviously, with Duke winning the region they had to pick mostly Duke players. Thank goodness for his free throw shooting. That part of his game is excellent. That's a given for an NBA guard, though. Well, unless you're Austin Rivers.

Don't get me wrong. I love Tyus Jones as a college player. He is my favorite Duke PG since Jason, though JW did play 2-guard, also. I just don't see Tyus as an NBA player right now, that's all.

I too suspect Tyus Jones would return. And selfishly I like that !! But for now let's focus on this yr

[pfrduke]

So I'm not really sure where to put this, but this seems as good a place as any. We should take a minute and appreciate the level of dominance Duke displayed on its run through the South Regional. Duke played 160 minutes of basketball. It was in the lead for 144 minutes and 6 seconds. 69 minutes and 54 seconds of that - in other words, nearly 44% of the entire game time, and almost half the time we were in the lead - was by double digits. Duke trailed for just 6 minutes and 36 seconds and was tied just 9 minutes and 18 seconds. It did not trail in any one game for more than 3:26 (the Gonzaga game). In the second half of all 4 games - 80 minutes of basketball - Duke spent all but 4:43 in the lead. That 4:43 all came today - Gonzaga held the lead for a grand total of 1 minute and 41 seconds, no bigger than 4 points. That 4 point deficit was the largest deficit of the tournament for Duke, and the Devils responded by scoring on their next two possessions to tie the game (the start of a larger 18-6 run). So, in 160 minutes of basketball, there was only one possession that Duke had where it was down more than a single score and it responded to that by ripping off a big run.

The Final Four will be a stiffer test and this team likely will have to remember how to play smart when facing a deficit. But Duke got plenty of practice playing with leads, often big ones. They had an excellent run through Charlotte and Houston that, whatever happens next weekend, should not be forgotten.

[camion]

Right. I don't mean to be a Debbie downer. It's a great day to be a Blue Devil!! Just woulda thought a man with his talent could deal with being played behind OR in front. I heard the announcers say we missed him a few times when he got good position. Gotta feed him when he works hard or it gets discouraging. I just love watching him work and if they front him then we should lob over them. I do think Jah gets tired a little easily. Gonzaga had more big men to throw at him. I wish our 'other' bigs were better scorers. I was looking at. Gonzaga - they had the huge guy who scores some plus is a great passer. Then Wiltjer who can both hit the deep ball and drive (at 4 spot). And the Sabonis. All three can score. We lack a little here with Jah who is awesome but Amile and Plumlee who are only put back guys. They work hard but are no real O threat. Thus the move of Winslow to the 4 so we aren't playing 4 on 5 when on O. This has worked great. But is a little tough when the opponent is huge. Again, it's a wonderful day to be a Duke fan. Just wish we were getting a little mire production out of the front court. We may need it. Thanks Winslow and. Tyus and Matt frickin jones for putting up points today !!

Gonzaga has all of those advantages and yet... we have Justise Winslow. He plays the 4 for us and he's not too shabby as a big, small, or any other size.

[House G]

Yes! Yes! Yes!

I was at church tonight and we had an afterglow so I didn't get to see one minute of the game live. Sorry, I'm the pastor and had no choice. :)

But I did, of course, DVR the game (I admit I caved and checked the score on my phone several times and knew we had won) and just finished watching it a few minutes ago.

So happy for the team, and very glad for Matt. He absolutely had his game of the year in my opinion! Way to go young man!! I told you guys to let up on him... :p

In all seriousness, I really am happy as can be and like our chances to return to the championship game, although Izzo and the Spartans will be a seriously tough out this coming Saturday evening.

P.S. Tried to spork you, g-money. But I wasn't allowed. Gotta spread the love around more according to the computer. Sorry.

Are you Speedo Guy?

[wsb3]

So many impressive things yesterday but from the 53-51 point where the Zags missed the wide open layup to close the game out on a 13-1 run. I did not see that coming. I had just sent a text to my sister about how we knew it was going down to the wire but thankfully for our nerves we just played an amazing few minutes & we could really enjoy that last minute.

Happy for the entire team but especially for Quin..

[DukieInBrasil]

Right. I don't mean to be a Debbie downer. It's a great day to be a Blue Devil!! Just woulda thought a man with his talent could deal with being played behind OR in front. I heard the announcers say we missed him a few times when he got good position. Gotta feed him when he works hard or it gets discouraging. I just love watching him work and if they front him then we should lob over them. I do think Jah gets tired a little easily. Gonzaga had more big men to throw at him. I wish our 'other' bigs were better scorers. I was looking at. Gonzaga - they had the huge guy who scores some plus is a great passer. Then Wiltjer who can both hit the deep ball and drive (at 4 spot). And the Sabonis. All three can score. We lack a little here with Jah who is awesome but Amile and Plumlee who are only put back guys. They work hard but are no real O threat. Thus the move of Winslow to the 4 so we aren't playing 4 on 5 when on O. This has worked great. But is a little tough when the opponent is huge. Again, it's a wonderful day to be a Duke fan. Just wish we were getting a little mire production out of the front court. We may need it. Thanks Winslow and. Tyus and Matt frickin jones for putting up points today !!

Amile has completely gone away from looking to score, but he has at times been much more effective than simply a put-back guy. MP3 once again showed why he doesn't get many feeds from the guards, he received a great pass to the chest right under the basket, couldn't control it cleanly, and eventually passed it out (which is better than a turnover). If he catches that pass cleanly, it's an easy dunk, but your observation is correct about MP3.

[Troublemaker]

So, in 160 minutes of basketball, there was only one possession that Duke had where it was down more than a single score and it responded to that by ripping off a big run.

The Final Four will be a stiffer test and this team likely will have to remember how to play smart when facing a deficit. But Duke got plenty of practice playing with leads, often big ones. They had an excellent run through Charlotte and Houston that, whatever happens next weekend, should not be forgotten.

Yeah, Duke was fantastic in this regional.

It should also be noted that Duke played 160 minutes of great man-to-man defense. I think in those 160 minutes there was only one possession, a sideline out-of-bounds play with shotclock pressure, in which Duke played zone.

Duke also did not use unpredictability to play great defense. There was a recognizable pattern to what we were doing. Zone press to slow the advance of the ball upcourt (and hopefully force a few turnovers on poor passes along the way.) Man-to-man defense in the halfcourt. Cook plays ball-denial on the opponent's most important guard. Switch ball screens 1 through 4 and ice ball screens with Okafor.

Duke did not trick or surprise the opponent to make the Final Four. Duke had a system and executed it great.

[MChambers]

Might be a good tactic against MSU. They made several (at least three) bad crosscourt passes Sunday that led to L'ville layups. Plus, their halfcourt offense isn't all that great, so taking 5 or 10 seconds off a possession could really make them struggle.

[OldPhiKap]

Like the post-game comments:

Rafferty "Duke won with defense. [Turns to Grant] I don't remember you playing much defense when you were there."

Grant: "What?"

Nance: "He was the Defensive Player of the Year his senior year."

Rafferty: "Yeah, that was just one year though."

Very funny. When throwaway lines go bad.

[FerryFor50]

Right. I don't mean to be a Debbie downer. It's a great day to be a Blue Devil!! Just woulda thought a man with his talent could deal with being played behind OR in front. I heard the announcers say we missed him a few times when he got good position. Gotta feed him when he works hard or it gets discouraging. I just love watching him work and if they front him then we should lob over them. I do think Jah gets tired a little easily. Gonzaga had more big men to throw at him. I wish our 'other' bigs were better scorers. I was looking at. Gonzaga - they had the huge guy who scores some plus is a great passer. Then Wiltjer who can both hit the deep ball and drive (at 4 spot). And the Sabonis. All three can score. We lack a little here with Jah who is awesome but Amile and Plumlee who are only put back guys. They work hard but are no real O threat. Thus the move of Winslow to the 4 so we aren't playing 4 on 5 when on O. This has worked great. But is a little tough when the opponent is huge. Again, it's a wonderful day to be a Duke fan. Just wish we were getting a little mire production out of the front court. We may need it. Thanks Winslow and. Tyus and Matt frickin jones for putting up points today !!

Why does it matter if Duke's other bigs scored better?

Gonzaga's gameplan was to take Okafor out of the game on offense and make other guys beat them. And it worked - other guys beat them. You'd think that Duke didn't win this game by double digits or something...

You don't force the issue and try to score in the post just because you think we should. Duke scored PLENTY in the paint without Okafor scoring much the past 2 games. I also think you're overrating Sabonis a bit. He scored 9, but also missed some chippies. Some of the points he had came in transition off putbacks from running the floor. And Wiltjer scored some, but in the 2nd half, Duke really played great defense on him.

There is only one team left in the field that has the size Utah and Gonzaga were able to use - Kentucky. If Duke ends up having to face them, that means they beat MSU to make it to the championship game, which would be awesome. Duke has shown this season that they can win multiple ways - just like 2010 team showed. Take away Jah? Ok, Duke will drive and/or hit 3s. Take away the 3s? Jah will post and eat you alive. Oh, and by the way, the defense is stepping up, so even if the opposing team holds Duke to a low point total and shooting % (like Gonzaga did), Duke has shown they now can win on defense alone.

[davekay1971]

Oh, and by the way, the defense is stepping up, so even if the opposing team holds Duke to a low point total and shooting % (like Gonzaga did), Duke has shown they now can win on defense alone.

This.

Duke crushed SDSU then beat both Utah and Gonzaga by playing fantastic defense. Scoring comes and goes. Duke got bounced last year and in 2012 by having bad shooting nights and terrible defense. Duke didn't shoot well last night (except for Matt). But they were insanely good on defense for the last 15 minutes of the game. If Duke plays the same kind of high quality defense against MSU, we should end up winning. If we play that kind of defense against either KY or Wisconsin, I like our chances.

[_Gary]

Are you Speedo Guy?

LOL. No I'm not. He has way more guts than I do to pull off the speedo stunt.

[uh_no]

LOL. No I'm not. He has way more guts than I do to pull off the speedo stunt.

i think he has way more gut than should anyone who wears a speedo :)

[DukieInBrasil]

Why does it matter if Duke's other bigs scored better?

Gonzaga's gameplan was to take Okafor out of the game on offense and make other guys beat them. And it worked - other guys beat them. You'd think that Duke didn't win this game by double digits or something...

You don't force the issue and try to score in the post just because you think we should. Duke scored PLENTY in the paint without Okafor scoring much the past 2 games. I also think you're overrating Sabonis a bit. He scored 9, but also missed some chippies. Some of the points he had came in transition off putbacks from running the floor. And Wiltjer scored some, but in the 2nd half, Duke really played great defense on him.

There is only one team left in the field that has the size Utah and Gonzaga were able to use - Kentucky. If Duke ends up having to face them, that means they beat MSU to make it to the championship game, which would be awesome. Duke has shown this season that they can win multiple ways - just like 2010 team showed. Take away Jah? Ok, Duke will drive and/or hit 3s. Take away the 3s? Jah will post and eat you alive. Oh, and by the way, the defense is stepping up, so even if the opposing team holds Duke to a low point total and shooting % (like Gonzaga did), Duke has shown they now can win on defense alone.

This was alluded to in the podcast, but to Jerian Grant for ND, and how he very probably cost ND the game down the stretch b/c he decided to play hero ball, rather than using the great passing they had used all season and specifically vs Kentucky. Who knows if it did cost them the game (also, i was unable to watch the game so i don't have any input), but it was a distinct departure from their play earlier. Vis-a-vis Okafor, i think his lack of forcing it has been key to Duke's recent success b/c other teams are focusing so much on him that Duke's other players are taking advantage. If Okafor hadn't been so unselfish, i doubt we would have seen Winslow blow up so much, for example. Against Utah, he was unselfish scoring (3-5 FG) but had 4 pretty egregious turnovers, but vs. the Zags, he forced it a bit at times and shot 4-10 FG, but fewer turns. I would much rather see the lower FG attempts and involving other teammates than have him force shots b/c A) his forced shots are pretty bad and B) he tends to get it stripped in the paint if he focuses too much on scoring at all costs.
Also, if Okafor averages 16ppg over the next 2 games he'll own the Duke Fr. scoring record. He's currently 31 behind Jabari...

