MBB- Duke (17-3) @ Virginia (19-0) JPJ Arena Charlottesville, Virginia 7PM ET

[AIRFORCEDUKIE]

Its Friday, we got a big game tomorrow night against what some might consider the best team in the Nation. Perhaps we should start talking about it.

Keys to the game:

Duke: How does the team react to Sheeds dismissal?
Who steps up?
Can we find a way to defend?
Can VA stop Jah?
Free Throws, Free Throws, Free Throws

Virginia: Can they keep us from scoring?
Do they double the post?
Can they score enough to keep up with us on a good shooting night?

Mods forgive me for any protocol bypassing. I hadn't seen any pre game thread so I figured I would move us along to the "Next Play" and start one. This is a massive game for us and for the nation.

[Troublemaker]

Will this game be known as The Marshall Plumlee Game? Or at least the Second one of those, since it'll be hard to top the SJU game for that moniker.

Marshall's going to get major run in this game. Coach K is completely intrigued by the twin towers pairing after the SJU game. If he was willing to try twin towers against Notre Dame for a few minutes, I believe he's going to give it a more extensive look against UVA since none of Tobey, Gill, or Atkins are shooters. It'll be UVA's 3 classic big men pounding against Duke's 3 classic big men in Jah, Amile, and Marshall. I don't see Justise playing much 4 in this one.

My dear Marshall, I've been clamoring for more playing time for you all season. Kick some butt out there, please! Oh, when you're in Amile's ball-handling spot at the top of the key, don't panic. If the pass isn't there, wait; don't throw it anyway. Put the onus on the guards to come to you. Do that, play with calm, ration your energy, and you're going to have a fine game and possibly be the key to victory.

[CarmenWallaceWade]

A big test just got enormous. Given the events that have unfolded within the last 24 hours, if we can pull it together and win this game it will speak volumes to our mental toughness. Not to mention it would show that we are still able to compete with the best teams in the nation despite losing a very valuable contributor. Can't wait to see if the team can pull it together and compete at a high level.

[jipops]

I must say I felt more positive about this game late Wednesday night than I do now. It has to be difficult for such a young group to focus after such a significant event on the roster has taken place. This isn't quite the same as getting charged up after a guy going out with an injury.

This will obviously be especially tough due to UVA's elite defense which goes up against a team that wasn't especially powerful on the perimeter that is now down a shooter.

It's sort of a conundrum with Matt Jones and Plumlee. Having Plumlee in with Okafor could provide some advantages in the front court and Matt Jones is now probably our best defender but neither one offers much of anything on offense. And we are already going to have a difficult time scoring. And I don't see Grayson getting any sort of meaningful pt, he'll be way in over his head in this one.

We don't match up well with their lengthy back court. On the other hand they have no individual answer for Okafor either. I thing playing long stretches of zone make sense in this one, especially since the Hoos haven't been shooting great from the perimeter lately (except for GT).

We're 2-0 in games where we're the underdog so far. Hopefully we can make it 3-0 but I'm not counting on it.

[Danke Shane]

This year seems to be destined as the "year of the off court distractions", which is unfortunate given the abundance of youth on this team. First it was all the build up to 1K, now it's Rasheed's dismissal.

At this point, I almost don't even care what our final record or tournament seeding is. I'd just like to see the team play solid, confident basketball and be gelling in March.

[Mtn.Devil.91.92.01.10.15]

Gee, think we might see some changes to our game-plan and our minutes played?

I have nothing to say. I'm glad I'm not the one in charge of rallying the troops and coming up with a strategy to win this game. And, I'm glad we have The Man on the bench. Eager to see what comes together.

[weezie]

hoo friends are sure we'll come out with both barrels firing. Can't tell if they are really concerned or just hungover from beatings of years past.
I try to remember what it was like when Duke was gaining prominence all those years ago so maybe it's just their anxieties from sitting so high on the flag pole.

