MBB: Duke v Brown (Sat, 12/28, 11:30 am, ESPN2) Pre-Game and In-Game Thread

[DavidBenAkiva]

The long, national nightmare is almost over! I am, of course, referring to the dreaded exam and Christmas/winter break in the college basketball schedule. After playing just 2 games in the past 3 weeks, Duke will look to shake off the rust against its final non-conference opponent of the season before the NCAA Tournament. This is also the final warmup before conference play resumes in earnest.

Duke will be taking on the Brown Bears, a 5-5 Ivy League team hailing from Providence, Rhode Island. Duke is heavily favored in this one. The Bears are coming off 4 losses in their past 5 games against mostly inferior opponents. Their most recent game was a close loss to St John's in New York. The Bears do one thing very well: Get offensive boards. They also block shots at a pretty decent clip, too, so you could argue they do two things well. They are much better on the offensive boards, though, rating 8th in the nation at OR% at 37.8%. This prowess on the offensive boards is fueled by a trio of mostly undersized forwards, including 6'6" SO David Mitchell, 6'6" SR Joshua Howard, and 6'9" JR Matt DeWolf. They are aided by 6'9" SO Jaylan Gainey, who also is a productive shot blocker.

The Bears also feature a number of guards that do ok things. The PG is 6'1" SR Brandon Anderson. He is aided in playmaking by 6'5" Tamenang Choh, although he is more likely to cough up the ball than to dish it out. In fact, the Bears have clumsy paws with the basketball. They are 317th in the nation in TO% on offensive, turning it over on 22.8% of possessions. That should fuel a good number of Duke run-outs and transition opportunities.

Looking through the state, the Bears do not jump out as particularly good at anything else besides OR%. Nor do they look all that bad in any one area besides TO%. They are just ok, as reflected by their 5-5 record. Among their 8-man rotation, they play their top three guards almost the whole time and pair them wtih a rotation of wings and bigs. Anderson is the lead guard and primary scorer, averaging 21 points per contest along with about 4 rebounds and 4 assists. Tre Jones, who missed the last game with a foot strain, will be tasked with slowing down Anderson. I expect that Jordan Goldwire will see a good amount of time as well. Duke will have a serious advantage in the paint with Vernon Carey, jr. being both taller and bigger than anyone that Brown will put on the court. Matthew Hurt will have a fairly significant height advantage as well. I expect to see a lot of scoring in the paint early in this one. If all goes according to plan, this should be a good tune-up before Duke faces stiffer competition in conference.

[devildeac]

The long, national nightmare is almost over! I am, of course, referring to the dreaded exam and Christmas/winter break in the college basketball schedule. After playing just 2 games in the past 3 weeks, Duke will look to shake off the rust against its final non-conference opponent of the season before the NCAA Tournament. This is also the final warmup before conference play resumes in earnest.

Duke will be taking on the Brown Bears, a 5-5 Ivy League team hailing from Providence, Rhode Island. Duke is heavily favored in this one. The Bears are coming off 4 losses in their past 5 games against mostly inferior opponents. Their most recent game was a close loss to St John's in New York. The Bears do one thing very well: Get offensive boards. They also block shots at a pretty decent clip, too, so you could argue they do two things well. They are much better on the offensive boards, though, rating 8th in the nation at OR% at 37.8%. This prowess on the offensive boards is fueled by a trio of mostly undersized forwards, including 6'6" SO David Mitchell, 6'6" SR Joshua Howard, and 6'9" JR Matt DeWolf. They are aided by 6'9" SO Jaylan Gainey, who also is a productive shot blocker.

The Bears also feature a number of guards that do ok things. The PG is 6'1" SR Brandon Anderson. He is aided in playmaking by 6'5" Tamenang Choh, although he is more likely to cough up the ball than to dish it out. In fact, the Bears have clumsy paws with the basketball. They are 317th in the nation in TO% on offensive, turning it over on 22.8% of possessions. That should fuel a good number of Duke run-outs and transition opportunities.

Looking through the state, the Bears do not jump out as particularly good at anything else besides OR%. Nor do they look all that bad in any one area besides TO%. They are just ok, as reflected by their 5-5 record. Among their 8-man rotation, they play their top three guards almost the whole time and pair them wtih a rotation of wings and bigs. Anderson is the lead guard and primary scorer, averaging 21 points per contest along with about 4 rebounds and 4 assists. Tre Jones, who missed the last game with a foot strain, will be tasked with slowing down Anderson. I expect that Jordan Goldwire will see a good amount of time as well. Duke will have a serious advantage in the paint with Vernon Carey, jr. being both taller and bigger than anyone that Brown will put on the court. Matthew Hurt will have a fairly significant height advantage as well. I expect to see a lot of scoring in the paint early in this one. If all goes according to plan, this should be a good tune-up before Duke faces stiffer competition in conference.