[FerryFor50]

This was alluded to in the podcast, but to Jerian Grant for ND, and how he very probably cost ND the game down the stretch b/c he decided to play hero ball, rather than using the great passing they had used all season and specifically vs Kentucky. Who knows if it did cost them the game (also, i was unable to watch the game so i don't have any input), but it was a distinct departure from their play earlier. Vis-a-vis Okafor, i think his lack of forcing it has been key to Duke's recent success b/c other teams are focusing so much on him that Duke's other players are taking advantage. If Okafor hadn't been so unselfish, i doubt we would have seen Winslow blow up so much, for example. Against Utah, he was unselfish scoring (3-5 FG) but had 4 pretty egregious turnovers, but vs. the Zags, he forced it a bit at times and shot 4-10 FG, but fewer turns. I would much rather see the lower FG attempts and involving other teammates than have him force shots b/c A) his forced shots are pretty bad and B) he tends to get it stripped in the paint if he focuses too much on scoring at all costs.
Also, if Okafor averages 16ppg over the next 2 games he'll own the Duke Fr. scoring record. He's currently 31 behind Jabari...

Precisely.

I made similar points about Grant in the ND/Kentucky thread. They executed their gameplan nearly flawlessly until the last 3 possessions when Grant decided he wanted to be the hero. And they paid for it.

Okafor is a smart guy - he knows he doesn't need to score 30 ppg to be the first overall pick. He also is aware enough to realize he has teammates and has shown all season both a willingness and ability to get them involved.

The turnovers vs Utah were simply a good gameplan and defensive effort by the Utes - they scouted Duke well. I'd also rather see him pass out of double teams rather than force it up.

[Danke Shane]

Jebus, was this guy watching the same game? I wonder what his deal is, sounds like he has serious mental issues going on...

"Duke gifted dubious Final Four berth by referee bias, Gonzaga choke: Houston robbed of true March Madness"

http://houston.culturemap.com/news/sports/03-29-15-duke-gifted-dubious-final-four-berth-by-referee-bias-gonzaga-choke-houston-denied-true-march-madness/

[Billy Dat]

Tyus? No. He has kind of lost his mojo just a bit. Does not seem like more than a pretty good to good college PG right now. His drives to the basket are mostly ineffective, though he picks up a fair number of foul calls. His handle is good, not great. Quickness is pretty good, not great. Shooting from outside is streaky. He used to have several GREAT passes every game with the rest being good. Now I see fewer great passes with a reduced number of good passes. I don't know what's going on with him, but he does not seem like the same player, though he made the regional tourney team. Obviously, with Duke winning the region they had to pick mostly Duke players. Thank goodness for his free throw shooting. That part of his game is excellent. That's a given for an NBA guard, though. Well, unless you're Austin Rivers.

While others have, I think rightfully, called you out on being too negative about Tyus, I have a slightly different take. I think his drives have actually been pretty effective, and while he might not look quick, he has an amazing knack for getting all the way to the rim and getting his shot up over the trees. I think he's playing just fine, and his foul shooting has been, perhaps, one of the most important aspects of this run we are on. The only thing about him that is bothering me is his penchant for flopping. Someone should make a real of his "shot in the head" crazy head cocks that he does to try and show the ref that he is getting hit. While I don't love the practice, and think it fuels the "Duke flopper" rep, that's not really the aspect that bothers me. I think it takes him out of his game a little, and that was happening in the first half. He, and we as a team, started trying to get calls instead of finishing strong. The refs were "letting them play" and I think we could have adjusted to that earlier. They nearly erased that double digit first half lead because we were looking for too many whistles. But, aside from his head cock flops, I have zero issue with Tyus and think he's been amazing.


So, a random thing that I wanted to post somewhere about the confluence of religious holidays and the Final Four.
This year, the National Semis will be on the night of the 2nd Passover Seder. The next day wlll be Easter Sunday, and Monday Night's Final will be on the 4th night of Passover.
This is EXACTLY how these holidays fell in 1991.
So, same city, same way the holidays fall....any other coincidental good omens?

Should we be fortunate enough to make it to Monday night against an undefeated Kentucky, I hope we'll provide the answer to one of the passover questions, "Why is this night different from all other nights?"


Yeah, Duke was fantastic in this regional.
It should also be noted that Duke played 160 minutes of great man-to-man defense. I think in those 160 minutes there was only one possession, a sideline out-of-bounds play with shotclock pressure, in which Duke played zone.
Duke also did not use unpredictability to play great defense. There was a recognizable pattern to what we were doing. Zone press to slow the advance of the ball upcourt (and hopefully force a few turnovers on poor passes along the way.) Man-to-man defense in the halfcourt. Cook plays ball-denial on the opponent's most important guard. Switch ball screens 1 through 4 and ice ball screens with Okafor.
Duke did not trick or surprise the opponent to make the Final Four. Duke had a system and executed it great.

The end-of-season dramatic improvement of the Duke defense, which has been driven by, as Troublemaker points out, MAN TO MAN execution and not zone, is one of the most incredible things I have ever witnessed as a Duke fan. Can someone with the time and energy and smarts do a deep dive and tease this out for us in long form? When did it start? What is actually happening out there? I swore that we'd need to be mixing up all the different zone looks with man-to-man in order to keep winning yet, somehow, out man-to-man is vaulting us higher and higher in the advanced defense rankings. Ala the Zoubek late season emergence in 2010, this is quite an unexpected and miraculous happening.

[UrinalCake]

There was one play in particular where Oak's unselfishness really stood out. With a few minutes left in the game he got the ball around the perimeter and drove at the basket but nothing was there so he pulled it out. He then tried to back down his man and again didn't have good position so he kicked it out. Most superstars in that situation would be trying to get theirs, especially when they hadnt scored much in two games, and would force up a shot. But Oak had the maturity to wait and get the best shot for the team (we ended up scoring on that possession). The commentators even mentioned how significant that play was.

[FerryFor50]

There was one play in particular where Oak's unselfishness really stood out. With a few minutes left in the game he got the ball around the perimeter and drove at the basket but nothing was there so he pulled it out. He then tried to back down his man and again didn't have good position so he kicked it out. Most superstars in that situation would be trying to get theirs, especially when they hadnt scored much in two games, and would force up a shot. But Oak had the maturity to wait and get the best shot for the team (we ended up scoring on that possession). The commentators even mentioned how significant that play was.

It's not only maturity - it's basketball IQ. He really understands the game. That will serve him well at the next level.

[COYS]

There was one play in particular where Oak's unselfishness really stood out. With a few minutes left in the game he got the ball around the perimeter and drove at the basket but nothing was there so he pulled it out. He then tried to back down his man and again didn't have good position so he kicked it out. Most superstars in that situation would be trying to get theirs, especially when they hadnt scored much in two games, and would force up a shot. But Oak had the maturity to wait and get the best shot for the team (we ended up scoring on that possession). The commentators even mentioned how significant that play was.

I agree with all of this while also thinking there were a few times earlier in the game where he could have made a quicker move and gotten to the bucket. I think Jah was smart and cautious yesterday. I'd like to see him be smart and maybe just a bit more decisive going into the Final Four. But again, there's really not too much to complain about b

[Neals384]

Offence? Defence? I think you mean DEEFENSE!

But yeah, your point is right. Maybe, just maybe, this team is turning on the defense at the right time. Like UNC in 2009, although I hate to admit it.

wash your mouth out with soap

[Neals384]

I'm so glad I stayed away from the in-game thread during the game...Matt Jones was apparently getting pummeled by the DBR posters, but he did the pummeling on the court. Keep the faith.

A few Matt-bashes in the chat room, yes, but hardly a pummeling. I'm a Matt fan, but he still frustrates me at times. In the first half, he had a neat steal...and then took an ill-advised, tightly guarded three. Everyone does dumb stuff from time to time, but Matt gets bashed when he does.

[killerleft]

Jebus, was this guy watching the same game? I wonder what his deal is, sounds like he has serious mental issues going on...

"Duke gifted dubious Final Four berth by referee bias, Gonzaga choke: Houston robbed of true March Madness"

http://houston.culturemap.com/news/sports/03-29-15-duke-gifted-dubious-final-four-berth-by-referee-bias-gonzaga-choke-houston-denied-true-march-madness/

He got in over his head. Evidently reviews restaurants without tasting the food when he's not bashing Duke.

[Neals384]

Yes! Yes! Yes!

I was at church tonight and we had an afterglow so I didn't get to see one minute of the game live. Sorry, I'm the pastor and had no choice. :)

But I did, of course, DVR the game (I admit I caved and checked the score on my phone several times and knew we had won) and just finished watching it a few minutes ago.

So happy for the team, and very glad for Matt. He absolutely had his game of the year in my opinion! Way to go young man!! I told you guys to let up on him... :p

In all seriousness, I really am happy as can be and like our chances to return to the championship game, although Izzo and the Spartans will be a seriously tough out this coming Saturday evening.

P.S. Tried to spork you, g-money. But I wasn't allowed. Gotta spread the love around more according to the computer. Sorry.

Gary, you missed the emotional aspect of this game if you peeked at the score before watching. This game TESTED our belief in the team. When Justise tweaked his ankle - do we still believe? When they gave back the 5-point halftime lead in two possessions - do we still believe? When the Zags 2nd-half momentum carried them to a 4-point lead - do we still believe? This team never gives up!

[g-money]

Gary, you missed the emotional aspect of this game if you peeked at the score before watching. This game TESTED our belief in the team. When Justise tweaked his ankle - do we still believe? When they gave back the 5-point halftime lead in two possessions - do we still believe? When the Zags 2nd-half momentum carried them to a 4-point lead - do we still believe? This team never gives up!

LOL I think we may need to find a way to get Gary to church on a Saturday this weekend...there's nothing like a little divine intervention!

On my end, I will make sure to have my proper boxers all lined up for Saturday and, hopefully, Monday.

[FerryFor50]

Jebus, was this guy watching the same game? I wonder what his deal is, sounds like he has serious mental issues going on...

"Duke gifted dubious Final Four berth by referee bias, Gonzaga choke: Houston robbed of true March Madness"

http://houston.culturemap.com/news/sports/03-29-15-duke-gifted-dubious-final-four-berth-by-referee-bias-gonzaga-choke-houston-denied-true-march-madness/

I don't get why a national newspaper runs a column like that.

For one, Karnowski isn't "indispensable" to Gonzaga. He's a good player, but Sabonis is probably better. He also should have been whistled for several other fouls. He's very physical.

Also, no mention of Okafor's 2 questionable fouls. Weird.

And no mention of how physical BOTH teams were in the game. There were a total of 27 fouls called. Duke had 12 of them. Gonzaga had to commit several fouls at the end to put Duke at the line. The fouls up till the final minutes were pretty even. FT shooting disparity had to do mostly with the last 2 minutes. I'll never understand the casual fan that looks at the box score of a game and sees just the sheer number of fouls and FTs and doesn't take the end game strategy into account.

4 FTAs in the final parts of the game due to intentional fouls. Without those, Duke attempts 15 FTs when the game is still actually in dispute. Gonzaga attempts 9.

[Channing]

I loved Matt's game. He doesn't necessarily have the explosion on drives to the hoop, and needs to work on finishing around the rim, but he does so much for this team. I liken him to a rich mans Tyler Thornton. He is a great defender and had several fantastic steals and he has developed a very serviceable (if not somewhat reliable) jump shot. I assume he will get the task of shutting down Valentine on Saturday evening.


This was alluded to in the podcast, but to Jerian Grant for ND, and how he very probably cost ND the game down the stretch b/c he decided to play hero ball, rather than using the great passing they had used all season and specifically vs Kentucky.

I was thinking the same thing as everyone else. ND seemed to go into a stall ball and then Grant panicked when time was almost completely out. Classic case of playing not to lose. I don't recall him trying to prod the defense once on either of the last 3 possessions.

[FerryFor50]

I loved Matt's game. He doesn't necessarily have the explosion on drives to the hoop, and needs to work on finishing around the rim, but he does so much for this team. I liken him to a rich mans Tyler Thornton. He is a great defender and had several fantastic steals and he has developed a very serviceable (if not somewhat reliable) jump shot. I assume he will get the task of shutting down Valentine on Saturday evening.



