MBB: Clemson 74, Duke 47 Post-Game Thread

[Mr Blue Devil]

Possibly the worst I have seen Duke play in years but at the same time this is why I love College Basketball. Clemson and Miami both proved anything can happen anytime and anywhere.

Duke played horribly but this is not the team we know and love. I have full faith they will rebound from this loss and it will only make them stronger.

I'll be wearing my Duke polo to work tomorrow to show everyone how proud I am of this team, win or lose.

I look forward to Miami on Saturday!

GO DUKE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[mike88]

Well, I can't say I'm completely surprised about our loss to Clemson, although I am a little surprised by the margin and our inability to handle the full-court pressure. One thing for sure- it was a team effort- everyone played poorly.

Our back-loaded conference schedule, plus a couple of poor performances by our higher-quality early season opponents (Xavier and Purdue), set up what I believe are unrealistic expectations for our team. We are not good enough at this point to beat outstanding (top ten) teams on the road; we probably won't even beat all the "good" (top 30) teams on the road, and we may even drop 2 games at home if we have off nights against either UNC or Wake. I thnk we can expect to rebound from this loss and play strongly against an inconsistent but talented Miami team. With a strong supporting effort from the crowd, we should be able to pull out a win, but not if we come with less than an inspired effort and execution.

At the beginning of the ACC season, I thought 11-5 or 12-4 was a realistic expectation, but 10-6 was certainly possible. I think that is about where we are headed. Looking forward to March, the Sweet Sixteen game should be a good marker for us- a win would constiute a successful season; a loss in that game or earlier would be disappointing to me.

[Reisen]

I don't see one started, and the in-game thread is locked, so...

Not much to add, only that I've been a Duke fan for just over 10 years (fall of 1998). Our last 20 point loss was spring of 1998, so I had literally, never experienced anything like this. As hard as it is to watch, I wonder if any other team can boast that long a run of never getting blown out?

I'll be watching this team for the rest of the season with excitement and interest... I predict they'll turn it around in a big way.

[ChicagoDevil]

Just a thought...sometimes you are the bug and sometimes you are the windshield...Its the ACC, they are a top 10 team, they played hard, we were not ourselves. Learn from it and shake it off. While I wish the outcome was better for us...next play...

[FerryFor50]

I just heard Stuart Scott claim to invent the word "ridiculousness."

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/ridiculousness

That's on par with Al Gore inventing the internet or John McCain inventing the Blackberry.

[Lulu]

Worst lost since the first UNLV game.

[weezie]

And, at least the game was quick. Painful but quick!

[superdave]

I hope everyone goes to bed tonight rather than sits up posting. Sleep is better for your health.

[pamtar]

Great post! (Even though it'll be gobbled up by the PGT) I really like the idea of wearing the polo tomorrow. Very classy!

I cant believe we lost that bad. I've haven't seen Duke play like that since '95. Hats off to Clemson. Not only did they beat us, they did it in a classy manor (excluding Ogilvy, but whatever). I really like Purnell and what he's doing down there.

I hope we can rebound from this. It doesn't feel like the "sleepng giant" scenario - it seems like a bad loss. Thats basketball though...

LGD!!

[KyDevilinIL]

...because I know the guys will.

I don't know what any of us can really add to tonight's events, but I'm opting to just shut up for a while.

[BlueintheFace]

LT played very well and fought every second he was in the game. I think this is a very important point.

AND, if you try and point out one player to blame for the loss, everybody will laugh at you, because it will betray a fundamental stupidity and inability to analyze a basketball game... just so you know.

[bjornolf]

I think we all need to send some love to klemnop. You must be on cloud nine, buddy. Enjoy it!

[DukeDude]

Next play!

[chrisheery]

its going to be a long long long day tomorrow. i hope we can bounce back this weekend. i can't remember our boys looking that bad in a long time. i'm gonna guess everyone has the flu. (please?)

there were some (a lot) of bad calls. and, like others have said, that isn't why we lost, but when you add them all up and the timing of some of them, it really broke the spirit of our team that already had very little confidence after a rough first 10 minutes. i can't help but thinking the game wouldn't have gotten out of hand if we had gotten a call here or there at the right moment. that said, clemson played just amazing basketball and we did not play well at all. kudos to them. if they play like that against other teams, they are a top 3-4 team all year.

