MLax: Duke12, UNC 8

[westwall]

After trailing 6-1, Duke has tied the game at 7- all.
On ESPNU.

[Dr. Rosenrosen]

After trailing 6-1, Duke has tied the game at 7- all.
On ESPNU.
Just crushing the cheats now!

[MCFinARL]

Now leading 12-8 with 4 minutes to play. After struggling early, Duke has dominated the face offs, which has made a big difference. Duke looked like they were sleepwalking in the first quarter but has been significantly better ever since.

[westwall]

Now 12 - 8, Duke, with 0 minutes to go. Per the announcers, "Carolina has come unglued".

Nice effort by the Dukies! Outscored UNC 11 to 2 over the last 3 Quarters.

[MCFinARL]

And victory. This was a very important win for Duke, as it keeps us well out of the ACC cellar. With another ACC win (we have Notre Dame and UVA remaining) we are probably assured an NCAA tournament berth unless something really crazy happens.

[Ima Facultiwyfe]

Dang! I didn't know this match was tonight. Missed it. Thanks for the posts! Go Duke!
Love, Ima

[burnspbesq]

Tale of two games: Carolina won the first 18 minutes by five, Duke won the last 42 by nine. The possession margin was plus-nine for Duke.

The takeaway from this performance: Duke needs longer pre-game bus rides. They were not ready to play when they got to Chapel Hill. Once they got going, however, they really got going. Neither van Raaphorst nor Giles-Harris got beat one-on-one all night. Bruckner continues to be a master at finding space where there shouldn't be any. After the first quarter, the d-mids were good enough. Rowe was 17-24.

How big is this result? Instead of being tied for fourth, Duke is tied for second. They are probably OK for the ACC tournament (it's possible that the only thing at stake against ND next Saturday is who wears white in the semifinals).

Excellent effort. ND is next.

[DST Fan]

Tale of two games: Carolina won the first 18 minutes by five, Duke won the last 42 by nine. The possession margin was plus-nine for Duke.

The takeaway from this performance: Duke needs longer pre-game bus rides. They were not ready to play when they got to Chapel Hill. Once they got going, however, they really got going. Neither van Raaphorst nor Giles-Harris got beat one-on-one all night. Bruckner continues to be a master at finding space where there shouldn't be any. After the first quarter, the d-mids were good enough. Rowe was 17-24.

Some of the stats are telling: After losing 4 of 6 faceoffs in the first quarter, Kyle Rowe won 15 of 18 over the last three quarters and Duke won the groundballs 14-4 in the second half. The first mid-field also emerged as the game went on and Brad Smith and Kevin Quigley provided some much-needed offense and seemed to open things up for the attack. If Duke can improve its defense and cut down on the turnovers, I think this team is as likely as any to play in the final four. This is another season in which there is no clear front runner or dominant team (at least yet).

[duke2x]

And victory. This was a very important win for Duke, as it keeps us well out of the ACC cellar. With another ACC win (we have Notre Dame and UVA remaining) we are probably assured an NCAA tournament berth unless something really crazy happens.

There's too much left to play to assume we will make the NCAAs. Duke's RPI is unusually low--19, which leaves us on the outside looking in right now. The loss to Air Force really hurts, and ND is the only opportunity to get a win against a really good team outside the ACC tournament in Durham.

I agree that UNC is probably the Showcase/Cellar game this year. The margin of victory really helps unless they win @ND or @UVA by 5.

[burnspbesq]

There's too much left to play to assume we will make the NCAAs. Duke's RPI is unusually low--19, which leaves us on the outside looking in right now. The loss to Air Force really hurts, and ND is the only opportunity to get a win against a really good team outside the ACC tournament in Durham.

I agree that UNC is probably the Showcase/Cellar game this year. The margin of victory really helps unless they win @ND or @UVA by 5.

If Duke keeps winning, its RPI will take care of itself. All of its four remaining regular season games are against the RPI top 25, and it will get one or two more RPI top 25 games in the ACC tournament. Meanwhile, several of the teams in front of them will take a dive in SOS, and therefore in RPI, as they get into conference play (yeah, I'm looking at you, Towson and Stony Brook--you too, Nova and BU).

[TKG]

[QUOTE=burnspbesq;970753] The takeaway from this performance: Duke needs longer pre-game bus rides. QUOTE]

Well, the game against ND is in Durham. So........

[CrazyNotCrazie]

[QUOTE=burnspbesq;970753] The takeaway from this performance: Duke needs longer pre-game bus rides. QUOTE]

Well, the game against ND is in Durham. So....

A few loops on the East-West-via Central bus should do the trick (if that still exists)

[Indoor66]

[QUOTE=TKG;970863]

A few loops on the East-West-via Central bus should do the trick (if that still exists)

Have them sleep in Greensboro!

[yancem]

Some of the stats are telling: After losing 4 of 6 faceoffs in the first quarter, Kyle Rowe won 15 of 18 over the last three quarters and Duke won the groundballs 14-4 in the second half. The first mid-field also emerged as the game went on and Brad Smith and Kevin Quigley provided some much-needed offense and seemed to open things up for the attack. If Duke can improve its defense and cut down on the turnovers, I think this team is as likely as any to play in the final four. This is another season in which there is no clear front runner or dominant team (at least yet).

This is one of the things that I think makes lacrosse so interesting. If you have a really good FOGO or at least one that gets hot, it can completely change the game. I think that it is the only sport where one team could literally never have possession in a game. It never or at least rarely ever happens that way it is possible.

You could see that Rowe had gotten into the unc face off guys head. He had a false start or two and really seemed to be pressing. All the while Rowe started making him look silly. A good face off guy can cover up some weaknesses in other areas or at least give a team a shot. Of course the middies and attack have to do their jobs too but always having possession is very useful.

[Native]

This is one of the things that I think makes lacrosse so interesting. If you have a really good FOGO or at least one that gets hot, it can completely change the game. I think that it is the only sport where one team could literally never have possession in a game. It never or at least rarely ever happens that way it is possible.

Yeah, pretty much. Alex Smith of the University of Delaware almost single-handedly took UD to a Final Four berth and near-championship game appearance in 2007.

[burnspbesq]

This is one of the things that I think makes lacrosse so interesting. If you have a really good FOGO or at least one that gets hot, it can completely change the game. I think that it is the only sport where one team could literally never have possession in a game. It never or at least rarely ever happens that way it is possible.

You could see that Rowe had gotten into the unc face off guys head. He had a false start or two and really seemed to be pressing. All the while Rowe started making him look silly. A good face off guy can cover up some weaknesses in other areas or at least give a team a shot. Of course the middies and attack have to do their jobs too but always having possession is very useful.

Quint made an interesting observation about Carolina's priorities on faceoffs. Breschi, apparenty, really doesn't want to allow fast beaks off faceoffs, and deploys his wings in a defense-first posture. Kyle picked up on that, and strated pulling the ball backwards, leading to a number of uncontested GBs for the Duke wings.

[yancem]

Quint made an interesting observation about Carolina's priorities on faceoffs. Breschi, apparenty, really doesn't want to allow fast beaks off faceoffs, and deploys his wings in a defense-first posture. Kyle picked up on that, and strated pulling the ball backwards, leading to a number of uncontested GBs for the Duke wings.

Yeah, I noticed that his back side seemed to always be open. You really would have thought unc would have adjusted after the 5 goal lead disappeared. Regardless, it was dominant performance.

[CrazyNotCrazie]

I am thinking of taking the family to the game on Saturday and saw that they now sell tickets? I assume we can walk up and get them and there is no chance it will sell out, even over reunion weekend? I am looking forward to seeing the team in person.