[CDu]

It certainly wouldn't be the first time that a Duke team overcame major adversity to win a game against a very talented, well-coached team in a game they shouldn't win. Let's hope it happens.

As for the game, UVa is pretty athletic at every spot, and fairly long and physical. They are able to switch seamlessly on screens at 3-4 positions when Gill is in at PF. Tobey is an underrated player on both ends inside and will certainly make Okafor work. He may be the best one-on-one defender in the post that Okafor has faced this year. Actually, I'll say he is the best, and it might not be very close.

On top of that, UVa will almost certainly trap Okafor inside with a second big. And they are extremely good at defensive rotations, so it won't be easy to punish them for that help.

Trogdon and Anderson are extremely physical, extremely capable wings. Perrantes is a little less consistent as a scorer, but he runs the offense well and (like everyone) he defends well.

There isn't anything in particular that UVa does poorly. They are careful with the ball, they score extremely efficiently, and they defend ferociously.

The one thing we can hope is that Okafor and our 3pt shooters are on, and that Brogdon and Anderson and Perrantes are off. If that is the case, we can certainly win this game.

Looking forward to seeing how the team responds to adversity. Hopefully they band together and play a great game tomorrow!

[MCFinARL]

It certainly wouldn't be the first time that a Duke team overcame major adversity to win a game against a very talented, well-coached team in a game they shouldn't win. Let's hope it happens.

As for the game, UVa is pretty athletic at every spot, and fairly long and physical. They are able to switch seamlessly on screens at 3-4 positions when Gill is in at PF. Tobey is an underrated player on both ends inside and will certainly make Okafor work. He may be the best one-on-one defender in the post that Okafor has faced this year. Actually, I'll say he is the best, and it might not be very close.

On top of that, UVa will almost certainly trap Okafor inside with a second big. And they are extremely good at defensive rotations, so it won't be easy to punish them for that help.

Trogdon and Anderson are extremely physical, extremely capable wings. Perrantes is a little less consistent as a scorer, but he runs the offense well and (like everyone) he defends well.

There isn't anything in particular that UVa does poorly. They are careful with the ball, they score extremely efficiently, and they defend ferociously.

The one thing we can hope is that Okafor and our 3pt shooters are on, and that Brogdon and Anderson and Perrantes are off. If that is the case, we can certainly win this game.

Looking forward to seeing how the team responds to adversity. Hopefully they band together and play a great game tomorrow!

I agree 3-point shooting needs to be on for this game--Cook, T. Jones, M. Jones, let's go! Maybe Winslow as well, who hit a couple long shots on Wednesday. Okafor will get his opportunities, but when he has to pass out of a double team, the shooters need to be ready to hit.

[gumbomoop]

Marshall's going to get major run in this game. Coach K is completely intrigued by the twin towers pairing after the SJU game. If he was willing to try twin towers against Notre Dame for a few minutes, I believe he's going to give it a more extensive look against UVA since none of Tobey, Gill, or Atkins are shooters. It'll be UVA's 3 classic big men pounding against Duke's 3 classic big men in Jah, Amile, and Marshall. I don't see Justise playing much 4 in this one.

I, too, think Marshall will get more minutes Saturday. On UVa's 3 big "non-shooters," do you mean they almost always score close to the basket, that they don't shoot jumpers?

[tbyers11]

I, too, think Marshall will get more minutes Saturday. On UVa's 3 big "non-shooters," do you mean they almost always score close to the basket, that they don't shoot jumpers?

From games I've watched none of Gill, Tobey or Atkins are 3 pt shooters. In fact, they are each 0-1 on 3FG for the year. They can all hit the 15 footer though.

[Dukehky]

It certainly wouldn't be the first time that a Duke team overcame major adversity to win a game against a very talented, well-coached team in a game they shouldn't win. Let's hope it happens.

