MBB: Duke 70, Miami 58 Post-Game Thread

[JBDuke]

Put your post-game thoughts here.

[fuse]

Team went on a 12-0 second half run when we turned it on the radio on the drive home.
No thanks necessary :rolleyes:

[DukieInKansas]

Matt Jones - no need to say more.

[Tripping William]

Cautiously optimistic that this team learned the value of playing hard today. The contrast between half one and half two was stark.

[westwall]

Put your post-game thoughts here.

No doubt, no question: MATT JONES!!!

[CDu]

Matt Jones (especially him), Frank Jackson, Marques Bolden, Amile Jefferson, and Jayson Tatum, thank you for that awesome display of dominance over the first several minutes of the second half!

Great decision by Capel. Great execution by the team.

[mph]

Matt Jones - no need to say more.

Pretty good game by Bolden too.

[FerryFor50]

Great comeback. Whatever Capel told the team at the half, he needs to trademark it. The body language, effort, and overall enjoyment of each other and playing was a complete 180.

Hopefully they build off this game and use the 2nd half as an example of what it's going to take for this team to reach its lofty expectations.

Man of the match? Old man Jones by far.

[Troublemaker]

Great job by Coach Capel to start that energy / defense lineup in the 2nd half. That turned our season around, and now anything is possible the rest of the way.

We found a new starting center in Marques Bolden, I believe. And Matt Jones was unbelievable. The DeSoto High kids really led the way.

[westwall]

Cautiously optimistic that this team learned the value of playing hard today. The contrast between half one and half two was stark.

And we can hope the lesson will be learned.

[duke4ever19]

Team went on a 12-0 second half run when we turned it on the radio on the drive home.
No thanks necessary :rolleyes:

Well, your instructions for future games is obvious. :)


Hey folks, we might make the tournament after all!

[lmb]

I've been following Duke for more than 30 years and I can't remember a team or a season quite like this. Jekyll & Hyde

[FerryFor50]

Great job by Coach Capel to start that energy / defense lineup in the 2nd half. That turned our season around, and now anything is possible the rest of the way.

We found a new starting center in Marques Bolden, I believe. And Matt Jones was unbelievable. The DeSoto High kids really led the way.

Bolden was great, for sure.

When I turned it on early in the first half, I noticed one main thing - his energy level. He was active. He was hedging well and rotating back. He was moving his feet great. He was using his body and not reaching. He looked so much more energetic than any other game this season.

Giles needs to watch film of how Bolden played his hedge defense and replicate. Giles still reaches too much.

[Doria]

Finally! So great to see the team looking like they were having fun playing, and they were able to see the dividends that defense pays as well. Really enjoyable to watch.

[dukelifer]

Matt played like a senior when the team needed him. Great to see. Bolden's best game- huge confidence boost. Grayson still is not himself but maybe he will find his mojo again. Luke has been struggling of late. Now Duke needs Giles to get on track. Jackson is finding his game again. Great win when it really looked bad for 20 minutes.

[Native]

Bolden was great, for sure.

When I turned it on early in the first half, I noticed one main thing - his energy level. He was active. He was hedging well and rotating back. He was moving his feet great. He was using his body and not reaching. He looked so much more energetic than any other game this season.

Giles needs to watch film of how Bolden played his hedge defense and replicate. Giles still reaches too much.

This. I guess that week off did Bolden a world of good.

His hedging on ball screens helps us immensely in pick-and-roll situations where we were getting killed in our previous losses.

Defensively, our rotations were rock solid during the run. A ton of useful, positive game film for the coaches to review with the guys after this one. Exemplary defensive effort in the second half tonight.

[bluenorth]

Good to see Bolden emerging as more of a force. That's what good defence will do for you.

What a Jekyll and Hyde game for the team. Whatever Coach Capel said at half-time changed the whole personality of the team. That's a wonderful building block for this group as they move forward.

[devildeac]

Bench points:

miami-0
Duke-31

Oh, my.

[CoachJ10]

Great job by Coach Capel to start that energy / defense lineup in the 2nd half. That turned our season around, and now anything is possible the rest of the way.

We found a new starting center in Marques Bolden, I believe. And Matt Jones was unbelievable. The DeSoto High kids really led the way.

I completely agree that Bolden has earned the starting center spot after tonight. His energy and defense instinct was a shot in the arm that our frontcourt players needed.

Let me also suggest that Frank Jackson using his quickness to split the defenders on the PnR was great to see. Give other teams a taste of their own medicine.

[SlapTheFloor]

Matt, wow! All the Jones haters are feeling a little sheepish right now. Very excited about the way Bolden played. Good win. Let's keep it going.

[84Duke]

I went out for ice cream and beer with about 2:30 left in the first half. When I got home, Duke was up 9. Maybe I should make the snacks run a habit.

[Utley]

Thank God for a Matt going off (season saving) - but I don't think it's the big long term story.

For us - our run typically goes as far as our D takes us. I think our D was as good as anyone in the country during the tourney in '10 and in '15.

Capel clearly pointed the finger at Grayson and Luke. How do they respond? It's probably heresy but I think right now we are better team with Frank out there than the version of Grayson we are seeing now.

We can't lose track of what Bolden did either (2017 Zoubek?) . I'd start him over Harry at this point. I think he is physically healthier. I also think Harry is pressing and bringing him off the bench may take some of the pressure off us.

Finally - massive kudos to Capel tonight. What a gutsy move to make under his circumstances.

[texasdevil06]

I've been following Duke for more than 30 years and I can't remember a team or a season quite like this. Jekyll & Hyde

First post in several years. Been following Duke basketball for 53 years and I agree with you. Will only say that, having read the board this year, Matt Jones can play for me anytime, anywhere. I absolutely love him. Complete winner.

Bolden looks like he's getting into game shape. He'll make a huge difference going forward if he can play ball screen defense like he did in the 2nd half. Great job by him. Go Devils!

[jwillfan]

Granted he wasn't *the* story of this game but his presence was felt and it feels great to see him on the floor. I thought he was a step slow from being out but got better as the game went on. And of course OMJ was terrific.

[Kjeffrey]

Matt, wow! All the Jones haters are feeling a little sheepish right now. Very excited about the way Bolden played. Good win. Let's keep it going.

Not sure I am a Jones hater but I have definitely questioned his play in the past. I am thrilled he went off tonight and hope it continues. And if so I will gladly admit I was too tough on him.😄

Couldn't be happier for Bolden. Before tonight he didn't seem to be enjoying himself. Hope this gives him a big boost in confidence.

[LasVegas]

This just makes things even more confusing on who should start and/or see the most minutes. Good problem to have but still a problem. Weird stuff.

[DukieInKansas]

Pretty good game by Bolden too.

Very true. It does take a team to win but I loved seeing Matt's smile!

[Skydog]

They miked the wrong coach - Capel's halftime speech must have been one of the best in bball history.

[Kjeffrey]

Any word on why Jeter didn't play?

[Skydog]

Or maybe he just said "Grayson, Kennard you sit."

[Dr. Rosenrosen]

Having Amile back... fantastic.
Old Man Jones saving the day... amazing.
The whole squad smiling together... priceless.

[Coballs]

Granted he wasn't *the* story of this game but his presence was felt and it feels great to see him on the floor. I thought he was a step slow from being out but got better as the game went on.

He pulled down 12 boards. I'll take it!

[lotusland]

Granted he wasn't *the* story of this game but his presence was felt and it feels great to see him on the floor. I thought he was a step slow from being out but got better as the game went on. And of course OMJ was terrific.

First game back Amile led the team playing 34 minutes. 7 guys played more than 20 minutes, Giles played 8 and Jeter DNP.

[jv001]

Thank God for a Matt going off (season saving) - but I don't think it's the big long term story.

For us - our run typically goes as far as our D takes us. I think our D was as good as anyone in the country during the tourney in '10 and in '15.

Capel clearly pointed the finger at Grayson and Luke. How do they respond? It's probably heresy but I think right now we are better team with Frank out there than the version of Grayson we are seeing now.
We can't lose track of what Bolden did either (2017 Zoubek?) . I'd start him over Harry at this point. I think he is physically healthier. I also think Harry is pressing and bringing him off the bench may take some of the pressure off us.

Finally - massive kudos to Chapel tonight. What a gutsy move to make under his circumstances.

I see your comment on Luke and Grayson but tonight is the first time we've seen Frank play that well since early season. Even in the first half tonight, he didn't play that well. I think the energy Matt and Bolden showed in the 2nd half picked everyone up. We've been looking for that spark or leader and maybe tonight we may have found a group of leaders. What a great coaching move by Coach Capel. GoDuke!

[CDu]

That first half was brutal. We looked lost on offense. Our defense wasn't great either, especially on the pick and roll.

And then Capel made a gutsy move. With Allen banged up and both Allen and Kennard ineffective, Capel turned to the bench. Bolden, Jackson, and Jones started the 2nd half... and boy did they ever! Jackson was aggressive hoing to the rim. Jones was aggressive on D. They forced turnovers, and Jones hit 3s. And very quickly we made an 11-point lead disappear. It got infectious and Bolden, Tatum, and Jefferson got into the swarming act. We outscored Miami 35-7 over the first 13 minutes of the half. It was utter dominance.

Can't say enough good things about Jones, but plenty will do so for me. I want to commend two of the freshmen instead. Bolden was magnificent tonight. His effort on defense was great all game. And he found his legs on offense too. Easily his best game. Hopefully a sign of things to come. And Jackson was brilliant in the second half. He and Jones were seemingly everywhere, and Jackson's ability to get to the rim was a huge boost.

Not to be lost, it was crucial to have the grad student back out there barking orders and grabbing boards.

What a win!

[ncexnyc]

Someone looking up the score on the internet won't get a true picture of this game. It's hard to say the team played poorly in the first half, as it was more a case of them playing without any passion, but boy the second half was a whole different story.

I think Bolden has earned the right to start the next game as he looked extremely active and did a great job of moving his feet on the defensive end.

I like Frank attacking the basket the way he does and hopefully this is something he will continue to do.

Matt really looked good tonight doing all the little things you'd hope a senior can do for a team.

Let's see if we can build on this hard fought win when State rolls into town Monday night.

[wallyman]

Bolden looked like a completely different player and presence on the court. Hard to know if he or Matt looked happier. He definitely deserves the start in the next game. Whew. Not sure we would have recovered if we lost this one.

[NashvilleDevil]

It was like that first 3 by Jones was the catalyst. Bounced around and then dropped and then from there it was beautiful basketball for about 12 minutes.

That defense was awesome and they played such hard defense for the first 10 minutes of the 2nd half that they wore Miami out. I hope the players realize that playing defense at that level leads to some nice opportunities on offense.

Was a fun game to watch especially that 2nd half.

[lotusland]

This just makes things even more confusing on who should start and/or see the most minutes. Good problem to have but still a problem. Weird stuff.

Bolden to start from here on out. Bolden also back to OAD. Luke and GA benched now and will be back next year to back up the incoming freshmen. The way Matt jones is playing, he def won't be back:)

[Troublemaker]

This just makes things even more confusing on who should start and/or see the most minutes. Good problem to have but still a problem. Weird stuff.

With the NC State game < 48 hours away, it's pretty simple for now. Start the five that started the 2nd half.


Any word on why Jeter didn't play?

Same reason Javin didn't play. Amile is back and Marques played great. We have an 8-man rotation. Hopefully they stay healthy the rest of the season.

[gofurman]

It was the best of times it was the worst of times. A tale of two....

Jones - great to see his 3 and D to start the second half
Bolden - finally somebody showed some movement and defense and energy as a big
Amile - glad to have you out there. Struggled on O, I do give credit to Miami being quick. Most Every time AJ got the ball in the post multiple guys came over. Lots of rebounds and helped the D. Get healthy and in shape
Kennard - struggled a little on O and D but can't say much negative as he has been the most consistent player all year
Allen - passed up a few threes. Got really banged up - dislocated finger? Main thing is he is ok going forward. I sensed Miami s keying on Allen and Luke
Jackson - in second half saw the athlete he can be. Taking guys off the dribble and getting nice close shots. That's what we need. If you add that to kennard and Allen and Amile that's too many weapons
Giles- a few boards and a nice trip where he ran the court fast for a layup. Hope he progresses. Not really his night as Bolden got the minutes
Jeter - interesting as no minutes. Though I think he should be option 9 if we are to be a really good team
Tatum - pretty good stuff. Tons of talent. Love when he goes hard to the basket. He is so good and long. He either makes it or gets fouled. Few or No real bad turnovers tonight No charges?

