MBB: Duke 93, Cheaters 83 Post-Game Thread (ACCT Semis)

[JBDuke]

Put your post-game thoughts here.

[fuse]

We won. Yessssssssss!!!!!!!!!!
How sweet it is!

[Troublemaker]

Live stream for postgame pressers here: https://livestream.com/ACCDN/events/7085629

Will link to the archive of Duke presser later

[Philadukie]

I mean, just wow. Fantastic second half. Probably our best half of the year.

Grayson Allen is the heart of this team.

[DangerDevil]

Regardless of what happens tomorrow, watch out college basketball, the Duke Blue Devils that you heard about in the preseason have arrived. What a win! Let's Go Duke!

[arnie]

We won. Yessssssssss!!!!!!!!!!
How sweet it is!

The Luke Maye airball late in the game was a thing of beauty. Heels looked flat after we made our initial run. Guess they're out of shape.

[jipops]

That was awesome. We were better tonight! Don't want to play those bums again this season.

Turning points were Barry's 4th foul (thanks Roy) and Harry's huge block and dunk

[Troublemaker]

I freaking love Grayson Allen. Special place in my heart for UNC killers like him.

[JD for Three!]

Awesome game. Even when the CHeats seemed to score at will inside in the first half, it never felt like we were out of it. GA was huge. Great game for Harry, too. Feel great for him.

[duke4ever19]

we won. Yessssssssss!!!!!!!!!!
How sweet it is!

go to hell carolina go to hell!

[Kjeffrey]

The Luke Maye airball late in the game was a thing of beauty. Heels looked flat after we made our initial run. Guess they're out of shape.

One of them is definitely out of shape.

[TKG]

I was WRONG, WRONG, WRONG!!! I was wrong about our energy level. I was wrong about GA.

And, boy am I glad.....

I take my crow with Texas Pete.

[MarkD83]

Get some well deserved rest. There is still a game left this weekend and you might as well win that also!!

[hallcity]

I mean, just wow. Fantastic second half. Probably our best half of the year.

Grayson Allen is the heart of this team.

Yes, Duke played well but there's no getting around just how badly UNC played in the second half. They're going to be smarting from that one for a LONG time. Bless their hearts.

[Skydog]

Are you freakin kidding me?!! From down 12 or 13 in the 2nd half to a 10 point win against a very good team (supposedly) on a neutral court... wowsers!

[Troublemaker]

https://twitter.com/ICMeltdown

[jipops]

This is why K plays a short bench throughout the season. He wants guys to know how to play tired. We just had more in the tank than the cheats.

[dukebluesincebirth]

F tomorrow. Let's go get the Natty.

[Doria]

So awesome! That comeback... Our team is so tough. Love our guys!

[DukieInBrasil]

Jayson Tatum, man, what a player. He has become such a good player. He started a little rusty, as Fr. do but he has to be considered among the best in the nation this year.
Luke Kennard, too. I mean 20 pts on 7 FGs (+10/10 FTs), such a baller.
Without Grayson's 1st half 3s, this game woulda gotten out of reach.
I've been unimpressed with Harry this year up to now. Not anymore. He still makes a lot of mistakes, but those sequences of block, chase down for the save, and then block and alley oop slam weres remarkable. He's had 2 important performances in a row, and in the biggest games of the year so far is important. 4 blocks overall, 7 rebounds, and 6 pts. Plus he hit both of his late FTs, which showed some propensity for clutch.
Our youth really stepped up today.

[duketaylor]

Just Sweet!!!!! and 9F9F9f!!!!!!!!

[MartyClark]

Great game. Duke showed lots of heart.

I'm not an X and O guy. Carolina was killing us in the paint in the first half. How did Duke adjust?

[FerryFor50]

I said in the ACC POY thread that Joel Berry is UNC's best player, not Justin Jackson. This game proved it when Berry went out with his 4th foul and with Jackson shooting 6-22.

I also said in chat that Nate Britt is my favorite UNC player, because when he's in, Duke makes a run. And that's just what happened.

Duke started out rough on defense in the first half - allowed 55% shooting, mostly in the paint. On offense, they kept fighting. UNC got double digit leads several times but Duke kept clawing back.

2nd half, the turning point was Berry getting #4 and Tatum throwing down the monster jam on Meeks, followed by the quick timeout. After that, UNC forced up bad shots and ignored the post. Duke just scored relentlessly. Grayson looked like himself - shooting and passing well. FJ made big shots. Luke came around after a rough first half. Amile had a rough night with some weak foul trouble against the physical UNC front line, but came up with a big swat on Pinson and Giles filled in great. And Tatum has been their best player for a while now. It's nice to see them starting to click all at the same time.

On the downside, Matt's looking a little lost lately - I think his finger injury is part of it, but he's been surpassed in minutes by the Allen/Kennard/Jackson combo. And if Bolden somehow figures it out between now and the NCAAs... look out! (doubtful)

And that FT shooting... I don't know what happened, but I mentioned it in the Louisville thread - Duke found its identity, and it's driving to the basket and drawing fouls. Two games in a row, they shot tons of FTs. This game? 89% from the line!

The good news is that I am already seeing the UNC ref complains pouring in. Like clockwork. Delicious Jordan tears.

[COYS]

K out-coached Roy. The way he handled Amile and Jayson's foul trouble compared with how Roy handled Joel Berry's was masterful. The way we switched up our D in the second half to take away the passes into the post was perfect. And the way K structures the offense to take advantage of our team's strengths is just incredible.

Oh, and looks really good when the players are healthy and execute the game plan.

We looked tired and dead in the water until the 3 min mark in the first half but the guys never kept fighting and K pushed all the right buttons. Wahoo! We have shown that maybe we still can become that dominant team we were hoping to see all season.

[OZ]

Been watching since my freshman year (1963) and I have NEVER been prouder of our TEAM! They may be the guttiest grittiest bunch EVER!

[Kjeffrey]

https://twitter.com/ICMeltdown

Good stuff. "Next year is going to be rough." Like how they are already complaining about next year.

[Tripping William]

51-34 in the second half. Amazing

[kAzE]

i was wrong, wrong, wrong!!! I was wrong about our energy level. I was wrong about ga.

And, boy am i glad...

I take my crow with texas pete.


these guys are just better than we are. I hate to say it.


i vehemently disagree. We are a better team, and we can still win this game. If grayson is healthy, we have the 3 of the 4 most talented players on the floor. We just need to change up the gameplan to get luke more involved, and do anything to even slow them down a little bit on defense. They shot like 80% and we're still within 7.

mmhmmm.

[hallcity]

Justin Jackson shot 6-23. Shot them right out of the game. Your player of the year.

[Edouble]

Great win! Coach K dropped Harry, Amile, and Jayson all at once and it rattled them.

Why was Berry on the bench with 6:30 left? Roy is awful.

A great win for Duke!!! Go Devils!!!!!

[91devil]

Duke played play well. The. Entire. Game.

UNC played. For. Twenty-five. Minutes.

Berry's fourth foul was obvious (despite Seth Greenberg's ridiculous comments). That changed the game, no doubt. But why doesn't SENIOR Nate Britt make a better effort to run the offense and get the ball to Meeks and Hicks inside (who were dominating, btw). So, so, so much like last year's first game in Chapel Hill. UNC offense stops doing what they do. And Duke takes advantage.

I like winning.

BTW, the Chat Room was ridiculous for first half. Come on, fans. Don't be such Debbie Downers. Cheer for your Team. Back Duke, or Back Off.

Let's Win Tomorrow!

@91devil mikedrop

[kAzE]

We can go all the way with this group. Just a matter of continuing to solidify our identity, and staying healthy. Tonight was the first game we played where I thought we were the team we were always supposed to be. This is just the beginning!!

[Edouble]

Justin Jackson shot 6-23. Shot them right out of the game. Your player of the year.

A nod to MJ? 6 rings for number 23?

The ceiling is indeed the roof!

[COYS]

Great game. Duke showed lots of heart.

I'm not an X and O guy. Carolina was killing us in the paint in the first half. How did Duke adjust?

Someone like troublemaker will probably answer this better than I could, but it looked like we started cheating an extra weak side defender into the lane to take away the passes that could lead to a quick post score. UNC never really adjusted or took advantage of the space we were leaving on the weak side and/or in the corner.

We also applied better ball pressure to prevent easy entry passes.

[UNCfan]

UNC executed well in the first half until the final 3 minutes. K speed up Britt when Berry was on the bench and you guys closed on a good run. Second half, you did the same thing. Britt dribbles the ball too much and no one stepped up to make shots. We went away from going inside. Britt just doesn't set players up well. Devastated. Wish I was on the other end of this, but I am not. Roy got out-coached and our players couldn't overcome the momentum Duke created while Berry was on the bench for 10 minutes. I think Roy needed to risk bringing him back to stop the run.

[dalmatians98]

Holy cow! I thought the Louisville game was something - and it was. But this game was just incredible.

Watching Greenberg postgame try to credit the officiating for the Duke win only to have Rece Davis shut him up was the cherry on top.

GO DUKE!

[JD for Three!]

A big key to this game was Amile's foul trouble. It made Giles have to step up and he did! Feel great for him because he looked like he was having a great time doing it

[BD80]

I'm hearing that the tarheels are so demoralized that they are considering self-imposing a postseason ban THIS YEAR!!!!

Great win!

[bluenorth]

Wow! This team is peaking at the right time. Just a great effort from start to finish. And I guess that the announcers don't get to see all of the replays - Greenberg was moaning about Berry's fourth foul being a phantom, while replays during the broadcast clearly showed him grabbing Jackson's wrist.

[CDu]

The ACC player of the year really stepped up for his team in that second half. 20 big points!

Wait, what?!? Are you telling me it was actually the guy who shot 6-22? The guy whose season numbers across the board (including all his shooting %s) are worse? That can't be right. Seriously?

That went from really not fun to really fun really quickly. This team has heart. And so many weapons.

I thought we had four of the five best players on the court tonight. Having a healthy and effective Allen coming off the bench is SUCH a weapon.

What a second half! Dominant. I am so happy.

[FerryFor50]

Berry's fourth foul was obvious (despite Seth Greenberg's ridiculous comments). That changed the game, no doubt. But why doesn't SENIOR Nate Britt make a better effort to run the offense and get the ball to Meeks and Hicks inside (who were dominating, btw). So, so, so much like last year's first game in Chapel Hill. UNC offense stops doing what they do. And Duke takes advantage.


Yea. Not sure how an obvious wrist slap that dislodges the ball isn't a foul in their eyes.

Also, how about Bilas' instant "Frank faked it" reaction when J Jackson elbowed him in the mouth? And how was that not a flagrant?

[TKG]

mmhmmm.

Hey, I don't need your help! :)

[arnie]

UNC executed well in the first half until the final 3 minutes. K speed up Britt when Berry was on the bench and you guys closed on a good run. Second half, you did the same thing. Britt dribbles the ball too much and no one stepped up to make shots. We went away from going inside. Britt just doesn't set players up well. Devastated. Wish I was on the other end of this, but I am not. Roy got out-coached and our players couldn't overcome the momentum Duke created while Berry was on the bench for 10 minutes. I think Roy needed to risk bringing him back to stop the run.

Good comments, Roy should have brought Berry in sooner, he can play without fouling. But Roy coaches one way, can't adjust.

[Mtn.Devil.91.92.01.10.15]

Never out of a game.

[CDu]

Yea. Not sure how an obvious wrist slap that dislodges the ball isn't a foul in their eyes.

Also, how about Bilas' instant "Frank faked it" reaction when J Jackson elbowed him in the mouth? And how was that not a flagrant?

It really wasn't a flagrant. No way. Incidental contact. Really bad luck for our Jackson, but definitely not a flagrant.

But Bilas was ridiculous.

[DU82]

Yea. Not sure how an obvious wrist slap that dislodges the ball isn't a foul in their eyes.

Also, how about Bilas' instant "Frank faked it" reaction when J Jackson elbowed him in the mouth? And how was that not a flagrant?

Glad I was watching the ACC broadcast. Even if G-Man agreed with little Capel early to say that the cheaters were going to win the tournament.

[FerryFor50]

The ACC player of the year really stepped up for his team in that second half. 20 big points!

Wait, what?!? Are you telling me it was actually the guy who shot 6-22? The guy whose season numbers across the board (including all his shooting %s) are worse? That can't be right. Seriously?

That went from really not fun to really fun really quickly. This team has heart. And so many weapons.

I thought we had four of the five best players on the court tonight. Having a healthy and effective Allen coming off the bench is SUCH a weapon.

What a second half! Dominant. I am so happy.

Grayson "the Microwave" Allen

[dukelifer]

rewatching now- cannot believe they won it. 6:29 and tied at 70! Then Frank, then J Jackson with offensive foul, then Luke with 3, then Giles with the block and the alley oop to Giles, Giles with the grab on the floor and Allen (well he should have gotten that call). Amazing sequence. Justin Jackson was really bad when UNC needed him to be great.

[FerryFor50]

It really wasn't a flagrant. No way. Incidental contact. Bad luck for our Jackson, but definitely not a flagrant.

I thought all contact above the shoulders is flagrant by rule, regardless of intent? I mean, it wasn't much different than the "dead ball tech" on Allen yesterday.

[dukelifer]

Grayson "the Microwave" Allen

We have a bench!

[JD for Three!]

Do you think that crying MJ is sitting somewhere right now saying "the floor is the basement"?

[bleedingblue88]

Yea. Not sure how an obvious wrist slap that dislodges the ball isn't a foul in their eyes.

Also, how about Bilas' instant "Frank faked it" reaction when J Jackson elbowed him in the mouth? And how was that not a flagrant?

I agree, Bilas' reaction was ridiculous. That definitely wasn't flagarant though, totally incidental contact. Jackson didn't even raise his elbow, just their height difference made it happen.

Lineup of Kennard, Allen, Jackson, Tatum, and Giles was delicious tonight. If we can continue to limit Matt Jones minutes and have this lineup on the floor (Giles and Jefferson can swap it doesn't matter), we will be pretty dangerous.

[arnie]

Yea. Not sure how an obvious wrist slap that dislodges the ball isn't a foul in their eyes.

Also, how about Bilas' instant "Frank faked it" reaction when J Jackson elbowed him in the mouth? And how was that not a flagrant?