As for the game, UVa is pretty athletic at every spot, and fairly long and physical. They are able to switch seamlessly on screens at 3-4 positions when Gill is in at PF. Tobey is an underrated player on both ends inside and will certainly make Okafor work. He may be the best one-on-one defender in the post that Okafor has faced this year. Actually, I'll say he is the best, and it might not be very close.

On top of that, UVa will almost certainly trap Okafor inside with a second big. And they are extremely good at defensive rotations, so it won't be easy to punish them for that help.

Trogdon and Anderson are extremely physical, extremely capable wings. Perrantes is a little less consistent as a scorer, but he runs the offense well and (like everyone) he defends well.

There isn't anything in particular that UVa does poorly. They are careful with the ball, they score extremely efficiently, and they defend ferociously.

The one thing we can hope is that Okafor and our 3pt shooters are on, and that Brogdon and Anderson and Perrantes are off. If that is the case, we can certainly win this game.

Looking forward to seeing how the team responds to adversity. Hopefully they band together and play a great game tomorrow!

Actually this is the first time that a Duke team will have to overcome this kind of adversity. I'm really worried about the next couple of weeks. K is going to have his work cut out for him, not in the coaching department. I do not see this game going well. If youth has been a reason that we've lost games when to State and Miami, then I think youth is a reason that we are not going to be prepared to play this game.

Regardless, I'm going to watch this game to see if we play hard. If we play hard and lose, even if we get creamed (possible), I think we will be okay in the long run. If we look really troubled, then I will be really troubled.

[jipops]

It certainly wouldn't be the first time that a Duke team overcame major adversity to win a game against a very talented, well-coached team in a game they shouldn't win. Let's hope it happens.

As for the game, UVa is pretty athletic at every spot, and fairly long and physical. They are able to switch seamlessly on screens at 3-4 positions when Gill is in at PF. Tobey is an underrated player on both ends inside and will certainly make Okafor work. He may be the best one-on-one defender in the post that Okafor has faced this year. Actually, I'll say he is the best, and it might not be very close.

On top of that, UVa will almost certainly trap Okafor inside with a second big. And they are extremely good at defensive rotations, so it won't be easy to punish them for that help.

Trogdon and Anderson are extremely physical, extremely capable wings. Perrantes is a little less consistent as a scorer, but he runs the offense well and (like everyone) he defends well.

There isn't anything in particular that UVa does poorly. They are careful with the ball, they score extremely efficiently, and they defend ferociously.

The one thing we can hope is that Okafor and our 3pt shooters are on, and that Brogdon and Anderson and Perrantes are off. If that is the case, we can certainly win this game.

Looking forward to seeing how the team responds to adversity. Hopefully they band together and play a great game tomorrow!

This is almost a singular now. We'll have to lean on Cook even more, and I'm thinking UVA knows this. While a difficult game already it's hard to see us keeping up if Cook isn't knocking them down in large volume with good efficiency.

[kAzE]

This is almost a singular now. We'll have to lean on Cook even more, and I'm thinking UVA knows this. While a difficult game already it's hard to see us keeping up if Cook isn't knocking them down in large volume with good efficiency.

Winslow has been surprisingly good from deep this year, and Tyus Jones manages to hit some big 3s as well. We have some shooting on the perimeter, it's just that neither of our bigs are going to pull defenders out of the paint. I see us going with Winslow at the 4 for long stretches this game. They go 6-11, 6-8, and 6-8 for their top 3 bigs. Then again, we're down one of our best perimeter options now, so I guess it really depends on if Matt Jones decides to have an good shooting day or not.

[jipops]

Winslow has been surprisingly good from deep this year, and Tyus Jones manages to hit some big 3s as well. We have some shooting on the perimeter, it's just that neither of our bigs are going to pull defenders out of the paint. I see us going with Winslow at the 4 for long stretches this game. They go 6-11, 6-8, and 6-8 for their top 3 bigs. Then again, we're down one of our best perimeter options now, so I guess it really depends on if Matt Jones decides to have an good shooting day or not.