[Kfanarmy]

I think I read somewhere that the team had spent a whole practice on D, no offense...They really had a difficult time with the press, seemingly unprepared as a team, not that individuals weren't doing what they thought was right, but unprepared as a team. Difference in the score at the end, I think was largely that Clemson applied the press about 4 x as much, got a trove of TOs and really took Duke's offensive confidence away. I think they've played pretty good D all season, and the offense has not been what one might expect. This seems to point out an imbalance in what is being practiced at this point in the season. Am I wrong or does this team need more set plays so that they can regain offensive rhythm when they lose it...you can play near perfect D and still lose if you can't score...

[SharkD]

I hope everyone goes to bed tonight rather than sits up posting. Sleep is better for your health.

With my 13-day-old son in the house, what is this "sleep" of which you speak?

[Bluedog]

Clemson certainly deserved to win this game. They played with more heart, desire, energy, and poise than us, unfortunately. It's just one game, though, and I expect us to bounce back strong. I don't think this is indicative of a greater trend. We need to cut down on turnovers tremendously, make smarter passes, take it to the rim more (although this strategy probably was modified b/c of Clemson's shotblocking ability), and not be so sloppy and careless when attempting to break the press. I'm sure K will rectify things we did poorly and I think this loss will be good for us in the long run. Miami will be a good test for us, and then of course we'll really have to bring it if we want to beat UNC. I still love this team. I have confidence in this team. And I think they have confidence in themselves even though they didn't show the assertiveness that we've come to expect from Coack K coached teams. I don't ever like seeing our team being outworked - we certainly weren't so clearly outhustled in the Michigan and Wake losses. Shots were falling and I can live with that. But I cannot live with tentative ballhandling, fearful drives, and low energy. Again, I think this loss will help us improve and we'll really show what we're made of. Singler and Scheyer have been in a little slump, but they'll bounce back. G has been steady and I expect him to continue to be the star, although it'd be nice to see Singler get back to where he was. It happens. Can't always play amazingly. I'm looking forward to Miami.

Go Duke!

[grossbus]

well, i have a bad cold. this game didn't help!

here is my question: was this game an anomaly or an indicator of things to come. at this moment it is beyond me, so i am going to take the above poster's advice and go to bed.

[Oriole Way]

Definitely one of the worst losses in a decade. It was amazing how unmotivated we looked.

The last time the game was this out of hand was probably against Maryland in 2002, the game in which Steve Blake stole the ball out of Jason WIlliam's hands when J-Will was looking back to K for instructions on the final play before half.

We were dominated for the whole second half of that game, although the margin was never as bad as tonight. But it had the most similar feel to tonight. We seemed to not care, nothing went our way, and Maryland was on fire. Unfortunately, the 2002 team was about ten times more talented than this one.

I really think the only solution to our most glaring weakness - turnovers - is to move Jon Scheyer to PG. Nolan Smith is not cutting it, and it his turnovers are devastating our offense. Also devastating our offense is Scheyer's worst shooting slump of his career, and it looks like he might not come out of it against good teams. Why not have him handle the ball, since we're better off without him shooting it, and better off with his ability to take care of the ball?

Move Nolan to the bench as backup PG. Otherwise, this could be a lost season.

[Saratoga2]

Good

Henderson still brought his offense
McClure played with intensity and was our best defender
Thomas had a very decent game

Bad

Other players didn't deal with the pressure Clemson applied and didn't look like players on a #3 team or even a ranked team.

General

Part of the blowout was due to the seaching coach K did for an effective lineup. He never found one.

The game was called in a way that favored Clemson's extremely aggressive style. We just could not match their intensity.Loads of turnovers.

If I was an opponent facing Duke, I would pllay the Clemson style, which totally rattled Duke.