Anyway. Wonderful second half D and O. First half D wasn't horrid but O was non existent. and credit to MiamiMiami...their first half D was great. ACC is just so tough - Miami loses to Wake. Miami kills Pitt. You better bring your best all the time. Every minute.

Wake just beat Miami. Wake just beat State. Our three opponents just played each other. We better be ready for State. Monday is tough. Then a long week before next game

[DukieInBrasil]

I'll take credit for this one. I followed the game on stats for the first half, and then went to the local bar for the 2nd half. Almost immediately after the 2nd half started Duke went on that insane run to go from down 11 to up 21. Just amazing.
I gotta say that what stood out to me the most, was Marques Bolden. His ability to hedge was just radically different than before. They tried to pick him so many times and he hedged nearly perfectly, nearly Zoubekian, and got back to his man quite well. They ended up getting nothing but terrible shots and bogged down offense with lots of turnovers.
I also gotta say that the way Frank was splitting those double teams was a thing of beauty. I don't know if they were poorly executed, Frank had perfect anticipation, or if Frank is just so strong and fast, but he was shredding that and then forcing huge mismatches at the rim. He scored on some really beautiful moves.

[Papa John]

Our guys seemed to wait for refs to blow whistles while Miami was heading down the other way on fast breaks...

They seemed to wait around on offense for things to happen...

They seemed to wait around for help to arrive on defense...

Capel might have just said, "What the heck are you waiting for? Go out there and grab the game by the gonads and just play your rear-ends off, for cryin' out tears!"

[KandG]

Oddest game I can remember in quite a while. Two psychologically fragile teams trade off great and abject halves of basketball. Fortunately, the better team had the more impressive and more overwhelming period of dominance.

I never, ever would have figured Duke's defensive lineup to be Bolden, Jefferson, Tatum, Jones and Jackson. Kudos to Coach Capel for that huge move.

Seeing Matt Jones having one of the games of his life, and more importantly, having fun doing so, was awesome. In a season where the team has so rarely seemed to play with joy, Matt's first ten minutes of the second half, capped off with that huge smile, should be shown to our guys over and over the rest of the season.

Amile being back made a huge difference, especially in the second half with his work on the boards. I thought he looked pretty ragged in the first half and was afraid he was still limited coming back from injury, but he looked like his old self the last 20 minutes. And Bolden gaining more of his spring and being functional on both ends is hopefully the beginning of the end of big-man roulette with our crazy buffet of flawed (but improving) bigs.

Don't think the team's issues are resolved (one assist in the first half was not an anomaly), but knowing we have a lineup that can grind it out is a small but very positive step forward.

[Saratoga2]

I got back from a social engagement with 17 + minutes left in the second half and Duke down by 5. It was confusing at first since I saw a different lineup out there and also realized Amile was back. I saw that Matt was doing great and Bolden was defending well with a lot of energy. This team really played with a defensive intensity I haven't seen recently and it is a good omen for the future.

In addition, Jayson is an incredible force out there and has the ability to get to the basket or shoot from outside. When he is on his game, he is very difficult to stop or even slow down. When Luke got back into the game he worked hard, was able to score some and made a nice downcourt assist to Amile. Luke's defense is fairly good and he is a decent rebounder. Frank made some decent slashing plays and was active on defense, but still has a tendency to get beaten by his man. Grayson was playing hard, yet he seemed to have trouble handling the press near the end of the game. He held the ball too long allowing himself to nearly get trapped on several occasions and he did get stripped at the end. His PG game needs some work but I still like his game over Franks just based on his experience factor.

Harry needs to make additional improvement defensively and avoid so much reaching in. He does show excellent body control so his game is there and just needs PT to reach somewhere close to his potential.

Good win and a step toward a tournament competitive team.

[duke4ever19]

I'll take credit for this one. I followed the game on stats for the first half, and then went to the local bar for the 2nd half. Almost immediately after the 2nd half started Duke went on that insane run to go from down 11 to up 21. Just amazing.
I gotta say that what stood out to me the most, was Marques Bolden. His ability to hedge was just radically different than before. They tried to pick him so many times and he hedged nearly perfectly, nearly Zoubekian, and got back to his man quite well. They ended up getting nothing but terrible shots and bogged down offense with lots of turnovers.
I also gotta say that the way Frank was splitting those double teams was a thing of beauty. I don't know if they were poorly executed, Frank had perfect anticipation, or if Frank is just so strong and fast, but he was shredding that and then forcing huge mismatches at the rim. He scored on some really beautiful moves.

Like I told fuse, you now have your instructions for all future games. :)

I was thinking about making a sacrifice to some human-lemur-antelope hybrid. Luckily it wasn't needed.

[Kjeffrey]

With the NC State game < 48 hours away, it's pretty simple for now. Start the five that started the 2nd half.



Same reason Javin didn't play. Amile is back and Marques played great. We have an 8-man rotation. Hopefully they stay healthy the rest of the season.

Glad to hear it isn't another injury. Can't keep up with all of them.

It was great to see Bolden play well tonight. He moved so much better on defense than he has in the past.

[sagegrouse]

The keys to the game were our captains, Matt (duh!) and Amile. Jones led the spectacular comeback, but Amile was a presence throughout the game. We don't win this game without Amile playing strong defense and scarfing up 12 rebounds on a bum foot.

Marques FN Bolden -- have you ever seen the light turn on so suddenly for a Duke player in the middle of the season?** Boy, did he have a terrific game on both offense and defense.

Kindly,
Sage
**Well, actually, yes! Check out Grayson's game against Wake his freshman year.

[Skydog]

Wonder how the game goes if we don't finally get a break on Jones' fortunate bounce on his 3 pointer? We definitely deserved it bc we had so many unlucky 1sr half bouncees - but the game completely turned around after that make.

[devildeac]

Miami scored 1 point in the first 7:06 of the second half. One. Uno. Ein.

I'm still amazed.

[SkyBrickey]

Loved that Matt Jones smile tonight. That's the best of Duke basketball when guys are playing hard and having fun.

It will be very, very interesting to see what Capel does with the starting lineup Monday night. I would be shocked if Bolden doesn't join Amile and Tatum in the starting lineup.

But what about the backcourt? Do you stick with Matt and Frank who turned the game around tonight? It is a much stronger defensive backcourt than Grayson and Luke. Or do you mix it up and start Grayson and Matt with Frank and Luke coming off the bench? Not sure you can start Luke over Matt after what Matt did tonight. Tough call for the coaches...

[superdave]

This win is a relief, that Capel can get this roster on a good track. But lets not over-react and think problems are solved. I dont know if we have a primary ball handler or what that means. I dont know if we can replicate this energy.

This team is young and could just as easily flop in 48 hours. We shall see.

None of this dictates the rest of the season though. There's a lot of hoops to go. This is a step forward. We need another step forward the next week.

[devildeac]

41-9 run over 14:43 to start the half. Even more amazing.

[Billy Dat]

It was like that first 3 by Jones was the catalyst. Bounced around and then dropped and then from there it was beautiful basketball for about 12 minutes.

Even more important, we had just missed and as Miami headed up court, Matt ripped the ball away bu surprise and then hit that 3. It was a Matt Jones special, a combo of effort, smarts and "we need a bucket now" timing. He hits a lot of shots like that.

Echo the enthisiasm for Capel's decision to start with that line-up, Marquese's whole game was great, Frank was a killer, so was Tatum in the second half, seeing Amile back out there was amazing...

That second half may have saved our season, let's hope we don't regress on Monday.

[gofurman]

This win is a relief, that Capel can get this roster on a good track. But lets not over-react and think problems are solved. I dont know if we have a primary ball handler or what that means. I dont know if we can replicate this energy.

This team is young and could just as easily flop in 48 hours. We shall see.

None of this dictates the rest of the season though. There's a lot of hoops to go. This is a step forward. We need another step forward the next week.

Y - wake stil scares me. They just made a break through w holding their lead vs Miami and now they finally win on the road v State. After next two games we know a lot more. We NEED to beat State at home and then I'll be interested to see how we do v Wake. One game does not a season make - let's see how we come out v State... If we see the second half effort v State I'll feel a lot better. We could use a little crafty O from Amile and some points from Allen but I wonder about his hand. Win and get some rest before wake

[duketaylor]

So I'm the only one that thinks K was in the locker room at the half? Capel changed his coaching style in the 2nd half, going from frustrated and less than demonstrative, to very assertive and animated in the 2nd half, even with Duke comfortably in from with a minute to go.

My thought the entire 2nd half was that K had some serious words for the team and likely Capel. Just my gut instinct. Posted that during live chat. May never be confirmed.

Could be 100% wrong, but just a thought. Great 2nd half!! GO DUKE!!!

[DRC]

Interesting game on many levels, and a good, much needed win. Sure would love to have been a fly on the wall in the Duke locker room at halftime. Go Devils!

[Troublemaker]

This win is a relief, that Capel can get this roster on a good track. But lets not over-react and think problems are solved. I dont know if we have a primary ball handler or what that means. I dont know if we can replicate this energy.

This team is young and could just as easily flop in 48 hours. We shall see.

I dunno about that, my friend. Maybe I'm too giddy, but my sense is tonight was a turning point and in the future, we'll be referencing this game like the Zoubek Maryland game from 2010. That doesn't mean we're necessarily going to go on to win a national championship since luck plays such a large role in that, but I do think we're going to get better and better from here on out.

[MaxAMillion]

I think people really struggle with the obvious. This is a team that is and will be inconsistent. They have not had a chance to play together consistently and the coach is missing. That means there will be up and down play. I don't think the problems have been solved by any means. They will most likely struggle again when they hit the road. You just have to accept that growth from this team won't be a straight line upwards.

[mr. synellinden]

Bolden was great, for sure.

When I turned it on early in the first half, I noticed one main thing - his energy level. He was active. He was hedging well and rotating back. He was moving his feet great. He was using his body and not reaching. He looked so much more energetic than any other game this season.

Giles needs to watch film of how Bolden played his hedge defense and replicate. Giles still reaches too much.

This to me was a huge key in the second half defensive turnaround. That and just playing with more energy and passion - a lot of which was keyed by Matt Jones' play.

The other thing that stuck out for me was that Kennard appeared to be more of a defensive liability than I've noticed in the past. Perhaps this was just a bad matchup for him.

Wonder who starts next game.

[COYS]

What a weird season. I feel like we've already seen two seasons worth of lineup evolution and we've still got a ways to go. Remember when we had a six man rotation of Matt/Luke/Grayson/Frank/Amile/Chase? I mean geez, those early season games seem like truly ancient history to me. So much has changed since then it's hard to really keep up.

For me, the MVP goes to Coach Capel. Yes, Matt was phenomenal, but he's gotten plenty of deserved love on this thread, already. Capel, with perhaps the season on the line, decided to go with a lineup with three freshmen, two of whom had been playing really poorly over the past few games, to dig the team out of an 11-point hole. Meanwhile, he kept the preseason national player of the year front runner and a 20ppg scorer and mid season Wooden Award top 25 player on the bench alongside the number one recruit in the country. It was gutsy and it paid off. Led by Matt jones, those guys responded with the most impressive defensive display we've had all season by a long shot. Just wow.

We say this all the time, but if we can just get everyone healthy and playing in form, this team could be so special. I mean, Marques was the ninth man the last few games behind Chase. Frank was playing, but not particularly well on either end of the court. They looked like veterans out there today.

What a crazy season.

[CoachJ10]

This to me was a huge key in the second half defensive turnaround. That and just playing with more energy and passion - a lot of which was keyed by Matt Jones' play.

The other thing that stuck out for me was that Kennard appeared to be more of a defensive liability than I've noticed in the past. Perhaps this was just a bad matchup for him.

Wonder who starts next game.

Let me say this (as someone who has loved Luke's game since the moment he walked on campus), Luke seems to play defense with his arms down and at his side a lot. He's actually pretty big and long for a guard...and could in better positions to defend the ball if he crouched more in a typical defensive stance and kept his arms out and moving.

[uh_no]

1) bolden. we made some major changes to guarding screens. way more switching the big guys up top. after a screen, the big guy (bolden's) job seemed to be to angle the ball handler as far from the basket as possible while the guard's job was to prevent the entry pass (while amile shifted depending on situation). Then as soon as was practicable, they would switch back. This worked wonders. very few open layups. very few open dump offs for dunks/layups. IMO bolden was a major asset on the defensive end tonight. There were a couple times he caught himself out of position (at least once where luke was pushing him around the perimeter a bit)....but still far better. I mean...look at that second half....and even in the first half, they were stuck on 18 for about 6 minutes (then we fell apart in a flurry at the end of the half)...
2) bolden on offense.
3) way better decision makin by jayson tonight. he had a great game
4) way more control from frank tonight. he had a fantastic game as well.


