MBB: Duke @ NC State (Sat 1/23/16, 2 pm, CBS) Pre Game and In Game Thread

[Channing]

I am tired of looking at the Syracuse post-game thread so I figured I'd kick things off for NC State as we rebound and get back on track. Pre-game and in-game thoughts here:

[Channing]

NC State has some size that we will need to deal with. I would love to see either Chase, Obi, or even Vrank step-up in practice this week and demand to be the guy. We don't need much from them, but I would like to see us be able to rotate guys in and our and try different player combos. Would love to see Grayson, Luke, BI, Chase/Obi/Vrank, and Plumlee for a period if those guys can justify the playing time. It seems the last few games we have a lull with about 10 minutes left in the game, fall behind a little bit, then fight and claw to get back in the game and can't quite close it out (same story as Utah, as well).

[Mtn.Devil.91.92.01.10.15]

Despite NCSU's record, I still put this in the pile of "coin flip" games between now and Amile's return. One could say NCSU's record of 11-8 is misleading, considering they gave good competition to some good teams, but they've also loaded up on wins against cupcakes. Having said all that, they are coming off a shellacking of a pretty good Pitt team last night, and Barber has them playing some pretty good ball these days.

Their only "bad" loss was a season opener to William and Mary (but wowie, what a bad one, 85-68). As usual with NCSU, I expect them to fill the stadium with some rowdies and to bring their best against Duke. Should be a good test to see if we can regain some composure, some shooting, and some confidence.

Go Duke!

[jv001]

NC State has some size that we will need to deal with. I would love to see either Chase, Obi, or even Vrank step-up in practice this week and demand to be the guy. We don't need much from them, but I would like to see us be able to rotate guys in and our and try different player combos. Would love to see Grayson, Luke, BI, Chase/Obi/Vrank, and Plumlee for a period if those guys can justify the playing time. It seems the last few games we have a lull with about 10 minutes left in the game, fall behind a little bit, then fight and claw to get back in the game and can't quite close it out (same story as Utah, as well).

I don't want to see Chase or Obi at the 4 position. As for Vrank, I have not seen enough of him to know if he's qualified to play the 4. Until Amile comes back, Ingram is the only logical player to get many minutes at the 4. The only other option open for Coach K is to go small with: Grayson, Luke, Jones, Thornton and MPIII. This lineup would give Brandon rest and maybe keep him out of foul trouble. This would be strictly a 6 man rotation and fatigue could come into play. However if the coaches can coach up the zone defenses and slow down the games, it might just work. I'm not a college bb coach, but I did stay at the Holiday Inn last night(just kidding). GoDuke!

[uh_no]

no need to fret. i've personally guaranteed victory

[Troublemaker]

We're in the midst of a nice 4-day break for the team where they can recover physically and (just as important) mentally from 3 straight close losses. I have confidence in this team if they continue to have confidence in themselves. We were sooo close to being 5-1 or maybe even 6-0 in conference so far. Hopefully the tough losses don't take a toll on them.

The relatively long break also allows the coaches to tinker. The previous long break we had was winter break where the coaches came up with making Marshall a baseline lurker, which has produced mostly very good results for Duke.

I think they may be able to tinker with some things on defense during this break as well. Coach might do the following, which I wrote in another thread:


The third defensive change Coach K might tinker with is to concede the pull-up 3 by positioning Marshall a step or two closer to the basket on pick-n-roll.

When you concede the pull-up 3 on the ball screen, bad things can happen like this (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0onr1g-y9jc). Don't worry, you can click on the link, as it's a replay of a great play for Duke last April. (I wonder how many can guess the play just from this description. Spoiler ahead).

Even though Kaminsky gives up a clean look to Tyus there, notice how he's in position to defend Amile's roll to the basket. AND, if Tyus had decided to drive, Kaminsky would've had a few steps head start to retreat to the basket and rim protect. Basically, if you concede the pull-up 3, your big man can guard both the driver (via rim protection) and the roller on a ball screen.

If you don't concede the pull-up 3, then Kaminsky has to be a step or two higher, in which case Tyus would have a greater chance of beating him to the basket for a layup, which has been happening to MP3 a little bit too much for my taste. ALSO, you have to have a third player (usually a wing) come over to defend the roller because the big man isn't in place to do so.

Watch on Notre Dame's game-winning play (https://youtu.be/ApA1VrIIYbM?t=1m9s) how Luke has to come over (too late unfortunately) to meet Colson. If MP3 had been a step or two lower, he could've defended both the roll and had a head start to beat Jackson to the rim if he drove. (To be fair, that was probably how Duke wanted to defend the play, judging by how Grayson throws his hands up while looking at Marshall.)

[left_hook_lacey]

I don't want to see Chase or Obi at the 4 position. As for Vrank, I have not seen enough of him to know if he's qualified to play the 4. Until Amile comes back, Ingram is the only logical player to get many minutes at the 4. The only other option open for Coach K is to go small with: Grayson, Luke, Jones, Thornton and MPIII. This lineup would give Brandon rest and maybe keep him out of foul trouble. This would be strictly a 6 man rotation and fatigue could come into play. However if the coaches can coach up the zone defenses and slow down the games, it might just work. I'm not a college bb coach, but I did stay at the Holiday Inn last night(just kidding). GoDuke!