When I realized Bilas announcing, was able to listen to G-man and Brando. Did Bilas think Jackson smeared ketchup on his face?

[rsvman]

I posted something really stupid in the first half when we looked dead in the water. I apologize for my stupidity. Must remember never to make a frustration post during a down time early in a game.

It's good to have Grayson back, isn't it?

[Duke76]

The ACC player of the year really stepped up for his team in that second half. 20 big points!

Wait, what?!? Are you telling me it was actually the guy who shot 6-22? The guy whose season numbers across the board (including all his shooting %s) are worse? That can't be right. Seriously?

That went from really not fun to really fun really quickly. This team has heart. And so many weapons.

I thought we had four of the five best players on the court tonight. Having a healthy and effective Allen coming off the bench is SUCH a weapon.

What a second half! Dominant. I am so happy.

Roy says "dumb" alot

[FerryFor50]

I thought all contact above the shoulders is flagrant by rule, regardless of intent? I mean, it wasn't much different than the "dead ball tech" on Allen yesterday.

Found my answer. They tweaked the rule in 2013.

http://www.ncaa.com/news/basketball-men/article/2013-11-05/rule-changes-designed-reduce-physical-play-create-offensive


Elbow rules

The committee tweaked the rules regarding elbow contact above the shoulders.

A minimum of a flagrant 1 foul is no longer required when an official is responding to illegal elbow contact above the shoulders of an opponent. Now, officials also can call a common foul on any illegal elbow contact, which may result in no free throws and simply a throw-in to the offended team.

This rule change is a stark contrast to the former minimum flagrant 1 foul rule that has been in effect for three years, which awarded the offended player two free throws and the ball. Coaches felt that, sometimes, elbow contact did not merit such a harsh penalty. However, officials who deem elbow contact to be excessive, unnecessary, severe or extreme are encouraged to call a flagrant 1 or flagrant 2 foul.

Still could have been a common foul, especially since it took FJ out of he play.

[DangerDevil]

I posted something really stupid in the first half when we looked dead in the water. I apologize for my stupidity. Must remember never to make a frustration post during a down time early in a game.

It's good to have Grayson back, isn't it?

Keep making the same comments if the 2nd half and the outcome are the same as tonight.

Onions to you for coming back and apologizing for the premature comments!

[Kjeffrey]

I thought all contact above the shoulders is flagrant by rule, regardless of intent? I mean, it wasn't much different than the "dead ball tech" on Allen yesterday.

And besides was it really any different than the one called on Allen last weekend? I know it is a different ref crew but come on. Either a shot above the shoulders is flagrant or it isn't. Consistency would be great.

[rsvman]

Oh, and Giles was fantastic for that stretch when Jefferson went to the bench with four fouls.

[COYS]

When I realized Bilas announcing, was able to listen to G-man and Brando. Did Bilas think Jackson smeared ketchup on his face?

To be fair to Bilas, he clearly and repeatedly corrected himself. But it was a ridiculous assumption to say that Frank was faking it. That being said, I thought Bilas was pretty good tonight. I usually fault ESPN for failing to show replays on close calls that go against Duke. He called out a number of those calls this time, including an early botched out of bounds call on Luke, Amile's 4th foul, and the bogus offensive foul on what should've been an and-one for Grayson.

[Devilwin]

Giles- 6 points, seven rebounds, four blocks..
Duke bench 24 points, UNC bench 15 points....:cool::cool::cool:

[FerryFor50]

To be fair to Bilas, he clearly and repeatedly corrected himself. But it was a ridiculous assumption to say that Frank was faking it. That being said, I thought Bilas was pretty good tonight. I usually fault ESPN for failing to show replays on close calls that go against Duke. He called out a number of those calls this time, including an early botched out of bounds call on Luke, Amile's 4th foul, and the bogus offensive foul on what should've been an and-one for Grayson.

Yea, Bilas was mostly good, other than that FJ comment.

[Chard]

WHOOOOOOOO HOOOOOOO! What a win. What a couple of wins. Are you kidding me?! What did they just do? Moxie, as one analyst put it, isn't just in Grayson's wheelhouse. This entire team has moxie! This is a run I was afraid Duke wasn't up to simply based on the number of back-to-back games they'd need to win just to get in the finals. To beat two title contenders in back to back games after a hard fought win against Clemson? Are you serious?!

WHOOOOOOO0 HOOOOOOO!

[DangerDevil]

To be fair to Bilas, he clearly and repeatedly corrected himself. But it was a ridiculous assumption to say that Frank was faking it. That being said, I thought Bilas was pretty good tonight. I usually fault ESPN for failing to show replays on close calls that go against Duke. He called out a number of those calls this time, including an early botched out of bounds call on Luke, Amile's 4th foul, and the bogus offensive foul on what should've been an and-one for Grayson.

Don't give Bilas too much credit, this officiating crew was so bad both ways that it gave him plenty to work with.

[davekay1971]

SO much good to take away from this game. I love seeing Allen playing with fire, intensity, and athleticism. Kennard is just a cold-blooded 2nd half assassin. But how about our freshmen? Jayson Tatum now routinely plays stretches as the best offensive player on the court. Jackson has earned starter status and solidified out point position. And Harry Freakin' Giles...that block to alley-oop sequence was an amazing combination of effort and raw athleticism. He gave great minutes today. Usually our defense is awful when Jefferson is out. Tonight, with Giles in the game in the 2nd half and Jefferson on the bench, we were just fine.

I would love for Duke to win tomorrow. They'll be exhausted, having played one more game in one more day than whoever wins the night match. I hope Duke wins. I believe they can win. But if Duke shows up with dead legs and can't finish climbing this mountain...this team will have still shown themselves that they can beat anybody in the nation. And they'll have another chance to prove it.

[devilnfla]

What a gutsy, 2nd half performance. Hope Grayson continues to get his game back. Giles looks like he's gaining confidence and Tatum looking more and more like the ACC Rookie of the year. Also, anyone watching tonight thinking Jackson is POY over Luke is crazy.

Here's to hoping Matt can start contributing a little more on both ends. Seems really absent the last couple of games.

[Bluedog]

When I realized Bilas announcing, was able to listen to G-man and Brando. Did Bilas think Jackson smeared ketchup on his face?

Bilas did correct himself and said he was wrong -- and that Frank did not fake it when he saw the replay. But it was a weird first reaction to it to assume that.

GREAT WIN!!!

[CDu]

UNC executed well in the first half until the final 3 minutes. K speed up Britt when Berry was on the bench and you guys closed on a good run. Second half, you did the same thing. Britt dribbles the ball too much and no one stepped up to make shots. We went away from going inside. Britt just doesn't set players up well. Devastated. Wish I was on the other end of this, but I am not. Roy got out-coached and our players couldn't overcome the momentum Duke created while Berry was on the bench for 10 minutes. I think Roy needed to risk bringing him back to stop the run.

First, kudos to you for being here. I am not sure I could do the same.

I agree - I think Williams blew it by keeping Berry on the bench. It was glaringly obvious that Britt was in over his head, but Williams left him out there and let Duke take over. I think as soon as Duke got the game tied UNC needed Berry.

I am not sure it would have made a difference, but things couldn't have gone worse than they were going. Sort of like Coach K going zone yesterday. Sometimes you have to roll the dice when things aren't working.

[Dr. Rosenrosen]

I had to go pick up my son from his school field trip as the game was winding down. When their bus arrived, he told me that they had been watching the game on the TV on the bus (you gotta love living in north carolina where everyone has the right priorities) and that he had the entire bus cheering for Duke save 2 or 3 hole fans. Couldn't have been more proud!

[szstark]

I agree, Bilas' reaction was ridiculous. That definitely wasn't flagarant though, totally incidental contact. Jackson didn't even raise his elbow, just their height difference made it happen.


He did raise his elbow and he hit Frank in the jaw. Anything above the shoulder is supposed to be automatic - either flagrant or dead ball foul should have been called.

[CDu]

And besides was it really any different than the one called on Allen last weekend? I know it is a different ref crew but come on. Either a shot above the shoulders is flagrant or it isn't. Consistency would be great.

It was the wrong call last week. It was the right no-call this week.

[Bluedog]

He did raise his elbow and he hit Frank in the jaw. Anything above the shoulder is supposed to be automatic - either flagrant or dead ball foul should have been called.

As noted above, the rule has changed and it's not an automatic flagrant anymore. I agree that it was a basketball play and incidental contact. As was Allen's dead ball T should have been called.

[DangerDevil]

I would love for Duke to win tomorrow. They'll be exhausted, having played one more game in one more day than whoever wins the night match. I hope Duke wins. I believe they can win. But if Duke shows up with dead legs and can't finish climbing this mountain...this team will have still shown themselves that they can beat anybody in the nation. And they'll have another chance to prove it.

Agree 100%, I hope Notre Dame pulls off a win in the late gam, I think we stand a better chance/match up better against them especially with the fatigue from an extra game.

[stillcrazie]

rewatching now- cannot believe they won it. 6:29 and tied at 70! Then Frank, then J Jackson with offensive foul, then Luke with 3, then Giles with the block and the alley oop to Giles, Giles with the grab on the floor and Allen (well he should have gotten that call). Amazing sequence. Justin Jackson was really bad when UNC needed him to be great.

Where did you find a replay?

[CameronBlue]

It really wasn't a flagrant. No way. Incidental contact. Really bad luck for our Jackson, but definitely not a flagrant.

But Bilas was ridiculous.

For a split second the same thought went through my head but Jay has a habit of vocalizing similar thoughts many, it seems, where Duke is concerned and often times when there's no replay, the comment goes by uncorrected. Jay can be an annoying, didactic sumI'm a real wanker for saying this.I'm a real wanker for saying this.I'm a real wanker for saying this.I'm a real wanker for saying this.I'm a real wanker for saying this., but we love him. Don't we? Sure we do. If I was into animal cruelty I'd have a dog named Jay just so I could kick him when Duke loses or I have to have my manparts checked by Doc Coldfinger.

[DinoDuke]

So freaking happy and proud of our guys. What a comeback and what heart and resiliency shown by our guys. Giles was HUGE tonight. Go Duke!

[weezie]

Yea, Bilas was mostly good, other than that FJ comment.


Hhmmm, I sure gave Bilas some fierce verbal abuse...maybe you just felt sorry for him.

[FerryFor50]

He did raise his elbow and he hit Frank in the jaw. Anything above the shoulder is supposed to be automatic - either flagrant or dead ball foul should have been called.

Used to be automatic. They changed it a few years ago. (I thought the same as you before I looked it up)

http://www.ncaa.com/news/basketball-men/article/2013-11-05/rule-changes-designed-reduce-physical-play-create-offensive


Elbow rules

The committee tweaked the rules regarding elbow contact above the shoulders.

A minimum of a flagrant 1 foul is no longer required when an official is responding to illegal elbow contact above the shoulders of an opponent. Now, officials also can call a common foul on any illegal elbow contact, which may result in no free throws and simply a throw-in to the offended team.

This rule change is a stark contrast to the former minimum flagrant 1 foul rule that has been in effect for three years, which awarded the offended player two free throws and the ball. Coaches felt that, sometimes, elbow contact did not merit such a harsh penalty. However, officials who deem elbow contact to be excessive, unnecessary, severe or extreme are encouraged to call a flagrant 1 or flagrant 2 foul.

In a flagrant 1 situation, the player who was struck is awarded two free throws and his team gets possession of the ball. In a flagrant 2 foul situation, the penalty is the same, but the player who threw the elbow is ejected from the game.

Committee members felt the mandatory flagrant 1 penalty of the elbow rule was too harsh for all elbow situations. While the intent of the elbow rule has always been to protect players, they said, some legitimate basketball moves result in contact that is not excessive and do not deserve the harsher penalty.

[Newton_14]

Amazing win. Just amazing. Indescribable. I felt like we were getting run out of the gym right up to the 12 min mark in the 2nd half with no semblance of any defense being played. Then suddenly I awoke from the nightmare and Duke had a one point lead and was surging. Smoked the cheats by 17 in the second half. The last 12 minutes were just amazing.

One of the best wins over the cheats ever! Wow!

I need a valium! My nerves are shot!

On to the Banner Game! Go Duke!!!

Hell yeah!

Go To Hell Carolina Go To Hell! 9F!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 1

[Dukeblue91]

I can't wait to go to work tomorrow and rub some salt into cheater fans.
What a great game,I'm so proud of out team.

[NM Duke Fan]

Got back late from a hike in the high country, and just saw the last seven and a half minutes, just as they had taken their first lead. Fantastic sequence by Giles, was so happy for that young man. Everything I saw in those several closing minutes looked like the team that can beat anybody if they play to their potential. It is finally coming together, and this is now a true 7 man rotation with Bolden able to provide some time as well as needed. Great to see Grayson gaining back further mobility and fire. Whether they get a 2 seed or a 3, this has become a truly good team with growing momentum and confidence.

[JD for Three!]

Amazing win. Just amazing. Indescribable. I felt like we were getting run out of the gym right up to the 12 min mark in the 2nd half with no semblance of any defense being played. Then suddenly I awoke from the nightmare and Duke had a one point lead and was surging. Smoked the cheats by 17 in the second half. The last 12 minutes were just amazing.

One of the best wins over the cheats ever! Wow!

I need a valium! My nerves are shot!

On to the Banner Game! Go Duke!!!

Hell yeah!

Go To Hell Carolina Go To Hell! 9F!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 1

Don't have any Valium here, but I am on my second Ketel One on the rocks! I will stop counting soon

[The Gordog]

Put your post-game thoughts here.

At halftime I fished my 2001 National Champs shirt that I wore th last 2 games out of the laundry hamper and put it on.

You are welcome.

[dairedevil]

It all starts with the coach...and Duke has the greatest. And what a difference it makes in games like this. I've said it before, you may see a Duke team play poorly, but you just don't see them give up. Tonight was a prime example-down by 13, K makes the defensive changes, they keep up the intensity and the offense explodes. A mile goes out with a 4th foul, and Harry plays some of his best minutes all season. unc looses Berry with a 4th foul, and they fall apart. Roy can't fix it, and thankfully keeps Berry out so long that he is ineffective when he comes back.

Going into tonight, I was just hoping that we played well, I wasn't expecting to win. Hopeful, but I was afraid the fatigue would be too much. Glad to be proved wrong. Now, if they can just do well tomorrow. I know they won't give up!