Yes, the first half was poor, but there were some really good things happening. they were at 18 points with 6 minutes to go. Yeah we got killed by that flurry at the half....which was a bit of a lapse in focus. You could see the things happening though. We forced them to take a lot of threes (which they hit at an absurd clip in the first half....i think they hit 4 in a row at one point to go from 9-21), weren't giving up easy buckets, and weren't playing very smart offense (how many times did we try to force it out of position under the basket? glad amile was trying to make something happen, but that wasn't the way to do it).

We continued to clamp down on defense in the second half, shot % started to regress towards the mean, and we made some smarter decisions with the balll...viola.

It seems teams have adjusted more to the grayson/luke three fest...we have to show them that we're more than that and adjust more quickly on offense. it took us until halftime to do that today. it has to happen faster....we have several different looks that we can throw, and we need to get better at identifying the ones that will work more quickly.

[Utley]

Let me say this (as someone who has loved Luke's game since the moment he walked on campus), Luke seems to play defense with his arms down and at his side a lot. He's actually pretty big and long for a guard...and could in better positions to defend the ball if he crouched more in a typical defensive stance and kept his arms out and moving.

I am with you on both points. Luke has been our MVP but I too saw the flaws on his D more exposed tonight. What disappointed me most was that a lot of what was so great about the 2nd half start was the level of effort from that starting 5. I thought for sure we would Grayson and Luke match that intensity when they came out but I didn't see it.

[Furniture]

Really happy for our guys. Really disappointed and disheartened with so many people on this forum and their fickleness. Chat was worthless tonight in the first half. I didn't hang around for the second half.

[hallcity]

For me, the key stat of the game was turnovers. For the game, Miami had 18, Duke had 10. I think Duke spent the last week working on reducing turnovers.

[dukelifer]

Really happy for our guys. Really disappointed and disheartened with so many people on this forum and their fickleness. Chat was worthless tonight in the first half. I didn't hang around for the second half.

Getting upset with poor play is not being fickle. The team was losing their confidence and needed someone to step up. In the second half Jones played like a senior. This was a critical win and while folks were disheartened- very few on this forum could stay mad at this team. We have seen glimpses. Right now they only can play great in s half. The team grew up a lot tonight.

[TNTDevil]

Great comeback. Whatever Capel told the team at the half, he needs to trademark it. The body language, effort, and overall enjoyment of each other and playing was a complete 180. ~snip~Henceforth, I nominate he be affectionately referred to as Coach Kapel on the Board. Whatever he said, found its mark.

[OZ]

Thank God for a Matt going off (season saving) - but I don't think it's the big long term story.

For us - our run typically goes as far as our D takes us. I think our D was as good as anyone in the country during the tourney in '10 and in '15.

Capel clearly pointed the finger at Grayson and Luke. How do they respond? It's probably heresy but I think right now we are better team with Frank out there than the version of Grayson we are seeing now.

We can't lose track of what Bolden did either (2017 Zoubek?) . I'd start him over Harry at this point. I think he is physically healthier. I also think Harry is pressing and bringing him off the bench may take some of the pressure off us.

Finally - massive kudos to Chapel tonight. What a gutsy move to make under his circumstances.

Throw in Amile being back and providing needed inside rebounding and leadership and you have a great post. And for God's sake, don't ever spell Capel like that again! That could get you heavily censored on the board :)

[westwall]

. For me, the MVP goes to Coach Capel. Yes, Matt was phenomenal, but he's gotten plenty of deserved love on this thread, already. Capel, with perhaps the season on the line, decided to go with a lineup with three freshmen, two of whom had been playing really poorly over the past few games, to dig the team out of an 11-point hole. Meanwhile, he kept the preseason national player of the year front runner and a 20ppg scorer and mid season Wooden Award top 25 player on the bench alongside the number one recruit in the country. It was gutsy and it paid off. Led by Matt jones, those guys responded with the most impressive defensive display we've had all season by a long shot. Just wow.
What's a crazy season.

I voted Matt as the MOTM, but this makes a lot of sense to me . Clearly, this is the biggest turnaround I recall since the NCAa semi-final with Maryland in -- 2001? - and Capel's moves in the second half are reminiscent of Coach K's moves in other years. I applaud the similarities.

[Kfanarmy]

Bench points:

miami-0
Duke-31

Oh, my.

That is the biggest reversal from the two previous games, where Duke got little from its bench.

[Olympic Fan]

Okay, a few late observations:

-- Best defensive half for Duke since the 2015 Final Four .. amazing that the lineup that did it included three freshmen to go along with the two seniors. Not only did the defense shut down Miami, but it also created numerous opportunities for the offense -- 31 points off Miami's 18 turnovers.

-- I know it's a small sample size, but Duke has had its top eight players (the eight who played tonight) all available for just five games -- and Duke is 5-0 in those games.

-- Great to see Bolden's breakout. Easily his best game at Duke.

-- Getting Jefferson back is huge -- I thought he moved well, plus he was able to go 34 minutes.

-- All hail Matt Jones. He's caught a lot of grief on this board -- and his play has been erratic at times (especially his shooting) -- but he's sill a tough, hard-nosed winner ... and our best defender.

-- This team is still coming together and I suspect there will still be some rough spots ahead. But nice to know the pieces are finally all in place -- at least on the floor .. still missing K on the bench. Plenty of time for this team to gel. The national title dream is still very much alive!

[BandAlum83]

Really happy for our guys. Really disappointed and disheartened with so many people on this forum and their fickleness. Chat was worthless tonight in the first half. I didn't hang around for the second half.

I was completely dismayed by the negativity in the chat room. I left half way through the first half.

I can't imagine going to a city watch party and hearing that kind of talk. It certainly wouldn't fly in the commons room in House CC during some incredibly lean years (remember 10-17 and 11-17?)

I won't be back to the chat room for any future game and actually wonder why is there a chat room if that's what it is going to be like.

[BandAlum83]

Throw in Amile being back and providing needed inside rebounding and leadership and you have a great post. And for God's sake, don't ever spell Capel like that again! That could get you heavily censored on the board :)

I will come to his/her defense. Spell check routinely changes Capel to Chapel and Amile to Smile when I post from my Kindle. I don't always catch it.

I have some sympathy. Now, the poster who consistently refers to Allen as Allan is another story.

[brevity]

Finally - massive kudos to Chapel tonight. What a gutsy move to make under his circumstances.


And for God's sake, don't ever spell Capel like that again! That could get you heavily censored on the board :)

Last I checked, we have a Duke Chapel. Prominent building. They put it on the brochures and everything.


Chat was worthless tonight in the first half. I didn't hang around for the second half.


I won't be back to the chat room for any future game and actually wonder why is there a chat room if that's what it is going to be like.

Yeah, that's my bad. I wasn't able to stick around this game's chat for more than a few minutes. Usually I'm there to warm up the crowd beforehand and lighten the mood during, taking special care to open a few windows and let out the DBR hot air. And maybe combat some of the more egregious comments when needed.

[hsheffield]

I was completely dismayed by the negativity in the chat room. I left half way through the first half.

I can't imagine going to a city watch party and hearing that kind of talk. It certainly wouldn't fly in the commons room in House CC during some incredibly lean years (remember 10-17 and 11-17?)

I won't be back to the chat room for any future game and actually wonder why is there a chat room if that's what it is going to be like.

not everyone was negative in chat. if more folks who dislike the perceived negativity stuck around and were positive, it could change the tide.


really though, I'm not sure it's negativity so much as it's a neurotic response to a fear of losing.

[DukieInKansas]

So I'm the only one that thinks K was in the locker room at the half? Capel changed his coaching style in the 2nd half, going from frustrated and less than demonstrative, to very assertive and animated in the 2nd half, even with Duke comfortably in from with a minute to go.

My thought the entire 2nd half was that K had some serious words for the team and likely Capel. Just my gut instinct. Posted that during live chat. May never be confirmed.

Could be 100% wrong, but just a thought. Great 2nd half!! GO DUKE!!!

That thought crossed my mind, too.

[Channing]

I am very glad I wasn't able to be in the chat for the first half ... I would be feeling particularly sheepish.

Watching Bolden hedge and recover in the second half was a thing of beauty. Shades of Miles plumlee.

I am sure there is way more tonit than I digest, but I think Luke and Grayson just aren't good on D when on the court together. At the end of the game even the commentators noted Duke started giving up some easy buckets again, and there was really very little resistance to the Miami guards turning he corner

Matt Jones was great. When he doesn't have to guard someone materially quicker than him he is a real force. I have been as critical of him as anyone but kudos to Matt

[KenTankerous]

Let me start with I love DBR - by far the most intelligent, observant, and articulate sports forum in the known universe.

But WTH Y'all?!?!? Why we looking at an elephant with a microscope?

All season long it's been "when are we going to wake up?", "When will all these great fingers make a hand and fist?"

IT JUST HAPPENED

Number B.) - Our other consistency is peaking too soon. Well, January is this years November, so April looks to be January. Happy?

I am.

This game made me giggle. Watching them play with fire and laughter, that's why I love this game, this program, this team.

[mgtr]

Now that I have slept on it, I want to make one comment beyond the obvious ones which have been hit hard here. Matt was great, Frank was great, Bolden was great, Amile was great, but Jayson may be a real super-duper star as he learns to play within himself. His nickname should be some kind of snake, because he positively slithers to the basket. Never seen anything quite like it. Folks, we have a really good team, and it is a joy to see them come together. Look at the talent on the bench at the beginning of the second half.
Props across the board to the second half starting team. Now lets see if the magic can carry over to other games.

[trinity92]

Luke seems to play defense with his arms down and at his side a lot. He's actually pretty big and long for a guard...and could in better positions to defend the ball if he crouched more in a typical defensive stance and kept his arms out and moving.

Did anyone else notice during 94' with Jay Bilas that Luke seemed almost the same height as Jay? With Jay listed at 6'-8", did Luke grow this year?

[rocketeli]

As Jim Summer said, "a tale of two halves" is one of the most overworked cliches in sports, but what a tale of two halves. It was great to see Matt Jones have a good half (after committing crimes against the game of basketball all during the first half as well, way to bounce back, Matt!) and encouraging play from Bolden as well. Jackson and Tatum played much more sensibly. Also, the second half showed what Dean Smith ('member him?) discussed as the first game injury effect. Your best player is out, for example, but the other team has no idea how to prepare, or has prepared for the wrong guy and you get a bounce from that, for that game. Miami had scouted and prepared for a team of Allen, Kennard and also to a certain extent Giles and Jeter. None of them were playing in the second half to start and now what do they do? Miami did not respond well, and there went the ball game.

[sagegrouse]

According to Sumner, captains Amile and Matt took over the locker room at halftime. Capel had to endorse the changes in lineup, but there was no way Matt Jones was gonna sit on the bench at the beginning of the second half. But sometimes the obvious moves are the hardest to make -- kudos to Capel.

I didn't really believe it was happening. I said to myself, "Hey, we're catching up.... OMG, we have caught up!"

[lotusland]

not everyone was negative in chat. if more folks who dislike the perceived negativity stuck around and were positive, it could change the tide.


really though, I'm not sure it's negativity so much as it's a neurotic response to a fear of losing.

Not to mention there just wasn't much positive going on. Some comments about specific players were a little over the top but it's hard to be chipper about turnovers and fouls. Halftime coverage was more negative than chat IMO culminated by Festus repeating that basketball is a dictatorship so Grayson, Luke and Tatum should take over. Good thing Coach Capel didn't get that memo.

[WVDUKEFAN]

Grayson needs to get back to being Grayson. I don't know if its' just me, but it looks like the media pukes have him playing reserved or kind of like he's holding back. I can't really put my finger on him. I agree with some others who posted that we've "woken up". I tend to agree. We had some fire on defense last night. Despite the fact that it was a 2-3 Miami team, that was our best defensive performance of the season. Lots of positives came out last night. The biggest one (literally) was Marques. I've been pulling for that kid all year. He's my favorite of the Freshman.

[Bob Green]

...culminated by Festus...

Festus is a deputy on Gunsmoke. Fester is an uncle on The Addams Family who has moved on to being a basketball analyst for ESPN. ;)

[Troublemaker]

It was great to see Matt Jones have a good half (after committing crimes against the game of basketball all during the first half as well, way to bounce back, Matt!) and encouraging play from Bolden as well.

lol, you mean he missed a couple of shots (gasp!) and had one awkward turnover.


Also, the second half showed what Dean Smith ('member him?) discussed as the first game injury effect. Your best player is out, for example, but the other team has no idea how to prepare, or has prepared for the wrong guy and you get a bounce from that, for that game. Miami had scouted and prepared for a team of Allen, Kennard and also to a certain extent Giles and Jeter. None of them were playing in the second half to start and now what do they do? Miami did not respond well, and there went the ball game.