Staying at the Holiday Inn would mean you're a casual fan. You would need to stay at the Holiday Inn Express to earn your honorary credentials. Just Sayin. :cool:

[left_hook_lacey]

no need to fret. i've personally guaranteed victory

I'm going to piggy back on your prediction. I'll even go so far as to say I feel sorry for N.C. State because I think we unleash hell on them given the events of the past few games. Duke by 13+.

[Troublemaker]

Here's the hoop-math profile for State: http://hoop-math.com/NorthCarolinaSt.2016.php

Cat Barber is a very high-usage PG that is shooting 54.1% at the rim (good), 36.6% on 2-pt jumpers (horrible), and 32.8% on threes (bad).

Now, check out his shot selection. 50% of his shots are 2-pt jumpers and another 19% are threes. That leaves only 31% of his shots at the rim where he is most efficient of the three areas.

We need to defend him in a way where these ratios remain the same or get worse for him.

I think Coach should probably concede the pull-up (i.e. off-the-dribble) three on ball screens and obviously concede 2-pt jumpers when he dribbles beyond the arc. Make sure Marshall has enough of a head start on ball screens to beat Cat to the rim.

[moonpie23]

wolfies are licking their chops.......they took down pitt last night...

I trust that the coaching staff will have a good "plan" in place, and they will also impress upon the team how important this game is...



go duke...

[Doria]

NCSU is a deceptive team, at least with regard to us. In fact, this season, they've been a mirror to our team in some respects: severely hampered by an early injury, transfers, and an unexpected NBA departure. Most of their ACC losses have been within a possession down the stretch. They have at least two shooters who can be very good, but they've struggled with decision-making, and generally been inconsistent. As Barber's needed to play as much as possible, I believe he's just been worn down at the end of games, and with even a modicum of help would be posting even better figures.

That said, State has big bodies to throw at us. This is not great, but those big bodies have also not been (consistently) that great for State, either. Anya takes up space, but I think he's used up his SC highlight for the foreseeable future with the spin bucket over Pitt. Abu... is difficult to judge. He has some game, but it rarely shows up. Ditto, Freeman. State should be a great rebounding team, but with the exception of last night, they really aren't.

Other than Barber, they have Rowan and the Martin twins, who have all been plagued by inconsistency (well, or maybe the more negative kind of consistency) of youth.

We should be able to outlast them, if not run away from them. That said, State has traditionally played us very tough at home, and we'd be well advised not to sleep on them at all. They're limited, but this year, so are we. Go Duke!

[mgtr]

I remain optimistic -- we need MP3 to continue his game, shooters to shoot with confidence, and drives to the basket (to get free throws, if nothing else). I predict good win.

[GGLC]

We simply don't have enough healthy/contributing players. I hope I'm wrong.

[CDu]

State is a bad team that matches up well against us this year. They are BIG. Anya, Abu, and Freeman are all big, strong, bangers inside, and they will play 2 of them at a time as much as possible. Abu is probably the most skilled and has the most NBA potential. He can do a little bit of a lot of things, but does no one thing particularly well. Still, he is very strong, athletic, and aggressive, and averages almost 12 and 9. If he is dialed in, he will give Ingram fits. Anya is the big boy. And big may be an understatement. He is a terrific shotblocker, a solid rebounder, and an atrocious FT shooter. Freeman is a low-skill high-energy rebounder.

They don't have many guards, so they run a trio of 6'7" SFs at the wing. Rowan and Caleb Martin like to chuck up 3s (averaging 7 attempts per game each), but they haven't shot them well (Rowan leads the team at 33.8%; Martin is at 31.8%). Both shoot 36% or less from the field. Behind them is Cody Martin (Caleb's twin). Despite being twins, the two play very different games. Cody is more a combo forward (he will see time at PF too), whereas Caleb fancies himself a guard.

To this point you may be wondering "how has this team won a single game?" Well, the answer is Cat Barber. He is the entirety of the offense. Barber is perhaps the fastest player in the ACC. He is extremely good off the dribble. He isn't a natural passing PG, but he is certainly capable of creating off the dribble for others. Barber is literally asked to carry the team, and to do so for 40 minutes. The Pack literally do not have a backup for Barber. With him on the floor, they stand s puncher's chance. Without him, they are awful.

The reason State can potentially be a problem for us (especially eithout Jefferson) is that they have two things that give us trouble: a break-you-down PG and tons of rebounders. And if Rowan and/or Martin happens to get hot from outside, they are dangerous.

It is a game that, on paper, we should win. But it is also one we could clearly lose, especially if Ingram gets in foul trouble and/or can't handle Abu. Let's hope the Pack shoot like normal and we get lots of easy buckets in transition. Let's hope Barber gets in foul trouble. And let's hope Ingram does not.

[Troublemaker]

Who matches up well with whom remains to be seen.