I was thinking the same thing as everyone else. ND seemed to go into a stall ball and then Grant panicked when time was almost completely out. Classic case of playing not to lose. I don't recall him trying to prod the defense once on either of the last 3 possessions.

I've said this for awhile - He's Tyler Thornton with more skill and size and a better jumper.

[Tjenkins]

I know this will make me sound like an old fogey. But it still feels weird to have the Final Four on a cable channel.

[Edouble]

Like the post-game comments:

Rafferty "Duke won with defense. [Turns to Grant] I don't remember you playing much defense when you were there."

Grant: "What?"

Nance: "He was the Defensive Player of the Year his senior year."

Rafferty: "Yeah, that was just one year though."

Very funny. When throwaway lines go bad.

Raftery has been passive aggressive towards Grant all of March. It's disappointing, really, because I love both guys.

[FerryFor50]

Raftery has been passive aggressive towards Grant all of March. It's disappointing, really, because I love both guys.

Well, Grant *did* call him old...

[sagegrouse]

Precisely.

I made similar points about Grant in the ND/Kentucky thread. They executed their gameplan nearly flawlessly until the last 3 possessions when Grant decided he wanted to be the hero. And they paid for it.

Okafor is a smart guy - he knows he doesn't need to score 30 ppg to be the first overall pick. He also is aware enough to realize he has teammates and has shown all season both a willingness and ability to get them involved.

The turnovers vs Utah were simply a good gameplan and defensive effort by the Utes - they scouted Duke well. I'd also rather see him pass out of double teams rather than force it up.

Actually, I thought Kentucky stepped up its game in the last few minutes, and Notre Dame's smaller size and lesser strength began to make a difference.

[killerleft]

Raftery has been passive aggressive towards Grant all of March. It's disappointing, really, because I love both guys.

That conversation was, in my opinion, all just a set-up for Rafftery's punch line, "That was just one year, though." Y'all need to lighten up. He was just tickling the twine!

[hurleyfor3]

Raftery has been passive aggressive towards Grant all of March. It's disappointing, really, because I love both guys.

I don't see this. Both Nantz and Raftery love our program. Nantz has to be as neutral as possible, but he's not a hater.

[flyingdutchdevil]

Actually, I thought Kentucky stepped up its game in the last few minutes, and Notre Dame's smaller size and lesser strength began to make a difference.

Completely agree. UK won that game in the final minutes moreso than ND lost it. Great, great D by Kentucky. Clearly the best defensive team in the nation. But can they handle Wisconsin's insane offense or our diverse offense + coming together defense + coaching? We shall see. We shall see.

[FerryFor50]

Completely agree. UK won that game in the final minutes moreso than ND lost it. Great, great D by Kentucky. Clearly the best defensive team in the nation. But can they handle Wisconsin's insane offense or our diverse offense + coming together defense + coaching? We shall see. We shall see.

So Grant dribbling around at the top of the key and then taking two fadeaway threes at the end of the shot clock was Kentucky's defense?

I think it was more lack of Grant passing.

The final possession, I don't fault Grant for not passing, but I do fault him for driving into the corner with a double team on him.

He also had several open teammates.

The only thing Kentucky did to win on those last possessions IMO was defensive rebound and score on offense. ND crapped themselves on offense the final possessions more than Kentucky defended well.

[InSpades]

Jebus, was this guy watching the same game? I wonder what his deal is, sounds like he has serious mental issues going on...

"Duke gifted dubious Final Four berth by referee bias, Gonzaga choke: Houston robbed of true March Madness"

http://houston.culturemap.com/news/sports/03-29-15-duke-gifted-dubious-final-four-berth-by-referee-bias-gonzaga-choke-houston-denied-true-march-madness/

The most ridiculous part of the article (and it is all ridiculous) is that he criticizes the 68 year old coach for not reaching back while climbing up the ladder to untangle the last strands of the net. The 20 year odl stud athlete prime of their lives guys were struggling to get the last pieces of the net down. He wants the 68 year old to reach a little further and untangle the net? Oh please. I'm sure Sean didn't mind going back up that ladder for Coach.

[g-money]

Gary, you missed the emotional aspect of this game if you peeked at the score before watching. This game TESTED our belief in the team. When Justise tweaked his ankle - do we still believe? When they gave back the 5-point halftime lead in two possessions - do we still believe? When the Zags 2nd-half momentum carried them to a 4-point lead - do we still believe? This team never gives up!

LOL I think we may need to find a way to get Gary to church on a Saturday this weekend...there's nothing like a little divine intervention!

On my end, I will make sure to have my proper boxers all lined up for Saturday and, hopefully, Monday.

[flyingdutchdevil]

So Grant dribbling around at the top of the key and then taking two fadeaway threes at the end of the shot clock was Kentucky's defense?

I think it was more lack of Grant passing.

The final possession, I don't fault Grant for not passing, but I do fault him for driving into the corner with a double team on him.

He also had several open teammates.

The only thing Kentucky did to win on those last possessions IMO was defensive rebound and score on offense. ND crapped themselves on offense the final possessions more than Kentucky defended well.

I saw UK smother ND with take away passing lanes. I was shocked by their length and how engaged they were on D. ND didn't have much more to work in the last 3-4 possessions.

We see it differently then. And that's okay.

[gumbomoop]

Duke also did not use unpredictability to play great defense. There was a recognizable pattern to what we were doing. Zone press to slow the advance of the ball upcourt (and hopefully force a few turnovers on poor passes along the way.) Man-to-man defense in the halfcourt. Cook plays ball-denial on the opponent's most important guard. Switch ball screens 1 through 4 and ice ball screens with Okafor.

Duke did not trick or surprise the opponent to make the Final Four. Duke had a system and executed it great.

Because I agree with all of this, I must admit that Duke's advancement to the FF surprises me. I started a thread ("Bad D pressure" - don't bother) right after the ACCT that led to some conversation about our need to use multiple D-schemes, and especially to "surprise" opponents. My assumption, and I think that of others in that thread, was that what Troublemaker in the tag quote refers to Duke's "system" would not suffice to see us advance very far, certainly not to the FF.

I'm pretty sure Troublemaker here is partly reflecting on that thread, and perhaps follow-up posts in other threads on D-issues. I was mostly wrong, a D-dunce, about the details anyhow: Duke did not use multiple D-schemes, did not have to use lots of zone, did not employ a 3-2 with Amile at the top (my strong advice to K....). I will hope to have been correct about only one overarching thing: our D had to be "vibrant," not stagnant/passive.


The end-of-season dramatic improvement of the Duke defense, which has been driven by, as Troublemaker points out, MAN TO MAN execution and not zone, is one of the most incredible things I have ever witnessed as a Duke fan. Can someone with the time and energy and smarts do a deep dive and tease this out for us in long form? When did it start? What is actually happening out there? I swore that we'd need to be mixing up all the different zone looks with man-to-man in order to keep winning yet, somehow, out man-to-man is vaulting us higher and higher in the advanced defense rankings. Ala the Zoubek late season emergence in 2010, this is quite an unexpected and miraculous happening.

I applaud Billy Dat's admission that he, too, has been surprised, incredibly so. Billy Dat and I call on the rest of you D-dunces to come forward and confess your duncery. Can we blame Kenpom? He's not a dunce, is he?

[Listen to Quants]

To follow this up, we shot 37.5% and won tonight (including 8/19 from 3 point range). I also realize (we got all the calls:o) that we killed it from the FT line, too. All I can think of is the comment Tom Butters made in 1980 about why he hired K. He said something to the effect of "some nights we're going to shoot 35% and I want to be able to win (some of) those games." Thank you again, Mr. Butters.

Indeed, <floor slap>. With Duke's D not being great over the last couple of years, some (not you) forget that coach K was considered a better D than O coach for many many years. Also, to be fair, the effective shooting percent v. Gonzaga was a more respectable 44.5%. That's still below the mythical 50% 'average' and the 58% Duke season avg but that is "expected" vs a good defensive team).

[Kfanarmy]

I don't get why a national newspaper runs a column like that.

For one, Karnowski isn't "indispensable" to Gonzaga. He's a good player, but Sabonis is probably better. He also should have been whistled for several other fouls. He's very physical.

....

Its Houston Culture Map...I had never heard of it til that was posted...I can't imagine anyone outside of Houston has ever heard of it, and few people in Houston have probably either. The most national thing in there is the picture of Coach K. Don't sweat idiots; you'll just end up giving him a bigger stage.

[Henderson]

Its Houston Culture Map...I had never heard of it til that was posted...I can't imagine anyone outside of Houston has ever heard of it, and few people in Houston have probably either. The most national thing in there is the picture of Coach K. Don't sweat idiots; you'll just end up giving him a bigger stage.

That's the point. It's not a national newspaper. It's a blog. You can create one in your underwear in your basement for about a hundred bucks. Then you can write "articles" and be a "journalist" or "analyst". And you can write article entitled, "Why UNC is Getting Screwed by the NCAA" or "Top 10 reasons to hate Duke". You gets your clicks and you collects your coin.

If you decide to do that, please don't post photos.

[Kfanarmy]

I saw UK smother ND with take away passing lanes. I was shocked by their length and how engaged they were on D. ND didn't have much more to work in the last 3-4 possessions.

We see it differently then. And that's okay.

Fascinating discussion...the fact that UK won on two free throws seems lost here. If Grant's last step is toward the basket on the last shot, he gets run into and is shooting three freebies. The difference in the game at the end I thought was UK's determination to get it inside and ND settling on a couple trips. ND had the game won, but went cold (got tight maybe) at the under two and got called for one more foul,,,the game winning points by UK. Both defenses were good all night and if the game goes two more minutes, ND is probably back on top. UK got a foul call and got to the line, ND didn't.

all this, probably should be in the thread on that regional in any case...

[Karl Beem]

That's the point. It's not a national newspaper. It's a blog. You can create one in your underwear in your basement for about a hundred bucks. Then you can write "articles" and be a "journalist" or "analyst". And you can write article entitled, "Why UNC is Getting Screwed by the NCAA" or "Top 10 reasons to hate Duke". You gets your clicks and you collects your coin.

If you decide to do that, please don't post photos.

If you do post photos, please wear pants.

[rsvman]

To extend the threadjack just a bit further, I think that fatigue may have been a factor in the ND loss to KY. Kentucky stays fresh because they bring so many interchangeable parts to the party. ND had to ride its starters all the way to the finish line. The difference in fatigue level at the end probably is one factor that led to "hero ball" and also to missed shots.

Where credit is due, though: Over the last 3 minutes or so of game time, I don't think KY missed a single shot. They brought it when it was most needed, just like they have in their other close calls.

We now return you to your regularly scheduled thread.:)

[Billy Dat]

Because I agree with all of this, I must admit that Duke's advancement to the FF surprises me. I started a thread ("Bad D pressure" - don't bother) right after the ACCT that led to some conversation about our need to use multiple D-schemes, and especially to "surprise" opponents. My assumption, and I think that of others in that thread, was that what Troublemaker in the tag quote refers to Duke's "system" would not suffice to see us advance very far, certainly not to the FF.

I'm pretty sure Troublemaker here is partly reflecting on that thread, and perhaps follow-up posts in other threads on D-issues. I was mostly wrong, a D-dunce, about the details anyhow: Duke did not use multiple D-schemes, did not have to use lots of zone, did not employ a 3-2 with Amile at the top (my strong advice to K....). I will hope to have been correct about only one overarching thing: our D had to be "vibrant," not stagnant/passive.

I applaud Billy Dat's admission that he, too, has been surprised, incredibly so. Billy Dat and I call on the rest of you D-dunces to come forward and confess your duncery. Can we blame Kenpom? He's not a dunce, is he?

I am Spartacus!


Indeed, <floor slap>. With Duke's D not being great over the last couple of years, some (not you) forget that coach K was considered a better D than O coach for many many years. Also, to be fair, the effective shooting percent v. Gonzaga was a more respectable 44.5%. That's still below the mythical 50% 'average' and the 58% Duke season avg but that is "expected" vs a good defensive team).