Not really, and that's a huge stretch. The lineup just played much better basketball. It was on Duke, not Miami.

[TKG]

At the risk of incurring the wrath of others members and being labeled a curmudgeon, it is worth noting that last night's win was at home against a team that came into the game with a sub-500 record in conference and a team that got clobbered by Wake. Our next game is at home against State, a team that has lost to Tech, BC and Wake. Before we start extrapolating last night's second half (yes, 20 minutes of good ball), into an inflection point for a season turnaround, let's see how we perform on January 30 in South Bend. Or, for this who believe that Wake is for real, January 28 in Winston.

I am glad we won last night and was excited to watch our energy and execution in the second half. The question, in my mind, is: can we sustain it?

Sincerely,
TKG (aka Lowell Weicker). 😀

[devildeac]

Festus is a deputy on Gunsmoke. Fester is an uncle on The Addams Family who has moved on to being a (purported) basketball analyst for ESPN. ;)

Minor clarification. ;)

[Troublemaker]

At the risk of incurring the wrath of others members and being labeled a curmudgeon, it is worth noting that last night's win was at home against a team that came into the game with a sub-500 record in conference and a team that got clobbered by Wake. Our next game is at home against State, a team that has lost to Tech, BC and Wake. Before we start extrapolating last night's second half (yes, 20 minutes of good ball), into an inflection point for a season turnaround, let's see how we perform on January 30 in South Bend. Or, for this who believe that Wake is for real, January 28 in Winston.

I am glad we won last night and was excited to watch our energy and execution in the second half. The question, in my mind, is: can we sustain it?


I have no issues with your caution. One thing, though. Even taking a loss some time in the next week wouldn't mean the season hasn't turned. I certainly don't expect Duke to go undefeated the rest of the way, and even a team playing great can lose at Notre Dame, for example. My "the season has turned" prediction doesn't come with any specifics other than that players, coaches, and fans will continually refer back to this game as a turning point in the season.

[Troublemaker]

Let me start with I love DBR - by far the most intelligent, observant, and articulate sports forum in the known universe.

But WTH Y'all?!?!? Why we looking at an elephant with a microscope?

All season long it's been "when are we going to wake up?", "When will all these great fingers make a hand and fist?"

IT JUST HAPPENED

Number B.) - Our other consistency is peaking too soon. Well, January is this years November, so April looks to be January. Happy?

I am.

This game made me giggle. Watching them play with fire and laughter, that's why I love this game, this program, this team.

I loved this post KenTankerous. Feeling really good this morning.

[Indoor66]

I got back from a social engagement with 17 + minutes left in the second half and Duke down by 5. It was confusing at first since I saw a different lineup out there and also realized Amile was back. I saw that Matt was doing great and Bolden was defending well with a lot of energy. This team really played with a defensive intensity I haven't seen recently and it is a good omen for the future.

In addition, Jayson is an incredible force out there and has the ability to get to the basket or shoot from outside. When he is on his game, he is very difficult to stop or even slow down. When Luke got back into the game he worked hard, was able to score some and made a nice downcourt assist to Amile. Luke's defense is fairly good and he is a decent rebounder. Frank made some decent slashing plays and was active on defense, but still has a tendency to get beaten by his man. Grayson was playing hard, yet he seemed to have trouble handling the press near the end of the game. He held the ball too long allowing himself to nearly get trapped on several occasions and he did get stripped at the end. His PG game needs some work but I still like his game over Franks just based on his experience factor.

Harry needs to make additional improvement defensively and avoid so much reaching in. He does show excellent body control so his game is there and just needs PT to reach somewhere close to his potential.

Good win and a step toward a tournament competitive team.

IMO, Jayson, with all the talent in the world, needs to slow down and develop better vision. He is too intense and does not look at the whole court. Time will serve him well.

[jimsumner]

I will come to his/her defense. Spell check routinely changes Capel to Chapel and Amile to Smile when I post from my Kindle. I don't always catch it.

I have some sympathy. Now, the poster who consistently refers to Allen as Allan is another story.

I used to have a spell checker that changed my last name to "scummier."

Much hilarity ensued.

[Ultrarunner]

Grayson needs to get back to being Grayson. I don't know if its' just me, but it looks like the media pukes have him playing reserved or kind of like he's holding back. I can't really put my finger on him. I agree with some others who posted that we've "woken up". I tend to agree. We had some fire on defense last night. Despite the fact that it was a 2-3 Miami team, that was our best defensive performance of the season. Lots of positives came out last night. The biggest one (literally) was Marques. I've been pulling for that kid all year. He's my favorite of the Freshman.

Nope, not just you. Grayson shying away from contact on defense. On offense, he's trying to shoot going away from the rim, his jumper has deserted him, and he gets mauled on a pretty regular basis. When he finds his new equilibrium, some of that will improve, but it will still be open season on him for every borderline cheap shot that the other team wants to take.

[Rich]

I am very glad I wasn't able to be in the chat for the first half ... I would be feeling particularly sheepish.

Watching Bolden hedge and recover in the second half was a thing of beauty. Shades of Miles plumlee.

I am sure there is way more tonit than I digest, but I think Luke and Grayson just aren't good on D when on the court together. At the end of the game even the commentators noted Duke started giving up some easy buckets again, and there was really very little resistance to the Miami guards turning he corner

Matt Jones was great. When he doesn't have to guard someone materially quicker than him he is a real force. I have been as critical of him as anyone but kudos to Matt

Good point. It will be interesting to see if we keep Allen/Kennard together as an "offensive unit" and Jones/Jackson together as a "defensive unit" or if we try to mix them up more for stability. It will also be interesting to see who starts the State game. It didn't look like Capel inserted Allen/Kennard until about 6 mins into the second half because of the comeback. Lots of fire power off the bench if that's how they decide to do it.

[Indoor66]

Minor clarification. ;)

About a minor point. 😈😎

[bluenorth]

So I'm the only one that thinks K was in the locker room at the half? Capel changed his coaching style in the 2nd half, going from frustrated and less than demonstrative, to very assertive and animated in the 2nd half, even with Duke comfortably in from with a minute to go.

My thought the entire 2nd half was that K had some serious words for the team and likely Capel. Just my gut instinct. Posted that during live chat. May never be confirmed.

Could be 100% wrong, but just a thought. Great 2nd half!! GO DUKE!!!

I don't know if K was in the locker room at the half, but something big happened in there. It also seemed that Coach Capel got a green light to be himself. In the second half the suit jacket came off, the tie loosened, and it looked like the top button on his shirt was opened too. OK, these are minor observations, but when was the last time you saw a Duke staffer like that? And you are completely right, Capel became much more animated. The team seemed to respond with some fire. Better keep a stack of towels handy for Coach C (was it really warm in Cameron yesterday?) so that he can keep this going.

On another note, I'd cut Allen as much slack as he needs. The young man has had to endure so much this year, and has done so much for the team, that he deserves every possible consideration.

[CrazyNotCrazie]

So I'm the only one that thinks K was in the locker room at the half? Capel changed his coaching style in the 2nd half, going from frustrated and less than demonstrative, to very assertive and animated in the 2nd half, even with Duke comfortably in from with a minute to go.

My thought the entire 2nd half was that K had some serious words for the team and likely Capel. Just my gut instinct. Posted that during live chat. May never be confirmed.

Could be 100% wrong, but just a thought. Great 2nd half!! GO DUKE!!!

I thought the same thing - I was wondering if Coach K was in FaceTime with either just the coaches or the entire team. No one would ever admit it as it would undermine Capel. Even if that did happen, it was all Capel pulling the right levers during the second half to sustain the improvement.

[DukeDevil]

If anyone wants a good chuckle...go to 13:13 of the game (1:07:00 of the timer on WatchESPN) and watch Frank call the travel and ball possession for Duke, followed by the ref who does the exact same thing...only there's a moment where the ref sees Frank do this, pauses for half a beat with a "don't tell me what to do" then begrudgingly gives the same call only more slowly. I know I'm reading into it but it just made me laugh.

[Volunteer Duke]

Just a few of my thoughts:

Luke Kennard and Grayson Allen shouldn't be on the floor at the same time.

Frank Jackson should start and play the majority of the point guard minutes. He's not going to be perfect and experience growing pains, of course.

Marques Bolden should start and play the majority of the center minutes with Amile and Harry rotating at the 4.

Harry Giles needs to be the 8th guy and should really think about returning next season.

I want to see this lineup:

Frank Jackson
Matt Jones
Jayson Tatum
Amile Jefferson
Marques Bolden

with Grayson, Luke, and Harry providing scoring and energy off the bench.

[sagegrouse]

I don't know if K was in the locker room at the half, but something big happened in there. It also seemed that Coach Capel got a green light to be himself. In the second half the suit jacket came off, the tie loosened, and it looked like the top button on his shirt was opened too. OK, these are minor observations, but when was the last time you saw a Duke staffer like that? And you are completely right, Capel became much more animated. The team seemed to respond with some fire. Better keep a stack of towels handy for Coach C (was it really warm in Cameron yesterday?) so that he can keep this going.

On another note, I'd cut Allen as much slack as he needs. The young man has had to endure so much this year, and has done so much for the team, that he deserves every possible consideration.


I thought the same thing - I was wondering if Coach K was in FaceTime with either just the coaches or the entire team. No one would ever admit it as it would undermine Capel. Even if that did happen, it was all Capel pulling the right levers during the second half to sustain the improvement.

Here's the story of the halftime as reported by our own Jim Sumner on the Front Page:

With a third consecutive loss looming large, Jefferson and Matt Jones seized control of the team at halftime.

“We got on each other and decided to sink or swim,” Jefferson said. “The coaches made a change and they put it on us to be Duke.”

Jones added “we had nothing to lose and had to play like it. We needed a spark and we needed it from our upperclassmen. We’ve been there before and we knew that if we did that, then the guys would take our lead.”

Capel said he wanted energy more than anything else and started the second half with both Allen and Luke Kennard on the bench, starting Jefferson, Jones, Frank Jackson, Jayson Tatum and Marques Bolden.

[alteran]

Did anyone else notice during 94' with Jay Bilas that Luke seemed almost the same height as Jay? With Jay listed at 6'-8", did Luke grow this year?

Yes, I totally noticed that.

[Edouble]

Just a few of my thoughts:

Luke Kennard and Grayson Allen shouldn't be on the floor at the same time.

Frank Jackson should start and play the majority of the point guard minutes. He's not going to be perfect and experience growing pains, of course.

Marques Bolden should start and play the majority of the center minutes with Amile and Harry rotating at the 4.

Harry Giles needs to be the 8th guy and should really think about returning next season.

I want to see this lineup:

Frank Jackson
Matt Jones
Jayson Tatum
Amile Jefferson
Marques Bolden

with Grayson, Luke, and Harry providing scoring and energy off the bench.

I do not mean to pick on you, but I am a little tired of seeing this line of thinking with regards to Harry on the boards. I believe that it is indicative of a lack of understanding concerning how players move from college to the pros. I am sorry for the harsh words, if they seem harsh, but Harry is not coming back next year, nor should he.

Also, it is my opinion that you should ease up on Luke and Grayson a bit. Luke has carried the team on his back for stretches this season. Grayson was playing with a dislocated finger in the second half last night. Our win against Miami was epic, but I don't think we should be making hard rules about who is allowed to be on the floor at the same time for the rest of the season based off of 20 minutes of play.

[uh_no]

Just a few of my thoughts:

Luke Kennard and Grayson Allen shouldn't be on the floor at the same time.
Why?



Frank Jackson should start and play the majority of the point guard minutes. He's not going to be perfect and experience growing pains, of course. why? especially when the alternative is a defending AA who currently is scoring more and assisting more than frank is...



Marques Bolden should start and play the majority of the center minutes with Amile and Harry rotating at the 4. We just went through a stretch of 5 terrible halves of basketball without amile. why should he rotate with anyone? he's averaging a double double, for goodness sakes...




Frank Jackson
Matt Jones
Jayson Tatum
Amile Jefferson
Marques Bolden

with Grayson, Luke, and Harry providing scoring and energy off the bench.

You're putting farrr far far too much stock in a few minutes to start the second half last night. Miami isn't a great team. to toss out the the teams two leading scorers based on a few minutes against a bubble-team miami squad is really off base. Yeah they played great...the team played really well after luke and grayson came back in too(not to mention grayson was quite banged up).

There is a major major recency bias here...but this post may take the cake...but that's likely just recency bias :)

[vick]

Why?

why? especially when the alternative is a defending AA who currently is scoring more and assisting more than frank is...