[CDu]

Folks, we just beat back-to-back Final Four level opponents. This team is special.

Really looking forward to having the chance to earn a banner.

[duke4ever19]

During the first half, I could distinctly hear tar heel fans chanting "The ceiling is the roof" during Duke's foul shots.

Why? The internet has roasted Jordan for saying that.

[gam7]

Earlier in the year, someone pointed out how rare it was for us to be down by double digits at some point in a game and end up winning by double digits. You can add this one to that list.

[toooskies]

Used to be automatic. They changed it a few years ago. (I thought the same as you before I looked it up)

http://www.ncaa.com/news/basketball-men/article/2013-11-05/rule-changes-designed-reduce-physical-play-create-offensive

That quote doesn't look to me like they have an option of not calling anything. It says that referees have the option to not call it a flagrant. It should've been a common foul.

[FerryFor50]

During the first half, I could distinctly hear tar heel fans chanting "The ceiling is the roof during Duke's foul shots."

Why? The internet has roasted Jordan for saying that.

Don't you know? The current trend in the world is to say something stupid, then own it and double down on it as if it wasn't stupid.

[WillJ]

I'm going to have to find an alternative audio feed to Bilas. He's just terrible.

[rfaison]

I had to go pick up my son from his school field trip as the game was winding down. When their bus arrived, he told me that they had been watching the game on the TV on the bus (you gotta love living in north carolina where everyone has the right priorities) and that he had the entire bus cheering for Duke save 2 or 3 hole fans. Couldn't have been more proud!

Maybe my favorite post of this whole thread! Big smile here and kudos to you for bringing 'em up to appreciate the proper shade of blue!!

[FerryFor50]

That quote doesn't look to me like they have an option of not calling anything. It says that referees have the option to not call it a flagrant. It should've been a common foul.

I agree it should have been a common foul, especially since it cleared Frank out for an easy JJ drive.

But I was just pointing out that it's not an automatic flagrant anymore.

[rsvman]

That quote doesn't look to me like they have an option of not calling anything. It says that referees have the option to not call it a flagrant. It should've been a common foul.

I don't think they can go back and call a foul when they didn't call it in real time. Weird, right? No call was made and then they called a foul on Luke thereafter. So when they went to the replay they had two choices: a flagrant one or nothing. There was no option of going back and calling a common foul.

At least that's the way I understand it.

[jv001]

I'm going to have to find an alternative audio feed to Bilas. He's just terrible.

I switched from G-Man to Bilas for two reasons: 1) Uncheat was scoring inside at will. 2) G-man is way off his game and I don't know why. He has trouble remembering names and stutters a lot. Wonder if I get a game ball for the Duke comeback. GoDuke!

[CDu]

I don't think they can go back and call a foul when they didn't call it in real time. Weird, right? No call was made and then they called a foul on Luke thereafter. So when they went to the replay they had two choices: a flagrant one or nothing. There was no option of going back and calling a common foul.

At least that's the way I understand it.

Yep.

[Dr. Rosenrosen]

I love the whining from the heels about FT disparity. We shot 14-14 FTs in the last 2:10 b/c they were fouling to extend the game. Remove the intentional fouls and we shot 19-23 vs their 14-18. No big deal difference there. But it's fun to hear them whine. They're so good at it.

[COYS]

I don't think they can go back and call a foul when they didn't call it in real time. Weird, right? No call was made and then they called a foul on Luke thereafter. So when they went to the replay they had two choices: a flagrant one or nothing. There was no option of going back and calling a common foul.

At least that's the way I understand it.

Also, I think part of what why Grayson got called for a tech was because it was a dead ball situation. The whistle had already been blown for a foul on Berry who was guarding Grayson. ANY deadball foul is a technical foul. I wonder if Jackson had committed the elbow after Luke was whistled for a foul if the same thing might have happened since the bar is lower for calling a flagrant.

[Billy Dat]

That was awe inspiring. The mental toughness this team has developed is so satisfying. You really can never count us out. This conference gauntlet combined with our adversity has tempered us, we don't get shook and we don't quit.

Roy sitting Berry so long was huge. They lost all mojo, even after the initially pushed the lead out. Then we get that 4 point play by Luke and it all changed.

For the second game in a row, K makes a defensive adjustment, this time having Amile trapping up high ala Ingram and Battier, and it shook them. Plus, they literally lost the ability to shoot. More rope-a-dope, we let them score lay-ups and they lost their ability to shoot.

Our FT shooting was incredible.

Harry's star sequence was one of the most exciting sequences of the season.

I love Grayson off the bench, it was not planned but it works. He looks great and keep Matt with the starters to guard the other team's weapon.

If we have a legit 7 and Harry can produce, we are for real.

Jayson and Luke - killers! Amile has played with such passion and almost controlled desperation - he knows the end is near and I bet he wants an ACC title.

I don't care if we are playing 4 in 4, the team seems hungry!!

It's not how you start, it's how you finish.

[Dr. Rosenrosen]

Franklin Street webcam...

http://www.wral.com/downtown-chapel-hill-webcam/10918254/

Perfect!

[Troublemaker]

Link to Duke's presser: https://livestream.com/ACCDN/events/7085629/videos/151455579

[DU82]

Franklin Street webcam...

http://www.wral.com/downtown-chapel-hill-webcam/10918254/

Perfect!

41 degrees. Looks like the hole that suck them all up has sealed shut.

[TKG]

I had to go pick up my son from his school field trip as the game was winding down. When their bus arrived, he told me that they had been watching the game on the TV on the bus (you gotta love living in north carolina where everyone has the right priorities) and that he had the entire bus cheering for Duke save 2 or 3 hole fans. Couldn't have been more proud!

Good, solid parenting!!

[Henderson]

Laura Keeley, now a law student at Columbia, asked a question during the post-game presser.

Welcome back Laura! How'd you get credentialed?

[pfrduke]

During the first half, I could distinctly hear tar heel fans chanting "The ceiling is the roof" during Duke's foul shots.

Why? The internet has roasted Jordan for saying that.

Their band yesterday was wearing Ceiling Roof GOAT tshirts. May as well embrace it

[Merlindevildog91]

This was retweeted by Jayson Tatum...

[NSDukeFan]

I am glad the team didn't roll over and rest. I like having 2 of the best wins of the season back to back. Can we make it three of the best wins back to back to back? I agree with Billy Dat and others that Giles sequence was one of the best of the year. These guys made it through the gauntlet and have a chance at a banner. Awesome game! Awesome job!

[weezie]

Oh boy, ol'roy's post game presser was fun...

[weezie]

During the first half, I could distinctly hear tar heel fans chanting "The ceiling is the roof" during Duke's foul shots.

Why? The internet has roasted Jordan for saying that.

Thought that was our band chanting that at hole free throws?

[Ima Facultiwyfe]

At halftime I fished my 2001 National Champs shirt that I wore th last 2 games out of the laundry hamper and put it on.

You are welcome.

We all have to do our parts. We were watching the first half on the big TV in the bar of the Washington Duke. We came home at the half thinking maybe we were only losing there. Sure 'nuf! We do a LOT better on our home TV!!! It was a great second half.
Love, Ima

[Dr. Rosenrosen]

Oh boy, ol'roy's post game presser was fun...
I love how he said he didn't want to upset anyone by saying that the ACC tourney was not their goal, that the NCAA is their goal. What a ________!

[TNTDevil]

I agree it should have been a common foul, especially since it cleared Frank out for an easy JJ drive.

But I was just pointing out that it's not an automatic flagrant anymore.Jackson's elbow was a basketball play. Should have been a foul (as Coach was discussing with the official). The officials appeared to miss quite a few Duke players getting fouled. The one at the end of the first half was obvious. NC State's radio crew (who were the feed on the FAN) were eviscerating the officials.

I thought one of the more important moments of the game came late when GA was able to draw that charge on Jackson. A small moment but, a call that hasn't gone GA's way in a long while.

[FerryFor50]

I thought one of the more important moments of the game came late when GA was able to draw that charge on Jackson. A small moment but, a call that hasn't gone GA's way in a long while.

Yea but then they called GA for a weak charge on the other end to even it out a couple plays later.

[wsb3]

Good comments, Roy should have brought Berry in sooner, he can play without fouling. But Roy coaches one way, can't adjust.

Just text a friend that a big difference in K & Huck is K would have never sat his PG that long in that game. Got to trust your players.

[weezie]

I love how he said he didn't want to upset anyone by saying that the ACC tourney was not their goal, that the NCAA is their goal. What a ________!

Dear ol'roy, always trying not to upset anyone. What a gent.

[DangerDevil]

Yea but then they called GA for a weak charge on the other end to even it out a couple plays later.

And neither was an offensive foul. I would like to think that Grayson was fouled on his drive and should've had an and one so we came out with a net lose.

[Bluedog]

Just text a friend that a big difference in K & Huck is K would have never sat his PG that long in that game. Got to trust your players.

Definitely true. K would have also called a TO if the other team was on such a run.


And neither was an offensive foul. I would like to think that Grayson was fouled on his drive and should've had an and one so we came out with a net lose.

Serious make-up call. We saw the same thing @ND when there was a bad call that favored us, a play or two later, the refs made the reverse call that was equally bad. These refs are human and DEFINITELY have make-up calls more frequently than I'd like to see. With all the whining about officiating on both sides, I think we need to acknowledge that basketball is an incredibly hard sport to officiate and it is certainly a truth that officals CAN heavily influence a game. But such is life.

[PackMan97]

Sorry I doubted. Great win!

[SoCalDukeFan]

We all know what our first 6 can do. The key to the rest of the season is Harry Giles. This team has two weaknesses - no real point guard and no one to stop underneath. With great team play you can overcome the first but if our only defender underneath is Jefferson we have problem. Harry has played very well the last two game and I hope to see more improvement in the next 7 wins.

The refs were terrible.

Once again K outreached Roy. Roy does get a lot of his talent but K outreaches him in games.


SoCal

[Billy Dat]

Link to Duke's presser: https://livestream.com/ACCDN/events/7085629/videos/151455579

Amazing that the first 3 questions were about Harry.

Fun that Laura Keeley was at the presser, asked a question and K gave her a warm hello and threw some fun snark about why she wasn't in class.

He stressed that the recent continuity, especially this week, has allowed guys to know each other better on the court.

[scottdude8]

Laura Keeley, now a law student at Columbia, asked a question during the post-game presser.

Welcome back Laura! How'd you get credentialed?

I could've sworn I saw my former Chronicle-mate on press row, and I was wondering the same thing!

[Reilly]

Roy says "dumb" alot

Probably just repeating what he heard Coach Smith say.

[kshepinthehouse]

I love the whining from the heels about FT disparity. We shot 14-14 FTs in the last 2:10 b/c they were fouling to extend the game. Remove the intentional fouls and we shot 19-23 vs their 14-18. No big deal difference there. But it's fun to hear them whine. They're so good at it.

I thinks frank missed one at the end.

[jv001]

Jayson: 36 mins..24 pts..7 rebs..2 assists..3 TOs
Grayson: 30 mins..18 pts..2 rebs..5 assists..2 TOs
Luke: 39 mins..20pts..3 rebs..1 assist..4 TOs
Frank..30 mins..15pts..5 rebs..1 assist..1TO
Harry..15 mins..6 pts..7 rebs..0 assist..0 TO..4 blocks
Amile..28 mins..8 pts..4 rebs..1 assist..0 TO..2 blocks
Matt..21 mins..2 pts..0 rebs..1 assist..1 TO..1 steal

Team= 8 blocks to cheats 2 blocks
Team= 10-17 (3s) 59% to cheats 5-22 (3s) 23%
Team = 32 rebs..cheats= 43

Great night for the good guys. GoDuke!

[sagegrouse]

Dear ol'roy, always trying not to upset anyone. What a gent.

But he's willing to take on the POTUS.

Ol' Sage's two cents' worth: UNC got a "sugar high" from all those dunks and layups in the first half and and then, when the candy jar was empty, it turned out the Heels had lost their appetite for taking and making good shots from more than two feet from the basket.

[MCFinARL]

It really wasn't a flagrant. No way. Incidental contact. Really bad luck for our Jackson, but definitely not a flagrant.

But Bilas was ridiculous.

Agreed. Nothing faked--real injury, real blood.

[rsvman]

Four blocks in fifteen minutes of play it's pretty darned impressive. Strong work by Harry.

That alley-oop was a highlight reel play if I ever saw one.

[devildeac]

I got a few of these correct:

"What'd make me happy:

1. Matt shooting 2/5 3s, making a couple floaters and holding jj to 3-12 shooting and 9 points.
2. Limited # of poor transition D plays by the good guys.
3. Refs being able to count to 3 as in 3 seconds and/or 3 meeks/hicks steps=traveling.
4. A 1/5 3pt showing from berry, 4/14 overall and 11 points total.
5. Refs also being able to count to 5 on our inbounds plays.
6. A ball on the rim/still in cylinder is goal-tending. Every time.
7. 40% or better Duke 3s.
8. An even more healthy, confident GA.
9. Harry with a 5pt/5 board/3 blocks/3 PF game in 15 minutes of PT.
9F. Enough said.

Not asking much? Right? "

[Billy Dat]

But he's willing to take on the POTUS.

Ol' Sage's two cents' worth: UNC got a "sugar high" from all those dunks and layups in the first half and and then, when the candy jar was empty, it turned out the Heels had lost their appetite for taking and making good shots from more than two feet from the basket.

Rope a dope!

[Rich]

Anyone hear from Wheat around here? I want to hear how weak our inside game is and how Coach K doesn't develop big men.

[BandAlum83]

Some random thoughts. Y'all will get my meaning:

UNC has a real depth advantage. It will help them if they get into foul trouble. If Amile gets in foul trouble, we are cooked.

Playing 3 games in 3 days is not ideal. They will be so much fresher, especially combined with their depth.


We would have been better off to sit Amile and Grayson on Wednesday to get them healthy for the important tourney.

Grayson needs to get his head on straight.

Harry is a bust.

We will be lucky to get better than a 5 seed anyway, so I don't mind a loss to Louisville.

We shouldn't play Matt on JJACKSON, we need offense.


Let me just say, anything is possible with talent, had work, belief, mutual support, leadership, heart, refusal to give in or give up.

