MBB: Duke vs Maryland Pre-Game and In-Game Thread (ACCT)

[Bob Green]

Let's get the discussion going! Maryland has defeated NC State and will be desperate to beat Duke in order to try and earn an NCAA Tournament bid. We need to show up ready to bring it for 40 minutes as the Terps have nothing to lose and everything to gain.

We've defeated Maryland twice this season: 71-64 in Durham and 80-62 in College Park. In the first game, Singler scored 25, Smith 18 and Curry 12. In the second game, Singler scored 22, Smith 21, Mason Plumlee 12 and Andre Dawkins 11.

Jordan Williams had a double-double in both games for the Terps.

[Kedsy]

Let's get the discussion going! Maryland has defeated NC State and will be desperate to beat Duke in order to try and earn an NCAA Tournament bid. We need to show up ready to bring it for 40 minutes as the Terps have nothing to lose and everything to gain.

I'm not sure a win by Maryland in this game will get them into the field. They have 13 losses and are 98th in the RPI. At this point I think Maryland probably has to win the tourney to get in.

That said, I also believe they will play us tough. I hope Nolan and the others meant it when they said they were angry. It would be nice to see us playing at peak intensity for the rest of the season.

[Newton_14]

Let's get the discussion going! Maryland has defeated NC State and will be desperate to beat Duke in order to try and earn an NCAA Tournament bid. We need to show up ready to bring it for 40 minutes as the Terps have nothing to lose and everything to gain.

We've defeated Maryland twice this season: 71-64 in Durham and 80-62 in College Park. In the first game, Singler scored 25, Smith 18 and Curry 12. In the second game, Singler scored 22, Smith 21, Mason Plumlee 12 and Andre Dawkins 11.

Jordan Williams had a double-double in both games for the Terps.

The first half of the game at Maryland our offensive approach was very refreshing. We used a lot of motion, involving all 5 players and creating good looks for multiple players. We also made it a point to go to Mason early and often. I thought it was the best our offense had looked in the post-Kyrie portion of the season and hoped we would build on that in future games. However, in the 2nd half, we went away from that and ran the high pick with Nolan and Mason a lot. But, we also went to Singler many times and I believe Kyle scored something like 11 or 13 straight points for us at one point. Down the stretch though, we went back to motion and got some really great looks for Andre and Seth and both came through.

I loved the offensive approach in that game, and I hope we take that same philosophy into tomorrow nights game. Miles is coming off a solid game, and Andre looked good on defense in the UNC game as well. We need both of those guys to contribute tomorrow evening. If they do, and Ryan Kelly can bounce back as well, it will be a huge boost for the team.

Getting Kyle going again with the mid-range jumpers, drives, and post ups would be nice to see as well. He is overdue to bust out of the slump in a big way. This weekend would be great timing for that.

On defense, the Williams kid will get his, so we need to take away the 3-Ball, and make every mid-range shot for Maryland difficult. Our guys need to communicate on defense, close out on shooters, rotate to help on time, and then finish the "stop" by boxing out and securing the rebound. Maryland crashes the offensive glass relentlessly, and we need to make them pay for that by boxing out, and then hitting the quick outlet pass to generate fast break and secondary breaks looking to score quickly. If Maryland presses, we need to punish them by looking to break the press for a score, rather than breaking the press and then pulling out to set up the half-court offense. That will be key.

Maryland will put forth a good effort and it will be a battle for sure. We will need to play at a high level and match their intensity right out of the gate, and avoid the "slow start" we have seen so many times down the stretch.

I would love to see us jump out and put the opponent in a hole before the first tv timeout and let our guys see the ball go in the hole early and often. That would be a great way to start this tourney off for Duke.

[#1Duke]

Much of what happens in tomorrows game will depend on the play of Singler.
If he shows up, I think we'll be good.
If not, it could be a long game.

[-bdbd]

Let's get the discussion going! Maryland has defeated NC State and will be desperate to beat Duke in order to try and earn an NCAA Tournament bid. We need to show up ready to bring it for 40 minutes as the Terps have nothing to lose and everything to gain.

We've defeated Maryland twice this season: 71-64 in Durham and 80-62 in College Park. In the first game, Singler scored 25, Smith 18 and Curry 12. In the second game, Singler scored 22, Smith 21, Mason Plumlee 12 and Andre Dawkins 11.