Gottfried is certainly worried about how well Abu can guard Brandon, for example. Maybe Brandon wins that size-vs-speed matchup and Duke wins going away.

We'll see what happens.

[CDu]

Who matches up well with whom remains to be seen.

Gottfried is certainly worried about how well Abu can guard Brandon, for example. Maybe Brandon wins that size-vs-speed matchup and Duke wins going away.

We'll see what happens.

For sure. The concern for us is not whether Ingram can score against Abu. He can. The concern is whether Ingram can stop Abu inside and whether he can keep Abu off the glass.

We are more skilled at every spot on the floor except PG. And if we happen to put Allen on Barber, the difference at PG is small. If everyone plays to their average, we win convincingly. I was just noting the ways in which we could realistically lose. The losses to Clemson, Notre Dame, and Syracuse are all examples of things not playing out to the averages.

[Troublemaker]

For sure. The concern for us is not whether Ingram can score against Abu. He can. The concern is whether Ingram can stop Abu inside and whether he can keep Abu off the glass.

We are more skilled at every spot on the floor except PG. And if we happen to put Allen on Barber, the difference at PG is small. If everyone plays to their average, we win convincingly. I was just noting the ways in which we could realistically lose. The losses to Clemson, Notre Dame, and Syracuse are all examples of things not playing out to the averages.

Gotcha. And I, of course, agree with the bold.

[dukelifer]

State is a bad team that matches up well against us this year. They are BIG. Anya, Abu, and Freeman are all big, strong, bangers inside, and they will play 2 of them at a time as much as possible. Abu is probably the most skilled and has the most NBA potential. He can do a little bit of a lot of things, but does no one thing particularly well. Still, he is very strong, athletic, and aggressive, and averages almost 12 and 9. If he is dialed in, he will give Ingram fits. Anya is the big boy. And big may be an understatement. He is a terrific shotblocker, a solid rebounder, and an atrocious FT shooter. Freeman is a low-skill high-energy rebounder.

They don't have many guards, so they run a trio of 6'7" SFs at the wing. Rowan and Caleb Martin like to chuck up 3s (averaging 7 attempts per game each), but they haven't shot them well (Rowan leads the team at 33.8%; Martin is at 31.8%). Both shoot 36% or less from the field. Behind them is Cody Martin (Caleb's twin). Despite being twins, the two play very different games. Cody is more a combo forward (he will see time at PF too), whereas Caleb fancies himself a guard.

To this point you may be wondering "how has this team won a single game?" Well, the answer is Cat Barber. He is the entirety of the offense. Barber is perhaps the fastest player in the ACC. He is extremely good off the dribble. He isn't a natural passing PG, but he is certainly capable of creating off the dribble for others. Barber is literally asked to carry the team, and to do so for 40 minutes. The Pack literally do not have a backup for Barber. With him on the floor, they stand s puncher's chance. Without him, they are awful.

The reason State can potentially be a problem for us (especially eithout Jefferson) is that they have two things that give us trouble: a break-you-down PG and tons of rebounders. And if Rowan and/or Martin happens to get hot from outside, they are dangerous.

It is a game that, on paper, we should win. But it is also one we could clearly lose, especially if Ingram gets in foul trouble and/or can't handle Abu. Let's hope the Pack shoot like normal and we get lots of easy buckets in transition. Let's hope Barber gets in foul trouble. And let's hope Ingram does not.
Barber is a tough matchup for Duke. He has had bad games against Duke but he is capable of a huge night and playing at home will energize him. I am most worried about the rebounding. State can get a lot of points on putbacks. This is tough game on many levels. Duke is reeling and State has a taste of winning. Will be another dog fight but it could get ugly if Duke lets Barber get control of the game. Can't have another bad shooting night by Kennard.

Duke is in a tough spot right now. Every team and every fan base has the Duke game circled. That means no chance to catch a team sleeping. Fighting every night when you don't have the man power is exhausting. Duke needs one of those games where they can't miss to get into a new mode. Hopefully it comes on Saturday.

[Doria]

Barber is a tough matchup for Duke. He has had bad games against Duke but he is capable of a huge night and playing at home will energize him. I am most worried about the rebounding. State can get a lot of points on putbacks.

Totally agree. If anything, I think NCSU's win-loss record doesn't do justice to them as a rebounding team. The plus side is that they've often had difficulty scoring on those rebounds, and their total rebounds is padded with a lot of missed shots. Still, anyone can hit a bucket if you give them enough chances. I don't expect we can be close on rebounding, but it's essential we get all that we can without fouling. There should be zero cases where they get a rebound amidst four of our guys who are just watching the rebounder.

Cat Barber is a tough matchup, but since he's the only one who has proven to be a consistent scoring threat, we should be able to shut him down and take our chances with Rowan or one of the Martins.

I'm sure everyone remembers that one of those back-to-back losses for us last year was against NCSU. This is most certainly not last year's team; but then, neither are we. Looking forward to the game! Go Duke!