In all seriousness, I wrote an email to a national college men's hoop web writer who had been critical of Duke's defense this year asking him what he thought about the team's improvement and whether he would address it in any pieces this week - my inquiry was honest as I like his writing and was interested in his take. He responded almost immediately, "What they've done the last two weeks is quite impressive. I'm just trying to figure out what, exactly, it is that has changed."

I think we all agree that Quinn Cook's ability to thwart opposing guards (Wright, Pangos) has been huge, but he eased into that role somewhere in the middle of the season. Playing Justise at the 4 has also been something that pre-dates this recent surge. Is it just that the starting line-up has gotten used to playing with Winslow and Matt Jones in their current starting spots? Is it that Jah has found his defensive groove? I have noticed that our pick and roll "ice" has seemed more effective. I wonder if this story will get a lot of play this week?

[Billy Dat]

By the way, listening to a local NYC sports radio station all day (WFAN not ESPN), coming off this weekend's games, the story lines attached to our team are:

-Townes is a better pro prospect than Jah
-Winslow may be the best pro prospect of them all

The hosts and callers are going crazy over Justise, his profile is exploding right now.

[wilson]

...I wrote an email to a national college men's hoop web writer who had been critical of Duke's defense this year asking him what he thought about the team's improvement and whether he would address it in any pieces this week - my inquiry was honest as I like his writing and was interested in his take. He responded almost immediately, "What they've done the last two weeks is quite impressive. I'm just trying to figure out what, exactly, it is that has changed."...I'd be interested to know who that was, both to commend him for being willing to publicly change his assessment, and to be on the lookout for his analysis of what has changed, because I can't figure that part out either.
Count me among the chorus of voices who are positively astounded at the late-season defensive turnaround. Utah and Gonzaga, to me, were this team's two best defensive performances of the season, by a pretty wide margin. I especially liked the team's ability to play winning defense while kind of bottled up on O for much of the two games. If we can put all of the pieces together over the next week, well...

[jv001]

I am Spartacus!



In all seriousness, I wrote an email to a national college men's hoop web writer who had been critical of Duke's defense this year asking him what he thought about the team's improvement and whether he would address it in any pieces this week - my inquiry was honest as I like his writing and was interested in his take. He responded almost immediately, "What they've done the last two weeks is quite impressive. I'm just trying to figure out what, exactly, it is that has changed."

I think we all agree that Quinn Cook's ability to thwart opposing guards (Wright, Pangos) has been huge, but he eased into that role somewhere in the middle of the season. Playing Justise at the 4 has also been something that pre-dates this recent surge. Is it just that the starting line-up has gotten used to playing with Winslow and Matt Jones in their current starting spots? Is it that Jah has found his defensive groove? I have noticed that our pick and roll "ice" has seemed more effective. I wonder if this story will get a lot of play this week?

I admit that I thought we would not get by playing man2man most of the games. I agree with your post, especially the bolded part. Quinn has been outstanding on defense. But I think the biggest improvement has been with Jahlil. He has stepped it up on D and that has helped give our guards confidence he has their back. But the Ace in the hole is Justise playing the Battier Role on D. His help D has been absolutely wonderful. I hope the team can keep this up. GoDuke!

[dukelifer]

By the way, listening to a local NYC sports radio station all day (WFAN not ESPN), coming off this weekend's games, the story lines attached to our team are:

-Townes is a better pro prospect than Jah
-Winslow may be the best pro prospect of them all

The hosts and callers are going crazy over Justise, his profile is exploding right now.

All the pros love Justise. They know he can play right now. Both Towns and Jah play a position that is harder to master in the NBA as they need to get used to the physicality of playing with men the same size or bigger. Townes is better now because he can hit free throws and is more athletic. Jah will get there- but he has to get bigger and stronger and improve endurance- which he will in time. I suspect Jah will do just fine as a pro. But Justise can play D and can attack. He has an NBA game right now and everyone can see it. Getting to the FF has basically sealed Justise's future - but he is very deserving. The kid appears to have something special.

[FerryFor50]

All the pros love Justise. They know he can play right now. Both Towns and Jah play a position that is harder to master in the NBA as they need to get used to the physicality of playing with men the same size or bigger. Townes is better now because he can hit free throws and is more athletic. Jah will get there- but he has to get bigger and stronger and improve endurance- which he will in time. I suspect Jah will do just fine as a pro. But Justise can play D and can attack. He has an NBA game right now and everyone can see it. Getting to the FF has basically sealed Justise's future - but he is very deserving. The kid appears to have something special.

Towns can also hit from the perimeter.

I think they're all solid pro prospects, honestly.

[tux]

I admit that I thought we would not get by playing man2man most of the games. I agree with your post, especially the bolded part. Quinn has been outstanding on defense. But I think the biggest improvement has been with Jahlil. He has stepped it up on D and that has helped give our guards confidence he has their back. But the Ace in the hole is Justise playing the Battier Role on D. His help D has been absolutely wonderful. I hope the team can keep this up. GoDuke!

Agree with this line of thinking. I'd add that it seems that Jah is being more aggressive in challenging shots at the rim. Even if he doesn't block the shot, just having that big body elevate is making life tougher for our opponents at the rim. I think the coaches probably told him that being overly passive (presumably to avoid foul trouble) was not working. I think that Marshall playing well in several games during this latest run helped quite a bit and should not be overlooked.

Beyond that, I agree that settling in on a starting rotation with Justice at the 4 and Matt on the wing has helped as well in terms of comfort level and communication. This is a young group -- the fact that they've needed time to gel defensively makes sense. Some young teams never get there; very thankful this one has figured out how to be a cohesive (and more or less effective) defensive unit.

[sagegrouse]

All the pros love Justise. They know he can play right now. Both Towns and Jah play a position that is harder to master in the NBA as they need to get used to the physicality of playing with men the same size or bigger. Townes is better now because he can hit free throws and is more athletic. Jah will get there- but he has to get bigger and stronger and improve endurance- which he will in time. I suspect Jah will do just fine as a pro. But Justise can play D and can attack. He has an NBA game right now and everyone can see it. Getting to the FF has basically sealed Justise's future - but he is very deserving. The kid appears to have something special.

Jah will an immediate success in the NBA. Of course, IMHO (where the H is silent). Nobody has his moves, and he is big enough not to get pushed around. Moreover, he ain't getting double-teamed in the NBA.

I haven't (yet) seen Townes that much, but isn't he a one-trick pony on offense?

Justise is similar to LeBron in that hardly anyone with the ability to run the court, drive the basket and shoot is that physically powerful. And our lad just turned 19.

[Troublemaker]

I think we all agree that Quinn Cook's ability to thwart opposing guards (Wright, Pangos) has been huge, but he eased into that role somewhere in the middle of the season. Playing Justise at the 4 has also been something that pre-dates this recent surge.

Yep, I agree here. Those things, while extremely important, pre-date the recent surge.


Is it that Jah has found his defensive groove? I have noticed that our pick and roll "ice" has seemed more effective.

I think you cracked the riddle here. It's Jahlil. He's this year's Zoubek, funny as that sounds.


In all seriousness, I wrote an email to a national college men's hoop web writer who had been critical of Duke's defense this year asking him what he thought about the team's improvement and whether he would address it in any pieces this week - my inquiry was honest as I like his writing and was interested in his take. He responded almost immediately, "What they've done the last two weeks is quite impressive. I'm just trying to figure out what, exactly, it is that has changed."

Dauster's pretty good, but I've had some nits to pick with him on his analysis in the past. (I assume that's whom you emailed.)

What we really need is Winn and his Synergy subscription because he'd presumably have the stats to demonstrate Jahlil's recent surge in rim protection. It's not just blocked shots. It's the intimidation factor of his 7'6" length to cause short 2-pt shots to miss.

[Billy Dat]

What we really need is Winn and his Synergy subscription because he'd presumably have the stats to demonstrate Jahlil's recent surge in rim protection. It's not just blocked shots. It's the intimidation factor of his 7'6" length to cause short 2-pt shots to miss.

Paging Kyle Wiltjer

Shifting gears

Laura Keeley ‏@laurakeeley 35m35 minutes ago
Mark Few said that, during the last 3 minutes, the plan was to foul Okafor as soon as he touched the ball. But he never did.

Laura Keeley ‏@laurakeeley 40m40 minutes ago
That's one way for Duke to counter a team's attempted Hack-a-for: don't give him the ball.

Laura Keeley ‏@laurakeeley 39m39 minutes ago
That's also the first time any opposing coach has mentioned trying to go Hack-a-for. Figured Duke would see it at some point this season

[Henderson]

Paging Kyle Wiltjer

Shifting gears

Laura Keeley ‏@laurakeeley 35m35 minutes ago
Mark Few said that, during the last 3 minutes, the plan was to foul Okafor as soon as he touched the ball. But he never did.

Laura Keeley ‏@laurakeeley 40m40 minutes ago
That's one way for Duke to counter a team's attempted Hack-a-for: don't give him the ball.

Laura Keeley ‏@laurakeeley 39m39 minutes ago
That's also the first time any opposing coach has mentioned trying to go Hack-a-for. Figured Duke would see it at some point this season

And so did K, planned accordingly, and won by 14.

[Billy Dat]

And so did K, planned accordingly, and won by 14.

It's worked out that as we do offense/defense substitutions, Jah hasn't been getting rebounds that would lead to him being immediately fouled and put on the line.

[Listen to Quants]

I am Spartacus!



In all seriousness, I wrote an email to a national college men's hoop web writer who had been critical of Duke's defense this year asking him what he thought about the team's improvement and whether he would address it in any pieces this week - my inquiry was honest as I like his writing and was interested in his take. He responded almost immediately, "What they've done the last two weeks is quite impressive. I'm just trying to figure out what, exactly, it is that has changed."

I think we all agree that Quinn Cook's ability to thwart opposing guards (Wright, Pangos) has been huge, but he eased into that role somewhere in the middle of the season. Playing Justise at the 4 has also been something that pre-dates this recent surge. Is it just that the starting line-up has gotten used to playing with Winslow and Matt Jones in their current starting spots? Is it that Jah has found his defensive groove? I have noticed that our pick and roll "ice" has seemed more effective. I wonder if this story will get a lot of play this week?

What I see, <tentative statement alert> is Jah becoming more active on D. I thought he looked a bit like a guy trying to avoid fouls (or perhaps just generally uncertain) in the early and mid year but is now being more aggressive and using his excellent big-man body control/movement to triangulate and impede penetration yet still cover his guy. Second, I see Cook having become more sticky as a defender than I remember before, he never used to remind me of Duhon or King but now he does a bit. Third, I think M.Jones team-defense is better than ever. Fourth, I see Winslow seeming to take defense seriously on (almost) *every* possession, not just in spots.

[Utley]

I love the D conversation - has to be going through all of our heads.

This will sound simplistic but I think a part of it is them trying harder. I was at both the Saint Johns game and UNC home game and even then felt like I saw the team take it to the gear they are playing at now at points during the second half of that game. I think I even commented on it. In particular , I noticed Quinn and Tyus go from being regularly blown by to not letting their men go and even making steals (Matt and Justise have been steady all year). It left me believing that we had another gear that we would pull out when we needed it.

I do agree with the Jah's improvement too. In addition to being passive - I thought was often out of position for much of the season. Just having him stay near the basket with arms up high is game changing.

[Indoor66]

I love the D conversation - has to be going through all of our heads.

This will sound simplistic but I think a part of it is them trying harder. I was at both the Saint Johns game and UNC home game and even then felt like I saw the team take it to the gear they are playing at now at points during the second half of that game. I think I even commented on it. In particular , I noticed Quinn and Tyus go from being regularly blown by to not letting their men go and even making steals (Matt and Justise have been steady all year). It left me believing that we had another gear that we would pull out when we needed it.

I do agree with the Jah's improvement too. In addition to being passive - I thought was often out of position for much of the season. Just having him stay near the basket with arms up high is game changing.

IMO it more relates to health issues than anything else. Jah is healthier, Winslow (though wounded) is healthier. That makes the difference.