I am so proud of this team and so proud of our fans that didn't succumb to the type of negativity of the sort above, even when down 12 and 13 in the second half the last 2 games.

Let's keep up the good work for 7 more games!

[devildeac]

And besides was it really any different than the one called on Allen last weekend? I know it is a different ref crew but come on. Either a shot above the shoulders is flagrant or it isn't. Consistency would be great.

Different rules for different teams and different players. Disgusting.

[Newton_14]

UNC executed well in the first half until the final 3 minutes. K speed up Britt when Berry was on the bench and you guys closed on a good run. Second half, you did the same thing. Britt dribbles the ball too much and no one stepped up to make shots. We went away from going inside. Britt just doesn't set players up well. Devastated. Wish I was on the other end of this, but I am not. Roy got out-coached and our players couldn't overcome the momentum Duke created while Berry was on the bench for 10 minutes. I think Roy needed to risk bringing him back to stop the run.

Loudly agree with CDu on the kudos. Thank you much for 1. your willingness to post here after a heartbreaking loss like tonight and 2. and more importantly, typing a very classy post with no twerping or passive aggressive digs. I sincerely hope you continue to post here regularly this season and beyond, win or lose. Tried to give you sporks but I have given out too much according to the SW so you will definitely receive them tomorrow from me.


First, kudos to you for being here. I am not sure I could do the same.

I agree - I think Williams blew it by keeping Berry on the bench. It was glaringly obvious that Britt was in over his head, but Williams left him out there and let Duke take over. I think as soon as Duke got the game tied UNC needed Berry.

I am not sure it would have made a difference, but things couldn't have gone worse than they were going. Sort of like Coach K going zone yesterday. Sometimes you have to roll the dice when things aren't working.


Agree with you both on Britt, but here is the thing.... look Roy is rightfully a HoF coach on record alone... but he amazes me sometimes with the stubbornness. He had other options besides just sitting the player with 4 fouls the appropriate amount of minutes per the book "Coach" wrote, and playing Britt (our second favorite unc player recently behind Joel James) exclusively at point while star PG sits.

He could have played Pinson at the point, with the #14 kid on the wing, along with Jackson, Hicks & Meeks. Pinson is more than capable to run the point for fill in minutes to buy time for Berry.
He could have trusted his Jr 3 Year Starter at PG to play with the 4 fouls, subbing Berry in and out situationally.
He could have tried Seventh Woods at least for a couple of minutes to see if Woods could run the offense better than what Britt was doing.


The problem with Britt has been the same for all four of his years. He always tries to do things he is not capable of doing rather than playing within himself with discipline an try to set up others. Britt, along with Roy, cost unc the 2015 ACC Title game starting with the under 8 timeout in the 2nd half of that game against Notre Dame. ND had been unable to stop Brice Johnson the entire game. Roy takes Johnson out at that timeout, inserting Britt at the same time and left it that way until about 3 minutes to go. Instead of Johnson dunks and layups, Britt was chunking up bad shot after bad shot. The post was abandoned... ala tonight.... ala Battle of The Blues Round 1 last season. It's baffling


I thought the key to our comeback tonight was Duke forcing a helter skelter pace, speeding Britt and team up, which got them way out of sync on offense. I also thought ego got the best of Justin Jackson during that same time period. Jackson was guarding Grayson and Grayson was either scoring or driving hard and setting up teammates for 3's or dunks. Jackson starts chucking up bad 3's, bad floaters, mixed in with a few good midrange shots that he just plain missed. Duke meanwhile, was firing on all Offensive Cylinders from guard play to Tatum to the post guys. Once we took the lead and then extended it with the Kennard corner 3 number two, unc was clearly rattled and shell shocked. Instead of getting easy point blank looks in rhythm, they were getting heavily contested interior shots that came by happenstance or by very difficult post entries where just catching it was a chore, and our newly energized post players were suddenly defending like crazy and getting blocks.

Amazing comeback. Our guys have shown a ton of heart and warrior traits these past two games and although both games about sent me into cardiac arrest, it has been a beautiful thing to watch.

[BandAlum83]

https://twitter.com/ICMeltdown

Ooooh, really like this one!


"Giles & Tatum getting last laugh! Bet we'll see more top players headed to (Duke) after seeing this complete dismantling" #HarDeeHar #unc

[Kfanarmy]

Don't you know? The current trend in the world is to say something stupid, then own it and double down on it as if it wasn't stupid.

Congratulations?

[Brockt10]

My thoughts during the game:

Don't blow us out, we have a game,don't blow us out, we have a game, don't blow us out, we have a game, don't blow us out, we have agame, don't blow the lead, holy crap.

Team is clicking and it's march. Couldn't be happier. LETS GO DUKE!!!!!

[curtis325]

Three down, seven to go!

[CrazyNotCrazie]

I was fortunate to be there within sight of our bench. Their crowd was really getting on Grayson and the Duke fans did a great job of supporting him. He seemed to be channeling JJ and thriving off this. Also, he made a few mistakes in the first half and K seemed to point at him as if to say "you screwed up, now make up for it - you're my guy." And he sure did make up for it!

The energy in the building was incredible, as was the intensity of play by both teams. I sat with a friend who was at the Big East tournament yesterday and is a lifelong Big East fan and he said it was like watching pros in this game vs elementary school kids there.

[downeastdad]

downeastmom and I followed on Game tracker during dinner at Casa de los Tessoros in Alamos, Mexico. Nobody understood what the gringos in blue were yelling about at 6:45 or so when we tied. Great game!!!!!!! (or at least great half).

[BandAlum83]

Someone like troublemaker will probably answer this better than I could, but it looked like we started cheating an extra weak side defender into the lane to take away the passes that could lead to a quick post score. UNC never really adjusted or took advantage of the space we were leaving on the weak side and/or in the corner.

We also applied better ball pressure to prevent easy entry passes.

And, as is his approach, Roy never called a timeout and didn't use the under 4s to help his team understand what we were doing and how to adjust.

[79-77]

Well, that was quite an evening.

(As I posted previously, I live in Brooklyn and took my son to his first meaningful Duke game tonight. It was also only my 2nd or 3rd Duke-UNC game since I graduated quite a few years ago.)

It was a pretty disappointing game until well into the 2nd half. Carolina was in control, there wasn't much excitement, and the play wasn't at nearly as high a level as the first 2 Duke-UNC games this year. Duke was getting shredded on D and got zero offense from Kennard and Jackson (although Tatum and Allen did a great job to keep Duke alive).

Then Carolina seemed to fall asleep at the switch, just when Duke found its game. Giles erupted (after looking, well, not so great in the 1st half). Frank Jackson showed no fear whatsoever and made some beautiful plays. Cool Hand Luke started filling it up. The building seemed to get more excited. I definitely did.

This team is flawed but they showed a lot of heart.

What a great freaking comeback.

That's why we watch the games. Every now and then you see something amazing.

[Utley]

Wow. Wow. Wow.

What an amazingly resilient team - Huge respect for them.

This was a game of redemption - with Grayson and Harry appropriately in starring roles. As others have noted - incredible job by our coaching staff tonight too. K talked repeatedly how he is coming to understand this team and how they have come together this week.

A huge shout to many of you who have been so good in grounding the rest of us that the team was improving and very well may put it all together before time runs out. We are now on the verge of an historic run - one I don't think I will ever forget.

Let's close the deal tomorrow night.

[BandAlum83]

UNC executed well in the first half until the final 3 minutes. K speed up Britt when Berry was on the bench and you guys closed on a good run. Second half, you did the same thing. Britt dribbles the ball too much and no one stepped up to make shots. We went away from going inside. Britt just doesn't set players up well. Devastated. Wish I was on the other end of this, but I am not. Roy got out-coached and our players couldn't overcome the momentum Duke created while Berry was on the bench for 10 minutes. I think Roy needed to risk bringing him back to stop the run.

You can resist the allure of the dark side and come over to the light. We will welcome you!

You will be so much happier, and very glad you did. As one of the previous podcasts made clear, you needn't be an alum to be a member of Duke Nation.

[kAzE]

7250

[LasVegas]

I know a lot of people would of been "ok" with an early loss in this thing but this team needs more games than anything. In 2015, yeah the rest was nice, but the team already had an identity. We knew what we had at that point (minus the crazy defensive switch that was turned on). It's nice to see this team finally get into a healthy rotation and start to get a great identity. Keep it moving!

If that Jackson,Allen,Kennard, tatum lineup can continue to get buckets and we get a very productive 15 minutes out of giles every game……watch out.

[WHOneedsSOX]

I really enjoy Giles' attitude. He's having a very tough year both in terms of his injury and his play but man he sure is a positive guy. Mentioned yesterday but I love how he stood up for Allen. And he's always the first guy up off the bench when a big shot is made and brings such a positive attitude to the team. Always smiling and giving guys their props when they make a good play. Really good to see.

[tele]

Different rules for different teams and different players. Disgusting.
Agreed, refs choked. The announcers on acc network said they thought the refs, after review, would call a common foul on JJackson. Instead they didn't call anything. it was a flagrant foul to the head that drew blood, but there was no foul and it was incidental contact??? WTF is that? Think what espn, including Bilas, would have been saying if a duke player elbowed someone in the head. And if it had been Allen, Espn would have been organizeing the lynching. But I guess the ACC player of the year can't be called for a deliberate elbow to the head that draws blood. Too bad, it would make the game so much fairer wouldn't it?

Great win by Duke, Great coaching job by Coach K and the Duke coaches. Why does seeing Nolan on the Duke bench and talking to the players always make me happy?
Who was the best big man on the court after Amile had to sit because of fouls? HarrrrrrrrY? I think so.
Which team pulled away with three freshman on the court? The team that does the best job of developing their bench?
Which team looked fresher and more together down the stretch? The team having to play back-to-back-to-back games or the team that had to play back-to-back games.

The announcer Bando or Brando or whatever was calling for a carolina run after Jefferson sat with 4. But ol roy didn't but berry back in then, he waited, and waited. Wouldn't you have put him back in then? What was he waiting for, his bigs were gassed and he didn't have his point guard on the floor. Doesn't make much sense to me. Unc's depth at the bigs, couldn't stay with Jefferson and Tatum on D, and his big lineup ran out of gas. Too bad.

If Duke goes on to win this tourney and moves up once again in the seeding for NCAAs, this may be the best coaching job I've seen. Ever.

[Emerrick]

Great game! All the parts are clicking. Hopefully, we can make a deep run! Most entertaining game of the season imo.

I watched both pressers and they were well worth the time spent. Roy was seething, but he was incredibly classy. I enjoy criticizing his coaching and UNC's educational system, but I struggle to criticize how he represents himself and his team.

[Ballboy1998]

Just a great TEAM win. Every single guy made a positive contribution. Love seeing Grayson start to get his mojo back and see Giles get it for his first time at the college level.

6 game winning streak against the cheats in the ACC Tourney and undefeated this century! GTHC GTH!

[Kfanarmy]

Anyone hear from Wheat around here? I want to hear how weak our inside game is and how Coach K doesn't develop big men.

Seriously? I like Wheat. Tough loss for a good fan who, while some might find a bit grating, has always been a gentlman on this board.

[mr. synellinden]

Yea. Not sure how an obvious wrist slap that dislodges the ball isn't a foul in their eyes.

Also, how about Bilas' instant "Frank faked it" reaction when J Jackson elbowed him in the mouth? And how was that not a flagrant?

Re: Bilas. He's painful to listen to as an analyst. Really painful. Worse than Vitale because he's actually smart and knows the game and better than his act. If anyone re-watches the game, count how many times his "analysis" after a play is something along the lines of - what a play, what a spectacular move, that was an incredible shot ... blah blah blah. Jay - you are a color commentator not a fan drinking a beer alone on your couch mumbling to yourself.

[BandAlum83]

And besides was it really any different than the one called on Allen last weekend? I know it is a different ref crew but come on. Either a shot above the shoulders is flagrant or it isn't. Consistency would be great.

Grayson wasn't called for a flagrant 1 last week. He was called for a dead ball technical foul. The order of events, according to the refs: Allen was fouled by the defender, at which time the whistle blew to render the ball dead. The elbow happened after that which resulted in the dead ball technical. Of course we Duke fans realize it really was incidental contact and not deserving of the technical, but since it was Grayson, the fouls was called.

Tonight, there was no whistle and play continued at which point Duke was called for a foul. At the break, since there was blood and obvious contact, the refs reviewed the play and deemed it incidental contact. If it had been seen real time, a foul could have been called. Because it happened during play, they had no ability to call it a dead ball technical. Common fouls are not reviewable, so there was no ability to call a common foul after the fact. The contact, by the way, clearly was incidental. I think in this particular one, not even Grayson would have been called for a flagrant.

Last week's play was pretty hinky and was accompanied by a vintage GA headsnap which could possibly have affected the ref's ultimate decision.

[Kfanarmy]

Loudly agree with CDu on the kudos. Thank you much for 1. your willingness to post here after a heartbreaking loss like tonight and 2. and more importantly, typing a very classy post with no twerping or passive aggressive digs. I sincerely hope you continue to post here regularly this season and beyond, win or lose. Tried to give you sporks but I have given out too much according to the SW so you will definitely receive them tomorrow from me.




Agree with you both on Britt, but here is the thing... look Roy is rightfully a HoF coach on record alone... but he amazes me sometimes with the stubbornness. He had other options besides just sitting the player with 4 fouls the appropriate amount of minutes per the book "Coach" wrote, and playing Britt (our second favorite unc player recently behind Joel James) exclusively at point while star PG sits.

He could have played Pinson at the point, with the #14 kid on the wing, along with Jackson, Hicks & Meeks. Pinson is more than capable to run the point for fill in minutes to buy time for Berry.
He could have trusted his Jr 3 Year Starter at PG to play with the 4 fouls, subbing Berry in and out situationally.
He could have tried Seventh Woods at least for a couple of minutes to see if Woods could run the offense better than what Britt was doing.