We just went through a stretch of 5 terrible halves of basketball without amile. why should he rotate with anyone? he's averaging a double double, for goodness sakes...



You're putting farrr far far too much stock in a few minutes to start the second half last night. Miami isn't a great team. to toss out the the teams two leading scorers based on a few minutes against a bubble-team miami squad is really off base. Yeah they played great...the team played really well after luke and grayson came back in too(not to mention grayson was quite banged up).

There is a major major recency bias here...but this post may take the cake...but that's likely just recency bias :)

I agree completely with almost everything here. However, I wouldn't overstate the bolded part. Allen barely scores more than Jackson (19.5 vs. 17.7 points per 40) while having a lower true shooting percentage. As scorers, there's not very much difference between the two so far this season. You are right that Allen has assisted much more, then again, he's pretty clearly a worse defender. I'm not saying I wouldn't start Allen over Jackson--I probably would, last season's performance and experience count for something--but the gap between the two in performance this year isn't all that large.

[duke74]

There is a major major recency bias here...but this post may take the cake...but that's likely just recency bias :)

Great point...thanks for bringing this up.

This is one of the fundamental biases I alert my ethics students to when we discuss biases to be considered vis a vis auditor skepticism. We are all victims of it (confirmation bias as well), whether we are auditors or, like here, analyzing team performance.

[dukelifer]

Why?

why? especially when the alternative is a defending AA who currently is scoring more and assisting more than frank is...

We just went through a stretch of 5 terrible halves of basketball without amile. why should he rotate with anyone? he's averaging a double double, for goodness sakes...



You're putting farrr far far too much stock in a few minutes to start the second half last night. Miami isn't a great team. to toss out the the teams two leading scorers based on a few minutes against a bubble-team miami squad is really off base. Yeah they played great...the team played really well after luke and grayson came back in too(not to mention grayson was quite banged up).

There is a major major recency bias here...but this post may take the cake...but that's likely just recency bias :)

Miami is not a great team and they are very young. I have no idea why Duke was struggling with them at home but when Duke upped the pressure- they folded. Duke can only win if they commit to D which means guys are going to have to play much harder than they have all season. Bolden played with a much different energy. Giles is not ready to play hard. Jones upped his D and he is good at it. Jackson has an edge to him and while he is prone to mistakes- he can definitely play hard when needed. I hope the team took away what is needed to compete at this level. Miami is not close to the top teams but the energy displayed in the second half was a great step forward.

[ricks68]

Miami is not a great team and they are very young. I have no idea why Duke was struggling with them at home but when Duke upped the pressure- they folded. Duke can only win if they commit to D which means guys are going to have to play much harder than they have all season. Bolden played with a much different energy. Giles is not ready to play hard. Jones upped his D and he is good at it. Jackson has an edge to him and while he is prone to mistakes- he can definitely play hard when needed. I hope the team took away what is needed to compete at this level. Miami is not close to the top teams but the energy displayed in the second half was a great step forward.

Just a great down-to-earth post. Kudos to you for that. Wish I could spork you but the powers-that-be won't let me. Someone please help me out here.

ricks

[tbyers11]

I agree completely with almost everything here. However, I wouldn't overstate the bolded part. Allen barely scores more than Jackson (19.5 vs. 17.7 points per 40) while having a lower true shooting percentage. As scorers, there's not very much difference between the two so far this season. You are right that Allen has assisted much more, then again, he's pretty clearly a worse defender. I'm not saying I wouldn't start Allen over Jackson--I probably would, last season's performance and experience count for something--but the gap between the two in performance this year isn't all that large.

I agree the gap isn't huge when we get good Frank. However, Frank has been awful in the 3 ACC road games.

Grayson hasn't been consistently good either. Although I think his shooting and scoring numbers are still affected a bit due to his toe injury really limiting his game for a month.

I believe Grayson still starts tomorrow. However, I think he has a shorter leash as ball dominant lead guard if things stagnate. I think he is actually more effective as scorer and distributor.

My goal for the team is that everyone learns to trust each other to perform. I think they do but when the things go poorly sometimes everyone thinks they have to take it upon themselves to make the big shot and the offense stagnates. Not everyone is going to be good on the same night. Some nights Grayson is going to be awesome some nights he might not be. Last year Grayson or Ingram had to be great every night. It's easy to share when things go right like the GT game. Knowing that everyone can contribute when the chips are down will help everyone out.

[gofurman]

At the risk of incurring the wrath of others members and being labeled a curmudgeon, it is worth noting that last night's win was at home against a team that came into the game with a sub-500 record in conference and a team that got clobbered by Wake. Our next game is at home against State, a team that has lost to Tech, BC and Wake. Before we start extrapolating last night's second half (yes, 20 minutes of good ball), into an inflection point for a season turnaround, let's see how we perform on January 30 in South Bend. Or, for this who believe that Wake is for real, January 28 in Winston.

I am glad we won last night and was excited to watch our energy and execution in the second half. The question, in my mind, is: can we sustain it?

Sincerely,
TKG (aka Lowell Weicker). 😀

No wrath. That's a logical post. One win does not a season make. I have posted numerous times I'll believe more if we win at wake. We have yet to win a road game. Not once. Wake killed Miami and just beat state too. The positive last night was the comeback, energy and that certain teams - regardless of record- are tough bc of Matchups. Matchups mean as much or more than talent. Larananga has had Our number in terms of the system he runs. Only he and Brey have a winning record v Duke I think. We beat state and wake I'll believe we have improved a notch regardless of south bend

[Skydog]

Not taking anything away from last nights win which was beyond awesome (and I have commented on elsewhere) but I think there is still one big issue to be concerned with. Last night we finally started scoring (like madmen) but it started only when our defense began to force turnover after turnover. And that's great - it's a very fun and productive way to score a lot of points quickly. But there will be opponents that we can't turn over the way we did Miami in the 2nd half.

So the question is - has this team learned to run an efficient offense from half court sets against good competition? I still haven't seen it, or at most very little of it. Some are attributing it to the players' attitudes - selfish bball, not trusting teammates. And that is probably accurate for Tatum in previous games (not so much last night) but I don't think it is true for rest of the team. I just see our half-court offense often not working, repeatedly stalling where no one seems to know exactly what to do. One guy is dribbling and the other players are either standing or running around randomly. Few screens, clumsy failed pnr's. No coordination in the play at all. So after 10-15 seconds into the clock of nothing really happening our players get frustrated and are almost forced to go solo and try to make a play on their own.

So for me the next step is for this team to develop the ability to run a smooth and efficient half-court offense that will work against good competition and on the road. I guess it will just take more time - but it has to happen. We won't be a complete team until it does.

[uh_no]

So the question is - has this team learned to run an efficient offense from half court sets against good competition?

I made this point too...and a similar thing exhibited, even when we did have decent runs over the past few games....it's all transition with little half court.

That said, I did see improvement yesterday that gives me some hope, and most of it rests with jayson. He was far less selfish with the ball last night than he had been in the past few games, to the degree that there were a couple times I was okay with him bringing the ball up, because it didn't result in a poor shot nearly as often.

We still need to find a way to get the guards more open threes....that's something that's really been missing lately. no kick outs.

[dbcooper]

I recorded the Miami game last night and just watched it again today. Duke was so flat and played with little effort and no movement on offense or defense for the first half.

*BUT* in the second half when we came alive on defense which created a whole lot of offense.... Frank Jackson was on a fast break at the 8:17 mark and was fouled - the camera pans over the Jim Larranaga and he looks at his assistant coach and says "Can you believe this S*%$??" I laughed out loud and as any good Duke fan would do watched it again a few times with a big grin on my face!:):)

Go Duke!

[Papa John]

I recorded the Miami game last night and just watched it again today. Duke was so flat and played with little effort and no movement on offense or defense for the first half.

*BUT* in the second half when we came alive on defense which created a whole lot of offense... Frank Jackson was on a fast break at the 8:17 mark and was fouled - the camera pans over the Jim Larranaga and he looks at his assistant coach and says "Can you believe this S*%$??" I laughed out loud and as any good Duke fan would do watched it again a few times with a big grin on my face!:):)

Go Duke!

I thought we put forth some good effort in the first half, but Miami got hot toward the latter portion and we were in danger of letting the wheels fall off. We did a fantastic job of regrouping at halftime and coming out with high energy and great passion in the second half...

There were a couple of guys [Bolden in particular] who played consistently solid in both halves—that's actually the main reason why I chose him instead of Matt as MOTM, because Bolden was consistently solid throughout, while Matt had a number of head-scratching sequences in the first stanza (although he was truly the central figure in the big run at the start of the second half)...

I tend to agree with uh_no that there seems to be a lot of recency bias in the comments on this thread... Saying things like Allen and Kennard shouldn't play at the same time is a tad insane. They've been two of our best players up to this point in the season, and everything in basketball is really situational—there are going to be times in the season coming up where we will definitely want Allen and Kennard on the floor at the same time (as one of many possible examples, this is a no-brainer if you want your best FT-shooting lineup in the game with a slight lead late-game when the opposition will be forced to foul someone). Saying that Giles should be the 8th man also overlooks the fact that the frosh, by their very nature, tend to play up-and-down in their initial college seasons, thus you ride the hot guy (and Giles might be that guy in the post on any given night).

This is an interesting team to watch, particularly given the injury bugs we've had to deal with... We're watching a team that has a lot of gelling/developing to do in a relatively short time frame if they want to fulfill preseason expectations. We have a lot of raw talent, but they're still becoming familiar with one another, which makes for a rocky ride... I hope that they experienced some kind of an epiphany at halftime last night, but my guess is that we still have a couple more rogue waves to ride out before March... So grab your meds, fasten your seat belts, and hold on for a thrilling ride!

[MarkD83]

I have only skimmed this thread so if I missed this, sorry.

The difference in talent between the 8 players who played last night is such that we are splitting hairs about who should play the most. Also the team had been in a funk which has been due to injuries, negative reporting and coach K being out.

It sounds like the team decided at half that all that crap has to be put in the past. The players that play have plenty of talent but playing time should be judged on effort. If you are hurt tough. Suck it up. If the right balance of bigs and guard is not on the court, who cares.

Finally, I saw the coaches, especially Jeff, coach as if it was his team and not a team he was taking care of for coach K.

The bottom line...stop feeling sorry for yourselves and play ball.

[hibby91]

For those of you wishing to rewatch this game, I recommend the “Above the Rim Cam” version available on WatchESPN. No commentators. Just the glorious noise of Cameron. I’ve become accustomed to watching games with the sound down. This is a welcome change of pace.

I have no idea if this is available for live broadcasts, but I’ll be checking for it Monday night. Go Duke!

[hsheffield]

sounds like Matt/Amile said a variant of this:

"You're losing by so much, you can't play any worse," he told the top-ranked Blue Devils during a timeout. "So what are you worried about, losing by 40?"




extra points if you know what game this is from-:cool:

[devilnfla]

Yes, I totally noticed that.

I don't believe Jay is a legit 6'8".

I've seen him do that same interview with others that were listed at 6'8" or 6'9" and those guys were noticeably taller.

[Troublemaker]

sounds like Matt/Amile said a variant of this:

"You're losing by so much, you can't play any worse," he told the top-ranked Blue Devils during a timeout. "So what are you worried about, losing by 40?"




extra points if you know what game this is from-:cool:

Final Four vs Maryland in 2001?

[duketaylor]

I don't believe Jay is a legit 6'8".

I've seen him do that same interview with others that were listed at 6'8" or 6'9" and those guys were noticeably taller.

He might've been 6'7" when he played in the early 80s, prolly has shrunk to 6'6" now with age. Certainly not 6'8" these days.

[-jk]

Yes, I totally noticed that.

Some of us in our 50s aren't quite as tall as we once were... <sigh>

It happens. To all of us...

-jk

[mr. synellinden]

Final Four vs Maryland in 2001?

I believe that is quite correct.

[jv001]

Lot's of talk about start this group, bench these guys, etc. One game does not make a season, even if this was a great come from behind win. I agree the group that started the 2nd half was instrumental in our win, but that doesn't mean this group should start every game. Coach Capel might start these players against State to reward them for their effort. But how they play once on the court will determine their minutes and match ups will play a part in minutes played as well. I just don't see Luke or Grayson not getting major minutes going forward. We might see a split with regards to having Grayson, Luke and Jayson together in order to spread the ball around. One other thing. I noticed Harry try to push off with his injured leg last night and he hesitated like he was favoring that leg. I'm sure it's probably a mental thing and not a physical thing. I'm not surprised that he hasn't gotten to top speed just yet. He may not get there this season. So, I for one am going to give this young man a break and not be negative toward him this season. GoDuke!

