MBB: Duke vs. Siena (ESPNU, 7 pm) Pre-Game and In-Game Thread

[Mtn.Devil.91.92.01.10.15]

This is the sweet spot! Season opens in less than 12 hours, we are the defending champs of 2015, and we have far and away the best recruiting class for next year and the best coach in the history of the game.

Has there ever been a more perfect moment for Duke fans? Let us all be thankful for what we have seen and what we have yet to see. And let's go Duke!

[AIRFORCEDUKIE]

I agree, the feeling of starting a season after just winning the whole thing the previous season is amazing. The best way to describe it is just plain fun. Usually I feel pressure at the start of the season, thinking of the last time we won a title. Not a problem this season. Then I think about how our recruiting is going and if we will be able to hang with the other blue bloods in the future, also not a problem this year. We are churning out number one recruiting classes like crazy, winning titles and winning games. Its a great time to be a Duke fan. One thing I would like to see this season is an ACC Championship, its been too long since we won it. I would be happy this year with 26 wins or so, an ACC title, and a good solid run in the NCAA tournament. Obviously winning back to back titles would be awesome but I am pretty content as a fan right now. Which is something to be thankful for.

[JBDuke]

Season opener tonight vs. the Siena Saints. Here is goduke.com's preview:

http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=22724&SPID=1845&DB_LANG=C&ATCLID=210487625&DB_OEM_ID=4200

[flyingdutchdevil]

This is the sweet spot! Season opens in less than 12 hours, we are the defending champs of 2015, and we have far and away the best recruiting class for next year and the best coach in the history of the game.

Has there ever been a more perfect moment for Duke fans? Let us all be thankful for what we have seen and what we have yet to see. And let's go Duke!

Nope. Being a Duke fan is pretty amazing right now. I know nothing about Siena, only that we're gonna beat them. Let's face it - this is nothing more than a tune-up game. They're ranked 171 in KenPom (between powerhouses Detroit and Portland), which means I'd be surprised if we win by less than 20 - in Cameron, with arguably the most prepared coach in the early season.

I'm curious as to a) what line-up we play and b) who starts and c) what the freshman can do. I haven't seen the freshman play yet (I refuse to pay for Exhibitions or CtC), so this will be a treat for me!

[huey]

This is the sweet spot! Season opens in less than 12 hours, we are the defending champs of 2015, and we have far and away the best recruiting class for next year and the best coach in the history of the game.

Has there ever been a more perfect moment for Duke fans? Let us all be thankful for what we have seen and what we have yet to see. And let's go Duke!

Anybody know where to catch replays of the game? I don't ESPN U so I can't DVR it. Do they usually put replays up on ESPN 3/Watch ESPN? Do we get access to video replay on BDN?

[Lar77]

Now it gets real. I don't doubt we win easily against Siena and Bryant. The first test starts next week and then up in Brooklyn.

Regardless of the early outcomes, this will be a good season.

[Neals384]

Nope. Being a Duke fan is pretty amazing right now. I know nothing about Siena, only that we're gonna beat them. Let's face it - this is nothing more than a tune-up game. They're ranked 171 in KenPom (between powerhouses Detroit and Portland), which means I'd be surprised if we win by less than 20 - in Cameron, with arguably the most prepared coach in the early season.


Looking at the roster and notes from goduke, I think we need to take Siena seriously. They start a senior and four juniors and have decent size and bulk. Sure, Duke should win, but let's not get overconfident.

http://www.goduke.com/pdf9/4089008.pdf

[Bob Green]

Anybody know where to catch replays of the game? I don't ESPN U so I can't DVR it. Do they usually put replays up on ESPN 3/Watch ESPN? Do we get access to video replay on BDN?

The game is also available on ESPN3 so you might be able to watch it live unless your area is blacked out.

I'm looking forward to the start of the season tonight to see which players look best in the early season. It will take the freshmen some time to adjust but they will adjust and the rotation will change as the year progresses. I'm ready to once again enjoy the ride.