Jordan Williams had a double-double in both games for the Terps.

Was looking at the box score from their game tonight -- http://www.cbssports.com/collegebask...110310_NCST@MD -- and it looks like Gary tried to spread out his minutes a little better than normal, possibly to rest his guys for tomorrow. Not that NCSU was a blow-out at all. But Jordan Williams was the only Terp with more than 28 minutes (he logged 36 min). However nobody off the bench had more than 20 minutes. MD outrebounded NCSU, but not by a whole lot.

It seems to me that we already know them pretty well, and even though all the Kerlina and other fans will root for MD, we should have a pretty good gameplan ready. They don't shoot too well from the outside, and can be expected to pound it in to Williams. We need MP2 and MP1 and Ryan to have good defensive games. We can wear him down tomorrow.

Would be really nice to get out early on them, get any adverse crowd out of the mix, and maybe rest folks a little if possible. You know Gary will have them pumped and ready for Duke.

[Chris Randolph]

Kyle played very well both games against Maryland, especially on offense. I'm sure the confidence he has been lacking on offense will be given a boost seeing Maryland as the opponent.

Expect a close first half, maybe even trailing by a bit at half. Then we gut out the win by 7

[-bdbd]

I'm not sure a win by Maryland in this game will get them into the field. They have 13 losses and are 98th in the RPI. At this point I think Maryland probably has to win the tourney to get in.

That said, I also believe they will play us tough. I hope Nolan and the others meant it when they said they were angry. It would be nice to see us playing at peak intensity for the rest of the season.

Probably true, but that isn't what Gary is telling his guys -- "beat Duke and we could be in!" If they believe him, that is all that matters. They'll be motivated.

[Kedsy]

They'll be motivated.

Well, at this point in the season everyone should be motivated. Including us. Maryland's extra motivation will only matter if we come out flat. I'm hoping, based on the statements by the players after the UNC game, that we've learned that particular lesson.

[Chris Randolph]

Why are we debating the motivation and fire of Maryland? Pointless in my opinion. Of course they will be ready to play, heck if they were ready to play against NC State, I'm certain they will be ready for Duke

Duke just needs to be Duke, regardless of how pumped up Gary and the Terps are

[jv001]

Well, at this point in the season everyone should be motivated. Including us. Maryland's extra motivation will only matter if we come out flat. I'm hoping, based on the statements by the players after the UNC game, that we've learned that particular lesson.

I agree. If we can't come out motivated by now, I've underestimated this team. We have had so many slow starts this year(unc game included) and that's so un-Duke like. I hope Nolan get's the teams attention and we come out playing great defense and hit our shots. Then we will be fine. Go Duke!

[sagegrouse]

Here's what I am thinking, in the rare moments I am not preparing for the Sage Grouse Lek, which gets rolling in about ten days here in the mountains. Except maybe for the first one, these are pretty obvious --

1. Does the emergence of Stoglin fundamentally change the nature of the Terps? Duke has had good matchups with Maryland the last few years, with the exception of Greivis farewell night, and most of the games have not been close. Williams and Stoglin give Maryland a powerful combination of a center and a penetrating guard. Is Maryland -- despite recent losses -- a much tougher matchup now?

2. Will Duke be productive (above 35%) from behind the arc? A focus on "recency" tends to color judgment, but the question has to be asked.

3. Will the ACC tournament mark a resurgence of Kyle Singler, who has been an effective player all four years at Duke, and who won All-ACC honors each year.

4. Will the strategy be to (a) shut down Williams or (b) let him get his points in one-on-one coverage but keep the rest of the Terps in check?

5. Does all-everything Nolan also get the job of shutting down Stoglin?

6. Whose the third (and fourth) scorer for Duke? Scoring from mulitple players will be important from here on, and Seth, Mason, Andre and Ryan have stepped up at various times. Will Seth continue his strong play (except at VT).

sagegrouse

[UrinalCake]

I agree that the game in College Park showed some great offensive diversity, but much of it was necessitated by Smith and Singler each getting two fouls in the first half. Hopefully that won't happen again. Tyler played well both times against them, hopefully he can have another positive impact.

[Newton_14]

I agree that the game in College Park showed some great offensive diversity, but much of it was necessitated by Smith and Singler each getting two fouls in the first half. Hopefully that won't happen again. Tyler played well both times against them, hopefully he can have another positive impact.