The problem with Britt has been the same for all four of his years. He always tries to do things he is not capable of doing rather than playing within himself with discipline an try to set up others. Britt, along with Roy, cost unc the 2015 ACC Title game starting with the under 8 timeout in the 2nd half of that game against Notre Dame. ND had been unable to stop Brice Johnson the entire game. Roy takes Johnson out at that timeout, inserting Britt at the same time and left it that way until about 3 minutes to go. Instead of Johnson dunks and layups, Britt was chunking up bad shot after bad shot. The post was abandoned... ala tonight... ala Battle of The Blues Round 1 last season. It's baffling


I thought the key to our comeback tonight was Duke forcing a helter skelter pace, speeding Britt and team up, which got them way out of sync on offense. I also thought ego got the best of Justin Jackson during that same time period. Jackson was guarding Grayson and Grayson was either scoring or driving hard and setting up teammates for 3's or dunks. Jackson starts chucking up bad 3's, bad floaters, mixed in with a few good midrange shots that he just plain missed. Duke meanwhile, was firing on all Offensive Cylinders from guard play to Tatum to the post guys. Once we took the lead and then extended it with the Kennard corner 3 number two, unc was clearly rattled and shell shocked. Instead of getting easy point blank looks in rhythm, they were getting heavily contested interior shots that came by happenstance or by very difficult post entries where just catching it was a chore, and our newly energized post players were suddenly defending like crazy and getting blocks.

Amazing comeback. Our guys have shown a ton of heart and warrior traits these past two games and although both games about sent me into cardiac arrest, it has been a beautiful thing to watch.
Love how many fans call Coach K the GOAT, then denigrate the losing coach. Lets face it, coach K makes some really good decisions...rediculing the opposing coach only takes away from K's success. Unless of course your confident you would have made all the right moves, I don't get the value in throwing shade on the opposition.

[Billy Dat]

Just before the blocked shot that led to his alley-oop, Harry, as he was settling into the halfcourt D set, quicky and meaningfully slapped the floor a few times psyching himself to D up, none of the other guys saw it and he didn't make a big deal out of it because he was focused. The fact that he, in that moment, chose to connect himself with the great tradition of Duke defense - not exactly our calling card for years - basically brings tears to my eyes...that the kid is so wanting to be part if the history of the program and showed perfect feel for when to call upon the ghosts for a little support - fantastic.

[royalblue]

Here are my best lines of the night if I could get some input to improve them I may be on to something

Should we not congratulate Justin the POY in the ACC
On connecting on some type of shot tonight

With all this talk about the ceiling and the roof being a boar if you don't concentrate on the playing floor you will soon find out that the exit is the door

[Coballs]

I was fortunate to be there within sight of our bench. Their crowd was really getting on Grayson and the Duke fans did a great job of supporting him. He seemed to be channeling JJ and thriving off this. Also, he made a few mistakes in the first half and K seemed to point at him as if to say "you screwed up, now make up for it - you're my guy." And he sure did make up for it!

The energy in the building was incredible, as was the intensity of play by both teams. I sat with a friend who was at the Big East tournament yesterday and is a lifelong Big East fan and he said it was like watching pros in this game vs elementary school kids there.

Was the crowd split 50/50 between Duke and Carolina, or did one school have larger fanbase presence tonight? And who did the FSU/ND crowd seem to be pulling for in the first game?

[MCFinARL]

I really enjoy Giles' attitude. He's having a very tough year both in terms of his injury and his play but man he sure is a positive guy. Mentioned yesterday but I love how he stood up for Allen. And he's always the first guy up off the bench when a big shot is made and brings such a positive attitude to the team. Always smiling and giving guys their props when they make a good play. Really good to see.

Couldn't agree more. Giles has been awesome on the bench all year, even in the games that he has barely appeared in. So happy to see him being a real contributor--even if it means any chance we had of seeing him in a Duke uniform next year is disappearing. Harry deserves it.


Why does seeing Nolan on the Duke bench and talking to the players always make me happy?




Um, because, Nolan? Really, everybody loves Nolan, because he is possibly the most likable guy ever. Very happy to see him on the Duke bench.

[MCFinARL]

Here are my best lines of the night if I could get some input to improve them I may be on to something

Should we not congratulate Justin the POY in the ACC
On connecting on some type of shot tonight

With all this talk about the ceiling and the roof being a boar if you don't concentrate on the playing floor you will soon find out that the exit is the door

Very good post. But I'm a little confused about the boar. The ceiling and the roof have tusks?

[mgtr]

Wheat is crying in his beer, because he thought that Britt was good, and he is not. No Berry, no UNC!

[WHOneedsSOX]

Couldn't agree more. Giles has been awesome on the bench all year, even in the games that he has barely appeared in. So happy to see him being a real contributor--even if it means any chance we had of seeing him in a Duke uniform next year is disappearing. Harry deserves it.



Um, because, Nolan? Really, everybody loves Nolan, because he is possibly the most likable guy ever. Very happy to see him on the Duke bench.

Can't forget these guys are just kids still. It should be fun for them. It's great to see him having fun after all he's been through.

Love, love, love Allen embracing the villain role.

[hallcity]

Worth pointing out that Matt Jones only played 21 and 23 minutes in the last two games. Did that change have something to do with the results?

[duke4ever19]

Thought that was our band chanting that at hole free throws?

Ah, that would make much more sense.

[camion]

Wow!! Just wow!!

A great gutty game by the whole team. I'm so proud of them..


There is a tinge of sadness though. I had this fantasy of seeing Giles in a Duke uniform next year, just killing it. He was a tad early. :) :(

[Billy Dat]

Allen's point guard play in the second half was fantastic. He was really effective. It helps that with more reps, our perimeter guys are playing so much better together.

Once we got the lead, they tied but never got it back.

K called a really smart TO after the Pinson dunk to deflate any momentum and crowd hype with 3:30 to go. Our first posession out Amile put Britt and Pinson in the blender just beating the shot clock with a finger roll. Jackson's high low diagonal cross lane bullet pass to Tatum was legit,

We didn't even play perfect in that final 10 minutes, we had a bunch of turnovers and gave up a lot of extra offensive possessions, but the Heels could not score.

[79-77]

Was the crowd split 50/50 between Duke and Carolina, or did one school have larger fanbase presence tonight? And who did the FSU/ND crowd seem to be pulling for in the first game?

UNC had more fans. I'd say it was 60-40.

[killerleft]

Do you think that crying MJ is sitting somewhere right now saying "the floor is the basement"?

Nope. MJ got his commercial done at the CheaterDome. He can go back to ignoring his alma mater for several more years again. I wouldn't be surprised if he didn't even watch.

[GGLC]

Worth pointing out that Matt Jones only played 21 and 23 minutes in the last two games. Did that change have something to do with the results?

Only insofar as the play of Grayson and Frank merited more minutes for both of them.

Matt is awesome and somehow still underappreciated.

[elvis14]

I just finished watching the game. Had a few things going on tonight (like my daughter scoring her first goal of the season for her high school JV team). I haven't read the other responses yet, I just wanted to make a post and say how happy I am and how proud I am of our team. So many good things in this game: GA, Harry, Jackson playing so well in the second half, etc.etc. I love beating the Cheaters and we put a beat down on those sorry cheating wankers in the second half of that game. Wanker Yeah!!!! So happy! I'll go read all your responses now, thanks for listening!!!! 9F Go Duke!

[brevity]

Nope. MJ got his commercial done at the CheaterDome. He can go back to ignoring his alma mater for several more years again. I wouldn't be surprised if he didn't even watch.

I'm pretty sure Michael Jordan was watching. Not because it was Carolina, or because they were playing Duke, or because he was born in Brooklyn. He was watching because he had, let's say, a sizable gentlemanly wager on the game's outcome.

"Pay up, Mike. I need to go in the Annapolis."

[-jk]

Nope. MJ got his commercial done at the CheaterDome. He can go back to ignoring his alma mater for several more years again. I wouldn't be surprised if he didn't even watch.

Oh, no - jordan breathes and bleeds unc blue. He watched (perhaps from a suite, even).

He feels the pain. Be sure.

-jk

[BandAlum83]

Laura Keeley, now a law student at Columbia, asked a question during the post-game presser.

Welcome back Laura! How'd you get credentialed?

She said she was officially with WRAL. Nice exchange. K gave her a warm greeting and asked why she wasn't in school. (she's on spring break).

So I listened to the presser and two really excellent and revealing "philosophical" questions were asked in the last 3:30 or so. One was by Laura Keeley.

Bith questions were about timeouts. One was about the second half timeout immediately after the Tatum dunk (which I was afraid would break our momentum). The other was about the first half timeout when UNC went up 33-23.

I won't even begin to paraphrase here, but K really shows why he is the GOAT here, and why he is able to coach circles around even other HOF coaches.

It's definitely worth a listen. Highly recommended.

[Atlanta Duke]

Scathing takedown of Roy by Mark Bradley of the Atlanta Journal Constitution

There is too much to quote verbatim without violating posting guidelines on excessive excerpts from articles - highly recommend the entire column, in which Bradley includes the comments by K apparently referenced by BandAlum83 above on the use of timeouts

Ever wonder why Roy Williams has critics? This game right here

Williams’ mentor, the sainted Dean Smith, believed in saving his timeouts. So does Ol’ Roy. I get that: A philosophy is a nice thing to have — except when it gets in the way of holding off a hated rival that lives only eight miles from Chapel Hill....

At the risk of becoming a bore, [Bradley] asked Krzyzewski about his, er, philosophy regarding timeouts. The answer should be laminated and framed and hung in every coach’s office: “I think whatever, good decision or bad decision, I’m not afraid to make a decision. And I make my decision knowing my guys … I know these guys. I trust them.”

Then: “There isn’t like this recipe for how you coach a game, where you should take them out. There is not a recipe. You determine based on your team what you’re going to do, and I’ve always done that, and then you pay the price. The price has been good. So it’s not perfect, but what the hell.”

http://markbradley.blog.myajc.com/2017/03/10/ever-wonder-why-roy-williams-has-critics-this-game-right-here/

[howardlander]

Ooooh, really like this one!

Wonder if they still think Giles is overrated?

[subzero02]

Here are my best lines of the night if I could get some input to improve them I may be on to something

Should we not congratulate Justin the POY in the ACC
On connecting on some type of shot tonight

With all this talk about the ceiling and the roof being a boar if you don't concentrate on the playing floor you will soon find out that the exit is the door

I'm guessing that you live in a state that's legalized recreational Marijuana.

[Dukehky]

She said she was officially with WRAL. Nice exchange. K gave her a warm greeting and asked why she wasn't in school. (she's on spring break).

So I listened to the presser and two really excellent and revealing "philosophical" questions were asked in the last 3:30 or so. One was by Laura Keeley.

Bith questions were about timeouts. One was about the second half timeout immediately after the Tatum dunk (which I was afraid would break our momentum). The other was about the first half timeout when UNC went up 33-23.

I won't even begin to paraphrase here, but K really shows why he is the GOAT here, and why he is able to coach circles around even other HOF coaches.

It's definitely worth a listen. Highly recommended.

Kinda over Laura...

[BandAlum83]

I haven't caught up yet to all the posts, but have to give a shout out to Amile and a key play I haven't seen mentioned.

3 minutes and change to go, Duke up 5. We are running clock and Amile gets the ball with 4 on the shot clock about 12 feet from the rim, back to the basket. Dribbles and makes a great post move to score just as shot clock goes to zero.

That was huge as we go seven up instead of giving the ball to UNC 5 up after a turnover.

[BandAlum83]

Jayson: 36 mins..24 pts..7 rebs..2 assists..3 TOs
Grayson: 30 mins..18 pts..2 rebs..5 assists..2 TOs
Luke: 39 mins..20pts..3 rebs..1 assist..4 TOs
Frank..30 mins..15pts..5 rebs..1 assist..1TO
Harry..15 mins..6 pts..7 rebs..0 assist..0 TO..4 blocks
Amile..28 mins..8 pts..4 rebs..1 assist..0 TO..2 blocks
Matt..21 mins..2 pts..0 rebs..1 assist..1 TO..1 steal

Team= 8 blocks to cheats 2 blocks
Team= 10-17 (3s) 59% to cheats 5-22 (3s) 23%
Team = 32 rebs..cheats= 43

Great night for the good guys. GoDuke!

I know I witnessed on steal by Harry, was it not in the boxscore? At 5:20. The trip down on defense right after his Dunk. He reaches in on Meeks disrupting the entry pass and tnd goes to the ground tipping the ball to Matt. I wonder if they creditted Matt with the steal.

It was part of the amazing sequence for Harry that had me jumping and screaming. I was so Happy for Harry, I literally had tears in my eyes.

What a sequence!!

[BandAlum83]

I was fortunate to be there within sight of our bench. Their crowd was really getting on Grayson and the Duke fans did a great job of supporting him. He seemed to be channeling JJ and thriving off this. Also, he made a few mistakes in the first half and K seemed to point at him as if to say "you screwed up, now make up for it - you're my guy." And he sure did make up for it!

The energy in the building was incredible, as was the intensity of play by both teams. I sat with a friend who was at the Big East tournament yesterday and is a lifelong Big East fan and he said it was like watching pros in this game vs elementary school kids there.


If I spork you, can you deliver it to your friend for that comment?

[NYBri]

That was a big time college basketball game.

The team we have all waited for has arrived and the coach has figured out how to lead it.

This is very good news.

[El_Diablo]

Oh, no - jordan breathes and bleeds unc blue. He watched (perhaps from a suite, even).

He feels the pain. Be sure.

-jk

Mr. Crying Jordan actually attended the Magic-Bobcats game and thus missed the Duke-UNC game. He did cheer enthusiastically for a Marvin Williams dunk though, per SportsCenter.

[Olympic Fan]

I just read the transcripts of the postgame press conferences.

I couldn't believe this Roy Williams quote:

"I'm dumb enough to think, if I die and I have more time-outs left than anybody, I'll get something from it."

[BandAlum83]

Just before the blocked shot that led to his alley-oop, Harry, as he was settling into the halfcourt D set, quicky and meaningfully slapped the floor a few times psyching himself to D up, none of the other guys saw it and he didn't make a big deal out of it because he was focused. The fact that he, in that moment, chose to connect himself with the great tradition of Duke defense - not exactly our calling card for years - basically brings tears to my eyes...that the kid is so wanting to be part if the history of the program and showed perfect feel for when to call upon the ghosts for a little support - fantastic.


Excellent, excellent post, especially the bolded part.

I didn't see him slap the floor and I was specifically watching him. It must have been on the other network.

Thank you so much for bringing this to our attention. I can't spork, but please, someone else send some love Billy's way!