I wouldn't say surprisingly good, but sure he can hit it. But if I'm scouting Duke I'm not real concerned about Winslow and the Jones' jacking it up from 3. Unlike Cook, Justise and Matt need a decent amount of time just to be set before letting it go. I do think Tyus is a very promising 3pt shooter but he's a freshman that just hasn't made it more of a strength yet. Sheed was a 40% shooter from 3 so far this season. Winslow and the Jones' all hover around 37, that's a big difference. Not all bad, but not killer either. Cook, even with such a high number of attempts, is real close to 40. So yea, there has been a rather large drop off in our 3pt shooting with Sheed gone, and it wasn't particularly powerful to begin with. Contrast this with UVA who has 3 guys shooting over 40 and another one at 38.

[roywhite]

I've been quite surprised by the dramatic improvement of Justin Anderson for the Cavs; he is now their leading scorer. If I recall, Duke looked at him when he was a high school sophomore, but then dropped off his recruitment.

Prior to this year, he shot around 30% from 3-pt; this year, he's hitting 51.9% from 3-pt, as well as 50% overall FG, and 81% from the FT line. His size also makes him a tough cover -- he's 6'6" 230#, long-armed, and jumps well. I'd like to see (a hopefully healthy) Justise Winslow check him.

I expect Duke to play well and win.

[Kedsy]

This is almost a singular now. We'll have to lean on Cook even more, and I'm thinking UVA knows this. While a difficult game already it's hard to see us keeping up if Cook isn't knocking them down in large volume with good efficiency.

It would be really hard for Virginia (or anybody else) to try to lock down both Quinn and Jahlil. If the Hoos (or anyone else) try to do that, I like the odds of our other three (probably wide open) players being able to score in bunches, especially with Tyus running the show.

[kAzE]

I wouldn't say surprisingly good, but sure he can hit it. But if I'm scouting Duke I'm not real concerned about Winslow and the Jones' jacking it up from 3. Unlike Cook, Justise and Matt need a decent amount of time just to be set before letting it go. I do think Tyus is a very promising 3pt shooter but he's a freshman that just hasn't made it more of a strength yet. Sheed was a 40% shooter from 3 so far this season. Winslow and the Jones' all hover around 37, that's a big difference. Not all bad, but not killer either. Cook, even with such a high number of attempts, is real close to 40. So yea, there has been a rather large drop off in our 3pt shooting with Sheed gone, and it wasn't particularly powerful to begin with. Contrast this with UVA who has 3 guys shooting over 40 and another one at 38.

I'd say I'm absolutely stunned that he's shooting this well from deep. Considering how poorly he shoots free throws, and that the scouting report on him coming out of high school was "does everything but shoot," I think 37% is well above expectations. he's picked it up lately, too. Some of his earlier games in the year included some really poor shooting performances, but he's gone 5-9 in the past 3 contests. I don't mind him taking that shot if it's available. The fact that he can provide minutes at the 4 make his shooting ability even more valuable. It really does wonders for our spacing.

[jipops]

It would be really hard for Virginia (or anybody else) to try to lock down both Quinn and Jahlil. If the Hoos (or anyone else) try to do that, I like the odds of our other three (probably wide open) players being able to score in bunches, especially with Tyus running the show.

A lot of Duke's 3's have come as a result of Okafor passing out of the post and either directly from that or a swing pass. Matt and Justise have been most successful with wide open looks and nobody in vicinity of them where they can gather themselves before firing. I don't see them getting those kind of looks from UVA's D, even on swing passes. Quinn has developed more of a quick trigger but he's likely going to have a 6-5 defender on him. So yea, we'll likely need Tyus Stones to make quite a few appearances in this one.

[jacone21]

I'm not really feeling this game right now. I sure hope the team is in a better frame of mind about Duke basketball than I am at the moment. I could see the game going any of a number of ways, from gut check win to complete rock bottom, crash and burn, blow out loss. Who knows? One thing's for sure. There will be a damn ghost on the bench.