Good preview. Thanks for getting this thread rolling! There will be 3 devildeac family members there cheering on the Devils and hoping we're all bigger, stronger, faster and smarter than the average Bears.

[DtrainBuckshot]

Any idea why the start time is 11:30AM?

[Tripping William]

Steven Spieth (https://www.golfdigest.com/story/steven-spieths-world-tour-jordans-brother-now-playing-basketball-in-bosnia-and-herzegovina) ain't walkin' through that door.

[budwom]

Any idea why the start time is 11:30AM?

Without the slightest shred of evidence, I will make the educated guess that the three reasons are football, football and football.
With the championship games beginning later in the afternoon, I'm sure ESPN (the deuce has the Duke hoops game) is clearing the decks for the games and the extensive GameDay foreplay.

Shades of Duke football noon games, if you will.

[Sixthman]

Any idea why the start time is 11:30AM?

Television, and more specifically playoff bowl games.

[devildeac]

Without the slightest shred of evidence, I will make the educated guess that the three reasons are football, football and football.
With the championship games beginning later in the afternoon, I'm sure ESPN (the deuce has the Duke hoops game) is clearing the decks for the games and the extensive GameDay foreplay.

Shades of Duke football noon games, if you will.

Except we'll be doing our "tailgating" at Fullsteam after the game.;)

[HereBeforeCoachK]

What can Brown do for you?

[devildeac]

10042

Ups! Ups! Ups! Ups!

[uh_no]

Except we'll be doing our "tailgating" at Fullsteam after the game.;)

wish I were back down yet! enjoy! they had lots of good stuff on tap a couple weeks ago.

[BlueDevil16]

Will be interesting to see if Joey can keep up his momentum

[devildeac]

wish I were back down yet! enjoy! they had lots of good stuff on tap a couple weeks ago.

I'm looking forward to First Frost and Bananas Froster (sic). Sadly, Hardy Bois, a blood orange Hazy IPA, is no longer listed.

[TKG]

VC will score 30 and will hit 80% of his shots from the floor.

[uh_no]

I'm looking forward to First Frost and Bananas Froster (sic). Sadly, Hardy Bois, a blood orange Hazy IPA, is no longer listed.

it does not surprise me in the least that those are exactly the two beers I had during my visit.

[devildeac]

it does not surprise me in the least that those are exactly the two beers I had during my visit.

Great minds/palates and all that stuff...

;)

[UrinalCake]

VC will score 30 and will hit 80% of his shots from the floor.

Should be a monster game for him, as Brown does not appear to have anyone who can match up. I’d also love to see Hurt have a big game. He has been consistently solid for us but hasn’t really had that huge break out game and this would be a great candidate for it to happen.

Have we gotten any updates on Tre? Are we all just assuming he’s healthy and will play?

[Music man55]

Here's hoping for a Duke win over Brown tomorrow and everyone staying healthy for the upcoming conference games about to get going for real.

[TKG]

I have not read any updates on Te’s availability but if there is even a twinge in his foot, I hope he remains in street clothes for tomorrow’s game. Brown is ranked number 230 on Kenpom and as we saw against Wofford we have the talent and depth ( and the memory of SFA) to run Brown off the court. If Tre does play, I hope we implement some sort of “load management “.

[DukieInBrasil]

in-game chat?

[uh_no]

in-game chat?

maybe tomorrow.

[DukieInBrasil]

maybe tomorrow.

zing!
definitely got the holidaze goin' on...

[uh_no]

zing!
definitely got the holidaze goin' on...
yeah i had to double check what day it was :D

[Mtn.Devil.91.92.01.10.15]

yeah i had to double check what day it was :D

Midweek holidays for Christmas and New Years mean I will have no idea what day of the week it is for most of a month.

[Ggallagher]

zing!
definitely got the holidaze goin' on...

Well personally I take that as a sign that you're really enjoying the holiday season -- congratulations

[JasonEvans]

It is worth noting that Brown has not played any team even close to Duke's caliber this year. Have a look a their schedule this far:

Wins over Bryant, Canisius, Quinnipiac (famous for its polling, but not for its basketball), NJ Institute of Technology, and Merrimack.
Losses to Sacred Heart, UMass-Lowell, Navy, Stony Brook, and St John's.