[g-money]

Just before the blocked shot that led to his alley-oop, Harry, as he was settling into the halfcourt D set, quicky and meaningfully slapped the floor a few times psyching himself to D up, none of the other guys saw it and he didn't make a big deal out of it because he was focused. The fact that he, in that moment, chose to connect himself with the great tradition of Duke defense - not exactly our calling card for years - basically brings tears to my eyes...that the kid is so wanting to be part if the history of the program and showed perfect feel for when to call upon the ghosts for a little support - fantastic.

Great post. Giles has been the epitome of a true team player this year; you can see it in his hustle and in his demeanor on the bench. If he can just piece things together a little bit more - especially on defense, where we've seen him step up and make some great blocks and steals the past couple of games - it could take Duke to the next level.

Am I really writing this? I can't believe it, but yes... if someone had showed me my future post three weeks ago, I would have claimed that they had stolen my identity.

[subzero02]

I was really impressed by Giles... this tournament has been great for his development.

[gofurman]

I just read the transcripts of the postgame press conferences.

I couldn't believe this Roy Williams quote:

"I'm dumb enough to think, if I die and I have more time-outs left than anybody, I'll get something from it."

I give Roy huge credit for saying that. Huge credit. He's owning up to his mistake. Good for him. Too Few people do that in this world. Sports/politics wherever. Compare that to Boeheim making snarky remarks about Greensboro. Roy actually makes Boeheim look very immature. Though Boeheim basically did that to himself By setting bar so low

[g-money]

PS. Another thing I really liked tonight: Seeing our guys make kick-outs for open 3's versus taking contested shots in the lane. Both Allen and Tatum were terrific in this regard.

If we can keep this mentality, especially in close games where we'll need high-quality shots, the sky is the limit.

[tele]

I had one other observation, if you'd allow me. I noticed at the end of the game Roy looked a bit pale. I even thought he might be ill, and wondered if it was really hot in there or he was having his vertigo again. After the game, and the WIN, I thought about it again, and it occurred to me, that look on his face may have been him realizing that was his last ACC game.

I could be wrong of course, may have to ban myself again. But to be completely honest, I'll probably miss him.

[El_Diablo]

Excellent, excellent post, especially the bolded part.

I didn't see him slap the floor and I was specifically watching him. It must have been on the other network.

Thank you so much for bringing this to our attention. I can't spork, but please, someone else send some love Billy's way!

Yes, I saw that too. Slaps the floor, gets the block 5 seconds later, and then gets a dunk 5 seconds after that. Awesome sequence.

[BandAlum83]

I just read the transcripts of the postgame press conferences.

I couldn't believe this Roy Williams quote:

"I'm dumb enough to think, if I die and I have more time-outs left than anybody, I'll get something from it."

And forces a turnover 5 seconds after that.

[BandAlum83]

Anybody have the link to the UNC presser?

[Nugget]

This is why K plays a short bench throughout the season. He wants guys to know how to play tired. We just had more in the tank than the cheats.

True. But, also, now that we have a solid 7 player rotation, I would argue we don't really have an especially short bench compared to most other top teams, other than those like FSU and West Va who really do play in waves.

Just for quick comparisons, consider the meaningful minutes played by guys beyond the top 7 of some similar clubs in their most recent conf tourney games:

UNC- Maye 7, Robinson 6, Woods 2.
Villanova- Dylan Painter 3.
Kentucky - Wenyen Gabriel 8, Isaac Humphries 5.
Kansas -Dwight Coleby 6, Mitch Lightfoot 1 (with Jackson not even playing)
Oregon - Bigby-Williams 5.
Louisville - King 5, Levitch 6, Hicks 3.
Gonzaga- Tillie 9
Baylor - Nuni Omont 10, Terry Maston 4.
Arizona- Chase Comanche, Kobe Simmons.
UCLA- Gigi Goldman.

It's hard to get too worked up over the fact that our "short bench" means this is what we're missing. I'd love it if Bolden could be counted on for a reliable productive 5-10 mins a game like Gabriel, Comanche, Tillie and Omont. But, it seems pretty clear that's not going to be happpening this year.

[OldPhiKap]

Anybody have the link to the UNC presser?

Check the third post on this thread, page 1 -- link to all pc's in the tourney

[Eternal Outlaw]

I give Roy huge credit for saying that. Huge credit. He's owning up to his mistake. Good for him. Too Few people do that in this world. Sports/politics wherever. Compare that to Boeheim making snarky remarks about Greensboro. Roy actually makes Boeheim look very immature. Though Boeheim basically did that to himself By setting bar so low

Guess I didn't take it as Roy admitting mistake, just a joke acknowledging he knows people take shots at him with that as a saying. He as always was pretty adamant that he kept his timeout tendencies consistent and placing blame on the players (I'm not the one who missed a three or some comment) and he's not going to rah-rah them since this is how they practice.

[BigWayne]

Yes, Duke played well but there's no getting around just how badly UNC played in the second half. They're going to be smarting from that one for a LONG time. Bless their hearts.
Two days in a row our opponent plays poorly in the second half. Don't think it is a coincidence.

[Mtn.Devil.91.92.01.10.15]

I just read the transcripts of the postgame press conferences.

I couldn't believe this Roy Williams quote:

"I'm dumb enough to think, if I die and I have more time-outs left than anybody, I'll get something from it."

Wasn't he cashing in leftover timeouts for Bojangle's biscuits after each game for awhile? That'll motivate a man...

Just one negative comment, then the fun stuff. When Bolden went in near the end of the first half, I said to my neighbor "let's see when his first foul comes." I underestimated him - two fouls in less than 30 seconds. He isn't ready for prime time yet, much less the NBA. He really oughtta pump the brakes and come back next year to defend his national title.

Fantastic win, obviously. So much fun to see this team gel. I recall clearly in the final minutes of Duke/UNC Round One that the team seemed to be having fun for the first time all season. Play was great, body language was great - looking like they had shaken off the expectations of everyone else and started to just ball out.

Same thing tonight. When we click, we are friggin dangerous. When Allen embraces the villain role, when Luke knocks down a few in a row, when Tatum picks his moments, when Amile is spinning on his defender... Jeez man.

One last "I told you so..." - during the discussion running up to the tournament about resting guys and the relative import of these games, I stated that THIS team needs to win several in a row. Not to hang a banner, but to feel that confidence and have something to build on for the rest of the season. I would argue that regardless of tomorrow's result, we've done exactly that, and have correctly altered everyone's perspective and expectations of our squad.

Almost every headline I have seen this week has been some variation of "Duke is back," "this is the Duke team we have been waiting for," "Duke imposes its will," "Duke fights back for win..." This has been a season-changing week.

We needed the win against UNC much more than they did, and we played like it meant more.

So proud of our guys, and so happy to give K an excuse to gush about his team for two nights in a row.

[mr. synellinden]

Two days in a row our opponent plays poorly in the second half. Don't think it is a coincidence.

Coach acknowledged this in the press conference - we are a very we conditioned team. Guys don't seem to get tired. Kind of reminiscent of Louisville in 2013.

[Ggallagher]

Anybody have the link to the UNC presser?

I don't have the link, but I happened to catch the end of it live. I was really startled by Roy's answer to a question asking why he held Meeks out as long as he did. He said Meeks' condition didn't allow him to play him for full games. And I checked on KenPom, and he does just get 60% of the available minutes. He felt like he had to hold him out so he could manage playing in three back to back games. Awww..... too bad.

Really????? Meeks is a senior and they have their great, deep bench..... I'm not sure whether Roy threw Kennedy under the bus or himself.

[Bob Green]

It was a fantastic game last night! There is absolutely no quit in our guys. They play hard to the end.

I took a look at the box score this morning and our bench thoroughly out produced Carolina's bench. So much for Carolina's depth advantage...

Points: 24 - 15 Duke
Rebounds: 9 - 7 Duke
Blocks: 4 - 0 Duke
Assists: 5 - 5
Steals: 1 - 1

Carolina played more players, but Duke received better production from bench players. :cool: And which team looked out of gas down the stretch?

[wavedukefan70s]

Funniest thing i read on the i.c.
: Roy has too much class but he needs to absolutely
Yesterday at 9:19 PM
LCHSVol wrote: destroy these refs in the post game presser. Most pathetic display of officiating I've ever seen.

Roy had class? Not hardly

[alteran]

No Berry, no UNC!

People keep saying this is something Coach K showed the country-- nullify Berry, and UNC struggles.

I think they're missing a coaching insight K had and demonstrated last night-- get UNC off their HOME COURT, and they'll struggle.

[Emerrick]

He said Meeks' condition didn't allow him to play him for full games. He felt like he had to hold him out so he could manage playing in three back to back games.

Really????? Meeks is a senior and they have their great, deep bench.... I'm not sure whether Roy threw Kennedy under the bus or himself.

He totally threw himself under the bus! I turned to my son about halfway through the second half and asked him "why the heck hasn't Meeks been in, I don't get it?" After listening to the presser, I understand now. Roy was playing for tomorrow not today. THAT was a startling revelation and a huge philosophical mistake. The good news is Meeks will be well rested to watch the Duke/ND game.

[oldnavy]

Watched a snippet of Roy's postgame...

A brave reporter asked Roy about not using a TO when Duke went on that second half run.

Roy answer was, to paraphrase: "what was I going to do, tell them how much I love them, sing kumbuya? this is what we practice for, to play in these situations"...
(not an exact quote but close enough)

To me this gives us GREAT insight into Roy's coaching philosophy. He coaches practice. Once the ball is tipped, he pretty much checks out and goes into observation mode.

Now compare that to Coach K's discussion about his TO... and you see a very stark difference. Coach K basically said, there is no blueprint on how to use time outs, he does it based on what is going on and his feel for where the team is and what they need. Example, he called a TO immediately after the ooop to Giles. Now we were on a roll, so why call a TO... well I guess K wanted the energy to build from that exchange and not give up a quick bucket to UNC... also to make sure our guys stayed in the moment and keep them focused, ... turned out to be a brilliant move.

If all Roy does in a huddle during a TO is tell his kids he loves them and sing kumbuya to them, well I don't blame him for not using the TO's. But, if he actually assessed the flow of the game, made some in game changes (start feeding the post again for example!!!), and actually COACHED the team.... well a TO may be useful once in a while...

I learned a lot from Roy's comments. I have been a LONG standing critic of his coaching, but I never could quite figure him out... why is he the way he is. I knew he didn't use TO's to stop big runs by other teams, and he would pull players with hot hands at odd times, but why??

Now I see. He believes his coaching job stops when the ball is tipped.... he has predetermined substitution patterns (which explains some things as well), he let's huge momentum swings happen without even trying to settle his team, essentially, he becomes a UNC fan during the game... "we do it the way we do it because, I've always done it that way"....

Roy also mentioned he didn't want to "coach" his team to defeat... meaning he didn't want to over coach I guess. But Roy, not doing anything to adjust in a game is coaching... it's just BAD coaching.

Last thing. An elderly gent came into my pharmacy yesterday wearing a Duke hat. My cashier asked him who he thought would win the game. He said, "Duke, ...Carolina doesn't have a coach".... Do you think this guy has watched Roy coach before???

[MarkD83]

He totally threw himself under the bus! I turned to my son about halfway through the second half and asked him "why the heck hasn't Meeks been in, I don't get it?" After listening to the presser, I understand now. Roy was playing for tomorrow not today. THAT was a startling revelation and a huge philosophical mistake. The good news is Meeks will be well rested to watch the Duke/ND game.

That is interesting because Roy always mentions the NCAA tournament is more important than the ACC tournament so why rest players to get to a "3rd game".

K on the other hand was asked point blank if he was coaching with 4 games in 4 days in mind and he says he coaches for today and was not worried about extra games because his players are in great shape.

[OldPhiKap]

Watched a snippet of Roy's postgame...

A brave reporter asked Roy about not using a TO when Duke went on that second half run.

Roy answer was, to paraphrase: "what was I going to do, tell them how much I love them, sing kumbuya? this is what we practice for, to play in these situations"...
(not an exact quote but close enough)

To me this gives us GREAT insight into Roy's coaching philosophy. He coaches practice. Once the ball is tipped, he pretty much checks out and goes into observation mode.

Now compare that to Coach K's discussion about his TO... and you see a very stark difference. Coach K basically said, there is no blueprint on how to use time outs, he does it based on what is going on and his feel for where the team is and what they need. Example, he called a TO immediately after the ooop to Giles. Now we were on a roll, so why call a TO... well I guess K wanted the energy to build from that exchange and not give up a quick bucket to UNC... also to make sure our guys stayed in the moment and keep them focused, ... turned out to be a brilliant move.

If all Roy does in a huddle during a TO is tell his kids he loves them and sing kumbuya to them, well I don't blame him for not using the TO's. But, if he actually assessed the flow of the game, made some in game changes (start feeding the post again for example!!!), and actually COACHED the team... well a TO may be useful once in a while...

I learned a lot from Roy's comments. I have been a LONG standing critic of his coaching, but I never could quite figure him out... why is he the way he is. I knew he didn't use TO's to stop big runs by other teams, and he would pull players with hot hands at odd times, but why??

Now I see. He believes his coaching job stops when the ball is tipped... he has predetermined substitution patterns (which explains some things as well), he let's huge momentum swings happen without even trying to settle his team, essentially, he becomes a UNC fan during the game... "we do it the way we do it because, I've always done it that way"...

Roy also mentioned he didn't want to "coach" his team to defeat... meaning he didn't want to over coach I guess. But Roy, not doing anything to adjust in a game is coaching... it's just BAD coaching.

Last thing. An elderly gent came into my pharmacy yesterday wearing a Duke hat. My cashier asked him who he thought would win the game. He said, "Duke, ...Carolina doesn't have a coach"... Do you think this guy has watched Roy coach before???

It's even worse than that. After saying that he coaches in practice, he added "I'm not the one who left the guy open for a three" (or some such) and then shrugged his shoulders. He also went through the game plan -- cover the three point shooters, no fouling, etc. -- and said the players didn't execute it. THAT is why you call the time out -- to get on your players about not executing, and reminding them of what they are supposed to do.

It's called coaching.