*Forgot to mention, I look to see us taking it to the paint more often than we did against Syracuse (how hard could that be?), but State has a good shot blockers, and we cannot take it to the hoop weak or unprepared to finish, or we could be looking at the KY game again. I'm not saying State is as talented as that team (though I might take State's frontcourt against that of the Wildcats), but we should be prepared to finish through contact. Also, I totally left out the most important thing--I actually like Gottfried and think he's been a good fit, overall, in Raleigh, but there's really no comparison in terms of coaching. At all.

[cato]

I am very excited for this game. Last year, K busted out the zone to break a January losing streak -- something I thought would never happen. Now, it turned out that that (like platoons the year before) was just a short term jolt on the way back to his preferred style, but it was dramatic.

What will he try this time around? Options are limited, I suppose, but at least the staff has one or two guys that might be able to dream up a surprise.

[Kedsy]

And if Rowan and/or Martin happens to get hot from outside, they are dangerous.

But with those two guys, it's usually a Laugh-In.

[Furniture]

Ticket prices are dropping like crazy because of the snow that is coming. If you dare to drive there you will get in for next to nothing. I am really thinking about it.

[Saratoga2]

Ticket prices are dropping like crazy because of the snow that is coming. If you dare to drive there you will get in for next to nothing. I am really thinking about it.

Are they still planning to play Saturday with the snow and ice storm today and tonight?

[bluenorth]

But with those two guys, it's usually a Laugh-In.

I was wondering if anyone else made that connection. I guess those of us who do are dating ourselves. Go ahead, sock it to me.

[CDu]

I was wondering if anyone else made that connection. I guess those of us who do are dating ourselves. Go ahead, sock it to me.

Yeah, this came up in another thread a week or so ago. Full disclosure: Laugh In was before my time; I only caught it on reruns due to my dad.

[moonpie23]

i might go - depending on how bad it is...

if anyone is rolling in with plans to buy tix out front, hit me up, we can sit together....

[rasputin]

I was wondering if anyone else made that connection. I guess those of us who do are dating ourselves. Go ahead, sock it to me.

I can't sock it to you, but I can bestow upon you the Flying Fickle Finger of Fate award.

[Indoor66]

I can't sock it to you, but I can bestow upon you the Flying Fickle Finger of Fate award.

It's not how you feel but how you look.

[Pghdukie]

Didn't know where to post this without starting a new thread, but I hope all of the DBR'ers and their families get thru this storm safely and damage free. My best wishes.

[Furniture]

i might go - depending on how bad it is...

if anyone is rolling in with plans to buy tix out front, hit me up, we can sit together...

I use vivid seats...download tickets before I leave. I will wait to see the weather tomorrow before I decide.

[ChillinDuke]

Not sure what's to discuss about this one.

Uh No has already personally guaranteed victory.

My 401k has doubled.

- Chillin

[mgtr]

Not sure what's to discuss about this one.

Uh No has already personally guaranteed victory.

My 401k has doubled.

- Chillin

Now is that doubled in a math sense, or doubled in a bridge sense?:D

[cato]

Not sure what's to discuss about this one.

Uh No has already personally guaranteed victory.

My 401k has doubled.

- Chillin

I am betting all of my stock market gains from 2016 on this game.

[tfk53]

As of just a bit ago, Duke-State remains game on. Weather 30 degrees with 40% of snow at gametime.
Will be interesting to see how attendance is affected. Since PNC arena is not a convenient on-campus walk, I wonder how many additional students will make the snowy and icy trek.

http://www.gopack.com/news/2016/1/21/MBB_0121160731.aspx

[westwall]

Are they still planning to play Saturday with the snow and ice storm today and tonight?


And so the answer is: CBS will decide!

[uh_no]

And so the answer is: CBS will decide!

eh. duke has already cancelled a much larger game due to unsafe conditions....so i'm not concerned about being shills to the media in this case.

[OldPhiKap]

I was wondering if anyone else made that connection. I guess those of us who do are dating ourselves. Go ahead, sock it to me.

Date yourself if you want. I'm calling Goldie.

[killerleft]

Date yourself if you want. I'm calling Goldie.

... I wanna go out to lunch!

[Olympic Fan]

Just a brief update.

As of midnight, it looks like Duke-State is still on. The Hurricanes played the Rangers Friday night at PNC and the weather conditions were much worse tonight than they are expected to be by midday tomorrow.

We got a steady mix of snow and sleet all day in the Triangle, about 4 inches in Durham near the Duke campus. Driving conditions are bad, but not horrific.

Things have stopped temporarily, but we're supposed to get light, but steady snow again about daybreak, continuing through midday. But just a dusting.

Watching the 11 p.m. news, the biggest impact of the storm in this area are the power outages. Some traffic problems, but as of late Friday, the main roads were open and traffic was moving.

So no guarantees, but it very much looks like the game will be played as scheduled.

[MarkD83]

I have a question for the board.

There used to be a belief that a bad snow storm meant good things for the Duke BBall team. Is there somewhere to pull up a stat of win-loss record after a major snow event in NC?

