MBB: Duke vs. Florida (Sun, 11/26, 10:30pm, ESPN) Pre-Game and In-Game Thread

[WiJoe]

Myron Medcalf seems pretty sure we're going to lose tomorrow.

http://www.espn.com/mens-college-bas...pionship-games

Like most espn clowns, myron is full of poo. Michigan State has two big ten games the first week of December, as does everyone else in the conference. this is because the big ten men's tournament is in ny the week before the power conferences

[Henderson]

Duke opened as a 2.5 pt favorite last night, and it was bet down to 1.5 this morning.

After a day of reflection, rest, and game planning, I have to like our chances.

[uh_no]

Duke opened as a 2.5 pt favorite last night, and it was bet down to 1.5 this morning.

After a day of reflection, rest, and game planning, I have to like our chances.

yep. I think duke wins this one. only concern is if we trade 3's for 2's with them all game...

Limit turnovers and play a clean game and duke should win. I'm taking the over in this one.

[22JumpShots]

Anyone else getting that same vibe similar to the ACC Tournament last year? A bunch of come from behind games (today will equal 4 games total if you count Furman). The rally to come back against Texas was similar to that against the cheats, except we slaughtered the rams by the end of the game. (Always will remember the half court ally-oop to Harry over Meeks. A great moment for that season.) Title game on a Sunday against another good squad. Also remember feeling most confident on the final game than through out the tournament itself.

Ultimately I think Duke comes out on top in this one. I am just banking on our size. We are too big here. We will hopefully swallow rebounds for put backs or kick outs. I am also hoping Grayson comes out of his recent "slump" in regards to points and lack of 3-pointers.

[MrPoon]

I said it earlier but I think our ability to avoid live ball TOs and transition points will decide this game. Don’t understand ESPN saying Florida has size with tallest player at 6’6 to matchup inside. Man to man, limit transition, rebound well, close out on threes, avoid TOs... should be easy.

Glad to have the extra day of video and coaching to prepare. For our young guys could be big. GA may have a big roll to play here. Tried to do too much early to overcome team’s slow start against TX but coaches will help him there. Curious to see the Javin vs AOC min, guessing AOC more with points at a premium and strong guards. Not a great game for Bolden would be my guess unless it is the back of the zone with one of the bigs in foul trouble.

[Billy Dat]

Hudson and Egor are lights out shooters. I suspect Trent, Grayson, AOC, and DeLaurier will get opportunities to slow these guys down. Duval will need to contain Chiozza's penetration. The game turns on how we defend the threes, and how Florida defends our bigs - where we have a huge advantage.
If we are having trouble defending the threes, an interesting lineup could be DeLaurier and Bagley and Grayson, Trent and Duval. This team would have quickness to closeout on shooters, and some rim protection when/if they beat us off the dribble. I'd also be interested in seeing if K tries some zone to slow down their pace... but that would be playing with fire.
The difference in styles is fascinating. I think Duke wins 91-79... a bit larger margin of victory than you'd think because I feel Duke's bigs will dominate in the paint (scoring, rebounding, blocking/altering shots). Also, I expect Duval to bounce back, and for Grayson to be on fire. Of course, if we do not guard the three point line, it could be 91-79 the other way... but I think Duke will do a good job closing out on shooters. Historically, Duke defends the three well.
Forgot KeVaughn Allen... He's a load and their best player. A versatile, athletic and skilled guard.

Nice breakdown. Grayson and Marvin need to play well for us to approach our potential. Marvin has been extremely consistent and productive. Our senior leader, maybe by putting on a POY performance against MSU and raising expectations really high, has not consistently performed to a POY/First Team AA team level (a tough standard, to be sure, but Marvin is performing at that level). As for the defense...I got nothing...NOTHING! Who knows what we'll do.

It's funny because Medcalf said this: "But Florida also has the personnel to battle Duke inside the arc even if they're not a can't-miss team from the 3-point line on Sunday."

I just finished listening to Gary Parrish's podcast and he and Matt Norlander were saying Florida doesn't have anyone who can hang with Bagley (and presumably Carter) on the inside. Parrish is convinced that Bagley will get all he wants tomorrow and pretty much every game this season.

However, both Parrish and Norlander are in agreement with Medcalf in the conviction that Florida will take us down on Sunday, so whatever.

Parrish technically picked Duke to win, but he said it was merely because he had Duke as No.1 and it would mean he wouldn't have to work too hard in changing his Top 25 list (blah blah blah).