Really worth watching his press conference -- link to all pc's is:

https://livestream.com/ACCDN/events/7085629

[-jk]

unc: https://livestream.com/ACCDN/events/7085629/videos/151454515

Duke: https://livestream.com/ACCDN/events/7085629/videos/151455579

[Papa John]

Okay, so have all of the young'ns here who were saying they wouldn't mind losing early for the extra rest seen the light yet? We're in championship/banner-hanging mode, fellas. As Coach K said in the post-game presser at one point, now is the time to push all your chips on the table every night, not think about how you're going to manage guys over a period of multiple days (and definitely not time to think about losing a game to get extra rest).

Agree with those who are observing that what this team really needs is MORE games played right now. They appear to be as healthy on the whole as they've been all season, so let's let them keep playing so the chemistry continues to work its magic—they're really starting to gel, and as long as that's the case, this run could continue indefinitely. As someone else said upthread—three down, seven to go!

LGD!

[dyedwab]

So, so much good stuff from last night, but I just wanted to highlight Grayson's comment on Harry in last night's post game press conference.

https://asaptext.com/orgs/theacc/322/browse_file.php?browse_file_name=./transcripts/15863.html


GRAYSON ALLEN: Basically, every time I've talked to Harry, I just told him that he's really good, and it doesn't matter if he's coming off the bench, if he's in the game for two, three, four minutes. I think he can play with whoever's out there, whoever he's going up against.

So I told him that. I said, you might be playing limited minutes. You might feel like a role player, but you're not. You're extremely talented, and when you get out there, act like it. Don't be shy. Don't be trying to play into a role. Do what you can do.

That's something I learned my freshman year, and he's learned that, and he showed that.

Just that makes me so happy for Grayson, for Harry, for our team, and for us going forward.

[dukelifer]

Wasn't he cashing in leftover timeouts for Bojangle's biscuits after each game for awhile? That'll motivate a man...

Just one negative comment, then the fun stuff. When Bolden went in near the end of the first half, I said to my neighbor "let's see when his first foul comes." I underestimated him - two fouls in less than 30 seconds. He isn't ready for prime time yet, much less the NBA. He really oughtta pump the brakes and come back next year to defend his national title.

Fantastic win, obviously. So much fun to see this team gel. I recall clearly in the final minutes of Duke/UNC Round One that the team seemed to be having fun for the first time all season. Play was great, body language was great - looking like they had shaken off the expectations of everyone else and started to just ball out.

Same thing tonight. When we click, we are friggin dangerous. When Allen embraces the villain role, when Luke knocks down a few in a row, when Tatum picks his moments, when Amile is spinning on his defender... Jeez man.

One last "I told you so..." - during the discussion running up to the tournament about resting guys and the relative import of these games, I stated that THIS team needs to win several in a row. Not to hang a banner, but to feel that confidence and have something to build on for the rest of the season. I would argue that regardless of tomorrow's result, we've done exactly that, and have correctly altered everyone's perspective and expectations of our squad.

Almost every headline I have seen this week has been some variation of "Duke is back," "this is the Duke team we have been waiting for," "Duke imposes its will," "Duke fights back for win..." This has been a season-changing week.

We needed the win against UNC much more than they did, and we played like it meant more.

So proud of our guys, and so happy to give K an excuse to gush about his team for two nights in a row.
Also credit to Jackson. He is the starter and Grayson is the bench. I think that reversal may be helping both players. Duke has great wings. If Giles has moments where's he just plays and stops thinking - Duke is very formidable.

[MaxAMillion]

Worth pointing out that Matt Jones only played 21 and 23 minutes in the last two games. Did that change have something to do with the results?

Jones hurt his hand vs Clemson. That nay have something to do with it.

[MaxAMillion]

Seriously? I like Wheat. Tough loss for a good fan who, while some might find a bit grating, has always been a gentlman on this board.

I don't like him. I don't like guys who take shots at K on this board. He has done too much fo this program to have a UNC guy come on this board and take shots at him. He can go on a UNC board and do that. I don't think he should be applauded for being subtle in how he does it.

[davekay1971]

Okay, so have all of the young'ns here who were saying they wouldn't mind losing early for the extra rest seen the light yet? We're in championship/banner-hanging mode, fellas. As Coach K said in the post-game presser at one point, now is the time to push all your chips on the table every night, not think about how you're going to manage guys over a period of multiple days (and definitely not time to think about losing a game to get extra rest).

Agree with those who are observing that what this team really needs is MORE games played right now. They appear to be as healthy on the whole as they've been all season, so let's let them keep playing so the chemistry continues to work its magic—they're really starting to gel, and as long as that's the case, this run could continue indefinitely. As someone else said upthread—three down, seven to go!

LGD!

Absolutely agree.

Barring a new injury in one of these games (always a possibility in any game, of course), there is NO downside and all upside to playing in these games.

First, of course, is the possibility to win a championship. I admit that I may be a little nostalgic in thinking this way, but I consider the ACC Tournament championship (and therefore the ACC championship) to be extremely important. Not as important as a natty, of course, but a strong second to that.

Secondly, conference championship or not, Coach K preaches the value to winning any championships. He's talked before about how teams have to learn how to win championships. And he's right - learning to win when there is a trophy at stake, and the other team has their intensity ratcheted up to a higher level than you ever see in a regular season game, is important.

Third, THIS team is still learning. As good as they have been in coming back to beat Louisville and UNC, they are still learning how to play as a fully healthy team (sort of). Every minute of game experience helps.

As for fatigue, that's going to matter today. But, even if the game goes into overtime(s) today, these are elite athletes 18-22 years old (maybe Amile is 30 or 35, but the rest are young). This is Saturday. Their next game is either Thursday or Friday. 5 or 6 days to recover. Not an issue.

So I am thrilled to see our guys put it all out there, fight to beat really good teams, and learn how to come back, out-work the opponent, and play through all the adversity they've played through.

[NashvilleDevil]

Rewatched the game and I thought going on that 7-0 run to close the 1st half was big. Yes Duke got down 13 in the 2nd but without that run Duke could have been staring a 20-25 deficit in the 2nd half. I also think today showed that Berry is the most important player for UNC. I am more terrified of Berry doing his thing on the court than anything Justin Jackson does. Let's continue the momentum and win one more. Amazing run. Love this team.

[hudlow]

So, so much good stuff from last night, but I just wanted to highlight Grayson's comment on Harry in last night's post game press conference.

https://asaptext.com/orgs/theacc/322/browse_file.php?browse_file_name=./transcripts/15863.html



Just that makes me so happy for Grayson, for Harry, for our team, and for us going forward.

Grayson was extrapolating... also. :)

[Edouble]

Kinda over Laura...

Yeah. Glad that she was courtside for Harry's best game as a Blue Devil, seeing as how she thought he wouldn't play a single minute the whole season.

[Billy Dat]

Okay, so have all of the young'ns here who were saying they wouldn't mind losing early for the extra rest seen the light yet? We're in championship/banner-hanging mode, fellas. As Coach K said in the post-game presser at one point, now is the time to push all your chips on the table every night, not think about how you're going to manage guys over a period of multiple days (and definitely not time to think about losing a game to get extra rest).

Agree with those who are observing that what this team really needs is MORE games played right now. They appear to be as healthy on the whole as they've been all season, so let's let them keep playing so the chemistry continues to work its magic—they're really starting to gel, and as long as that's the case, this run could continue indefinitely. As someone else said upthread—three down, seven to go!

LGD!

Preach Papa!!

When asked about fatigue being an issue in a rare immediate post game sideline interview last night, K laughed and said, "They'd rather play than practice!"

[rocketeli]

I don't like him. I don't like guys who take shots at K on this board. He has done too much fo this program to have a UNC guy come on this board and take shots at him. He can go on a UNC board and do that. I don't think he should be applauded for being subtle in how he does it.

Well, plenty of Duke fans take "shots" at K (esp "short bench" or "why doesn't he play so and so") so I don't mind a UNC fan critiquing versus just insulting. I don't remember and "Ratface" or "K has all the officials in his pocket" comments from him/her. And after all we say plenty of negative things about Roy Williams here. What I don't completely get is why a fan of one team would prefer to post on their rivals fan board--but if the internet has taught us anything it's that there are some weirdly specific fetishes out there, so maybe they crave some abuse.

[Edouble]

I give Roy huge credit for saying that. Huge credit. He's owning up to his mistake. Good for him. Too Few people do that in this world. Sports/politics wherever. Compare that to Boeheim making snarky remarks about Greensboro. Roy actually makes Boeheim look very immature. Though Boeheim basically did that to himself By setting bar so low

NOOOOO!!!

He's being sarcastic!

That's the whole point about Roy and the timeouts! He's done it before and he'll do it again!

If we played another game today and the same sequence happened, he would not call a timeout!

[DukeDevil]

guys...GUYS.

We missed the most important stat from last night.

ROY USED ALL HIS TIMEOUTS. Do we need to start a fund to buy him a big mac? He must have gone pretty hungry last night...

[OldPhiKap]

guys...GUYS.

We missed the most important stat from last night.

ROY USED ALL HIS TIMEOUTS. Do we need to start a fund to buy him a big mac? He must have gone pretty hungry last night...

He said he was pretty ticked off at his team, so I guess NO ONE got to pick where the team bus would stop for dinner.

[UNCfan]

I am sick and tired of the fans that cannot be objective. All fanbases have them. There was a thread started a couple weeks ago about how the NCAA trouble has affected the way refs call UNC's games and he had "stats" to back it up. It was ridiculous. I called him out for it and I got flamed. Who needs that?

Here, I have an equal voice with other members on the board. I have started typing responses that would be seen as "trollish", but I have erased them. I know my spot on the board and it isn't to change peoples minds or to stoke the flames. I could just remain in the background and read what you guys write, but I decided to join and be part of it. I have had negative comments directed towards me and they do not bother me. I get it.

Not all UNC fans are bad. Not all Duke fans are bad. Most State fans are bad. :cool:

[Tripping William]

Having slept on it (and slept a happy man, at that), and having watched K's presser (I can't bring myself to watch Roy too much), the thing about which I am most excited is we are *finally* seeing the benefits of continuity and general health. We now have a solidified starting lineup. We have a fairly solidified rotation. We have some versatility now, and options, depending on match-ups and game flow and who has a hot hand. These guys are finally coming together as a unit, not just a collection of talented individuals. Absent some additional drama (heaven forbid!), this could get really, really fun really, really fast.

[Edouble]

Well, plenty of Duke fans take "shots" at K (esp "short bench" or "why doesn't he play so and so") so I don't mind a UNC fan critiquing versus just insulting. I don't remember and "Ratface" or "K has all the officials in his pocket" comments from him/her. And after all we say plenty of negative things about Roy Williams here. What I don't completely get is why a fan of one team would prefer to post on their rivals fan board--but if the internet has taught us anything it's that there are some weirdly specific fetishes out there, so maybe they crave some abuse.

I've bled Duke blue for almost 30 years.

Some of the crusties on here have done so for 50+ years.

Wheat is a UNC fan. He doesn't get the same allowances that real Duke fans do. This is a Duke board. We are welcoming to others, but when you come in my house and put your muddy shoes on my leather couch, the hospitality stops there.

This is not an NCAA forum, it's a Duke forum. Negative things will be said about Roy. Don't confuse civility with equality. We are all pulling for Duke here. Constructive criticism is welcome. Blatant, unfiltered negativity is not. Roy is fair game. He presided over the greatest instance of academic fraud in NCAA history. He did some shady stuff at Kansas too.

[azzefkram]

So, so satisfied with last night's win. I don't think I've been this happy over a non-title win since Duke-UNLV II (maybe @uVa '15). Loved how all the guys played.

[Indoor66]

Agreed, refs choked. The announcers on acc network said they thought the refs, after review, would call a common foul on JJackson. Instead they didn't call anything. it was a flagrant foul to the head that drew blood, but there was no foul and it was incidental contact??? WTF is that? Think what espn, including Bilas, would have been saying if a duke player elbowed someone in the head. And if it had been Allen, Espn would have been organizeing the lynching. But I guess the ACC player of the year can't be called for a deliberate elbow to the head that draws blood. Too bad, it would make the game so much fairer wouldn't it?

Great win by Duke, Great coaching job by Coach K and the Duke coaches. Why does seeing Nolan on the Duke bench and talking to the players always make me happy?
Who was the best big man on the court after Amile had to sit because of fouls? HarrrrrrrrY? I think so.
Which team pulled away with three freshman on the court? The team that does the best job of developing their bench?
Which team looked fresher and more together down the stretch? The team having to play back-to-back-to-back games or the team that had to play back-to-back games.

The announcer Bando or Brando or whatever was calling for a carolina run after Jefferson sat with 4. But ol roy didn't but berry back in then, he waited, and waited. Wouldn't you have put him back in then? What was he waiting for, his bigs were gassed and he didn't have his point guard on the floor. Doesn't make much sense to me. Unc's depth at the bigs, couldn't stay with Jefferson and Tatum on D, and his big lineup ran out of gas. Too bad.

If Duke goes on to win this tourney and moves up once again in the seeding for NCAAs, this may be the best coaching job I've seen. Ever.

But Roy did have Berry available at the end - and could substitute a walk-on for him to run out the clock in a LOSS! 😂😈😎

[oldnavy]

It's even worse than that. After saying that he coaches in practice, he added "I'm not the one who left the guy open for a three" (or some such) and then shrugged his shoulders. He also went through the game plan -- cover the three point shooters, no fouling, etc. -- and said the players didn't execute it. THAT is why you call the time out -- to get on your players about not executing, and reminding them of what they are supposed to do.

It's called coaching.

Really worth watching his press conference -- link to all pc's is:

https://livestream.com/ACCDN/events/7085629

Oh, I saw that too!

His self depreciating attempts at humor are not sincere and come off as him playing to the "good 'ol boy form Black Mountain" stich. Very tiring to watch. He mentioned suicide again a few times as well.... not sure what to make of his infatuation with bringing up suicide after losses is... but it really isn't funny and makes him look like an idiot.

As far as his comments about covering the 3... I would hope he had practiced that, GIVEN THAT EVERYBODY KNOWS, that UNC ALWAYS collapses and leaves the jump shooters open.... and Duke has some really, really good jump shooters....

Not sure why his kids aren't executing that part of the game plan.... unless he teaches them to collapse and leave the open 3.... it boggles the mind.

Also, Meeks was killing us... KILLING US!!! and yet he sits him out during a time when UNC is struggling to score... SMH!!