[AIRFORCEDUKIE]

I think its time to try Grayson at PG for long stretches. Have the ball in his hands as much as possible and let him create. I know Matt Jones and Thornton have been bringing the ball up the most, but I think it will be good to let Grayson handle much more of the duties. He can create off the dribble better than either of those players, and once he passes can still get free for a set shot. I missed a lot of the Syracuse game, so I don't know if we already tried this approach. If coach tried it and it failed then disregard this message.

[Bob Green]

How do we match up against State on defense? The speed of Cat Barber along with the size of BeeJay Anya, Abdul-Malik Abu and Lennard Freeman is concerning. A strong defensive performance from Derryck Thornton today would be timely. Brandon Ingram can neutralize Abu but Plumlee is going to have to stay out of foul trouble while dealing with Anya and Freeman. It will be interesting to see what strategy Coach K employs against the Wolfpack.

[Billy Dat]

Today feels like the day to stop the bleeding. Headed into Louisville last year I thought we were headed for a slaughter, and we got the win we needed. Our recent history in Raleigh, their cat-like PG and their size suggests today could/should be an L, so I am hopeful for another counter-intuitive result. Our team has too much talent and too much fight to keep winding up on the wrong side of things. We need some "Duke is Duke" magic to kick in.

Laura Keeley joined her N&O colleague Andrew Carter in his "Amateur Hour" podcast and it's 30 minutes of "What's Wrong with Duke" talk, just the sobering splash of cold water one needs before a rousing, losing-streak snapping ACC road wn.

http://www.newsobserver.com/sports/college/acc/duke/duke-now/article55718405.html

[tfk53]

My concern - for today game at State as well as the next several - is how the guys handle things mentally. Yes, Coach K is indeed a master at this aspect of the game but 2/3 of the 6 are under 20. A new type of stress and pressure for them in learning to cope with this adversity. I will be sitting at the edge of my seat today to see how they continue to grow and mature. Each season seems to bring out different challenges for Coach K and his men - this year no different. Somethings we will see on court during the games. Much will happen behind the scenes at practice and in meetings. We are lucky indeed to watch a master at work.

[sagegrouse]

I have a question for the board.

There used to be a belief that a bad snow storm meant good things for the Duke BBall team. Is there somewhere to pull up a stat of win-loss record after a major snow event in NC?

Here's one ancient data point. Snow arrived in Durham in the first week of March of 1960, just as the ACC tournament was starting in Raleigh at Reynolds Coliseum. I wasn't a direct witness to the snow because it was so bad that Angier Duke weekend was postponed for a week, which delayed my first-ever visit to Duke. That weekend, Duke proceeded to march through the ACC tournament and win its first championship with wins over South Carolina, UNC and Wake Forest.

These were big upsets. Duke was essentially a 0.500 team going into the ACC's and had lost to UNC and Wake in five previous games by an average of greater than 20 points per game. Freshman Art Heyman, of course, was not eligible to play. Snow was good news for the Blue Devils.

It snowed the next weekend as well but Duke had no choice but to go ahead with the high school academic recruits and Angier Duke weekend was held. During the intervening week, Duke won its first ever NCAA tournament game, beating Princeton in Madison Square Garden. Then won the regional semis on Friday night in Charlotte over St. Joe's before losing in the Elite Eight to the NYU Violets. I have no reports of snow in Charlotte that weekend, but there probably was some.

[gumbomoop]

This seems a game where Sean could play a couple of minutes each half, when Anya is in. Sean can just foul Anya, a horrible FT shooter. Marshall in foul trouble or gassed would be disastrous.

[slower]

I'm going to piggy back on your prediction. I'll even go so far as to say I feel sorry for N.C. State because I think we unleash hell on them given the events of the past few games. Duke by 13+.

Really? This stuff again? This ain't last year - Winslow, Okafor, T. Jones and Cook aren't walking through that door. State could just as easily beat us by 13.

[CDu]

If ever an opponent screamed "play zone," this is it. State doesn't shoot well, doesn't have a post scorer, and has only one ballhandler (and that one is extraordinarily quick and thrives off breaking down the defense by beating his man off the dribble.

I know Coach K loathes the zone, and I know the zone hasn't worked well so far this year, but if we have trouble with Barber in man-to-man I would be ready with a quick switch to a compact 2-3.

[uh_no]

Really? This stuff again? This ain't last year - Winslow, Okafor, T. Jones and Cook aren't walking through that door. State could just as easily beat us by 13.

but they won't.

you're going to like the way we play....i guarantee it.

[Duke1994]

CBS2 in New York is currently preempting the Uconn-Georgetown game for live storm coverage. In the event they do the same at 2pm for our game, any suggested alternatives for viewing the game online?

[DU82]

CBS2 in New York is currently preempting the Uconn-Georgetown game for live storm coverage. In the event they do the same at 2pm for our game, any suggested alternatives for viewing the game online?

Did they move the first game to their second digital network? That's what other stations do on occasion. That, or the CBS All Access app might have it. There's a 30 day free trial membership available, although I don't know if they have live games available. Failing that, try the CBS Sports app.

[devil84]

Did they move the first game to their second digital network? That's what other stations do on occasion. That, or the CBS All Access app might have it. There's a 30 day free trial membership available, although I don't know if they have live games available. Failing that, try the CBS Sports app.

