MBB: Duke vs. Purdue Pre-Game and In-Game Thread

[sagegrouse]

Not until Friday. According to ESPN, Duke-Purdue is the late game, scheduled to start at 9:57PM ET. (Fortunately, in MDT it starts at a more civilized hour.)

Here are some obvious questions:

1. With the loss of Robbie Hummel (6-8), Purdue only starts one player taller than 6-4 (6-10 JaJuan Johnson). Can Duke continue to exploit a size advantage over smaller teams.

2. Reliant Stadium will likely have difficult sight lines for shooting (football field, raised floor, etc.). Can Duke improve on its 3-pt shooting over the 3-17 against Cal?

3. What's the potential for a Scheyer resurgence now that he has passed 2,000 points?

sagegrouse

[Dukeknights]

1.) JaJuan Johnson is the only guy taller then 6'4(he is 6'10 like you mentioned) but he is VERY good and athletic. With that said i think we beast them down low.

2.) Jon Scheyer will go off Friday night so the 3-pointers made will increase.(he takes more threes than anyone else.)

3.) read #2

i think we beat Purdue with ease...who will Kramer guard? Smith or Scheyer? They will most likely put him on Nolan considering Scheyer's recent struggles. This makes it more vital for Jon to break out of this slump.

[-bdbd]

I think we match up well, and was rooting for them over us having to face a home-standing A&M squad.

The injury hurts them vs a Duke, and I DO expect us to take advantage of our size again, Look for good numbers from Kyle and the Plumlees, with shorter match-ups.

Hard to say, but I don't know if wouyld have wanted to play the Boilermaker squad of a month ago. This one we can beat. Looking good Devils!!


Oh and Jon comes back big Friday - he's just too good to string together poor efforts. 'like our odds.

[CDu]

With Hummel, this is the type of Purdue team that could give us some trouble by spreading the floor and taking advantage of two very talented bigs. But without Hummel, they're REALLY small. They also lack the firepower to shoot from the perimeter.

Offensively, they've relied on E'twaun Moore and JaJuan Johnson to completely carry the scoring load in Hummel's absence, with occasional double-digit efforts from another guy here and there. Grant, Jackson, and Kramer are not offensive threats. They just try to get to 60 and hope they can keep you under 60.

They've been winning largely with smoke and mirrors. That said, they are tough and play hard, and won't go down without a fight. But they haven't faced a team as good offensively as us since Hummel got hurt. Hopefully our combination of size and variety of scoring options will be too much for them.

[hq2]

They'll put up a fight, but we should handle 'em. Without Hummel, they don't have anyone who can really light it up. Plus, they look short and slow (read white) on defense. Unless they have a lights out shooting game, I don't think they can stay with us on either end of the floor. They're lucky to have gotten as far as they did, given how they lost in the Big 10 tournament.

[Spam Filter]

According to Kenpom, Duke is the #1 Defensive and #1 Offensive team among the 16 that are still alive.

Interestingly enough the 2nd best defensive team that's left is Purdue, and the 2nd best Offensive team that's left is Baylor, and we may very well have to beat them both to get to the FF.

Purdue is exactly the opposite of Cal, Cal had great O and a very mediocre D, Purdue has great D and a very mediocre O.

Our defense proved up to the task of stopping the highly efficient Cal offense, can our offense get it done against the tough Purdue defense?

[houstondukie]

Duke dodged a huge bullet by avoiding Texas A&M in Houston. Aggie fans would of turned Reliant Stadium into Kyle Field.

Not only does Purdue start only one guy taller than 6'4'', they have only 2 players on their entire roster taller than 6'5'' (J. Johnson and P. Bade). They also have a below-average and very young bench (Duke has a similarly young bench).

Starters:

L. Jackson - Sophomore - 5’9 165
C. Kramer - Senior - 6’3 214
E. Moore - Junior - 6’4 184
K. Grant - Senior - 6’4 201
J. Johnson - Junior - 6’10 215

Bench:

J. Hart - Freshman - 6’2 195
R. Smith - Sophomore - 6’3 178
D.J. Byrd - Freshman - 6’5 214
K. Barlow - Freshman - 6’5 199
P. Bade - Freshman - 6’8 235

Every Duke starter will have a 2-4 inch height advantage.

Prediction: Duke in a blow-out

[DukeDevilDeb]

According to Kenpom, Duke is the #1 Defensive and #1 Offensive team among the 16 that are still alive.

Interestingly enough the 2nd best defensive team that's left is Purdue, and the 2nd best Offensive team that's left is Baylor, and we may very well have to beat them both to get to the FF.

Purdue is exactly the opposite of Cal, Cal had great O and a very mediocre D, Purdue has great D and a very mediocre O.

Our defense proved up to the task of stopping the highly efficient Cal offense, can our offense get it done against the tough Purdue defense?

I could have told you that we are the best!

[77devil]

With Hummel, this is the type of Purdue team that could give us some trouble by spreading the floor and taking advantage of two very talented bigs.

Like last year when Duke smoked them with Hummel on their home court. Unless the Devils are stone cold, they win going away.

[MChambers]

Not until Friday. According to ESPN, Duke-Purdue is the late game, scheduled to start at 9:57PM ET. (Fortunately, in MDT it starts at a more civilized hour.)

Here are some obvious questions:

1. With the loss of Robbie Hummel (6-8), Purdue only starts one player taller than 6-4 (6-10 JaJuan Johnson). Can Duke continue to exploit a size advantage over smaller teams.