Fouling, well that is on the kids... Joel Berry's 3rd and especially his 4th fouls were just dumb fouls. He has to know not to reach in when he has 3 fouls that early in the game... dumb, really dumb foul by a kid who knows better.... and what the heck was Greenberg saying about that wasn't a foul??? He clearly hacked Jacksons wrist... is there any doubt about that on replay???

[dukelifer]

So, so much good stuff from last night, but I just wanted to highlight Grayson's comment on Harry in last night's post game press conference.

https://asaptext.com/orgs/theacc/322/browse_file.php?browse_file_name=./transcripts/15863.html



Just that makes me so happy for Grayson, for Harry, for our team, and for us going forward.

I did not catch it in real time but Harry slapped the floor before his big sequence. Coincidence? I think not.

[NashvilleDevil]

When Tatum went out with his 4th there was 7:34 left in the game and Duke was up 68-67 after Hicks made both free throws. Duke's lineup was Matt, Grayson, Frank, Luke, and Harry. When Tatum returned after the under 4 timeout Duke was up 77-72. Harry was huge for that four minute stretch, rebound, block, dunk, steal, and another rebound. as others have said he looked like he was playing on instinct.

[BandAlum83]

Wasn't he cashing in leftover timeouts for Bojangle's biscuits after each game for awhile? That'll motivate a man...

Just one negative comment, then the fun stuff. When Bolden went in near the end of the first half, I said to my neighbor "let's see when his first foul comes." I underestimated him - two fouls in less than 30 seconds. He isn't ready for prime time yet, much less the NBA. He really oughtta pump the brakes and come back next year to defend his national title.

Fantastic win, obviously. So much fun to see this team gel. I recall clearly in the final minutes of Duke/UNC Round One that the team seemed to be having fun for the first time all season. Play was great, body language was great - looking like they had shaken off the expectations of everyone else and started to just ball out.

Same thing tonight. When we click, we are friggin dangerous. When Allen embraces the villain role, when Luke knocks down a few in a row, when Tatum picks his moments, when Amile is spinning on his defender... Jeez man.

One last "I told you so..." - during the discussion running up to the tournament about resting guys and the relative import of these games, I stated that THIS team needs to win several in a row. Not to hang a banner, but to feel that confidence and have something to build on for the rest of the season. I would argue that regardless of tomorrow's result, we've done exactly that, and have correctly altered everyone's perspective and expectations of our squad.

Almost every headline I have seen this week has been some variation of "Duke is back," "this is the Duke team we have been waiting for," "Duke imposes its will," "Duke fights back for win..." This has been a season-changing week.

We needed the win against UNC much more than they did, and we played like it meant more.

So proud of our guys, and so happy to give K an excuse to gush about his team for two nights in a row.

We definitely needed the win more, true.

What UNC didn't need, however, was to lose in the manner they did. A demoralizing loss exposing the weakness of their coach, the deficiencies of heart, the shortfall of their conditioning and the bandwagon nature of their fan base.

This was like a twofer for us. We get all the benefits of a great win for the continued growth of our team this year, AND we get to play the role of spoiler.

Ol' Roy will have a lot of work to do on the team's psyche this week, and a lot of bridge building to repair the relationship to a team that may feel abondoned by his post-game remarks.

[oldnavy]

We definitely needed the win more, true.

What UNC didn't need, however, was to lose in the manner they did. A demoralizing loss exposing the weakness of their coach, the deficiencies of heart, the shortfall of their conditioning and the bandwagon nature of their fan base.

This was like a twofer for us. We get all the benefits of a great win for the continued growth of our team this year, AND we get to play the role of spoiler.

Ol' Roy will have a lot of work to do on the team's psyche this week, and a lot of bridge building to repair the relationship to a team that may feel abondoned by his post-game remarks.

Wouldn't you love to be a fly on that wall???

[diablesseblu]

Couldn't spork you, but what a great post. Agree completely about Roy's challenges with this team, given how they played and what he said.
;)

[OldPhiKap]

Duke famously got demolished by Carolina in the 1991 ACCT -- 20 point loss IIRC -- and won it all. So I am enjoying the humiliation of our rival, but news of their demise is a bit premature.

UNC can certainly make the Final Four, and any team that makes it has a legit shot.

Bastards.

[KenTankerous]

Nothing to do with the game but I'm walking to breakfast, flying my DUKE colors with my hoodie and natty champ hat, approach three big burly Cards wearing athletic department issued gear (I live five blocks from The Yum, a mile from UofL campus). I nod and am about to say good game, freethrow drills, y'all are still gonna get a 2 blahblahblah, when the front dude puts up a high five and they, almost in unison, say way to beat those tarheels!


HA!

Errybody hates carolina!

[OldPhiKap]

Nothing to do with the game but I'm walking to breakfast, flying my DUKE colors with my hoodie and natty champ hat, approach three big burly Cards wearing athletic department issued gear (I live five blocks from The Yum, a mile from UofL campus). I nod and am about to say good game, freethrow drills, y'all are still gonna get a 2 blahblahblah, when the front dude puts up a high five and they, almost in unison, say way to beat those tarheels!


HA!

Errybody hates carolina!

Great story!

[BandAlum83]

Okay, so have all of the young'ns here who were saying they wouldn't mind losing early for the extra rest seen the light yet? We're in championship/banner-hanging mode, fellas. As Coach K said in the post-game presser at one point, now is the time to push all your chips on the table every night, not think about how you're going to manage guys over a period of multiple days (and definitely not time to think about losing a game to get extra rest).

Agree with those who are observing that what this team really needs is MORE games played right now. They appear to be as healthy on the whole as they've been all season, so let's let them keep playing so the chemistry continues to work its magic—they're really starting to gel, and as long as that's the case, this run could continue indefinitely. As someone else said upthread—three down, seven to go!

LGD!

I've given too much love in the past 24 hours. A great win will do that. I owe you a spork.

I love how both you and davekay71 have turned this great win into a teachable moment for our DBR faithful.

Keep up the great work! :)

[CameronBlue]

Nothing to do with the game but I'm walking to breakfast, flying my DUKE colors with my hoodie and natty champ hat, approach three big burly Cards wearing athletic department issued gear (I live five blocks from The Yum, a mile from UofL campus). I nod and am about to say good game, freethrow drills, y'all are still gonna get a 2 blahblahblah, when the front dude puts up a high five and they, almost in unison, say way to beat those tarheels!


HA!

Errybody hates carolina!

Nothing brings the world together like hatin on Carolina.

[weezie]

I just read the transcripts of the postgame press conferences.

I couldn't believe this Roy Williams quote:

"I'm dumb enough to think, if I die and I have more time-outs left than anybody, I'll get something from it."

Believe it! In humble fashion, ol'roy has answered the question of the century. Thank you for clearing that up ol'roy.


And this: I'd like to teach the word to sing, in perfect harmony, I'd like to hold it in my arms and whisper "A B C" I think we have a hit here.

[mph]

I've bled Duke blue for almost 30 years.

Some of the crusties on here have done so for 50+ years.

Wheat is a UNC fan. He doesn't get the same allowances that real Duke fans do. This is a Duke board. We are welcoming to others, but when you come in my house and put your muddy shoes on my leather couch, the hospitality stops there.

This is not an NCAA forum, it's a Duke forum. Negative things will be said about Roy. Don't confuse civility with equality. We are all pulling for Duke here. Constructive criticism is welcome. Blatant, unfiltered negativity is not. Roy is fair game. He presided over the greatest instance of academic fraud in NCAA history. He did some shady stuff at Kansas too.

Word.

7253

[weezie]

Oooooh, who says I've given out way too much reputation in the last 24 hours?!!!!!

Brilliant post mph. BRILLIANT!

[MrPoon]

I was so mixed on the rest or not rest issue but settled on play the games in front of you and let the cards play out. Little did I know, all this team needed was more games, not less.

GA gets hurt, all Jacskon needed was some PT. Amile in foul trouble, Giles gets PT and crushes it.

Lastly, GA may not have the official "captain" title. But that kid has led this team in key spots and the earlier post about his comments to Giles are 100% what upperclassmen captains are all about.

GA wasn't going to let us loose at CIS to the Heels and he wasn't last night. His first half was all we had.

[NYBri]

Oooooh, who says I've given out way too much reputation in the last 24 hours?!!!!!

Brilliant post mph. BRILLIANT!

mph got muddy boots sporks from me. :cool:

[weezie]

Update: the extreme staggering sadness on "insidecarholeinawhinerpouter" today is whipped cream and strawberries tasty. Repetitive but fun.

[Pghdukie]

Winning certainly makes this forum much more enjoyable !

[davekay1971]

Well, plenty of Duke fans take "shots" at K (esp "short bench" or "why doesn't he play so and so") so I don't mind a UNC fan critiquing versus just insulting. I don't remember and "Ratface" or "K has all the officials in his pocket" comments from him/her. And after all we say plenty of negative things about Roy Williams here. What I don't completely get is why a fan of one team would prefer to post on their rivals fan board--but if the internet has taught us anything it's that there are some weirdly specific fetishes out there, so maybe they crave some abuse.

I'm overall with the defense of Wheat: he is a UNC fan and his bias is there - he defends Roy and tends to see flaws in K and the Duke big men with which I disagree...but that's because we look at the game with different shades of blue glasses. The one point of your post with which I'd quibble: I don't think Wheat comes here for any abuse or out of some fetish - I get the feeling he appreciates the level of commentary around here and enjoys playing a bit of the Devil's (Heels') advocate around here. I take it as a compliment that UNC fans feel that they can contribute on this board. Frankly, I don't have the same feeling that I would be welcome to make polite commentary as a Duke fan on the IC board, and that's not a compliment to IC.

[Duke76]

Winning certainly makes this forum much more enjoyable !


you know for us die hards this time of the season is always so special because your understanding of the young men, Coach K, the brotherhood, of the team is so much deeper than earlier. Your grow with them, their emotions are your emotions, their pride your pride of accomplishing goals. Man oh man you just don't want the season to end for them...or us

[Troublemaker]

On defense, tactically this game was almost a carbon copy of the 2015 win in Chapel Hill. The most essential thing Duke did in the second half was... actually, let's see if (moving) pictures are worth a thousand words. I can be verbose about this if anyone desires. But, essentially, see the difference between...


Play #1 (higher-resolution version here (https://gfycat.com/EuphoricSimpleEland))

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




...and Plays #2 (higher-res (https://gfycat.com/RegularAdeptBongo)) and #3 (higher-res (https://gfycat.com/CourteousEnviousAstarte))

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


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


If anyone replies to this post, try not to quote the GIFs. We don't want to ruin the mobile experience (and sometimes the desktop experience).

[davekay1971]

On defense, tactically this game was almost a carbon copy of the 2015 win in Chapel Hill. The most essential thing Duke did in the second half was... actually, let's see if (moving) pictures are worth a thousand words. I can be verbose about this if anyone desires. But, essentially, see the difference between...

Play #1

...and Plays #2 and #3 .


But but but...Uncle Fester said the only reason for Duke's comeback was the foul on UNC's PG, which he said was a bad call. Are you trying to tell me that the Duke coaching staff actually had a defensive strategy that the team began to execute better in the 2nd half?

[gam7]

To me this gives us GREAT insight into Roy's coaching philosophy. He coaches practice. Once the ball is tipped, he pretty much checks out and goes into observation mode.

Now compare that to Coach K's discussion about his TO... and you see a very stark difference. Coach K basically said, there is no blueprint on how to use time outs, he does it based on what is going on and his feel for where the team is and what they need. Example, he called a TO immediately after the ooop to Giles. ... turned out to be a brilliant move.

I like this observation about Roy and Coach K. As Coach K said, he doesn't always get it right by coaching by feel, but he's sure not afraid to make a decision. One correction - he did not call a TO after the oop. I think you are referring to the TO he called after Tatum's drive and dunk.



As someone else said upthread—three down, seven to go!


Or, we've got 400 minutes of basketball left. Let's just be ahead at each 40 minute post!

I, like everyone else, am riding this wave and we have played with amazing heart. Having said that, we really have some weaknesses that both Louisville and UNC exploited for most of those games. We need to keep getting better. And I think we will. Win or lose today, we have gotten what we need going forward out of this tournament. That's not to say I don't care whether we win. I very much do.

[Troublemaker]

But but but...Uncle Fester said the only reason for Duke's comeback was the foul on UNC's PG, which he said was a bad call. Are you trying to tell me that the Duke coaching staff actually had a defensive strategy that the team began to execute better in the 2nd half?

I didn't catch that. Greenberg really thought there was no foul there? I thought Berry cleared reached in and fouled Frank's arm for his 4th foul. It was a horrible gamble by Berry, considering his value to UNC.

Also, I don't mean to downplay Berry's loss here. It was a factor for sure, imo. But so was Duke's second half strategy.

[Bluedevil114]

It was finally great to hear Jay Bilas give Duke credit. He said there is no other team in the country that he can think of that has four defenders that can guard Duke. He was referring to Luke, Grayson, Jayson and Frank. They spread the floor so well. When you can drive, kick and shoot. That is a lethal combination.

[wsb3]

I've bled Duke blue for almost 30 years.

Some of the crusties on here have done so for 50+ years.

Wheat is a UNC fan. He doesn't get the same allowances that real Duke fans do. This is a Duke board. We are welcoming to others, but when you come in my house and put your muddy shoes on my leather couch, the hospitality stops there.

This is not an NCAA forum, it's a Duke forum. Negative things will be said about Roy. Don't confuse civility with equality. We are all pulling for Duke here. Constructive criticism is welcome. Blatant, unfiltered negativity is not. Roy is fair game. He presided over the greatest instance of academic fraud in NCAA history. He did some shady stuff at Kansas too.

Sporks.. Great Post.. I like everything about this until I realized I was a crustie.. Good thing I am still smiling from the win over the Cheats.:D

[wsb3]

I didn't catch that. Greenberg really thought there was no foul there? I thought Berry cleared reached in and fouled Frank's arm for his 4th foul. It was a horrible gamble by Berry, considering his value to UNC.

Also, I don't mean to downplay Berry's loss here. It was a factor for sure, imo. But so was Duke's second half strategy.

He must not have watched the replay. I did a couple of times. There were some bad calls both ways but that one was not one of them.

As far as Berry goes. No one held a gun to Roy's head & made him sit him that long.. Sometimes maybe you take a chance & trust your player to be smart.