Yeah, convention college bball writer wisdom is that we are going down tonight. I can't believe I have to stay awake until 1AM EST to find out. Someone needs to write and article about how football TV $ made one of the best college basketball 2-game sets on after bedtime on a school night.

[subzero02]

Nice breakdown. Grayson and Marvin need to play well for us to approach our potential. Marvin has been extremely consistent and productive. Our senior leader, maybe by putting on a POY performance against MSU and raising expectations really high, has not consistently performed to a POY/First Team AA team level (a tough standard, to be sure, but Marvin is performing at that level). As for the defense...I got nothing...NOTHING! Who knows what we'll do.



Yeah, convention college bball writer wisdom is that we are going down tonight. I can't believe I have to stay awake until 1AM EST to find out. Someone needs to write and article about how football TV $ made one of the best college basketball 2-game sets on after bedtime on a school night.

The two semifinal games and the 3rd place game in the motion bracket have all gone into at least 1 overtime. If the trend holds, we'll be lucky to be done by 1 am EST.

[TruBlu]

The two semifinal games and the 3rd place game in the motion bracket have all gone into at least 1 overtime. If the trend holds, we'll be lucky to be done by 1 am EST.

If it gets delayed enough, then maybe I can watch it from the beginning when I get up at 3:00 AM for work. Everyone, please cheer extra loud for me tonight!

(Needless to say, I will not be watching the game tonight. I will however check the score before I even fix my coffee.)

[-jk]

If it gets delayed enough, then maybe I can watch it from the beginning when I get up at 3:00 AM for work. Everyone, please cheer extra loud for me tonight!

(Needless to say, I will not be watching the game tonight. I will however check the score before I even fix my coffee.)

C'mon: if I can drive from Cameron to MoCo, MD, after a 9:35 tip and OT - and still make work in the morning - you can do this, too! (Caffeine: the favorite American drug!) Just one sleepless night every once in a while...

-jk

[GeneBanksManCrush]

If it gets delayed enough, then maybe I can watch it from the beginning when I get up at 3:00 AM for work. Everyone, please cheer extra loud for me tonight!

(Needless to say, I will not be watching the game tonight. I will however check the score before I even fix my coffee.)

Jeez, I thought I had it rough with a 4 am wakeup. Thank God for DVRs.

[TruBlu]

C'mon: if I can drive from Cameron to MoCo, MD, after a 9:35 tip and OT - and still make work in the morning - you can do this, too! (Caffeine: the favorite American drug!) Just one sleepless night every once in a while...

-jk

My youthfulness ain’t what it used to be.

[Henderson]

C'mon: if I can drive from Cameron to MoCo, MD, after a 9:35 tip and OT - and still make work in the morning - you can do this, too! (Caffeine: the favorite American drug!) Just one sleepless night every once in a while...

-jk

I'd also like to point out that this is an Eastern Time Zone inconvenience. More than half the US population lives outside the Eastern Time Zone, and a majority of teams in this tournament come from outside the Eastern Time Zone too. The game starts at 7:30 pm local time at the venue, which is quite a reasonable time for a Sunday sporting event. For many US service members serving overseas, from Iraq to Afghanistan to Korea and Japan, the game will be broadcast live during daytime hours.

[moonpie23]

i don't like late games....

[DukeBlue666s]

I must admit, when we went down 16 to Texas, I turned the tv off ... 30 mins later I got the notification it was going to OT.

I'm thinking I should just sit this one out. They seem to know when I'm watching and play like poo ...

[dukebluesincebirth]

No way I can stay up late enough to watch tonight. It’s killing me! Pull them through!!

[DukeBlue666s]

I’m letting one eye nap right now so he can watch the game.

[weezie]

WHAT the HELL is Izzo wearing?! Nike's new supreme court chief justice tailed hoodie?

[Coballs]

This is the without question the most moronic tournament I've ever seen Duke play in over the past 25+ years. The previous game was played well over 2 days ago on Friday afternoon and now the finals are held at 10:30PM EST on Sunday night at the very end of Thanksgiving weekend. That's absolutely ridiculous, even by west coast time. Why were these games not played on Saturday or early today...because of football? The NCAA tournament never starts this late on Sunday night. I'm going to stay up and watch, but this is extremely dumb. I would have even flown out from the east coast for this tournament, but the Sunday start time precluded any chance of that.

[-jk]

My youthfulness ain’t what it used to be.

Mine, neither...

(Yawn!)

-jk

[rickshawboycall911]

the gators are going to run us out of the building