MBB: Duke 79, Virginia 54 Post-Game Thread

[Jumbo]

Nice way to bounce back -- discuss!

[Bob Green]

I had no TV coverage today so I listened to the game on the radio. Another excellent defensive effort by the Blue Devils holding Virginia to 54 points. The Cavaliers had 18 first half turnovers and at one point Bob Harris reported Duke had outscored Virginia 25-0 off of turnovers. This is a really good defensive team.

[Ben63]

Exactly what I expected. Everyone played great and it was awesome to get back in the win column. Extra props to Steve Johnson for getting himself on the scoreboard.

Great day all around.

[jpfrizzle]

This was another great game by everyone!

I jumped and screamed "Hell Yeah" when Zoubek made that hook shot!!

Glad to see Email play alot of minutes today, he did a great job.

I had flashbacks of McRoberts when Plumlee made his fly-dunk assisted by Email.

Go DUKE ! ! ! !

[Jumbo]

Obviously, this probably was as easy a game as we had left on the schedule. Still, a 25-point win is impressive. This game never was in doubt.

Things I loved:
-Starting Lance. None of us really knows whether it was an attempt to jump-start him or there was some other motivation. I'm going to assume K had that in mind, though. That's a smart approach and it worked. We need him.
-Transition baskets. If this team is going to win a title, it needs to turn its great defense into a few easy baskets. Today, we forced a ton of turnovers and got run-outs off them, but we also looked to push the ball off rebounds. I was really happy about that.
-Nolan Smith looking aggressive on offense. I mentioned this in the in-game thread, but this team doesn't need him to be a pure point guard. If we're running a motion offense, everyone is a playmaker. But we need Nolan to look to score when he gets the ball -- to be a threat. He adds a different dimension to the offense, and if he's clicking along with Singler, Henderson and Scheyer, that changes things.
-Steve Johnson!

Things I Liked:
-Zoubek looked much more comfortable and aggressive. Granted, he wasn't facing anyone his size, which continues a recent pattern. But he moved well defensively, held his ground on the boards and didn't turn it over on offense. I really loved the hook shot in the lane, too. That's a shot that can't be defended, and I wish he'd go to it more often.
-Scheyer knocking down three threes. He was wide open, he took is time, and he knocked them down. He still doesn't look like himself, though. Earlier in the season, he was hitting contested shots. More importantly, he looked MUCH better off the dribble. He really had a knack for breaking down his man off the dribble and getting to the rim, either for the basket or the foul. He's not doing that as much lately. Part of it might be Henderson's emergence -- we're running more through G, so there's less room for Jon to operate. But he also looks less comfortable with his handle. If his jumper is off, and his handle is a little off, maybe he's hurt? Then again, his D is great and he's still rebounding and passing well. So, who knows? He has to be a big part of the offense, either way. Hopefully the threes are the start of the road back for him.
-Plumlee looking poised when he came in. It doesn't bother me that he didn't play in the first half -- we needed to get Lance going and continue to show faith in Zoubek. Miles can grow as much through practice as games. Plus, we need him situationally, and UVA isn't the type of team where his size/athleticism is necessary. But when he came in, he made very few mistakes, he finished well and he looked like he really belonged there. That's good -- keep that confidence up.

Things that Concerned me:
-Elliot Williams is playing out of control. I mentioned this in the thread dedicated to him. I'm assuming Marty is hurt, since we didn't see him. But I don't think anyone can say E-Will isn't getting a chance. He's just not producing at a level where he should be a regular part of the rotation right now.
-Paulus jacked up too many quick shots. I know he's trying to find his jumper, but he still needs to play smart and under control.

Great win, on to Clemson!

[tbyers11]

I had no TV coverage today so I listened to the game on the radio. Another excellent defensive effort by the Blue Devils holding Virginia to 54 points. The Cavaliers had 18 first half turnovers and at one point Bob Harris reported Duke had outscored Virginia 25-0 off of turnovers. This is a really good defensive team.

It was a very good defensive performance all game. But the half court trapping pressure to start the game worked really well against UVa. Forced them into a lot of turnovers and made them play way too fast. It was a great coaching move and the game for all intents and purposes was over with 10 minutes left in the first half.