I remember the foul trouble which forced us to play several minutes without Kyle and Nolan on the floor, but out of the gate our offensive approach was more diverse even with those two guys on the floor prior to the foul trouble. We started the game by going to Mason the first 2 or 3 possessions. We were running great motion and using all 5 guys right out of the gate.

Then the foul trouble came and like you indicate, it forced us to do all of the above without Kyle and Nolan and for the most part the young guys performed really well and actually increased the lead. (We did have a mini-meltdown in the final minute prior to the half)

[Kedsy]

Whose the third (and fourth) scorer for Duke? Scoring from mulitple players will be important from here on, and Seth, Mason, Andre and Ryan have stepped up at various times. Will Seth continue his strong play (except at VT).

Can I just say I think the idea of needing a "reliable third scorer" is overrated on this board? As FellowTraveler noted on a different thread, how many teams have a 22 point scorer, a 17 point scorer, and then a third guy averaging double figures? I don't know for sure, but I'd guess not many, if any. I agree that scoring from multiple players will be somewhat important, but as long as somebody steps up in each game, why is it important that it's always the same guy?

Also, while I'm a big fan of Seth's and agree he's played well over the past couple months, it is worth noting that he's only scored in double figures twice in his past six games.

[Vincetaylor]

Can I just say I think the idea of needing a "reliable third scorer" is overrated on this board? As FellowTraveler noted on a different thread, how many teams have a 22 point scorer, a 17 point scorer, and then a third guy averaging double figures? I don't know for sure, but I'd guess not many, if any. I agree that scoring from multiple players will be somewhat important, but as long as somebody steps up in each game, why is it important that it's always the same guy?

Also, while I'm a big fan of Seth's and agree he's played well over the past couple months, it is worth noting that he's only scored in double figures twice in his past six games.

The problem is we have guys who play a lot of minutes who sometime only put up 0-2 points. When that happens, we better have a 3rd double digit scorer or we won't be scoring enough points to beat good teams.

[ThePublisher]

Assuming Kyrie doesn't return for the ACCT,Singler is the key to our success and beatingunc in the final.

[Kedsy]

The problem is we have guys who play a lot of minutes who sometime only put up 0-2 points. When that happens, we better have a 3rd double digit scorer or we won't be scoring enough points to beat good teams.

I may not have made my point clear enough. I think we have plenty of potential scorers. We have 7 different players who have put up 20+ points in a game this year. In almost every game someone (or two) have stepped up. Since ACC play started (19 games total, including UAB, St Johns, & Temple), in every game but three our third leading scorer has had 9 or more points (and in those three our third guy had 8, 8, and 7). In every game but four, our fourth leading scorer has had at least 8 points (and in those four our fourth guy had 7, 7, 6, and 4).

First of all, I don't see what's so important about a "3rd double digit scorer" if our third and fourth guys are scoring at least 8 or 9 in every game. Second, I don't see why the third scorer has to be consistent -- what's wrong with the 3rd and 4th guy being different every game?

[ncexnyc]

I may not have made my point clear enough. I think we have plenty of potential scorers. We have 7 different players who have put up 20+ points in a game this year. In almost every game someone (or two) have stepped up. Since ACC play started (19 games total, including UAB, St Johns, & Temple), in every game but three our third leading scorer has had 9 or more points (and in those three our third guy had 8, 8, and 7). In every game but four, our fourth leading scorer has had at least 8 points (and in those four our fourth guy had 7, 7, 6, and 4).

First of all, I don't see what's so important about a "3rd double digit scorer" if our third and fourth guys are scoring at least 8 or 9 in every game. Second, I don't see why the third scorer has to be consistent -- what's wrong with the 3rd and 4th guy being different every game?

Don't you think it would make life a lot easier for the staff to prepare a game plan if they knew what player/players they could depend on night in and night out? As you've pointed out we've had a number of players go over 20+ at some point in the season, unfortunately those very same players are just as likely to put up a goose egg the very next game. (Nolan and Kyle excluded) It certainly looked like our plan of attack last Saturday was to have Ryan spot up in the corner in an attempt to draw out the big that was guarding him. Unfortunately that scheme was a total failure as Ryan had a terrible shooting night.

[jammsb]

What time is the game?

[jammsb]

I'll answer my own question - 7.00PM ESPN 2 & 3