[bedeviled]

Laura Keeley ‏@laurakeeley 35m35 minutes ago
Mark Few said that, during the last 3 minutes, the plan was to foul Okafor as soon as he touched the ball. But he never did.

Laura Keeley ‏@laurakeeley 39m39 minutes ago
That's also the first time any opposing coach has mentioned trying to go Hack-a-for. Figured Duke would see it at some point this season
A quibble with Keeley: Few did NOT mention planning to Hack-a-for.
Fouling a poor shooter at the end of the game has become an acceptable method for lengthening the game. I'm sure every opposing coach has planned to have his players commit the end of game fouls against Okafor if possible. This, however, is quite different than fouling a key player throughout the game. Repeated intentional penalties to gain an advantage will hopefully remain mostly limited to professional sports tactics.

[wk2109]

By the way, listening to a local NYC sports radio station all day (WFAN not ESPN), coming off this weekend's games, the story lines attached to our team are:

-Townes is a better pro prospect than Jah
-Winslow may be the best pro prospect of them all

The hosts and callers are going crazy over Justise, his profile is exploding right now.

It's irritating listening to NYC sports radio hosts (both on WFAN and ESPN, in particular Mike Francesa and Michael Kay) attempt to talk about college basketball. They'll swoon about Kentucky even though I'm sure they've never actually watched Kentucky, or any other team, play a single game. They'll speak in huge generalities because they have no idea what they're talking about.

A few weeks ago a caller asked Francesa if he agreed that Arizona had the best starting five in the country -- the caller talked in detail about Stanley Johnson, TJ McConnell and Rondae Hollis-Jefferson. All Francesa could say was that Arizona recently had a good win against Utah but wasn't a good shooting team. You could tell he had no idea who any of Arizona's players were. Michael Kay gushes about Kentucky's "seven first-round draft picks" and "nine McDonald's All-Americans" while the only specific player he can name is "Cauley-Stein." (whom he claimed could be the #1 pick) One day, one of the producers told him Alex Poythress, a McDonald's All-American, hurt his knee and was out for the season, and Kay said, "So they had TEN McDonald's All-Americans!"

These guys should just keep it real and not act like experts about sports that they know nothing about.

[flyingdutchdevil]

Paging Kyle Wiltjer

Shifting gears

Laura Keeley ‏@laurakeeley 35m35 minutes ago
Mark Few said that, during the last 3 minutes, the plan was to foul Okafor as soon as he touched the ball. But he never did.

Laura Keeley ‏@laurakeeley 40m40 minutes ago
That's one way for Duke to counter a team's attempted Hack-a-for: don't give him the ball.

Laura Keeley ‏@laurakeeley 39m39 minutes ago
That's also the first time any opposing coach has mentioned trying to go Hack-a-for. Figured Duke would see it at some point this season

Thanks Billy. This is great. There is a clear reason why Okafor didn't get the ball much in crunch time. Coach K is a smart man indeed.

The Hack-A-Jah seems like a great idea. Okafor is just such a poor FT shooter that it gives the opposing team such an advantage.

[Newton_14]

A quibble with Keeley: Few did NOT mention planning to Hack-a-for.
Fouling a poor shooter at the end of the game has become an acceptable method for lengthening the game. I'm sure every opposing coach has planned to have his players commit the end of game fouls against Okafor if possible. This, however, is quite different than fouling a key player throughout the game. Repeated intentional penalties to gain an advantage will hopefully remain mostly limited to professional sports tactics.

No offense, but how do you know he did not mention it to her? I suspect she likely spoke with him after the game. I highly doubt she would just make something up like that. Not sure why we would doubt a reporter who was actually there and covered the game, putting her both in the press conferences and with one on one access to the coaches after the game, whereas for us, we can only watch what they showed on TV and read what get's shared by reporters.

[bedeviled]

No offense, but how do you know he did not mention it to her? I suspect she likely spoke with him after the game. I highly doubt she would just make something up like that. Not sure why we would doubt a reporter who was actually there and covered the game, putting her both in the press conferences and with one on one access to the coaches after the game, whereas for us, we can only watch what they showed on TV and read what get's shared by reporters.Certainly, he could have said it directly to her in private. However, IIRC, the comments were from his post-game press conference and, as is reported in her first tweet, he was referring to the end of the game.

Edit: Also, if Hack-a-for was the Gonzaga strategy, then I would suspect Few would keep it quiet - not for "spirit of the game" considerations, but because they did a horrible job at it, putting Jah on the line just 3 times :)

[Troublemaker]

The end-of-season dramatic improvement of the Duke defense <snip> When did it start?

IMO, the best answer to that question is "since the defensive disaster that was the VaTech game"

Alright, people who don't like numbers, don't freak out at this image below. It will be explained.

http://forums.dukebasketballreport.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=4938&d=1427751185

What we're looking at here is my favorite page on KenPom. The only column to care about here is the last column (far right), which shows Duke's defensive performances since the start of conference play. I'm going to tell you what those numbers mean.

Let's look at the first game, Boston College. In that far right column are listed two numbers: "95.7" and "12." 95.7 is BC's offensive efficiency for that game. 12 is a ranking number and says that Duke had the 12th-best defensive performance against BC this season. Since BC played 32 games, 12th-best is pretty solid (but not great.)

Let's check out another example. Feb 7th, the home game against Notre Dame. The two numbers listed in the last column are "97.2" and "2." This means that Duke holding Notre Dame to 97.2 offensive efficiency was the SECOND-BEST defensive performance against Notre Dame this season out of the 38 games ND played. That is a GREAT defensive performance. (Syracuse did better, fyi).

By looking at the ranking numbers on the far right, you can quickly get a sense of the seasonal trends. That is why this is my favorite page on KenPom.

[Troublemaker]

IMO, the best answer to that question is "since the defensive disaster that was the VaTech game"

VaTech was Duke's worst defensive performance of the season. It was this year's Vermont game, essentially.

Based on how much Duke's defense has improved since that game, I believe the team had a meeting and did some soul-searching after VaTech and decided to give consistent effort on defense for the rest of the season. Especially Jahlil, who now challenges shots inside much more frequently than he did previously.

[brevity]

I know this will make me sound like an old fogey. But it still feels weird to have the Final Four on a cable channel.

Then you're really going to dislike next year. From this article (http://www.sportsmediawatch.com/2014/03/the-final-four-airs-on-tbs-not-cbs-this-year-and-that-is-just-the-beginning/):


2014 and 2015: National Semifinals on TBS, National Championship Game on CBS
2016, 2018, 2020, 2022 and 2024: Entire Final Four on TBS
2017, 2019, 2021 and 2023: Entire Final Four on CBS

[Newton_14]

IMO, the best answer to that question is "since the defensive disaster that was the VaTech game"

Alright, people who don't like numbers, don't freak out at this image below. It will be explained.

http://forums.dukebasketballreport.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=4938&d=1427751185

What we're looking at here is my favorite page on KenPom. The only column to care about here is the last column (far right), which shows Duke's defensive performances since the start of conference play. I'm going to tell you what those numbers mean.

Let's look at the first game, Boston College. In that far right column are listed two numbers: "95.7" and "12." 95.7 is BC's offensive efficiency for that game. 12 is a ranking number and says that Duke had the 12th-best defensive performance against BC this season. Since BC played 32 games, 12th-best is pretty solid (but not great.)

Let's check out another example. Feb 7th, the home game against Notre Dame. The two numbers listed in the last column are "97.2" and "2." This means that Duke holding Notre Dame to 97.2 offensive efficiency was the SECOND-BEST defensive performance against Notre Dame this season out of the 38 games ND played. That is a GREAT defensive performance. (Syracuse did better, fyi).

By looking at the ranking numbers on the far right, you can quickly get a sense of the seasonal trends. That is why this is my favorite page on KenPom.

Even though I am an eye test guy, this is really great stuff and much more easy to understand than some of the other eff stats. One question and one point. What does the Uppercase and Lowercase MAN/man and zone mean? I thought it first meant what defense we played but that cant be right.

Observation/Point- Interesting in that the loss to ND in the tourney was more about our offense being bad than our defense. I think that clearly shows had our offense been normal in that game, our defense was good enough for us to win.

[duke74]

By the way, listening to a local NYC sports radio station all day (WFAN not ESPN), coming off this weekend's games, the story lines attached to our team are:

-Townes is a better pro prospect than Jah
-Winslow may be the best pro prospect of them all

The hosts and callers are going crazy over Justise, his profile is exploding right now.

Hearing that too, Billy....Justise is gone...runaway freight train towards the draft

But did you catch the article today (Post I think) why Towns won't work in the Triangle (butt not big enough??)

[Troublemaker]

What does the Uppercase and Lowercase MAN/man and zone mean? I thought it first meant what defense we played but that cant be right.

It's the defense that the opponents primarily play. So you'll see the word "zone" listed by Syracuse, VaTech, and Robert Morris, for example. Upper and lower case is just a measure of degree; "ZONE" teams such as Syracuse play zone almost all the time. Duke would be listed as a "MAN" team.



Observation/Point- Interesting in that the loss to ND in the tourney was more about our offense being bad than our defense. I think that clearly shows had our offense been normal in that game, our defense was good enough for us to win.

For sure. And if Duke hadn't waited until the second half to play hard, it likely would've been another "top 10" defensive performance as well.

While we're here, did Duke have a poor defensive performance in Chapel Hill? Afterall, the rank is 20. Actually, no, we didn't. We just got unlucky that UNC hit 8-16 from three and 13-13 at the FT line.

If UNC had instead gone 6-16 from three (37.5%) and 10-13 at the FT line (77%), both marks still above UNC's season averages, Duke would've held UNC to an offensive efficiency of 100, which would've given Duke the 7th-best defensive performance against the Heels this season.

I like to say that Duke secretly blew out UNC in Chapel Hill if not for shooting luck.

Anyway, ever since the VaTech game, Duke could've easily had ALL "top 10" defensive performances if only we had played harder against Notre Dame in the ACC tourney and gotten luckier with shooting percentages in Chapel Hill.

[dukelifer]

Jah will an immediate success in the NBA. Of course, IMHO (where the H is silent). Nobody has his moves, and he is big enough not to get pushed around. Moreover, he ain't getting double-teamed in the NBA.

I haven't (yet) seen Townes that much, but isn't he a one-trick pony on offense?

Justise is similar to LeBron in that hardly anyone with the ability to run the court, drive the basket and shoot is that physically powerful. And our lad just turned 19.

My comments were not to criticize Jah. Jah should be good- but he will have tough nights his rookie year. He is very young. The NBA game is a grind and there are a lot of huge, skilled players. The NBA drafts more on potential than skill and Townes definitely is not as skilled but he is very athletic and shoots from the line much better. Jah should have a long NBA career but will need to work much harder on D. He is compared to Duncan. Duncan was a better defensive player as a Freshman but very raw on the offensive end. But after 3 more years- he had the whole package. Give Jah 2-3 years- and I expect he will be in the same place.

[Troublemaker]

The table below shows Duke's recent improvement in defending 2-point shots.

Duke has played 37 games, so I divided the season into 4 segments:

Presbyterian to UConn (10 Games): Opponents shot 45.9% from 2
Toledo to St. John's (9 Games): Opponents shot 48.5% from 2
ND I to Virginia Tech (9 Games): Opponents shot 47.6% from 2
Syracuse II to Gonzaga (9 Games): Opponents shot 43.5% from 2




Opponent
2FGM
2FGA
2FG%


Presbyterian
17
40
42.5%


Fairfield
20
39
51.3%


Michigan St
25
40
62.5%


Temple
21
47
44.7%


Stanford
19
47
40.4%


Furman
13
38
34.2%


Army
19
41
46.3%


Wisconsin
13
33
39.4%


Elon
20
40
50.0%


Connecticut
20
42
47.6%


Total
187
407
45.9%


Toledo
24
46
52.2%


Wofford
16
38
42.1%


Boston College
23
52
44.2%


Wake Forest I
26
48
54.2%


NCSU I
23
44
52.3%


Miami
19
36
52.8%


Louisville
14
36
38.9%


Pittsburgh
24
50
48.0%


St. John's
23
46
50.0%


Total
192
396
48.5%


Notre Dame I
21
38
55.3%


Virginia
23
50
46.0%


Georgia Tech
18
45
40.0%


Notre Dame II
15
34
44.1%


Florida St
17
39
43.6%


Syracuse I
21
45
46.7%


UNC I
36
73
49.3%


Clemson
18
35
51.4%


Virginia Tech
19
36
52.8%


Total
188
395
47.6%


Syracuse II
16
42
38.1%


Wake Forest II
17
35
48.6%


UNC II
20
42
47.6%


NCSU II
15
38
39.5%


Notre Dame III
23
42
54.8%


Robert Morris
18
47
38.3%


SDSU
17
45
37.8%


Utah
17
44
38.6%


Gonzaga
20
40
50.0%


Total
163
375
43.5%

[MarkD83]

I like the trend that the second time Duke has played someone the opponents shooting percentage goes down. Then I looked at the first MSU game and saw they shot 62.5%. I hope Duke holds them to a lot less than that.