[mgtr]

The only initial switch I would make is to start Bolden in place of Giles. Let Harry fight for his spot. Kennard and Allen will see that they have to do a bunch on both offense and defense to keeps their spots. Jones and Jackson are straining at the bit to get in the game. I love it!

[Wheat/"/"/"]

My take is Duke seems to be fighting chemistry issues. They just don't look comfortable to me with each other on the court sharing the ball. Ball movement is poor and they seem to stand around waiting for Grayson to make a play, then wait for Luke to take a shot at beating his man, then let's watch Tatum to see if he can create something... and the inside game is basically just clean up the misses best you can on the boards.

Beating Miami was a good win to keep a finger in the dike, but Miami got rattled on the road and fell apart, more than Duke took it to them.

Duke is going to have to start playing much better to beat the good teams, and there are a lot of good teams out there...

[alteran]

Some of us in our 50s aren't quite as tall as we once were... <sigh>

It happens. To all of us...

-jk

That's why I no longer check. I'm still the height I was in college until someone can prove otherwise.

[Rich]

My take is Duke seems to be fighting chemistry issues. They just don't look comfortable to me with each other on the court sharing the ball. Ball movement is poor and they seem to stand around waiting for Grayson to make a play, then wait for Luke to take a shot at beating his man, then let's watch Tatum to see if he can create something... and the inside game is basically just clean up the misses best you can on the boards.

Beating Miami was a good win to keep a finger in the dike, but Miami got rattled on the road and fell apart, more than Duke took it to them.

Duke is going to have to start playing much better to beat the good teams, and there are a lot of good teams out there...

Uh oh, those seem like fighting words in this here parts. Duck for cover!

[alteran]

Uh oh, those seem like fighting words in this here parts. Duck for cover!

The troll must have his due.

I'm gonna give Duke credit for this one. I don't think there's a lot of teams that can handle what Duke brought the first fifteen minutes of the second half.

The trick is, doing it for entire games. That's the difference between good and great. Personally, I think we'll get there.

[slower]

I was completely dismayed by the negativity in the chat room. I left half way through the first half.

I can't imagine going to a city watch party and hearing that kind of talk. It certainly wouldn't fly in the commons room in House CC during some incredibly lean years (remember 10-17 and 11-17?)

I won't be back to the chat room for any future game and actually wonder why is there a chat room if that's what it is going to be like.

Just as they deserved all the plaudits they received in the second half, the team deserved the criticism they received in the first half. No oaths of positivity required around here yet.

[mr. synellinden]

My take is Duke seems to be fighting chemistry issues. They just don't look comfortable to me with each other on the court sharing the ball. Ball movement is poor and they seem to stand around waiting for Grayson to make a play, then wait for Luke to take a shot at beating his man, then let's watch Tatum to see if he can create something... and the inside game is basically just clean up the misses best you can on the boards.

Beating Miami was a good win to keep a finger in the dike, but Miami got rattled on the road and fell apart, more than Duke took it to them.

Duke is going to have to start playing much better to beat the good teams, and there are a lot of good teams out there...

Completely agree with you even though that might be heresy on this site.

[Wheat/"/"/"]

The troll must have his due.

I'm gonna give Duke credit for this one. I don't think there's a lot of teams that can handle what Duke brought the first fifteen minutes of the second half.

The trick is, doing it for entire games. That's the difference between good and great. Personally, I think we'll get there.


Why is it necessary to try and label me a troll when I only give an honest assessment of what I see? If you don't agree, fine, but that doesn't make me a troll.

I'll give credit for Duke playing with much more defensive focus the 2nd half, they rattled a weak team at home, but a better team is not going to wilt like that and they will have to play better than they have been if there is to be an expectation of going deep in the tourney.

[Troublemaker]

My take is Duke seems to be fighting chemistry issues. They just don't look comfortable to me with each other on the court sharing the ball. Ball movement is poor and they seem to stand around waiting for Grayson to make a play, then wait for Luke to take a shot at beating his man, then let's watch Tatum to see if he can create something... and the inside game is basically just clean up the misses best you can on the boards.

Beating Miami was a good win to keep a finger in the dike, but Miami got rattled on the road and fell apart, more than Duke took it to them.

Duke is going to have to start playing much better to beat the good teams, and there are a lot of good teams out there...


Why is it necessary to try and label me a troll when I only give an honest assessment of what I see? If you don't agree, fine, but that doesn't make me a troll.

I'll give credit for Duke playing with much more defensive focus the 2nd half, they rattled a weak team at home, but a better team is not going to wilt like that and they will have to play better than they have been if there is to be an expectation of going deep in the tourney.

lol

Hmmm, looks like UNC plays Miami on Saturday. Let's see how you guys fare against this weak team.

[SlapTheFloor]

Some of us in our 50s aren't quite as tall as we once were... <sigh>

It happens. To all of us...

-jk

Hardly scientific, but I passed him on the street outside MSG before our game there. He was looking at his phone, but I would have guessed his height as 6'7 or 6'8. There were unfortunately, no cinder blocks around.

[NashvilleDevil]

The troll must have his due.

I'm gonna give Duke credit for this one. I don't think there's a lot of teams that can handle what Duke brought the first fifteen minutes of the second half.

The trick is, doing it for entire games. That's the difference between good and great. Personally, I think we'll get there.

Don't feed the troll. Ignore and talk about that great second half. And never forget 82-50.

[Wheat/"/"/"]

lol

Hmmm, looks like UNC plays Miami on Saturday. Let's see how you guys fare against this weak team.

Ok, but we have a good Va. Tech at home first...one game at a time.

[curtis325]

Why is it necessary to try and label me a troll when I only give an honest assessment of what I see? If you don't agree, fine, but that doesn't make me a troll.

I'll give credit for Duke playing with much more defensive focus the 2nd half, they rattled a weak team at home, but a better team is not going to wilt like that and they will have to play better than they have been if there is to be an expectation of going deep in the tourney.

You do have some insights and some basketball knowledge and you are usually fairly polite and not a total jerk. However, you also have some trollish qualities.

[wavedukefan70s]

This game was a surprise from start to finish.i was visiting wifes family (tarheel fans).i managed to get the tv on the duke game.we won.very happy.after the first half i thought i was going to have a long night.....
What ever they did at halftime worked.

[Kjeffrey]

My take is Duke seems to be fighting chemistry issues. They just don't look comfortable to me with each other on the court sharing the ball. Ball movement is poor and they seem to stand around waiting for Grayson to make a play, then wait for Luke to take a shot at beating his man, then let's watch Tatum to see if he can create something... and the inside game is basically just clean up the misses best you can on the boards.

Beating Miami was a good win to keep a finger in the dike, but Miami got rattled on the road and fell apart, more than Duke took it to them.

Duke is going to have to start playing much better to beat the good teams, and there are a lot of good teams out there...

I too wonder if there are chemistry issues which, if they exist, could be related to the lack of playing time together.

However, Duke came out fighting in the second half. Sure Miami got rattled but what caused them to get rattled? Give credit where credit is due.

And everyone on this board knows Duke will have to improve to beat the teams above them in the standings. Heck they'll have to play really well to beat the teams below them in the standings.

[rsvman]

Methinks Wheat didn't actually watch the game.

[sagegrouse]

Duke trailed Miami by 11 at the half Saturday night (and twice had a 12-point deficit), but the Devils had a huge comeback to lead by 21 points and eventually win by 12.

The only other time I can remember going from a double-digit deficit to a double-digit win was against Maryland in the Metrodome for the 2001 Final Four. Duke trailed at the half, 49-38, but won 95-84. Actually, in the first half Duke was behind by 22 points, 38-16, before starting a rally that extended for the rest of the game. I remember jumping up and down in the aisles at the end of the game.

Perhaps even more impressive was the Dixie Classic game in December 1950. Uhhh, I wasn't there for this one. The Dick-Groat led Duke team trailed Tulane by 29 points at halftime, 56-27, and rallied to win 74-72. This was an NCAA record-setting comeback, but it resulted in only a two point win.

Any other memories of such a reversal of fortunes?

[Furniture]

I love Duke basketball and I love this team, as I do with any Duke team regardless if they win or lose. I regards this team I do feel that there may be chemistry issues. It's just a feeling and probably wrong. However at the same time I do feel that they do like eachother...Hopefully this game helps to turn this all around.
The interesting thing for me is that two of the players that many people on this forum have complained about (Jayson and Matt) were part of the five that turned the game around. What do we know...

[NashvilleDevil]

Duke trailed Miami by 11 at the half Saturday night (and twice had a 12-point deficit), but the Devils had a huge comeback to lead by 21 points and eventually win by 12.

The only other time I can remember going from a double-digit deficit to a double-digit win was against Maryland in the Metrodome for the 2001 Final Four. Duke trailed at the half, 49-38, but won 95-84. Actually, in the first half Duke was behind by 22 points, 38-16, before starting a rally that extended for the rest of the game. I remember jumping up and down in the aisles at the end of the game.

Perhaps even more impressive was the Dixie Classic game in December 1950. Uhhh, I wasn't there for this one. The Dick-Groat led Duke team trailed Tulane by 29 points at halftime, 56-27, and rallied to win 74-72. This was an NCAA record-setting comeback, but it resulted in only a two point win.

Any other memories of such a reversal of fortunes?

The Nolan Smith game against Carolina? What was the deficit when Duke made that comeback?

[gofurman]

My take is Duke seems to be fighting chemistry issues. They just don't look comfortable to me with each other on the court sharing the ball. Ball movement is poor and they seem to stand around waiting for Grayson to make a play, then wait for Luke to take a shot at beating his man, then let's watch Tatum to see if he can create something... and the inside game is basically just clean up the misses best you can on the boards.

Beating Miami was a good win to keep a finger in the dike, but Miami got rattled on the road and fell apart, more than Duke took it to them.

Duke is going to have to start playing much better to beat the good teams, and there are a lot of good teams out there...

You are right. No denying it. A great team woulda put Duke down by twenty in the first half and slowed the reversal of fortune in the second half by not turning the ball over so much. A truly great team w stellar guard play and ability to handle adversity where we can't get the turnovers early in the second half would have beat Duke last night. Duke took a nice step forward but that wasn't a national champ performance and it was at home. As others have said the comeback was started by great D leading to turnovers but cut half of those turnovers out and have a fifteen pt lead at half on Duke ... IE we still have stuff to work on like showing that intensity every game... Finding a better half-court O

USC has issues too. We all do. I do see that unc appears to have an easier schedule. Fsu at unc. Duke went to fsu. Unc goes to Bc. Duke goes to Notre dame. That's the Problem w this unbalanced schedule. Count the number of away games vs top or ranked opponents in the league and I think Duke has one or two more.




Checked. Duke plays Five ranked act opponents on the road. Unc plays Two ranked opponents on the road. Unc gets all the toughies (FSU, Notre Dame, Louisville) at home. Five v Two! IE Duke has already played as many ranked opponents in the road (FSU, Louisville) as UnC will all year.

[vick]

The Nolan Smith game against Carolina? What was the deficit when Duke made that comeback?

Great memory--that one was 43-29 at half (and had been 43-27 earlier).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0UjhRnIqLlc

[robed deity]

Duke trailed Miami by 11 at the half Saturday night (and twice had a 12-point deficit), but the Devils had a huge comeback to lead by 21 points and eventually win by 12.

The only other time I can remember going from a double-digit deficit to a double-digit win was against Maryland in the Metrodome for the 2001 Final Four. Duke trailed at the half, 49-38, but won 95-84. Actually, in the first half Duke was behind by 22 points, 38-16, before starting a rally that extended for the rest of the game. I remember jumping up and down in the aisles at the end of the game.

Perhaps even more impressive was the Dixie Classic game in December 1950. Uhhh, I wasn't there for this one. The Dick-Groat led Duke team trailed Tulane by 29 points at halftime, 56-27, and rallied to win 74-72. This was an NCAA record-setting comeback, but it resulted in only a two point win.

Any other memories of such a reversal of fortunes?


If we are just talking about double digit comebacks, I'm pretty sure Duke was down a fair amount at Virginia in 2015. Also, maybe the Austin Rivers UNC game? I think both were double digits but not sure.

[mkirsh]

I didn't get to see the whole game, but it looked like Duke changed the way they defended ball screens, going with a hard hegde and not switching as much, and not icing on the side. It was much more effective, and will have to see how that holds up with more practice but against teams that game plan for it.