Also try theacc.com (http://www.theacc.com). They list it as "scheduled" to watch live.

[Olympic Fan]

Here's one ancient data point. Snow arrived in Durham in the first week of March of 1960, just as the ACC tournament was starting in Raleigh at Reynolds Coliseum. I wasn't a direct witness to the snow because it was so bad that Angier Duke weekend was postponed for a week, which delayed my first-ever visit to Duke. That weekend, Duke proceeded to march through the ACC tournament and win its first championship with wins over South Carolina, UNC and Wake Forest.

These were big upsets. Duke was essentially a 0.500 team going into the ACC's and had lost to UNC and Wake in five previous games by an average of greater than 20 points per game. Freshman Art Heyman, of course, was not eligible to play. Snow was good news for the Blue Devils.

It snowed the next weekend as well but Duke had no choice but to go ahead with the high school academic recruits and Angier Duke weekend was held. During the intervening week, Duke won its first ever NCAA tournament game, beating Princeton in Madison Square Garden. Then won the regional semis on Friday night in Charlotte over St. Joe's before losing in the Elite Eight to the NYU Violets. I have no reports of snow in Charlotte that weekend, but there probably was some.

1960 is known as the Year of the Big Snow on Tobacco Road. Indeed, it was a good omen. One small correction/clarification to your story. The first-round win over South Carolina was not an upset. fourth-seeded Duke (12-10, 7-7 ACC) was a slight favorite over fifth-seeded South Carolina (10-15, 6-8 ACC). But you are right, the back-to-back upsets of ACC regular season co-champs Wake and UNC -- two teams that had dominated Duke all season -- were huge.

Second data point was 1978. The semifinals of the ACC Tournament in Greensboro were buried by snow. At an press conference before the title game (it was an odd schedule that year because ABC's Wide World of Sports was televising the title game on Sunday, so there was a day off Saturday after the Friday night semifinals), Bill Foster famously joked that, "they said it would snow in Greensboro in March before Duke reached the finals again. It was Duke's first appearance in the finals since 1967 and that Sunday, Duke won its first title since 1966.

After edging Rhode Island in Charlotte, Duke traveled to Providence for the East Regionals, despite a massive snowstorm that buried the area under more than a foot of snow. The team adopted the snow as a good omen and beat Penn and Villanova to earn a trip to the Final Four. The next week, there was a dusting of snow in St. Louis on the morning of the Duke-Notre Dame semifinal -- just enough to help Duke beat the Irish. Alas, no snow on Monday and Duke fell to Kentucky.

For the rest of the Foster era (two more seasons), snow was regarded as the team's good luck charm. There were several more occasions when it helped -- a big late-season non-conference win over Louisville in Charlotte ... a homecourt win over Virginia (Duke was trailing in the second half when the PA guy announced, "It's snowing outside" and the place went crazy ... Duke rallied to win) and most famously in the 1980 ACC title game when the snow was so bad, the ACC opened its doors and let anybody who could get there come in, ticket or not.

Since Foster's departure, the snow/luck idea seems to have faded. I can remember a bad snow/ice game in Cameron against Marbury and Georgia Tech that didn't go well.

But maybe we can revive the tradition today in Raleigh!

[Duke1994]

Did they move the first game to their second digital network? That's what other stations do on occasion. That, or the CBS All Access app might have it. There's a 30 day free trial membership available, although I don't know if they have live games available. Failing that, try the CBS Sports app.

Ugh. Just signed up for the free (7-day) trial of CBS All Access and while they do have live streaming, there appears to be no way to see any CBS affiliate other than your local one. So online is streaming the same CBS2 as my DirecTV. Hopefully theacc.com will work come 2pm!

[DukeFanSince1990]

Hopefully they will actually show the game and not preempt it to tell us the weather sucks.

[freshmanjs]

Ugh. Just signed up for the free (7-day) trial of CBS All Access and while they do have live streaming, there appears to be no way to see any CBS affiliate other than your local one. So online is streaming the same CBS2 as my DirecTV. Hopefully theacc.com will work come 2pm!

In Philly area, they are showing college hoops on a "sister station". On my directv, this is channel 57. worth just checking the channels below 100 to see if they have the georgetown game on one of them.

[Duke1994]

In Philly area, they are showing college hoops on a "sister station". On my directv, this is channel 57. worth just checking the channels below 100 to see if they have the georgetown game on one of them.

BINGO! Channel 55 on DirecTV in NY area is carrying Gtown-Uconn. Fingers crossed that they carry our game at 2pm if it's preempted on Channel 2! Thanks for the help. Go Duke!

[MCFinARL]

BINGO! Channel 55 on DirecTV in NY area is carrying Gtown-Uconn. Fingers crossed that they carry our game at 2pm if it's preempted on Channel 2! Thanks for the help. Go Duke!

Same thing in DC. Georgetown UConn (and presumably Duke NCSate) shows up on CBS-2, aka "Bounce." This is 459 on FIOS and something in the 200's on Comcast.