They have played the 298th ranked schedule in the land. Again, they have not played a team anywhere close to Duke. I suspect this game won't be very competitive.

-Jason "St John, who is barely a top 100 KenPom team, is far and away their toughest opponent" Evans

[hustleplays]

It is worth noting that Brown has not played any team even close to Duke's caliber this year. Have a look a their schedule this far:

Wins over Bryant, Canisius, Quinnipiac (famous for its polling, but not for its basketball), NJ Institute of Technology, and Merrimack.
Losses to Sacred Heart, UMass-Lowell, Navy, Stony Brook, and St John's.

They have played the 298th ranked schedule in the land. Again, they have not played a team anywhere close to Duke. I suspect this game won't be very competitive.

-Jason "St John, who is barely a top 100 KenPom team, is far and away their toughest opponent" Evans

Wow, Brown looks totally hapless, and I'm looking for a walk in the park!

hustle "Stephen Freakin Austin" plays*

*I know that SFA had a better pedigree, just some holiday levity

[curtis325]

It is worth noting that Brown has not played any team even close to Duke's caliber this year. Have a look a their schedule this far:

Wins over Bryant, Canisius, Quinnipiac (famous for its polling, but not for its basketball), NJ Institute of Technology, and Merrimack.
Losses to Sacred Heart, UMass-Lowell, Navy, Stony Brook, and St John's.

They have played the 298th ranked schedule in the land. Again, they have not played a team anywhere close to Duke. I suspect this game won't be very competitive.

-Jason "St John, who is barely a top 100 KenPom team, is far and away their toughest opponent" Evans

On the plus side, Brown's strength-of-schedule will go way up (after they get crushed).

[Fish80]

On the plus side, Brown's strength-of-schedule will go way up (after they get crushed).

Crushed???

Respect your opponent. Respect the game. Play every play at 100%. Leave no doubt.

[SkyBrickey]

Baker, Stanley and Hurt are shooting 53%, 43% and 40% from 3 respectively. That’s a pretty potent offensive lineup to spread the floor and let Jones and Carey play 2 vs 2. When the ball goes inside, if any help comes, then Carey’s job becomes find the open shooter.

I don’t know that we’ve seen those 5 together a lot yet, but if Baker and Hurt can continue to progress with defense and rebounding, that could be a strong post-season starting 5.

How much will we see that lineup vs Brown?

[Bob Green]

My desire today is to see the team play solid defense for 40 minutes. Brown is turnover prone so Duke should amp up the pressure, create turnovers and convert them into easy transition baskets.

Focus on Defense!

[OZZIE4DUKE]

Nina’s granddaughter graduated from Brown last May and will be attending the game with us. Not just because of her alma mater, she’s a Duke fan, but because her boyfriend is a Brown team manager and will be there. She relayed a story from him about their arrival at Duke and the tour of the facilities they got, conducted by Nolan Smith. I want to hear the story first hand from him to confirm the details, and the I’ll relate them to y’all in a new thread. The story is fascinating. LGD GTHc!

[cakerace]

Can anyone confirm Santa bringing Joey Buckets a green light for Christmas???

[arnie]

It is worth noting that Brown has not played any team even close to Duke's caliber this year. Have a look a their schedule this far:

Wins over Bryant, Canisius, Quinnipiac (famous for its polling, but not for its basketball), NJ Institute of Technology, and Merrimack.
Losses to Sacred Heart, UMass-Lowell, Navy, Stony Brook, and St John's.

They have played the 298th ranked schedule in the land. Again, they have not played a team anywhere close to Duke. I suspect this game won't be very competitive.

-Jason "St John, who is barely a top 100 KenPom team, is far and away their toughest opponent" Evans

On my way to compare Brown vs. SF Austin using RPI (yea, it’s flawed; but nothing perfect); I found UNCheat at 69 and SF Austin just below at 71. We may have to bring our B- game to beat the Cheats in February.🤗

Brown is 169 in RPI.

[TKG]

Hope to see some minutes from Mr. Stanley this morning.

[peloton]

Midweek holidays for Christmas and New Years mean I will have no idea what day of the week it is for most of a month.

You old guys crack me up 😉 (and yes, I resemble rhat remark).

Beat Brown!

[TKG]

Brown’s hometown newspaper, The Providence Journal, has not a single article in today’s edition about this game.

[TruBlu]

Midweek holidays for Christmas and New Years mean I will have no idea what day of the week it is for most of a month.