I also agree with those that caution against recency bias. As much as I'd like to believe the team has flipped the collective switch, there are lots of ups and downs in a college bball season and I would imagine we see more before it is all said and done. We all know this team has a very high ceiling, and has played great at times this year (UNLV, BC first half, Miami second half, even Kansas late in the game). To me it is not as binary as the switch being on or off, but more about how frequently they play close to what we saw in the second half last night and whether they can play this way more and more consistently as the season moves on.

[gam7]

The Nolan Smith game against Carolina? What was the deficit when Duke made that comeback?


If we are just talking about double digit comebacks, I'm pretty sure Duke was down a fair amount at Virginia in 2015. Also, maybe the Austin Rivers UNC game? I think both were double digits but not sure.

None of these games was a double-digit win.

There are a fair number of games where we've been down by 10 and won by single digits, or down by almost 10 and won by double digits. All three of the games listed above in the quotes would qualify. Coach K's Win 1K almost makes Sage's list. We were down by 10 a few times in the second half and won by 9, 77-68. Another close one was our 2015 Final Four win over Michigan State. Down by 8 in the first half, won by 20. NC State 2012 is one of my favorites. Down by 20 in the first half, and 16 at halftime. Won 78-73.

[BandAlum83]

Just as they deserved all the plaudits they received in the second half, the team deserved the criticism they received in the first half. No oaths of positivity required around here yet.


I chose to not be surrounded by so much negativity.

[Wheat/"/"/"]

I watch every game, sometimes twice on espn replay when I can.

To clarify....when I say I think the problem is with chemistry issues, I mean with how they mesh on the court with their individual skill sets...not that they don't get along or have issues in the locker room. There's been no evidence of anything like that.

[hsheffield]

Final Four vs Maryland in 2001?

ding ding ding ding

[Indoor66]

I watch every game, sometimes twice on espn replay when I can.

To clarify...when I say I think the problem is with chemistry issues, I mean with how they mesh on the court with their individual skill sets...not that they don't get along or have issues in the locker room. There's been no evidence of anything like that.

I have to agree with you here. Court play is choppy. Not very smooth or coordinated.

[WVDUKEFAN]

I have to agree with you here. Court play is choppy. Not very smooth or coordinated.

I agree too, and I'm not really surprised. They haven't really gotten to play many games together as a group. Between injuries, the suspension, and Coach k being out, they haven't had the opportunity to figure things out as a team.

[FerryFor50]

My take is Duke seems to be fighting chemistry issues. They just don't look comfortable to me with each other on the court sharing the ball. Ball movement is poor and they seem to stand around waiting for Grayson to make a play, then wait for Luke to take a shot at beating his man, then let's watch Tatum to see if he can create something... and the inside game is basically just clean up the misses best you can on the boards.

Beating Miami was a good win to keep a finger in the dike, but Miami got rattled on the road and fell apart, more than Duke took it to them.

Duke is going to have to start playing much better to beat the good teams, and there are a lot of good teams out there...

I agree with most of this, but I think that the "Miami got rattled on the road and fell apart, more than Duke took it to them" is a little unfair. Miami got rattled *because* Duke took it to them. And, in that half, they seemed to address some of those chemistry concerns. Let's see if it continues in the next game.

[whereinthehellami]

Bolden was active and moved well but there was a window where the post player was uncovered for a couple of seconds, Miami was unable to exploit this. Other teams will be make Duke pay.

Bolden and Jackson looked like veterans in the rally at home with the crowd behind them. We need this on the road. Here is to hoping they are ready to take the next step.

For all those penciling Kennard out of the starting lineup, you need to put down the pencils. Having Kennard sit was the right move the other night but it was a situational move. Kennard has been Duke's best player by far this season. He has been the only consistent/reliable (I'm factoring injuries in) player for Duke this season. Against Miami, he was third in points and seconds in rebounds (out rebounding Bolden).

Wheat - UNC is a soulless, characterless, cheating institution of lower learning.

[flyingdutchdevil]

A lot has been said already, especially on the positive end, so I won't elaborate much:

1) Matt Effing Jones. Damn. He was having a down year on offense (ppg and 3pt shooting down from last year), but he was easily our most important player in the second half.

2) Marques Bolden had his first really good game at Duke. Three of our freshman have now played at least one truly amazing game. Now, it's all about consistency.

3) Amile Jefferson shows why we missed him. 'Nuf said.

4) We may have found our best defensive line-up in Jackson/Jones/Tatum/Jefferson/Bolden. Provides mobility, length, speed, good help D, and no offensive boards.

5) Capel's audition is starting to go pretty well. After a fairly rough start, Capel had arguably one of the best and most surprising halves in modern Duke basketball. I was as surprised as anyone at that start in the second half.

And now, the not so good:

6) Mr Giles isn't on the "verge". I get Giles's slow development. I really do. No competitive ball in 14+ months, poor conditioning, etc. IMO, he is the only freshman (of the core 4) to not have that "lightbulb" moment. He hasn't produced a half where I thought, "Damn. Giles really is good". Tatum, Jackson, and now Bolden have all gone through that. And the response to this will be, "well, his development was stagnated through 2 ACL injuries and a knee scoop." And you're right. But why does Giles start? Why not give him 5 min here and 5 min there? I really don't get Giles starting.

7) Kennard, and to a lesser extent Grayson, just aren't good defenders. A few of us have been commenting on this for the last year (basically since the end of last season). This game, unfortunately, helped to prove that. Kennard is not quick laterally and doesn't rotate well. Grayson just seems to get beat all the time on D. It was clearly "addition by subtraction" on defense when those two were on the bench. I really don't think this is debatable. Yes, Kennard and Allen are two of our best offense threats. But they are liabilities on D right now.

8) I don't buy the "this game turned the season around" or "Duke figured it out" comments. Duke played its best half of basketball this season using 8 players. Unfortunately, 3 of those players were non-factors in the second half, and those three are starters. Also, in order to say this game turned the season around, I want to see the next game and the game after. I'd argue that 3 solid games - and not 1 - is a turning point. I'll provide an analogy: During Miami, Duke dropped the anchor. Against NC States, let's see them right the ship. And Against WF, let's see them raise the masts. Terrible analogy? Yup. But you get my drift.

[uh_no]

Bolden was active and moved well but there was a window where the post player was uncovered for a couple of seconds, Miami was unable to exploit this. Other teams will be make Duke pay.

We'll see. amile generally rotated over nicely, and bolden plays so big that he's not necessarily the easiest to pass around. So long as everyone knows exactly when bolden is going to switch and not, and he can prevent entry or penetration just long enough for those secondary switches to happen, it's not the most easily exploitable thing in the world (far less easier than the matador we were running.

[Sir Stealth]

Count me as one who sees the second half as Duke figuring it out more than Miami crumbling. I would be surprised if that energy and effort don't carry over - having Amile back is huge, and talented freshmen can flip the switch and improve rapidly.

You can't take it for granted that a senior like Matt will know how to tap into that Cameron energy and lead the charge, but stuff like this seems to happen year after year. When that first three bounced around and in the basket, it felt like Cameron magic pushing the team forward with the season on the line. I expect us to bury State tonight and kick into the gear that we've been looking for.

[CDu]

I think it is a combination of Duke taking it to Miami in the second half AND Miami crumbling. I think Duke's play in the second half would have been enough to win against almost anyone. But Miami's crumble made it a blowout win instead of a close win.

[slower]

I expect us to bury State tonight.

Oh, boy. Recency Bias 101.

As with EVERY game, you will be somewhere between totally right and totally wrong. :p

[jv001]

My take is Duke seems to be fighting chemistry issues. They just don't look comfortable to me with each other on the court sharing the ball. Ball movement is poor and they seem to stand around waiting for Grayson to make a play, then wait for Luke to take a shot at beating his man, then let's watch Tatum to see if he can create something... and the inside game is basically just clean up the misses best you can on the boards.

Beating Miami was a good win to keep a finger in the dike, but Miami got rattled on the road and fell apart, more than Duke took it to them.

Duke is going to have to start playing much better to beat the good teams, and there are a lot of good teams out there...

Man, another of your posts that give Duke little praise, lot's of negativity. Telling us Duke has to start playing better to beat good teams. You don't think we know that, you don't think the coaches know that, and the players surely know that. I don't think there's any chemistry issues but there is something wrong with Duke's half court offense. As you posted, too much standing and watching someone dribbling the ball trying to create a shot or make a pass to for an open three. You are also correct regarding our front court players. Outside of Amile, we don't have anyone that's shown they have low post moves. Part of our problem is the injuries have not allowed the team to work on as many things as we would have liked. We are in early season mode because of the injuries. As for your shot at Duke: saying it was a case of Miami getting rattled more that Duke taking it to them. No, Duke really took it to them. Especially playing better defense. This was a good start(2nd half) in getting to where we can beat the good teams. One team that I don't worry about has a history of players that should be ineligible. Wonder what team(not school) that is? GoDuke!

[ChillinDuke]

<snip>

I'll provide an analogy: During Miami, Duke dropped the anchor. Against NC States, let's see them right the ship. And Against WF, let's see them raise the masts. Terrible analogy? Yup. But you get my drift.

I see what you did there.

- Chillin

[Indoor66]

I see what you did there.

- Chillin

Yeah. His post was a lot of pun.

[flyingdutchdevil]

I see what you did there.

- Chillin

I just spit coffee on myself laughing. I am terrible at puns. And that one was completely by accident.

[BandAlum83]

I rewatched part of the second half.

There was a shot of Luke, Grayson and Harry on the bench in which you can see Chase next to them

He has his middle and index fingers on his left hand taped. Not saying this is why he got no minutes, but I do wonder if there was a pre-game decision to not play.

[mgtr]

Starting five tonight -- has to be Bolden instead of Giles, and then Amile, Jayson, Grayson and Luke. But then we have three very good players on the bench who can come in as needed, and likely goose things up. I think Giles will have to earn his PT going forward.

[MChambers]

I watch every game, sometimes twice on espn replay when I can.

To clarify...when I say I think the problem is with chemistry issues, I mean with how they mesh on the court with their individual skill sets...not that they don't get along or have issues in the locker room. There's been no evidence of anything like that.

That's more like it, but it's the same group of players that had 24 assists against Georgia Tech. So I don't think there is a fundamental mismatch of the talent. More like a group that hasn't had much court time together, due to young players and lots of injuries.

[Ultrarunner]

Just as they deserved all the plaudits they received in the second half, the team deserved the criticism they received in the first half. No oaths of positivity required around here yet.

There is a difference between criticism and destructive negativity. I consider chat to be an extension of DBR - and DBR's rules ought apply there, as well.

[Ultrarunner]

We'll see. amile generally rotated over nicely, and bolden plays so big that he's not necessarily the easiest to pass around. So long as everyone knows exactly when bolden is going to switch and not, and he can prevent entry or penetration just long enough for those secondary switches to happen, it's not the most easily exploitable thing in the world (far less easier than the matador we were running.

To my eye, the team made an adjustment at half to use Bolden all the way out to the perimeter to harass the ball handler. The instant the man with the ball went by, Amile was sliding in to cut off the ball while Bolden sprinted to pick up the big left unattended and Matt Jones, usually on the opposite side of the court, cheated down to cover. If the ball was passed on the perimeter, Bolden rotated down. Jackson and Tatum maintained pressure and cut passing lanes to limit Miami's options.

This left Bolden with the responsibility of playing good man defense with limited decision-making taking advantage of his mobility. The more experienced seniors handled all the lower rotations, taking advantage of their greater understanding of the game. This is probably the reason Luke out-rebounded Bolden, too. The big guy spent a lot of time away from the hoop.

[tbyers11]

That's more like it, but it's the same group of players that had 24 assists against Georgia Tech. So I don't think there is a fundamental mismatch of the talent. More like a group that hasn't had much court time together, due to young players and lots of injuries.

Agree with this wholeheartedly. There is not a fundamental mismatch of talent. I think a lot of comes from trying too hard. If things start great (GT) then everyone is loose and good things happen. If things start poorly (Miami), the pressure of expectations and the fear of failure began to set in. The expectations are always big at Duke but they were huge for this team that was anointed a FF lock preseason. Combine with the personal expectations that come for each of the injured freshman (when will I live up to the hype) and the Grayson insanity (in part deserved but not to this level) and you could see everyone pressing in the first half when things didn't start well.

Confidence is a fleeting thing especially for young players. The 2 game losing streak weighs on the confidence, but could partially be explained by the fact that those games were against 1) good teams, 2) on the road, 3) without Amile and Coach K. But now we are playing 1) a not-quite-as-good Miami team, 2) at Cameron, 3) with Amile back and we are still getting our butts kicked.

Players start thinking instead of reacting. Tightening up and leaving shots short. We stop being the aggressor and everything snow balls. Even though we want to play team ball and make the extra pass, everyone thinks I will be the one to make the big shot to stop the momentum. Young teams tend to let their offensive play affect their defensive play. Voila.