2. Reliant Stadium will likely have difficult sight lines for shooting (football field, raised floor, etc.). Can Duke improve on its 3-pt shooting over the 3-17 against Cal?

3. What's the potential for a Scheyer resurgence now that he has passed 2,000 points?

sagegrouse

10 p.m. is my bedtime, but I guess I'll make an exception. To answer your questins:

1. Absolutely. Seems like, without Hummel, Purdue is Cal without the quickness. Johnson is better than Boykin, but I think we have the inside depth to deal with that.

2. Maybe not, but both teams have those sightlines. I think we can deal without outside shooting better than Purdue.

3. Keeping my fingers crossed. I really think Jon isn't all that healthy, but hope that four days off will help.

[Saratoga2]

We have really been cold shooting 3's. Purdue could pull their defense in and make us shoot the 3's. It isn't just Scheyer, but he is most noticeable. I doubt his issue has much to do with hitting 2000 points. We simply don't know what is going on with him, but tonight he didn't drive to the rim. Was that due to the defender on him, or is his back hurting or something else? This has now been going on with him for quite a while, so it may not be resolved anytime soon.

We have a size advantage with Purdue and have the offense to put pressure on them. It should be a good game on Friday.

[GODUKEGO]

1.) They will most likely put him on Nolan considering Scheyer's recent struggles. This makes it more vital for Jon to break out of this slump.

Jon is 18-58 for 31% in the last five games (ACC Tournament and NCAA Tournament). He will find his shot!!!

[delfrio]

Like last year when Duke smoked them with Hummel on their home court. Unless the Devils are stone cold, they win going away.

Shhh... WGs are lurking.

[CDu]

Like last year when Duke smoked them with Hummel on their home court. Unless the Devils are stone cold, they win going away.

Last year Duke played an entirely different game than this year.

[west_coast_devil]

some of you guys are stoking the bad juju.
You're suposed to say things like " it will be a hard fought game", "We must play well in all areas to win", and "Purde's D will be tough, we need our big three to be on point".

With that said......... go DUKE! Cant wait till friday.

[proelitedota]

"This will be a tough game for Duke. I hope we pull through."

is how you're supposed to do it.

[DevilHorns]

Keeping my fingers crossed. I really think Jon isn't all that healthy, but hope that four days off will help.

Why is he playing complete, close to 40 min, games then? I honestly don't think Jon's slump is due to health reasons. I appreciate and understand that K doesn't dwell on injury problems, but at this point, we have heard no evidence or seen any evidence that indicates he is not 100% healthy (unless I have missed something?). I think Jon's slump is simply a slump. He needs to get out of it. The issue with Jon IMO is that when his shooting touch isn't there, it tends to disrupt other aspects of his game (passing, running the offense, etc).

Here's to hoping that beautiful 3 point stroke returns!

[gofurman]

Duke dodged a huge bullet by avoiding Texas A&M in Houston. Aggie fans would of turned Reliant Stadium into Kyle Field.

Not only does Purdue start only one guy taller than 6'4'', they have only 2 players on their entire roster taller than 6'5'' (J. Johnson and P. Bade). They also have a below-average and very young bench (Duke has a similarly young bench).

Starters:

L. Jackson - Sophomore - 5’9 165
C. Kramer - Senior - 6’3 214
E. Moore - Junior - 6’4 184
K. Grant - Senior - 6’4 201
J. Johnson - Junior - 6’10 215

Bench:

J. Hart - Freshman - 6’2 195
R. Smith - Sophomore - 6’3 178
D.J. Byrd - Freshman - 6’5 214
K. Barlow - Freshman - 6’5 199
P. Bade - Freshman - 6’8 235

Every Duke starter will have a 2-4 inch height advantage.

Prediction: Duke in a blow-out

no "woofing" (sp). no jinxes

purdue is a good team and well coached

however - yes, P has 10 guys that play and 8 are guards/wings. 1 true and v good center in Johnson and one f that played 11 or so minutes - bade?

[COYS]

The issue with Jon IMO is that when his shooting touch isn't there, it tends to disrupt other aspects of his game (passing, running the offense, etc).

Funny, I think the exact opposite. Jon may have appeared uncharacteristically frustrated at times during the ACCT, but otherwise, he has done an exceedingly good job taking care of the basketball, setting up the offense, and playing great defense. In fact, what makes Jon so valuable is that he is so talented in every aspect of the game he continues to make a positive impact on the game regardless of his shooting efficiency (just look at his +/- stats). He is perhaps the most underrated defender in the country and did an excellent job today. Coach K has seemed to take some of the ball handling duties off of his hands as Nolan has been setting up the offense a lot more (and doing a much better job than earlier in the season although he still pounds the ball into the hardwood a little too much for my liking). Hopefully this will allow Jon to relax and let his shot come to him.

I think most players are able to feed off their offense and it is true that Jon may be an even better defender and distributor when his shot is falling, but he, more so than the majority of other players, does not allow his shooting to dictate other aspects of his game.

With Purdue's lack of size, I expect us to play a similar game to the one we played against Cal. I hope we continue to make a point to work the ball into the paint either through dribble penetration or by running Kyle, Nolan, or one of the bigs to the elbow to allow them to attack the basket or distribute. I also hope that Jon's shot returns as that will be the factor that allows us to truly stomp on an opponent's neck, which is a gear we will need to put away a tough, gritty, veteran team like Purdue.

[dukemsu]

Purdue, even with Hummel, is an average rebounding team at best.

If our guards and Kyle can handle the perimeter pressure, this game won't be close.

dukemsu