[Skitzle]

I like the trend that the second time Duke has played someone the opponents shooting percentage goes down. Then I looked at the first MSU game and saw they shot 62.5%. I hope Duke holds them to a lot less than that.


And Duke Still won!

[wilson]

I like the trend that the second time Duke has played someone the opponents shooting percentage goes down. Then I looked at the first MSU game and saw they shot 62.5%. I hope Duke holds them to a lot less than that.I think Duke is playing its best defense of the season right now, by a pretty wide margin. I am highly confident that Michigan State will not shoot that well on Saturday.

[Saratoga2]

IMO, the best answer to that question is "since the defensive disaster that was the VaTech game"

Alright, people who don't like numbers, don't freak out at this image below. It will be explained.

http://forums.dukebasketballreport.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=4938&d=1427751185

What we're looking at here is my favorite page on KenPom. The only column to care about here is the last column (far right), which shows Duke's defensive performances since the start of conference play. I'm going to tell you what those numbers mean.

Let's look at the first game, Boston College. In that far right column are listed two numbers: "95.7" and "12." 95.7 is BC's offensive efficiency for that game. 12 is a ranking number and says that Duke had the 12th-best defensive performance against BC this season. Since BC played 32 games, 12th-best is pretty solid (but not great.)

Let's check out another example. Feb 7th, the home game against Notre Dame. The two numbers listed in the last column are "97.2" and "2." This means that Duke holding Notre Dame to 97.2 offensive efficiency was the SECOND-BEST defensive performance against Notre Dame this season out of the 38 games ND played. That is a GREAT defensive performance. (Syracuse did better, fyi).

By looking at the ranking numbers on the far right, you can quickly get a sense of the seasonal trends. That is why this is my favorite page on KenPom.

This information is useful to spot trends in our defensive efficiency, to be sure. It leaves the how this was achieved to separate analysis. Several changes have been made throughout the year such as coach K changing his defense to fit the opponent or the players on the floor. Also there was a big switch to Justise at the 4 spot. In addition, putting Quinn to defend the best opponent guard has been big. Add to that the natural improvement in our freshman laden team during the year, plus the recovery from some injuries, such as Justise ribs and a myriad of ankle turnings. There are many areas that impacted our defense and I am not astute enough to say which of them was key. Maybe it is just more to do with better intercommunication as the team has learned to play together. Clearly the trend is positive and if it holds up, we should play very well agaqinst MSU.

[Billy Dat]

Yeoman's work, Troublemaker!

Just curious, is it easy to post a chart showing which teams played the best and worst defense against us this year?

[Billy Dat]

It's irritating listening to NYC sports radio hosts (both on WFAN and ESPN, in particular Mike Francesa and Michael Kay) attempt to talk about college basketball. They'll swoon about Kentucky even though I'm sure they've never actually watched Kentucky, or any other team, play a single game. They'll speak in huge generalities because they have no idea what they're talking about. A few weeks ago a caller asked Francesa if he agreed that Arizona had the best starting five in the country -- the caller talked in detail about Stanley Johnson, TJ McConnell and Rondae Hollis-Jefferson. All Francesa could say was that Arizona recently had a good win against Utah but wasn't a good shooting team. You could tell he had no idea who any of Arizona's players were. Michael Kay gushes about Kentucky's "seven first-round draft picks" and "nine McDonald's All-Americans" while the only specific player he can name is "Cauley-Stein." (whom he claimed could be the #1 pick) One day, one of the producers told him Alex Poythress, a McDonald's All-American, hurt his knee and was out for the season, and Kay said, "So they had TEN McDonald's All-Americans!" These guys should just keep it real and not act like experts about sports that they know nothing about.

Francesa and Calipari are good buddies. I don't listen to Michael Kay but it doesn't surprise me that he lacks college hoops knowledge. NYC is such a baseball-centric sports radio town that these guys have to focus on where their bread is buttered. Francesa used to be part of the CBS March Madness studio show years and years ago, so he's not completely ignorant. He seems to have a good relationship with K, but he slipped in a nice Duke jab yesterday, 'So, we get a heavyweight match-up with Kentucky and Wisconsin and Duke gets the easier draw with Michigan State but that always seems to happen for Duke, we shouldn't be surprised..."


Hearing that too, Billy....Justise is gone...runaway freight train towards the draft
But did you catch the article today (Post I think) why Towns won't work in the Triangle (butt not big enough??)

We shouldn't bore our fellow DBR denizens with out Knicks woes, but this latest Towns-rear end talk is so insane that I can't deal with it. Big Chief Triangle will shove this triangle down our throats until we choke. If Jah is off the board when we pick and we don't pick Towns, I will be very very upset.

[Kedsy]

IMO, the best answer to that question is "since the defensive disaster that was the VaTech game"

Alright, people who don't like numbers, don't freak out at this image below. It will be explained.

http://forums.dukebasketballreport.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=4938&d=1427751185

What we're looking at here is my favorite page on KenPom. The only column to care about here is the last column (far right), which shows Duke's defensive performances since the start of conference play. I'm going to tell you what those numbers mean.

Let's look at the first game, Boston College. In that far right column are listed two numbers: "95.7" and "12." 95.7 is BC's offensive efficiency for that game. 12 is a ranking number and says that Duke had the 12th-best defensive performance against BC this season. Since BC played 32 games, 12th-best is pretty solid (but not great.)

Let's check out another example. Feb 7th, the home game against Notre Dame. The two numbers listed in the last column are "97.2" and "2." This means that Duke holding Notre Dame to 97.2 offensive efficiency was the SECOND-BEST defensive performance against Notre Dame this season out of the 38 games ND played. That is a GREAT defensive performance. (Syracuse did better, fyi).

By looking at the ranking numbers on the far right, you can quickly get a sense of the seasonal trends. That is why this is my favorite page on KenPom.

Matt Jones entered the starting lineup against Clemson on 2/21, with Justise moving to PF. That game was an excellent defensive performance, without Jahlil, overlooked in Troublemaker's analysis because the next game was the clunker at Virginia Tech. But in the 11 games with the Justise/Matt configuration, we've had eight performances with defensive performances in the opponents' top 8. So, I'd argue Virginia Tech was re-integrating Jahlil into the new configuration, and the defensive improvement started in earnest when Coach K made that lineup change.

If that's right, it's kind of counter-intuitive, since many of us (me included) thought Amile starting was critical to our defensive performance because he's one of our best defenders, best defensive rebounders, and best communicator, as well as allowing us to have a more traditional lineup, height-wise. Interesting that wisdom ended up being so wrong. I guess that's why they pay Coach K the big money.

Although, looking further at the chart, it also might be coincidence. The real answer might be improved focus. The games on the chart in which we had the best defensive performances all had the additional characteristic of being a "big" game or a re-match against an opponent against which we'd played somewhat poorly the first time. Here are all our "single-digit" defensive performances on the chart:

Louisville (coming off two game losing streak against then-top 10 opponent on its home floor): far right column = 6
Notre Dame II (re-match game after they beat us the first time): 2
Clemson (big because we had to play it without Jahlil): 6
Syracuse II (re-match game after winning first game by only 8 points): 3
Wake II (re-match game after winning first game by only 8 points): 3
NCSU II (re-match game after losing first game against them): 6
NCAA Tournament (4 games so far, each game rising in importance): 8, 4, 3, and 1

The only games that didn't meet the pattern were:

Virginia (road game against undefeated foe): 15
UNC II (re-match and road game against arch-rival): 20
Notre Dame III (ACCT semi-final): 11

But even those defensive performances weren't awful.

Interesting stuff. Thanks, Troublemaker.

[COYS]

Virginia (road game against undefeated foe): 15
UNC II (re-match and road game against arch-rival): 20
Notre Dame III (ACCT semi-final): 11

But even those defensive performances weren't awful.

Interesting stuff. Thanks, Troublemaker.

Very interesting, indeed. What is of particular interest to me is whether or not we can maintain that defensive focus while also executing just a LITTLE bit better on the offensive end, as well. One could argue that we've actually endured a little bit of an offensive slump starting with the ND game if you don't count the Robert Morris game (weaker opponent). It's been nothing major. And, in fact, we still had the second and fourth best performances of any team this season against SDSU and Gonzaga, respectively. So perhaps I'm being a little too nit-picky. However, I do feel like we have yet to have a tournament game where the offense has clicked on all cylinders. Jah is too good to have more than a few low scoring games in a row. Quinn has been solid but hasn't quite been as "on" as he's been at other times throughout the year. Tyus has been a bit off on his long range shot. I'm just hoping we have a Duke-WVU in the 2010 Semi Final explosion in the offing for this weekend.

[Kfanarmy]

Very interesting, indeed. What is of particular interest to me is whether or not we can maintain that defensive focus while also executing just a LITTLE bit better on the offensive end, as well. One could argue that we've actually endured a little bit of an offensive slump starting with the ND game if you don't count the Robert Morris game (weaker opponent). It's been nothing major. And, in fact, we still had the second and fourth best performances of any team this season against SDSU and Gonzaga, respectively. So perhaps I'm being a little too nit-picky. However, I do feel like we have yet to have a tournament game where the offense has clicked on all cylinders. Jah is too good to have more than a few low scoring games in a row. Quinn has been solid but hasn't quite been as "on" as he's been at other times throughout the year. Tyus has been a bit off on his long range shot. I'm just hoping we have a Duke-WVU in the 2010 Semi Final explosion in the offing for this weekend.

Perhaps the defenses Duke is facing are a bit better? I'll bet the Zags and Aztecs think their Offenses weren't clicking either. I wouldn't bet on another out of the world offense performance...though it could happen, the competition is pretty good.

[Kfanarmy]

Although, looking further at the chart, it also might be coincidence. The real answer might be improved focus. The games on the chart in which we had the best defensive performances all had the additional characteristic of being a "big" game or a re-match against an opponent against which we'd played somewhat poorly the first time. Here are all our "single-digit" defensive performances on the chart:

Louisville (coming off two game losing streak against then-top 10 opponent on its home floor): far right column = 6
Notre Dame II (re-match game after they beat us the first time): 2
Clemson (big because we had to play it without Jahlil): 6
Syracuse II (re-match game after winning first game by only 8 points): 3
Wake II (re-match game after winning first game by only 8 points): 3
NCSU II (re-match game after losing first game against them): 6
NCAA Tournament (4 games so far, each game rising in importance): 8, 4, 3, and 1

The only games that didn't meet the pattern were:

Virginia (road game against undefeated foe): 15
UNC II (re-match and road game against arch-rival): 20
Notre Dame III (ACCT semi-final): 11
But even those defensive performances weren't awful.

Interesting stuff. Thanks, Troublemaker.

I agree with this assessment with one minor difference. I think NDIII actually fits the pattern, in that having beat them by 30 in the rematch, Duke lost all focus (and energy) in the third meeting. They didn't see the rematch as a big game and let that one slip through their hands.

[pfrduke]

The only games that didn't meet the pattern were:

Virginia (road game against undefeated foe): 15
UNC II (re-match and road game against arch-rival): 20
Notre Dame III (ACCT semi-final): 11

But even those defensive performances weren't awful.

Interesting stuff. Thanks, Troublemaker.