[BlueintheFace]

everyone got some playing time.

G was on fire in the first half, but kind of checked out mentally in the second half.

Scheyer was hitting those threes again. Please let it continue...

Nolan stood out the most to me as he penetrated and found creases in the lane which led to good things.

Z played really good D.

Paulus had trouble shooting, but K obviously told him to just keep going and going, and he started hitting them eventually.

Remember when every Henderson drive was an offensive foul, out of bounds on the base line, or acrobatic shot? That is E-will right now. When he learns to slow down a bit in his head and on the floor, he will be able to see the angles and open men on the drive. It'll come, but I'm not so sure the light will go on this season. He has all the tools though.

Time for another good test.

[mike88]

Obviously, this probably was as easy a game as we had left on the schedule. Still, a 25-point win is impressive. This game never was in doubt.

Things I loved:
-Starting Lance. None of us really knows whether it was an attempt to jump-start him or there was some other motivation. I'm going to assume K had that in mind, though. That's a smart approach and it worked. We need him.
-Transition baskets. If this team is going to win a title, it needs to turn its great defense into a few easy baskets. Today, we forced a ton of turnovers and got run-outs off them, but we also looked to push the ball off rebounds. I was really happy about that.
-Nolan Smith looking aggressive on offense. I mentioned this in the in-game thread, but this team doesn't need him to be a pure point guard. If we're running a motion offense, everyone is a playmaker. But we need Nolan to look to score when he gets the ball -- to be a threat. He adds a different dimension to the offense, and if he's clicking along with Singler, Henderson and Scheyer, that changes things.
-Steve Johnson!

Things I Liked:
-Zoubek looked much more comfortable and aggressive. Granted, he wasn't facing anyone his size, which continues a recent pattern. But he moved well defensively, held his ground on the boards and didn't turn it over on offense. I really loved the hook shot in the lane, too. That's a shot that can't be defended, and I wish he'd go to it more often.
-Scheyer knocking down three threes. He was wide open, he took is time, and he knocked them down. He still doesn't look like himself, though. Earlier in the season, he was hitting contested shots. More importantly, he looked MUCH better off the dribble. He really had a knack for breaking down his man off the dribble and getting to the rim, either for the basket or the foul. He's not doing that as much lately. Part of it might be Henderson's emergence -- we're running more through G, so there's less room for Jon to operate. But he also looks less comfortable with his handle. If his jumper is off, and his handle is a little off, maybe he's hurt? Then again, his D is great and he's still rebounding and passing well. So, who knows? He has to be a big part of the offense, either way. Hopefully the threes are start of the road back for him.
-Plumlee looking poised when he came in. It doesn't bother me that he didn't play in the first half -- we needed to get Lance going and continue to show faith in Zoubek. Miles can grow as much through practice as games. Plus, we need him situationally, and UVA isn't the type of team where his size/athleticism is necessary. But when he came in, he made very few mistakes, he finished well and he looked like he really belonged there. That's good -- keep that confidence up.

Things that Concerned me:
-Elliot Williams is playing out of control. I mentioned this in the thread dedicated to him. I'm assuming Marty is hurt, since we didn't see him. But I don't think anyone can say E-Will isn't getting a chance. He's just not producing at a level where he should be a regular part of the rotation right now.
-Paulus jacked up too many quick shots. I know he's trying to find his jumper, but he still needs to play smart and under control.

Great win, on to Clemson!

that's a great summary, Jumbo, but I think at least part of Zoubek's good play came against Virginia's 7ft. freshman. I made a note to myself at the game that it was good to see him play well in a scenario where he didn't have a 6 inch height advantage.

[chrisheery]

That kid for Virginia is a real player. How do these guys sneak under the radar like this? He is so poised and just makes smart plays. He's like a 30 year old at the YMCA playing against teenagers. He doesn't do it with pure athleticism (though he is a good athlete). He does it with smarts and decision making.

[_Gary]

G was on fire in the first half, but kind of checked out mentally in the second half.