[flyingdutchdevil]

Looking at the roster and notes from goduke, I think we need to take Siena seriously. They start a senior and four juniors and have decent size and bulk. Sure, Duke should win, but let's not get overconfident.

http://www.goduke.com/pdf9/4089008.pdf

Coach K will have the team ready, and I'm also sure Coach K will ensure that the players take Siena and the game seriously. But I can't. I know we're supposed to take every opponent seriously, but Siena was 11-20 last season. They do bring back their top 5+ scorers, but no one is that much of an offensive threat (it's more of scoring by committee). Gassaway from ESPN has Siena ranked 186 and Goodman has Siena finishing 3rd in the mighty MAAC (Iona and Monmouth are 1st and 2nd, respectively).

Siena is a team with experience but little talent, ie the kind of teams that Duke will face in the first round of the NCAA, only significantly worse. Duke has lost to these teams in March, but I can't really think of a team like this that Duke has lost to recently (Vermont comes to mind, but we barely won that game).

Also, Coach K is great at a lot of things, but arguably one of his best attributes is getting his teams ready in a short time period, regardless of roster type. Duke may peak in January/February (it's happened), but we are always one of the best teams in November.

[Lar77]

Looking at the roster and notes from goduke, I think we need to take Siena seriously. They start a senior and four juniors and have decent size and bulk. Sure, Duke should win, but let's not get overconfident.

http://www.goduke.com/pdf9/4089008.pdf

Siena has a good coach, veterans, and 20 wins two years ago (last year had many injuries). Good team; possible NCAA out of the MAAC.

In contrast to two years ago against Vermont or 4 years ago against Belmont, I don't see this coming down to a nail biter. Our guys seem to take defense seriously and they seem to want to work the ball on offense. Intent is not always enough, but we should get a double figure victory (we are 24 point favorites).

[Dukehky]

The only thing I know about Siena is that Siena is in trouble.

[huey]

The game is also available on ESPN3 so you might be able to watch it live unless your area is blacked out.

Thanks! I won't be able to catch it live, unfortunately, but hopefully ESPN3 has the replay up soon after.

[subzero02]

We are favored by 23.5 points... hopefully our defense comes out strong and we limit them to 1 shot per possession.

[ChillinDuke]

Looking at the roster and notes from goduke, I think we need to take Siena seriously. They start a senior and four juniors and have decent size and bulk. Sure, Duke should win, but let's not get overconfident.

http://www.goduke.com/pdf9/4089008.pdf

I dunno - do we? They return 52 ppg from last year on a team picked to finish 5th in the MAAC (and finished tied for 8th last year). Their only double-digit wins last season were against Niagara (twice; #285), Quinnipiac (#177), and at Loyola (#310). They finished 11-20 last year, good for #267 per Kenny P.

The guard Wright (2nd) and the forward Bisping (3rd) are their only two players picked for the Preseason All-MAAC teams. So keep your eye on them.

But if we're worried about potential 2nd and 3rd team All MAAC-ers and a team that (albeit improved YoY) finished #267 last year - then I don't think we should really be looking forward to this season.

I'm all for respecting your opponent. But that doesn't necessarily mean we shouldn't be (over)confident.

- Chillin

ETA: If you're anything like me, underdog teams that have big upsets have staying power in your mind. I always am struck by how long ago some of the events happened that in my mind serve to prop up the caliber of teams that I know nothing about. Which leads me to my point, #13 Siena shocked #4 Vanderbilt in the NCAAT beating them in demoralizing fashion 83-62. That was in March of 2008. Siena has never beaten a ranked opponent since then. They did, however, beat a ranked Stanford team at home in 2007. So, perhaps there was a window there when Siena was a potentially scary team.

ETAA: KenPom agrees with my previous sentence. From 2007-2010, their final KenPom rankings were 148, 87, 61, 52. Since then, they've finished at 211 (in 2011), 229, 292, 151, 267. Clearly a drop off. Why, you ask? Siena's head coach was Fran McCaffery from 2005-2010. He is now the head coach at Iowa.

[subzero02]

From the DBR write up, it sounds like last season was largely derailed by injuries.

[ChillinDuke]

From the DBR write up, it sounds like last season was largely derailed by injuries.

Derailed from what? Based on final KenPom rankings, Siena didn't play a single team ranked in the double- (or single-) digits. The highest-ranked team they faced was #102 Iona (twice). Certainly injuries didn't affect their scheduling.