The Virginia one can get an asterisk, too, as it involved a healthy Justin Anderson. At that point in the season, Duke had the 6th best defensive performance (out of 20) against Virginia. Post-Anderson, when the Cavs offense went into a tail spin, Virginia had 9 outings (out of 14) with lower offensive efficiency than in the Duke game.

[Troublemaker]

Yeoman's work, Troublemaker!

Just curious, is it easy to post a chart showing which teams played the best and worst defense against us this year?

Go here, Billy: http://statsheet.com/mcb/teams/duke/game_stats

Click on "Advanced Stats" and then click on column headers to sort efficiencies to your heart's content.



Matt Jones entered the starting lineup against Clemson on 2/21, with Justise moving to PF. That game was an excellent defensive performance, without Jahlil, overlooked in Troublemaker's analysis because the next game was the clunker at Virginia Tech. But in the 11 games with the Justise/Matt configuration, we've had eight performances with defensive performances in the opponents' top 8. So, I'd argue Virginia Tech was re-integrating Jahlil into the new configuration, and the defensive improvement started in earnest when Coach K made that lineup change.

If that's right, it's kind of counter-intuitive, since many of us (me included) thought Amile starting was critical to our defensive performance because he's one of our best defenders, best defensive rebounders, and best communicator, as well as allowing us to have a more traditional lineup, height-wise. Interesting that wisdom ended up being so wrong. I guess that's why they pay Coach K the big money.

Although, looking further at the chart, it also might be coincidence. The real answer might be improved focus.

Interesting alternative theories, Kedsy.

I still like best my theory of "heart to heart meeting after VaTech, and Jahlil stepping up his rim protection accordingly" (which has overlap with your focus theory, of course), but the answer is maybe multi-faceted and includes everything the posters in this thread have mentioned.

[roywhite]

Very interesting, indeed. What is of particular interest to me is whether or not we can maintain that defensive focus while also executing just a LITTLE bit better on the offensive end, as well. One could argue that we've actually endured a little bit of an offensive slump starting with the ND game if you don't count the Robert Morris game (weaker opponent). It's been nothing major. And, in fact, we still had the second and fourth best performances of any team this season against SDSU and Gonzaga, respectively. So perhaps I'm being a little too nit-picky. However, I do feel like we have yet to have a tournament game where the offense has clicked on all cylinders. Jah is too good to have more than a few low scoring games in a row. Quinn has been solid but hasn't quite been as "on" as he's been at other times throughout the year. Tyus has been a bit off on his long range shot. I'm just hoping we have a Duke-WVU in the 2010 Semi Final explosion in the offing for this weekend.

The shooting background in the Dome at Houston may have been a factor; it's been talked about, as in this NYT article:
Shooters Can’t See? Fans, Cover Your Eyes (http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/30/sports/ncaabasketball/vast-stadium-falls-silent-except-for-clangs.html?_r=0)

Jah's offense? Mostly a result of playing against teams who have both size and an effective double-team strategy.

Still, agree with your main point; hope to see the offense perform well.

[sagegrouse]

Very interesting, indeed. What is of particular interest to me is whether or not we can maintain that defensive focus while also executing just a LITTLE bit better on the offensive end, as well. One could argue that we've actually endured a little bit of an offensive slump starting with the ND game if you don't count the Robert Morris game (weaker opponent). It's been nothing major. And, in fact, we still had the second and fourth best performances of any team this season against SDSU and Gonzaga, respectively. So perhaps I'm being a little too nit-picky. However, I do feel like we have yet to have a tournament game where the offense has clicked on all cylinders. Jah is too good to have more than a few low scoring games in a row. Quinn has been solid but hasn't quite been as "on" as he's been at other times throughout the year. Tyus has been a bit off on his long range shot. I'm just hoping we have a Duke-WVU in the 2010 Semi Final explosion in the offing for this weekend.

Do you think the arena configuration and the glare in Houston hurt our shooting (while probably helping our defense)?

[Neals384]

It's worked out that as we do offense/defense substitutions, Jah hasn't been getting rebounds that would lead to him being immediately fouled and put on the line.

In the last 1:23, Grayson subbed in for Jah on offense, Jah came back in on D. So Jah still had the opportunity for D-Rebounds, he just didn't get any. Quinn had the only two D-rebounds from 1:23 to the end.

[KandG]

Matt Jones entered the starting lineup against Clemson on 2/21, with Justise moving to PF. That game was an excellent defensive performance, without Jahlil, overlooked in Troublemaker's analysis because the next game was the clunker at Virginia Tech. But in the 11 games with the Justise/Matt configuration, we've had eight performances with defensive performances in the opponents' top 8. So, I'd argue Virginia Tech was re-integrating Jahlil into the new configuration, and the defensive improvement started in earnest when Coach K made that lineup change.

If that's right, it's kind of counter-intuitive, since many of us (me included) thought Amile starting was critical to our defensive performance because he's one of our best defenders, best defensive rebounders, and best communicator, as well as allowing us to have a more traditional lineup, height-wise. Interesting that wisdom ended up being so wrong. I guess that's why they pay Coach K the big money.



Is is that counter-intuitive that Matt in place of Amile would result in better defense, though? I know a lot of us figured Matt's insertion into the lineup was primarily for offense and spacing reasons (and Amile went through a rough patch mid-season), but I'd always liked Matt's versatility in defending opposing wings & guards, and I tended to shudder when we switched on the perimeter with Amile (as enthusiastic as he is and being a good defensive communicator) as he never seemed as good at closing out on quick perimeter shooters or keeping them from getting into the lane.

I guess what I'm saying is that Matt makes us a better defensive team on the perimeter (less susceptible to allowing dribble penetration & giving up 3s) and that compensates for whatever Amile gave us on the interior and with rebounding. Plus K himself noted how he likes using quick & physical wings like Matt and even Grayson for the press, which has been another component of our improving defense.

The whole question about big vs small defensive lineups has been especially interesting recently as teams like Gonzaga threw big lineups at us -- Amile clearly had to play more vs their bigs, and I thought K did an excellent job with offense-defense substitutions given the excellent offensive game Matt was having. I suspect we'll be seeing more of this juggling in the Final Four.

(Thank you to Troublemaker and Kedsy both, along with others contributing here to a very good numbers-fueled exchange. Great stuff.)

[Billy Dat]

John Gasaway, an analytics-focused college basketball writer for ESPN, got into Duke's improved defense (paywall - $)
http://insider.espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/tournament/2015/story/_/id/12592788/key-numbers-final-four-ncaa-tournament

In short, he notes how much better Duke is on defense, says he suspected that the Houston stadium was a help so he tried to imagine what would have happened in Utah and Gonzaga had shot closer to their 3 point norms, and he says the Duke D would still have been better than the regular season, that opponents are shooting only 41% from 2, and that Jah has had 8 blocks. He also cites Winslow's emergence as a defensive stopper.

Per K&G's post above, I think the move of Justise to the 4, and the subsequent switch of Matt for Amile to guard perimeter players, has been so important.

I will say, though, the eye test tells me we cause a lot more problems on the offensive glass with Amile in the game. It's an excellent difference he makes when he is on the floor.

[tux]

Is is that counter-intuitive that Matt in place of Amile would result in better defense, though? I know a lot of us figured Matt's insertion into the lineup was primarily for offense and spacing reasons (and Amile went through a rough patch mid-season), but I'd always liked Matt's versatility in defending opposing wings & guards, and I tended to shudder when we switched on the perimeter with Amile (as enthusiastic as he is and being a good defensive communicator) as he never seemed as good at closing out on quick perimeter shooters or keeping them from getting into the lane.

I guess what I'm saying is that Matt makes us a better defensive team on the perimeter (less susceptible to allowing dribble penetration & giving up 3s) and that compensates for whatever Amile gave us on the interior and with rebounding. Plus K himself noted how he likes using quick & physical wings like Matt and even Grayson for the press, which has been another component of our improving defense.

The whole question about big vs small defensive lineups has been especially interesting recently as teams like Gonzaga threw big lineups at us -- Amile clearly had to play more vs their bigs, and I thought K did an excellent job with offense-defense substitutions given the excellent offensive game Matt was having. I suspect we'll be seeing more of this juggling in the Final Four.

(Thank you to Troublemaker and Kedsy both, along with others contributing here to a very good numbers-fueled exchange. Great stuff.)


I also wonder if having Winslow less on the perimeter (and instead guarding the 4 spot) has put him in better position to make more plays around the rim, both blocks/challenges as well as rebounds. Amile is great, but Winslow is a upgrade at the 4 in almost every facet of the game. He's also a bit of a point forward when he decides to drive the ball up the court after a defensive rebound. Having better spacing and more wing options opens up driving lanes for him that would not be there with both Amile and Jah in the low post. It also makes doubling Jah more difficult...

[Neals384]

Matt Jones entered the starting lineup against Clemson on 2/21, with Justise moving to PF. That game was an excellent defensive performance, without Jahlil, overlooked in Troublemaker's analysis because the next game was the clunker at Virginia Tech. But in the 11 games with the Justise/Matt configuration, we've had eight performances with defensive performances in the opponents' top 8. So, I'd argue Virginia Tech was re-integrating Jahlil into the new configuration, and the defensive improvement started in earnest when Coach K made that lineup change.



Matt's first start was vs. NC State, and didn't go too well. I actually predicted the change in lineups way back on Jan 3, in my BC +/- post:
"Another lackluster performance by the starting lineup, -2 in just 7:38. We've had the same starting lineup every game, but I wouldn't be shocked to see Matt get a start soon."

[House P]

http://forums.dukebasketballreport.com/forums/images/misc/quote_icon.png Originally Posted by Troublemaker http://forums.dukebasketballreport.com/forums/images/buttons/viewpost-right.png (http://forums.dukebasketballreport.com/forums/showthread.php?p=796228#post796228)
IMO, the best answer to that question is "since the defensive disaster that was the VaTech game"

Alright, people who don't like numbers, don't freak out at this image below. It will be explained.

http://forums.dukebasketballreport.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=4938&d=1427751185

What we're looking at here is my favorite page on KenPom. The only column to care about here is the last column (far right), which shows Duke's defensive performances since the start of conference play. I'm going to tell you what those numbers mean.

Let's check out another example. Feb 7th, the home game against Notre Dame. The two numbers listed in the last column are "97.2" and "2." This means that Duke holding Notre Dame to 97.2 offensive efficiency was the SECOND-BEST defensive performance against Notre Dame this season out of the 38 games ND played. That is a GREAT defensive performance. (Syracuse did better, fyi).

By looking at the ranking numbers on the far right, you can quickly get a sense of the seasonal trends. That is why this is my favorite page on KenPom.



Interesting analysis.

Another way to look at this is to take each opponent's offensive efficiency vs Duke and compare it to their average offensive efficiency for the year. This will tell you how effective Duke was at holding each opponent below their average offensive performance.

For example, in the ACC tourney, ND put up an offensive efficiency of 112.5 vs Duke. This seems like bad defense- until you consider that ND's average offensive efficiency for the year was 123.05. So Duke actually held ND 8.6% below their average offensive efficiency (112.5/123.05 = 0.914). Taking this a step further, if you multiply 0.914 by the average NCCA-wide offensive efficiency for 2015 (~102.75) you can approximate how KenPom calculates his adjusted defensive efficiency rating (after also correcting for home court advantage). For the ND game this would be ~93.7, which is essentially the same as Duke's season long KenPom adjusted defensive efficiency.

Here's where it gets interesting. If you do this on a game-by-game basis since the Va Tech game, you will find that Duke's KenPom adjusted defensive efficiency since Feb 28 is approximately 85.1. This may not mean much to non-KenPom fans, but if you do the same thing for Kentucky since Feb 28, you get an approximate adjusted defensive efficiency of 85.8.

In other words, since Feb 28, Duke's adjusted defensive efficiency has been slightly better than Kentucky's!

For the record, here is the estimated adjusted efficiency of each Final Four team since Feb 28 using the approach described above.