Maybe it was just me, but I was a tad concerned that Gerald might have pulled a hamstring or twisted something in his thigh early in the second half when he drove the baseline and then kicked the ball out to, I believe, Jon for a three. He landed very awkwardly and I thought he pulled something. He kinda jogged it off eventually but he never looked as explosive after that. Maybe it was just a function of us having a big lead. But the play worried me and I'm still not sure he didn't tweak something just a tad on that landing.

BTW, as much as it pains me to say so, I have to agree with Jumbo's summary point for point this time.

Gary

[superdave]

I agree with everything Jumbo said.

This team is still identifying roles and trying to figure out what works well, what doesnt, what works in certain situations (like the pre-halftime timeout plays that K sets up), and who can make the leap (Gerald). If they start to gell in March and get hot, then watch out!

Also, look at the minutes guys are now playing - 25-26. It's good to blow teams out and play the bench a lot!

[Bob Green]

I'm assuming Marty is hurt, since we didn't see him.

I've heard that Marty hurt his hand and is unavailable.

[Lord Ash]

Good game, nice to see Nolan more aggressive, and liked seeing Plumlee in. Gerald looked great, as has been the case recently, although he does get distracted a touch when he thinks he is fouled and nothing is called... hasn't bitten him yet, but... nice to see him really get back to the mid-range jumper, which is just that essential last piece of the puzzle... when you can shoot the 3, drive all the way, OR pull up and elevate over ANYONE to shoot, you are unstoppable. Oh, and the G-Man is a funny guy!

Anyway... see my sig for more thoughts.

[grossbus]

"I'm assuming Marty is hurt"

well, that would sure be a downer.

[diesel]

I'm wondering how much Greg is still hampered by his injury. I noticed he still had finger stalls today and he has been playing with that blue sleeve on his arm.

I was only able to watch the second half today--courtesy of Comcast--so I had resigned myself to seeing the bench play a lot against a weaker opponent. But I was impressed with Brian Zoubek's blocks and hook shot and it was good to see Email and Plumlee contributing.

On the other side, that kid Landesberg is the real deal.

[Got_Duke]

I didn't get a chance to watch anything but ESPN's gamecast. Did Singler get hurt or did Coach K just rest him up? If he wasn't injured, he seemed to be MIA against a lower than average UVA team.

[duke74]

That kid for Virginia is a real player. How do these guys sneak under the radar like this? He is so poised and just makes smart plays. He's like a 30 year old at the YMCA playing against teenagers. He doesn't do it with pure athleticism (though he is a good athlete). He does it with smarts and decision making.

I may be wrong, but I thought he was well-recruited last year out of Holy Cross High School here in Queens, NY. Pretty highly ranked as well.

[chrisheery]

I may be wrong, but I thought he was well-recruited last year out of Holy Cross High School here in Queens, NY. Pretty highly ranked as well.

That is probably true. I am not the keenest with regard to recruits around the country that Duke is not interested in. I just figured he couldn't have been highly recruited if he ended up at Virginia. Sorry, that's messed up.

[tbyers11]

I didn't get a chance to watch anything but ESPN's gamecast. Did Singler get hurt or did Coach K just rest him up? If he wasn't injured, he seemed to be MIA against a lower than average UVA team.

Kyle got his second foul fairly early in the 1st half and sat a few extra minutes there. He also didn't shoot much in the first half b/c G was hot early and we got a lot of our offense off the fast break.

In the 2nd half, he and the other big 3 sat quite a bit the last 10 minutes b/c it was a blowout. Overall, he didn't shoot much but he didn't need to.

[JDev]

Oh, and the G-Man is a funny guy!

Agreed. I love it when Duke has G-Man calling their games (typically on the FSN Sunday Night games). It was great when he discussed G chasing his Super Bowl Sunday scoring record. He does a terrific job, and the Duke connection is great because he doesn't harp on it, but he has no problem discussing it and using it in his color commentary.
As far as the game, Nolan's solid play was the high point. After his admitted mental breakdown against Wake, and a reasonably bad game overall, he bounced back quite nicely and exemplified "next play." As many people have discussed, when he and Jon get going offensively, Duke goes from good to great.