So, again, what's to be taken "seriously"? I respect them and hope we play fair and square. But if they put a run into us, we probably have major issues.

- Chillin

[flyingdutchdevil]

From the DBR write up, it sounds like last season was largely derailed by injuries.

DBR is often overly dramatic with terrible teams. And I get the rationale: win and the win feels like a bigger accomplishment; lose and DBR can back up it's statement that [x] team is a threat.

[SlapTheFloor]

DBR is often overly dramatic with terrible teams. And I get the rationale: win and the win feels like a bigger accomplishment; lose and DBR can back up it's statement that [x] team is a threat.

Also, I'm sure DBR doesn't want to show up as motivational material in an opponent's locker room.

[-jk]

And we're off! DBR Chat (http://forums.dukebasketballreport.com/forums/misc.php?do=cchatbox) is open!

If it gets a bit slow, refresh the page. As always - please follow the DBR Posting Guidelines.

Let's Go Duke!

[riverside6]

Live tempo-based stats for Duke/Siena, starters posted...

http://www.scacchoops.com/siena-at-duke-basketball-live-stats-11132015

[Truestbluest]

Anybody have a clue as to live streaming the game? I typically do so on the thefeed2all.eu web site. It's always been a reliable viewing resource for me (By choice, I don't have a TV). But tonight... nothing!

I certainly hope that this is only a "first game of the season" issue, but I can't understand why. We are, after all, National Friggin' Champs, so you'd think there'd be some streamers out there!

[Dianesboy]

Anybody have a clue as to live streaming the game? I typically do so on the thefeed2all.eu web site. It's always been a reliable viewing resource for me (By choice, I don't have a TV). But tonight... nothing!

I certainly hope that this is only a "first game of the season" issue, but I can't understand why. We are, after all, National Friggin' Champs, so you'd think there'd be some streamers out there!

http://atdhe.mx/basketball/watch-siena-saints-at-duke-blue-devils-8364g I use Adblock Plus

[Ultrarunner]

Anybody have a clue as to live streaming the game? I typically do so on the thefeed2all.eu web site. It's always been a reliable viewing resource for me (By choice, I don't have a TV). But tonight... nothing!

I certainly hope that this is only a "first game of the season" issue, but I can't understand why. We are, after all, National Friggin' Champs, so you'd think there'd be some streamers out there!

Not that we're supposed to know or share such things but VIPleague.se/sports/basketball might work for you. Have a good virus system in place. All these sites are buggy

[gurufrisbee]

Allen looks, um, AMAZING.

[Ultrarunner]

Allen looks, um, AMAZING.

Yep, and Amile is having a great game, too. Both on pace for double-doubles. Ingram is creating havoc up top.

[Truestbluest]

That's a winner, Ultrarunner. Thanks!

[CDu]

Only concerns with Allen so far are:
1. He seems great "playing downhill", but we will see if those opportunities exist as frequently against good teams
2. He is pushing off ALOT with his off arm. Hopefully that continues

Otherwise, he has looked terrific.

[tteettimes]

Amazin' Grayson
I can hear it now.....Ain't that Amazin' ??

[FireOgilvie]

Thornton is killing us. He's the only one hovering around a negative +/-.

[fgb]

Thornton is killing us. He's the only one hovering around a negative +/-.

kid's working it out. he'll be fine.

[75Crazie]

I was really hoping these white-on-white uniforms would be retired after last year. They are by far my least favorite of the home whites.

[FireOgilvie]

kid's working it out. he'll be fine.

Agreed. These +/- numbers are never totally accurate, but here they are from SCACCHoops.

Grayson Allen 18
Amile Jefferson 19
Brandon Ingram 5
Luke Kennard 19
Matt Jones 18
Derryck Thornton -5
Marshall Plumlee 8
Chase Jeter 4

[Acymetric]

If anyone ever figures out how to do animated GIF tattoos I'm totally going for that last Grayson dunk. Anyone got video?

[phaedrus]

2. He is pushing off ALOT with his off arm. Hopefully that continues

Otherwise, he has looked terrific.

Whatever you say Bo.