[uh_no]

Same thing in DC. Georgetown UConn (and presumably Duke NCSate) shows up on CBS-2, aka "Bounce." This is 459 on FIOS and something in the 200's on Comcast.

thank goodness we can deal with snow so well down here in the triangle. I get to watch my huskies!!!

[kmspeaks]

Same thing in DC. Georgetown UConn (and presumably Duke NCSate) shows up on CBS-2, aka "Bounce." This is 459 on FIOS and something in the 200's on Comcast.

207 on Comcast in the DC area. CBS Sports App currently has Georgetown-UConn with the option to watch live so those with screencasting ability have that as an option as well since I would assume they'll have the Duke game too.

[riverside6]

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

http://www.scacchoops.com/duke-at-nc-state-basketball-live-stats-01232016

[sagegrouse]

1960 is known as the Year of the Big Snow on Tobacco Road. Indeed, it was a good omen. One small correction/clarification to your story. The first-round win over South Carolina was not an upset. fourth-seeded Duke (12-10, 7-7 ACC) was a slight favorite over fifth-seeded South Carolina (10-15, 6-8 ACC). But you are right, the back-to-back upsets of ACC regular season co-champs Wake and UNC -- two teams that had dominated Duke all season -- were huge.


Thanks for the comment -- infelicitous wording on my part.

[Troublemaker]

Chat is open: http://forums.dukebasketballreport.com/forums/misc.php?do=cchatbox

[Billy Dat]

Have any NYers, where the CBS coverage is being pre-empted by vacuous human interest storm coverage, figured out where the game is playing?

[Monmouth77]

Have any NYers, where the CBS coverage is being pre-empted by vacuous human interest storm coverage, figured out where the game is playing?

Same thing's happening in DC, with no options to see the game elsewhere. Listening on Tune-in.

[Billy Dat]

Same thing's happening in DC, with no options to see the game elsewhere. Listening on Tune-in.

Go to CBS Sports website, they are offering a video stream.

http://www.cbssports.com/

[freshmanjs]

Same thing's happening in DC, with no options to see the game elsewhere. Listening on Tune-in.

it's on an alternate channel. flip around and find it.

[gocanes0506]

In NJ it's on the CW.

State can't miss, not looking good early

[Channing]

What is with DT's decision making?

[slower]

but they won't.

you're going to like the way we play...i guarantee it.

Nope.

There's just no margin for error with this team.

[rsvman]

nobody shoots 100 percent from three, right? they've got to start missing a few eventually.

[CDu]

Jeez. This is a bad 3pt shooting team that just can't seem to miss right now.

[dukelion]

Jeez. This is a bad 3pt shooting team that just can't seem to miss right now.

Yup.....they can't miss.

Need the law of averages to kick in.

[77devil]

Jeez. This is a bad 3pt shooting team that just can't seem to miss right now.

Defense is porous. Wide open looks.

[pamtar]

Duke's playing defense like the whole team has 3 fouls and shooting like each shot is for the game.

[arnie]

Nope.

There's just no margin for error with this team.

Live with OAD die with OAD. No understanding of Ks defensive strategies and too few mature bodies.

[vrob90]

Shaping up to be a very long season.

[CDu]

Defense is porous. Wide open looks.

It isn't THAT porous.

[gocanes0506]

Well State was hit and Kennard was cold.

The 2-3 is being used for a lot of high ball pressure. Both guards up top are staying close to the ball even 25' out. I'm guessing K wants to force the ball out Barber's hands. It's leaving open holes down low and middle of the three point line.

[6th Man]

It's frustrating to have no bench. We are just so limited in what we can do.

[flyingdutchdevil]

Shaping up to be a very long season.

You mean a very short season?

[newclasspack]

Yup....they can't miss.

Need the law of averages to kick in.

i actually think it is? Rowan and Caleb and Cat are good 3pt shooters. Cat has a bad wrist injury early in the season, and rowan is just inconsistent as a freshman and Caleb has been in a huge slump.. i guess things are progressing back to the mean finally.

[kmspeaks]

Defense is porous. Wide open looks.

I thought 3 or maybe even 4 of the 3's State hit were defended well. Martin at the top of the key with 2 Duke defenders plus his own guy in his face and he was leaning. Martin on the left wing with Matt in his face. Martin with the shot clock running out where he fumbled the pass because Matt closed out well and then took it from the floor into his shot in one motion. You might even call the Barber 3 from way downtown that took a high bounce and went in decent defense.

If they miss 2 of these it's a one possession game. I'm not trying to argue Duke has played great defense but it's got to be demoralizing to do things right and have guys hit shots in your face.

[vrob90]

You mean a very short season?

Both, I'm thinking.

[slower]

Shaping up to be a very long season.

This is a tweener year. There's just less talent and depth than last year. Not hard to understand. But I still don't get when people say "Duke is still Duke", as if THAT'S any answer. That's actually a pretty stupid thing to say. This team is just not a contender this year.

[rsvman]

when Luke shoots a shot that looks good the entire way, it goes halfway down and rattles out. meanwhile, Barber tosses up a long three that is a brick the whole way. I say to myself, "he finally misses," but then it bounces 6 feet up into the air and somehow manages to go in.
shooting has to equalize more in the second half. I still like our chances, mostly because I don't think their guys are really that good at shooting.