Team
Games
Adjusted Off Eff
Adjusted Def Eff


Duke
9
122.3
85.1


Kentucky
10
119.7
85.8


Wisconsin
10
132.2
98.0


Mich St
10
116.1
94.9



According to this approach, Duke is clearly the "hot team". Hopefully this continues for 2 more games.



Now the caveats.

1. There is definitely some major "cherry picking" of the data by starting after the awful performance vs Va Tech. If you applied the approach described above to the Va Tech game, you get an adjusted defensive efficiency of 125.5. This is worse than the season long average of the worst defensive team in all of Division 1 (The Citadel, which had an adjusted defensive efficiency of 120.6). If you include the Va Tech game, Duke's adjusted defensive efficiency over the last 10 games jumps to 89.1. Still very good, but not "Kentucky-like".

2. As a scientist in 'real life', I am cautious about the predictive power of trends identified retrospectively using a small, cherry-picked sample. For example, in 1993 Kentucky entered the Final Four with an average tourney scoring margin of +31 and promptly lost to a Michigan team that was coming off wins of 5, 8, and 2 points vs teams seeded 7 or higher.

3. Take this attempt to estimate what KenPom.com values with a grain of salt. For some reason, my approach yields adjusted offensive efficiencies within a point of what KenPom reports. However, when I do this for defensive efficiency, my results are consistently a couple percent below what KenPom.com reports. So my approach has a systematic error for replicating KenPom values. It probably has something to do with how he estimates home court advantage, treats blowouts and/or devalues early season games.

4. I've been reading DBR since the JulioVision parquet floor days, but this is my first post. Apologies in advance for any formatting, style, or other errors.

[Utley]

Interesting analysis.

Another way to look at this is to take each opponent's offensive efficiency vs Duke and compare it to their average offensive efficiency for the year. This will tell you how effective Duke was at holding each opponent below their average offensive performance.

For example, in the ACC tourney, ND put up an offensive efficiency of 112.5 vs Duke. This seems like bad defense- until you consider that ND's average offensive efficiency for the year was 123.05. So Duke actually held ND 8.6% below their average offensive efficiency (112.5/123.05 = 0.914). Taking this a step further, if you multiply 0.914 by the average NCCA-wide offensive efficiency for 2015 (~102.75) you can approximate how KenPom calculates his adjusted defensive efficiency rating (after also correcting for home court advantage). For the ND game this would be ~93.7, which is essentially the same as Duke's season long KenPom adjusted defensive efficiency.

Here's where it gets interesting. If you do this on a game-by-game basis since the Va Tech game, you will find that Duke's KenPom adjusted defensive efficiency since Feb 28 is approximately 85.1. This may not mean much to non-KenPom fans, but if you do the same thing for Kentucky since Feb 28, you get an approximate adjusted defensive efficiency of 85.8.

In other words, since Feb 28, Duke's adjusted defensive efficiency has been slightly better than Kentucky's!

For the record, here is the estimated adjusted efficiency of each Final Four team since Feb 28 using the approach described above.



Team
Games
Adjusted Off Eff
Adjusted Def Eff


Duke
9
122.3
85.1


Kentucky
10
119.7
85.8


Wisconsin
10
132.2
98.0


Mich St
10
116.1
94.9



According to this approach, Duke is clearly the "hot team". Hopefully this continues for 2 more games.



Now the caveats.

1. There is definitely some major "cherry picking" of the data by starting after the awful performance vs Va Tech. If you applied the approach described above to the Va Tech game, you get an adjusted defensive efficiency of 125.5. This is worse than the season long average of the worst defensive team in all of Division 1 (The Citadel, which had an adjusted defensive efficiency of 120.6). If you include the Va Tech game, Duke's adjusted defensive efficiency over the last 10 games jumps to 89.1. Still very good, but not "Kentucky-like".

2. As a scientist in 'real life', I am cautious about the predictive power of trends identified retrospectively using a small, cherry-picked sample. For example, in 1993 Kentucky entered the Final Four with an average tourney scoring margin of +31 and promptly lost to a Michigan team that was coming off wins of 5, 8, and 2 points vs teams seeded 7 or higher.

3. Take this attempt to estimate what KenPom.com values with a grain of salt. For some reason, my approach yields adjusted offensive efficiencies within a point of what KenPom reports. However, when I do this for defensive efficiency, my results are consistently a couple percent below what KenPom.com reports. So my approach has a systematic error for replicating KenPom values. It probably has something to do with how he estimates home court advantage, treats blowouts and/or devalues early season games.

4. I've been reading DBR since the JulioVision parquet floor days, but this is my first post. Apologies in advance for any formatting, style, or other errors.




I love your color here. Please post often.

You give me real hope. I recently watched the Duke Butler replay and was just so struck at how great our defense was at the end of that season. Its probably even more value to us this year when you think about how good we are in transition.

[summerwind03]

I love your color here. Please post often.

You give me real hope. I recently watched the Duke Butler replay and was just so struck at how great our defense was at the end of that season. Its probably even more value to us this year when you think about how good we are in transition.

Agree. That was fascinating. Thanks so much.

[devildeac]

Agree. That was fascinating. Thanks so much.

Hayward's shot still misses and it was still an illegal screen:rolleyes::p.

[Utley]

Hayward's shot still misses and it was still an illegal screen:rolleyes::p.

A definng moment in my life. I stll hold my breath every time he lets go.

Also a good remnder of how bad a look ND was able to get wth 6 seconds left

[Newton_14]

Hayward's shot still misses and it was still an illegal screen:rolleyes::p.

More like a crack back block! It can't be repeated too often that the head of the NCAA officials is on record as stating the next day he would have been forever haunted by that pick not getting called had the shot gone in.

[devildeac]

More like a crack back block! It can't be repeated too often that the head of the NCAA officials is on record as stating the next day he would have been forever haunted by that pick not getting called had the shot gone in.

I had not heard that about the head of NCAA officials. Semi-easy solution for @#$% like that: reprimand/suspend the official for missing that call.

[Utley]

More like a crack back block! It can't be repeated too often that the head of the NCAA officials is on record as stating the next day he would have been forever haunted by that pick not getting called had the shot gone in.

They should be haunted by not calling Anderson for fouling Redick at the end of the '04 semifinal game. Anderson even admitted fouling him afterwards

[FerryFor50]

They should be haunted by not calling Anderson for fouling Redick at the end of the '04 semifinal game. Anderson even admitted fouling him afterwards

Wait. This is impossible. Duke gets all the calls.

[Listen to Quants]

Interesting analysis.

Another way to look at this is to take each opponent's offensive efficiency vs Duke and compare it to their average offensive efficiency for the year. This will tell you how effective Duke was at holding each opponent below their average offensive performance.

For example, in the ACC tourney, ND put up an offensive efficiency of 112.5 vs Duke. This seems like bad defense- until you consider that ND's average offensive efficiency for the year was 123.05. So Duke actually held ND 8.6% below their average offensive efficiency (112.5/123.05 = 0.914). Taking this a step further, if you multiply 0.914 by the average NCCA-wide offensive efficiency for 2015 (~102.75) you can approximate how KenPom calculates his adjusted defensive efficiency rating (after also correcting for home court advantage). For the ND game this would be ~93.7, which is essentially the same as Duke's season long KenPom adjusted defensive efficiency.

Here's where it gets interesting. If you do this on a game-by-game basis since the Va Tech game, you will find that Duke's KenPom adjusted defensive efficiency since Feb 28 is approximately 85.1. This may not mean much to non-KenPom fans, but if you do the same thing for Kentucky since Feb 28, you get an approximate adjusted defensive efficiency of 85.8.

In other words, since Feb 28, Duke's adjusted defensive efficiency has been slightly better than Kentucky's!

For the record, here is the estimated adjusted efficiency of each Final Four team since Feb 28 using the approach described above.



Team
Games
Adjusted Off Eff
Adjusted Def Eff


Duke
9
122.3
85.1


Kentucky
10
119.7
85.8


Wisconsin
10
132.2
98.0


Mich St
10
116.1
94.9



According to this approach, Duke is clearly the "hot team". Hopefully this continues for 2 more games.



Now the caveats.

1. There is definitely some major "cherry picking" of the data by starting after the awful performance vs Va Tech. If you applied the approach described above to the Va Tech game, you get an adjusted defensive efficiency of 125.5. This is worse than the season long average of the worst defensive team in all of Division 1 (The Citadel, which had an adjusted defensive efficiency of 120.6). If you include the Va Tech game, Duke's adjusted defensive efficiency over the last 10 games jumps to 89.1. Still very good, but not "Kentucky-like".

2. As a scientist in 'real life', I am cautious about the predictive power of trends identified retrospectively using a small, cherry-picked sample. For example, in 1993 Kentucky entered the Final Four with an average tourney scoring margin of +31 and promptly lost to a Michigan team that was coming off wins of 5, 8, and 2 points vs teams seeded 7 or higher.

3. Take this attempt to estimate what KenPom.com values with a grain of salt. For some reason, my approach yields adjusted offensive efficiencies within a point of what KenPom reports. However, when I do this for defensive efficiency, my results are consistently a couple percent below what KenPom.com reports. So my approach has a systematic error for replicating KenPom values. It probably has something to do with how he estimates home court advantage, treats blowouts and/or devalues early season games.

4. I've been reading DBR since the JulioVision parquet floor days, but this is my first post. Apologies in advance for any formatting, style, or other errors.






Thanks indeed for doing this. Opponent adjustments are needed to talk 'seriously.' Also thanks indeed for the caveats. Fitting data post-hoc is a minefield. Wonderful example: the correlation between butter production in Bangladesh and the S&P 500. http://www.forbes.com/sites/davidleinweber/2012/07/24/stupid-data-miner-tricks-quants-fooling-themselves-the-economic-indicator-in-your-pants/

Your numbers provide a much needed quantitative backing to what 'everybody' is seeing. Our universal theory is that the D is far better. The prediction is clear. The test is soon.

[Kfanarmy]

The D has been really good, but the dome in Houston probably gets an assist. KY is still playing very good D aided by their sheer height. Don't be too surprised if the D seems to drop off a bit this weekend. Hopefully Duke's O will see a corresponding bump.

[Newton_14]

They should be haunted by not calling Anderson for fouling Redick at the end of the '04 semifinal game. Anderson even admitted fouling him afterwards
Another one of the worst non-calls in the history of the game. But yeah, Duke gets all the calls.

[subzero02]

Another one of the worst non-calls in the history of the game. But yeah, Duke gets all the calls.

Another involved a "JJ" also. Jared Jeffries' foul on Boozer's attempted putback of a FT. 2002 sweet 16 vs. Indiana.

[OldPhiKap]

Another one of the worst non-calls in the history of the game. But yeah, Duke gets all the calls.


Another involved a "JJ" also. Jared Jeffries' foul on Boozer's attempted putback of a FT. 2002 sweet 16 vs. Indiana.

None worse in my mind than Carlos getting mugged under the basket against Indiana at the end of that game. Refs swallowed their whistles.

[devildeac]

None worse in my mind than Carlos getting mugged under the basket against Indiana at the end of that game. Refs swallowed their whistles.

That was no ref. That was Bruce Benedict:mad:.

[OldPhiKap]

That was no ref. That was Bruce Benedict:mad:.

I guess its good that I never learned that until after he left the Braves.

[Listen to Quants]

Another involved a "JJ" also. Jared Jeffries' foul on Boozer's attempted putback of a FT. 2002 sweet 16 vs. Indiana.


None worse in my mind than Carlos getting mugged under the basket against Indiana at the end of that game. Refs swallowed their whistles.I'd agree that the Jeffries' foul was blatant. I actually thought though, that Boozer fouled Jeffries in rooting him out to be the rebound, so I am at peace with the no call*s* on that.

The case where Duke really did 'get all the calls' was vs UConn and E. Okafor. Any Duke center near Okafor in the fourth quarter got a foul called.

[gus]

I'd agree that the Jeffries' foul was blatant. I actually thought though, that Boozer fouled Jeffries in rooting him out to be the rebound, so I am at peace with the no call*s* on that.

I'm not quite as sanguine about it as you are, but when I think about it, I do remind myself that the reason Boozer was going for a rebound was because JWill missed a FT on a potential 4 point play to tie the game with 4.2 seconds left.