Whoever took the initiative at halftime (Amile, Matt, Capel, or Coach K by Skype ;)) and pointed out that aggression and effort start with defense gets kudos. Capel and the staff get kudos for taking the chance and starting that lineup. The 5 players (Matt, Frank, Marques, Jason, and Amile) that played the first 7 minutes get the most kudos for executing the plan. Matt gets the most kudos for starting the explosion. The D picked up immediately at the start of the half but the offense wasn't that great for the first 2.5 minutes. The confidence wasn't back yet and you could feel that if we didn't make a move soon it might never come back. Matt's second steal in the back court that led to the first made 3 of the day (the one that bounced around the rim before going through) was immense. You can be sure that the team and the crowd knew that we hadn't made a 3 to that point. It is amazing how much hitting a 3 or a dunk hypes the crowd and the team more than a "regular" 2 pointer. If Miami comes down and scores we basically haven't made up any ground in the first 3 minutes and who knows where we go. I texted my Duke roommate "Matt Jones saves the season?"

After the next 4 minutes and Matt's last 3 we go from down 8 to up 8, I texted my roommate "Matt Jones saves the season. No ?".

Now, it's not going to be all easy peasy lemon squeezy from this point. One game does not make a trend. Integrating the freshman (especially Harry) still needs time. Road games are tough. The ACC is stacked this year. We have to commit further to ball movement and not letting the offensive droughts affect the defense so much.

However, I think coming back from a big deficit, particularly due to increased defensive intensity, is enormous to the psyche of this team. The 1995 Duke team had a bunch more talent than the 1996 team, but they kept losing close game after close game during the ACC schedule. Confidence is fleeting. There are many steps to consolidate upon this win/confidence (NCST, @Wake obviously the next 2) but the Miami game felt like a sea change to me. Time will tell.

[grad_devil]

I'm no Troublemaker, but I did decide to make a few GIFs about our ball screen defense.

On Miami's first offensive play, they put Giles in a ball screen at the top of the key (https://gfycat.com/GracefulShockingGuernseycow) - I don't think anyone was surprised by that. Giles doesn't hedge much, but picks up the offensive player until Grayson can get recover. Giles then returns to the screener, while Amile cheats over to cover the lane. Overall, a good example of how to handle the ball screen.

https://thumbs.gfycat.com/GracefulShockingGuernseycow-size_restricted.gif

In this video, Giles hedges much harder before recovering (https://gfycat.com/DeafeningCrazyAmericantoad). It's interesting to watch Amile and Kennard communicate in this clip. Amile covers the lane while Giles is hedging, then recovers when Giles returns. Another positive play for Giles + team D.

https://thumbs.gfycat.com/DeafeningCrazyAmericantoad-size_restricted.gif

Here is an example where Giles jumps too far out on the hedge (https://gfycat.com/SpeedyConfusedAlaskankleekai). The offensive player splits the defenders and scores a bucket plus the foul. Probably in the 'not how we want to handle ball screens' example category.

https://thumbs.gfycat.com/SpeedyConfusedAlaskankleekai-size_restricted.gif

I think it would be great to compare/contrast how Giles handled the ball screen versus Bolden. Maybe if I procrastinate more later I'll find a few Bolden examples.

[Troublemaker]

A lot has been said already, especially on the positive end, so I won't elaborate much:

1) Matt Effing Jones. Damn. He was having a down year on offense (ppg and 3pt shooting down from last year), but he was easily our most important player in the second half.

Good post, FDD. I mostly agreed with your bullet points but will highlight a couple of disagreements. Matt wasn't having a down year on offense. He started the year shooting well in the first 7 games, then in the next 7 games he had a horrible shooting slump, and in the 5 games since, he's begun to shoot well again. The 7-game slump is unfortunate but happens. Matt is a career 38% shooter from three, and any statistician will tell you that eventually you will return to your mean and that's what is happening; the shooting slump was not going to last.

Now, Matt has improved his 2-pt percentage to 53% (up from 40% last season and 45% and 40% the previous two years). We'll see if it lasts and I think there's a chance it will. I think he's picking his spots better to drive and he has better touch on his floaters. As for things that don't show up in the box score, I think he's done well moving the ball in Duke's offense, better than previous seasons. So overall, Matt is an improved offensive player from last season. Especially as the effect of the shooting slump gets diminished as he plays more games.



7) Kennard, and to a lesser extent Grayson, just aren't good defenders. A few of us have been commenting on this for the last year (basically since the end of last season). This game, unfortunately, helped to prove that. Kennard is not quick laterally and doesn't rotate well. Grayson just seems to get beat all the time on D. It was clearly "addition by subtraction" on defense when those two were on the bench. I really don't think this is debatable. Yes, Kennard and Allen are two of our best offense threats. But they are liabilities on D right now.


This would make more sense if Duke hadn't been playing good defense with a 6-man rotation including Grayson and Luke earlier in the season before the freshmen returned from injury. It was really more "subtraction by addition" when we added the freshmen to the rotation, especially the freshmen bigs. (And, of course, Amile's injury played a role recently.) Thankfully, it looks like Marques may have re-captured the Preseason Marques form that was receiving a lot of praise before his injury. On defense, it's so important to have bigs that can execute in the PNR and also rim-protect. Grayson and Luke? I would say Grayson is an inconsistent but good defender (I've seen him cut off drives), and Luke is a mediocre defender. The both defensive rebound well, which is part of defense.

[Troublemaker]

I'm no Troublemaker, but I did decide to make a few GIFs about our ball screen defense.

Thanks for the GIFs, grad_devil. I completely welcome you and others making GIFs and don't want to be the only one.

I do owe the board a series on ball-screen defense. I was going to do it last week during the bye, but the problem was I wasn't sure whether Duke's hedging against Louisville was a one-time thing or if that was going to be a permanent adjustment. Based on Miami, it looks like we're going to be primarily hedging screens now. Let's see what happens against NCSU.

[neemizzle]

Is it just me or did this Miami game feel like the only game all season Bolden's been really on the floor? I know he's played, he just hasn't seemed like himself. I know injury, conditioning, that had a hand in it. I for one was just happy to see even a little bit of his potential. I was impressed with his defense, but his offense wasn't bad either. He scored the ball - something he has struggled to do thus far. I felt good for him in that department.

[uh_no]

To my eye, the team made an adjustment at half to use Bolden all the way out to the perimeter to harass the ball handler. The instant the man with the ball went by, Amile was sliding in to cut off the ball while Bolden sprinted to pick up the big left unattended and Matt Jones, usually on the opposite side of the court, cheated down to cover. If the ball was passed on the perimeter, Bolden rotated down. Jackson and Tatum maintained pressure and cut passing lanes to limit Miami's options.

This left Bolden with the responsibility of playing good man defense with limited decision-making taking advantage of his mobility. The more experienced seniors handled all the lower rotations, taking advantage of their greater understanding of the game. This is probably the reason Luke out-rebounded Bolden, too. The big guy spent a lot of time away from the hoop.

he was definitely doing it in the first half. i noticed it off the bat and chatted with some people about it at halftime. Whether they made further tweaks, I don't know.

[Skydog]

7096

Miami's win probability over time. :)

[flyingdutchdevil]

Good post, FDD. I mostly agreed with your bullet points but will highlight a couple of disagreements. Matt wasn't having a down year on offense. He started the year shooting well in the first 7 games, then in the next 7 games he had a horrible shooting slump, and in the 5 games since, he's begun to shoot well again. The 7-game slump is unfortunate but happens. Matt is a career 38% shooter from three, and any statistician will tell you that eventually you will return to your mean and that's what is happening; the shooting slump was not going to last.

Now, Matt has improved his 2-pt percentage to 53% (up from 40% last season and 45% and 40% the previous two years). We'll see if it lasts and I think there's a chance it will. I think he's picking his spots better to drive and he has better touch on his floaters. As for things that don't show up in the box score, I think he's done well moving the ball in Duke's offense, better than previous seasons. So overall, Matt is an improved offensive player from last season. Especially as the effect of the shooting slump gets diminished as he plays more games.

You make good points. I would add that Matt Jones is getting a lot more open looks this year compared to last year (given that last year Matt had to take a bigger offensive role given the last of scoring outside of Brandon and Grayson). Weirdly, I think Matt works better when he's part of the offense rather than just a 3-and-D guy. That horrible shooting slump wasn't a product of better opponent defense or Matt taking poor shots; it was a product of just really, really poor shooting. But my gut tells me Matt is better when he's ingrained in the defense.


This would make more sense if Duke hadn't been playing good defense with a 6-man rotation including Grayson and Luke earlier in the season before the freshmen returned from injury. It was really more "subtraction by addition" when we added the freshmen to the rotation, especially the freshmen bigs. (And, of course, Amile's injury played a role recently.) Thankfully, it looks like Marques may have re-captured the Preseason Marques form that was receiving a lot of praise before his injury. On defense, it's so important to have bigs that can execute in the PNR and also rim-protect. Grayson and Luke? I would say Grayson is an inconsistent but good defender (I've seen him cut off drives), and Luke is a mediocre defender. The both defensive rebound well, which is part of defense.

This is where I disagree with you. Offense and defense both evolve over time, and Duke had 6 players in the beginning of the year who looked like a team that knew what they were doing on offense and defense. But reintegrating freshman, Grayson's suspension, the distractions surrounding Grayson, and coaching changes really disrupted Duke's improvement - especially on defense. And during this time, I think Grayson and Luke didn't improve on defense while the defense of our other players - especially the freshman - did improve significantly (well, except Giles). Hence, I think Grayson and Luke may have the same defensive chops as November, making them look worse defensively than the rest of the team. And Saturday really showed that; when Luke and Grayson came back in the second half, I felt our defense again get worse. Small sample size? Absolutely. But nothing they did made me say, "these guys are assets defensively".

As for your take on Grayson's D, I tend to agree. He can be good, but he is wildly inconsistent. Luke, on the other hand, is just not a competent defender. And I think mediocre is quite kind; I would have used something a little more aggressive. And while I think rebounding is an important part of defense, it doesn't change the story if Luke's man continuously scores against him.

[Neals384]

Here’s one more gif. This is just after Frank’s amazing drive and layup in the first half. That's Tatum on the ball, Giles trying to hedge, and Jackson with the matador.



Warning – this may hurt your eyes; adult supervision advised.

http://forums.dukebasketballreport.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=7099&stc=1

[Neals384]

Here’s one more gif. This is just after Frank’s amazing drive and layup in the first half. That's Tatum on the ball, Giles trying to hedge, and Jackson with the matador.



Warning – this may hurt your eyes; adult supervision advised.

http://forums.dukebasketballreport.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=7099&stc=1


First time giffer, sorry. What am I doing wrong?

[Rich]

First time giffer, sorry. What am I doing wrong?

The system now only lets you post GIFs where we actually play good defense. ;)

[Troublemaker]

First time giffer, sorry. What am I doing wrong?

It looks like it works in the "Attached Thumbnails" section. But you don't need to save it as an attachment. You can just post the image using the URL. Hopefully that makes sense. Some techie can probably explain it better.

[grad_devil]

First time giffer, sorry. What am I doing wrong?

I believe if you upload a .gif, it automatically turns it into a .jpg. If you use gfycat, post the URL to the low-res .gif, and post it as an image (using the IMG tag).

Confusing, I bet. Consult Troublemaker's HowTo (http://forums.dukebasketballreport.com/forums/showthread.php?39108-How-to-Make-GIFs&p=935277#post935277) for better info.

[slower]

There is a difference between criticism and destructive negativity. I consider chat to be an extension of DBR - and DBR's rules ought apply there, as well.

Disagree. As long as chat is not archived, it seems like a good place to let us vent, if need be. No lasting harm is done there.

[curtis325]

Disagree. As long as chat is not archived, it seems like a good place to let us vent, if need be. No lasting harm is done there.

After looking at the recent chat I have a bone bruise to my brain, or possibly a pulled muscle. I'm out indefinitely.

[BandAlum83]

After looking at the recent chat I have a bone bruise to my brain, or possibly a pulled muscle. I'm out indefinitely.

I feel for you and understand.

I'm a believer that we, as fans, can put positive vibrations out into the universe that will help our team win. The negativity hurts the cause.

It's more scientific than superstitions!

[Sir Stealth]

Oh, boy. Recency Bias 101.

As with EVERY game, you will be somewhere between totally right and totally wrong. :p

I take nothing for granted with this or any other team, but predicting Duke to figure things out and bury State (or any team, in Cameron no less) is hardly recency bias. We have much more history of that happening over many years than not. Jury still out on tonight.