[CDu]

The bottom line is that State is hitting an inordinately high percentage of their 3s, while we are missing more than average.

I like what we have done in containing Barber. But Rowan and Martin have simply hit too many semi-open shots. Hopefully that resolves itself in the second half.

[vrob90]

Maybe they can still pull it out. Pretty discouraging. Nobody's used to seeing four in a row, mostly to bad teams. It's not what I expected this year. Or any year, for that matter.

[CDu]

i actually think it is? Rowan and Caleb and Cat are good 3pt shooters. Cat has a bad wrist injury early in the season, and rowan is just inconsistent as a freshman and Caleb has been in a huge slump.. i guess things are progressing back to the mean finally.

Martin was a bad shooter last year and he has been bad this year too. There is a ton of data now that suggests he isn't a good shooter.

Rowan has a reputation as a shooter, but through nearly 150 attempts he has shot relatively poorly.

[freshmanjs]

This is a tweener year. There's just less talent and depth than last year. Not hard to understand. But I still don't get when people say "Duke is still Duke", as if THAT'S any answer. That's actually a pretty stupid thing to say. This team is just not a contender this year.

Was Kentucky a contender 2 years ago?

[slower]

Was Kentucky a contender 2 years ago?

Off the top of my head, I don't know. Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor? Hey, if you choose to believe that Duke is a legit title contender this year, feel free to dream big, my friend.

[freshmanjs]

Off the top of my head, I don't know. Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor? Hey, if you choose to believe that Duke is a legit title contender this year, feel free to dream big, my friend.

KY lost to 4 unranked teams and was a #8 seed that year. Lost the national championship game by 6 points. Young teams can get better.

[CDu]

KY lost to 4 unranked teams and was a #8 seed that year. Lost the national championship game by 6 points. Young teams can get better.

Also, the tourney is s crapshoot. UK benefitted from a friendly draw and good fortune just as much as they played better. That could surely happen again, of course.

[77devil]

I thought 3 or maybe even 4 of the 3's State hit were defended well. Martin at the top of the key with 2 Duke defenders plus his own guy in his face and he was leaning. Martin on the left wing with Matt in his face. Martin with the shot clock running out where he fumbled the pass because Matt closed out well and then took it from the floor into his shot in one motion. You might even call the Barber 3 from way downtown that took a high bounce and went in decent defense.

If they miss 2 of these it's a one possession game. I'm not trying to argue Duke has played great defense but it's got to be demoralizing to do things right and have guys hit shots in your face.

Mostly step in, in rhythm shots. Not well defended.

[CDu]

Bad call there on Kennard.

[CDu]

Mostly step in, in rhythm shots. Not well defended.

Step in, rhythm shot s from 25 ft that were contested. That is good defense. As we are seeing early this half, those same 3s aren't falling as much.

[freshmanjs]

Also, the tourney is s crapshoot. UK benefitted from a friendly draw and good fortune just as much as they played better. That could surely happen again, of course.

Not sure about that. KY beat 4 top 12 ranked teams in a row in the tournament (including #2, #5, and #7).

[slower]

KY lost to 4 unranked teams and was a #8 seed that year. Lost the national championship game by 6 points. Young teams can get better.

Cauley-Stein, Poythress, Randle, James Young, Harrison twins on that roster. You're comparing apples to more talented apples.

[newclasspack]

Martin was a bad shooter last year and he has been bad this year too. There is a ton of data now that suggests he isn't a good shooter.

Rowan has a reputation as a shooter, but through nearly 150 attempts he has shot relatively poorly.Martin started the year extremely hot then like i said went really cold.. but his is a good shooter.

[77devil]

Step in, rhythm shot s from 25 ft that were contested. That is good defense. As we are seeing early this half, those same 3s aren't falling as much.

Cat Barber wide open

[Kjeffrey]

I just started watching the game and it doesn't look like they are trying anything different than the past three losses. They are just throwing the ball around the three point line. I would think they could have addressed the zone defense with something else. Why are they not putting Ingram or Kennard in the middle of that zone. Can't they make shot at the free throw line?

[CDu]

Martin started the year extremely hot then like i said went really cold.. but his is a good shooter.

I mean, there is just no evidence that he is a good shooter. He shot poorly last year in 82 attempts. He has shot poorly this year in 132 attempts. He was briefly hot early this year, which apparently confused you. But he is just a streaky shooter who, on average, is not goodat it.

[gocanes0506]

There is the D we are used to

[vrob90]

Several very good possessions. Looking like a Duke team.

[killerleft]

Barber is limping noticeably.

[CDu]

There is the D we are used to

Same D, they are just finally missing.

[dukelion]

Same D, they are just finally missing.

Yup.....no more friendly bounces from the rim.

[gocanes0506]

Same D, they are just finally missing.

The team started getting hands in passing lanes too.

[killerleft]

Yip! Needed this one much!

[uh_no]

i don't guarantee often...but when I do, i prefer to bet my 401k on it.