Over/under on which month we oldsters will finally start writing the year 2020 on correspondence? For me, each year it's usually around March before that particular brain cell comes out of hibernation..

[Indoor66]

The line, as of 10:00 AM, is Duke -28.

[-jk]

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

If it gets a bit slow, refresh the page. If you're on a mobile device, you'll need to select "Blue" at the bottom.

If it's running too fast for you, you can always check out the chat archive (https://forums.dukebasketballreport.com/forums/misc.php?do=ccarc) to catch up.

As always - please follow the DBR Posting Guidelines.

Let's Go Duke!

-jk

[Bob Green]

Very nice pass by Hurt to JDL for a basket. Team is ice cold from 3 so far. We need a couple shots to go down.

[4Gen]

The line, as of 10:00 AM, is Duke -28.

Is it too late for me to bet bears?

[uh_no]

Very nice pass by Hurt to JDL for a basket. Team is ice cold from 3 so far. We need a couple shots to go down.

if only we had the biggest guy on the floor. and could rebound

[rsvman]

Moore needed to throw the pass to White on that fast break!

[Bob Green]

We shot 0 - 10 on 3 PT FG. We need some shots to fall if we are going to pull away in 2nd half.

[rsvman]

We handled the end of the half pretty poorly.


I'm glad I am not keeping track of how many shots inside of five feet that we have missed. I'm guessing probably about ten or eleven, at least.

[CameronDuke]

If Duke continues to pound it down low to Big Vern and White while cutting down on the number of open 3-point looks they’re giving Brown, and Duke also hits 4-5 3-pointers, I still think they’ll cover the spread of -28.5 today.

We all knew it would take a half or so to knock the rust off.

No way in my mind Brown continues to shoot 50% from 3 next half and Duke shoots 0% from 3. Brown actually came into this game shooting 31.4% from 3 (75-239).

Duke is also missing some guy named Tre Jones.

[53n206]

6 min into 2nd half. No separation. Hope we win.

[rsvman]

Nobody shooting well. Not sure why to single out Joey unless it's just because of higher expectations. Overall I think he is playing better than AOC.

[ndkjr70]

12:16 left and I think that’s the first jump-shot that’s gone in outside the paint.

Yikes

[Bob Green]

O’Connell knocks down a 3 and gets a steal on the defensive end. Nice effort!

[DU82]

O’Connell knocks down a 3 and gets a steal on the defensive end. Nice effort!

A long two. Still no threes.

[dukelifer]

O’Connell knocks down a 3 and gets a steal on the defensive end. Nice effort!

Actually a 2 but he has hit two nice jumpers

[Bob Green]

A long two. Still no threes.

Thanks for the correction.

[CameronDuke]

Other than being absolutely horrible shooting from 3, Duke’s team stat line really isn’t that bad today. It’s actually pretty good. Nearly automatic from the line, crushing Brown on the boards, 6 blocks, forced 13 turnovers thus far while only turning it over 8 times. I think Duke is going to pull away largely these last 12 minutes, especially if they start hitting 3s. Brown is nearly gassed.

[53n206]

Turnovers and blocks keeping us in game. Too much to hope our deep shots starting to hit?

[arnie]

Turnovers and blocks keeping us in game. Too much to hope our deep shots starting to hit?

Don’t forget Brown FT shooting (5 of 13) and several Brown missed uncontested layups.

[jgehtland]

Thanks! You finally did it. I’m giving up on reading the in-game threads. This level of personal insults towards the team is ... sad. But hey, I get some of my life back, so that’s a win.

[CameronDuke]

Vegas drama in full effect with Duke -28.5. Let’s bring home the cover in addition to the W which we already have locked up boys!

[ratamero]

A reminder that is definitely unrelated to anything specific to this thread: you can ignore posters in the forum - their posts won't show up unless you click on them specifically. I've done it for some of the most negative people around here and it's improved my forum experience wonders.

[dukelifer]

Vegas drama in full effect with Duke -28.5. Let’s bring home the cover in addition to the W which we already have locked up boys!

Never bet on basketball

[uh_no]

Never bet on basketball

especially on blow out games like this.

[brevity]

Never bet on basketball

"Always bet on Brown."

[curtis325]

This team is just flat out not very good when AOC is on the floor. I like the kid, himself, but his game on both ends of the floor is very far below replacement level.

This post did not age well.

[sagegrouse]

The Memphis-New Orleans game on Memphis' ice-blue home court looks like an Icecapades show. Or maybe a hockey match.

[jv001]

Glad I wasn't on the in game thread. Some of the posters would have driven me nuts. GoDuke!