MBB: Duke at Boston College (Sat 12/9, Noon ET, ESPN) PreGame and In-Game Thread

[Troublemaker]

First conference game of the season and first conference road game.

Put your thoughts in this thread.

[flyingdutchdevil]

I'll be there, rocking out with 7 strong. This is an away game. But it's really not cus Boston hates college basketball. And BC is so mediocre.

[Troublemaker]

Right off the bat, wanted to post this news:

Jeff Goodman‏Verified account @GoodmanESPN 2h2 hours ago
BC loses Deontae Hawkins for the rest of the season due to a knee injury, school spokesman Mike Laprey told ESPN. Tough blow to Eagles.


This was expected as Hawkins went down with a non-contact knee injury in BC's loss at Nebraska in the ACC / Big 10 Challenge. It just took awhile for them to announce it.

Hawkins is grad transfer stretch-4 who was averaging 12 points and 9 rebounds. He gave them a third good player to go along with their very good backcourt of Ky Bowman and Jerome Robinson, so this is a difficult loss for them.

[Troublemaker]

I'll be there, rocking out with 7 strong. This is an away game. But it's really not cus Boston hates college basketball. And BC is so mediocre.

I remember they had some pretty good crowds for Duke games during the Al Skinner years when BC was making the tournament regularly.

Then they fired Skinner for some reason and haven't been back to the tournament since.

[flyingdutchdevil]

I remember they had some pretty good crowds for Duke games during the Al Skinner years when BC was making the tournament regularly.

Then they fired Skinner for some reason and haven't been back to the tournament since.

Winning brings in fans. And no city knows that better than Boston

[DukieInBrasil]

This was expected as Hawkins went down with a non-contact knee injury in BC's loss at Nebraska in the ACC / Big 10 Challenge. It just took awhile for them to announce it.

Hawkins is grad transfer stretch-4 who was averaging 12 points and 9 rebounds. He gave them a third good player to go along with their very good backcourt of Ky Bowman and Jerome Robinson, so this is a difficult loss for them.

I feel bad for Hawkins, perhaps he'll be able to get a medical red-shirt, if he's interested in staying in college, heck he could get another degree or two if he wants.

I'm looking to see if Duke can retain the Full Forty Focus they displayed during the StFrank game. If they can play with that focus from the opening tip, then there's no reason to think they won't be able to win handily. BC just doesn't have anyone who can stop Bagley or Carter, let alone stay even with Bolden and Javin. Now BC's backcourt has some talent, in fact they're really quite good, but i'm hoping that our trio of backcourters will be far superior.
We could have beaten StFrank by 75+ if we focused more on doing the basics, but sloppy play led to most of our 13 turnovers. I'm not saying we should beat BC by 70+, but if everyone plays with focus and intensity we ought to be looking at another game where the deep bench can get a decent look at a few minutes of PT.

[BandAlum83]

Go Duke!!!

[BeachBlueDevil]

I remember they had some pretty good crowds for Duke games during the Al Skinner years when BC was making the tournament regularly.

Then they fired Skinner for some reason and haven't been back to the tournament since.

Dudley, Marshall and Smith battling JJ and Landlord led Duke teams in 05-06 were classics. I couldn't stand Dudley and Marshall at all. Now look at where BC has went since then... They were strong in the Dudley days under Skinner.

[Travis]

It did not seem to get as much attention in the post game thread, but the most important stat from the St. Francis (PA) game to me was:
## Player FG-FGA FG-FGA
02 Gary Trent Jr. g 5-8 4-6

If this is replicable, not precisely, but just in terms of Trent Jr. shooting a solid percentage on three-point shots, BC and really almost every other team are really in trouble.

[BandAlum83]

It did not seem to get as much attention in the post game thread, but the most important stat from the St. Francis (PA) game to me was:
## Player FG-FGA FG-FGA
02 Gary Trent Jr. g 5-8 4-6

If this is replicable, not precisely, but just in terms of Trent Jr. shooting a solid percentage on three-point shots, BC and really almost every other team are really in trouble.

I don't even want to acknowledge it without knocking on wood and seeing it for 3 games in a row...

(knocking now)

[Olympic Fan]

Dudley, Marshall and Smith battling JJ and Landlord led Duke teams in 05-06 were classics. I couldn't stand Dudley and Marshall at all. Now look at where BC has went since then... They were strong in the Dudley days under Skinner.

No argument -- BC was good when they joined the ACC in 2006 (21 ACC wins in 2006 and 2007)

But Skinner kind of gave up recruiting at that point. His next team was 14-17 ... after a 22-12 bounce back, he was 15-16 in 2010 -- and the talent cupboard was empty when Steve Donohue arrived. It's been a struggle at BC ever since -- reflected by the disappearance of the crowds at the Conte Center.

But the decline started under Skinner ... not because he was fired.

[BandAlum83]

Dudley, Marshall and Smith battling JJ and Landlord led Duke teams in 05-06 were classics. I couldn't stand Dudley and Marshall at all. Now look at where BC has went since then... They were strong in the Dudley days under Skinner.

I really hate to do it, but it's like fingernails ona chalk board. It's "has gone."

[rsvman]

I really hate to do it, but it's like fingernails ona chalk board. It's "has gone."

Amen!

But I fear we are fighting a losing battle.

[ChillinDuke]

I will be there as well - 4 of us.

Seats aren't great, but I hear Conte is small so not a bad seat in the house.

Let's Go Duke!!!

- Chillin

[Fish80]

Dudley, Marshall and Smith battling JJ and Landlord led Duke teams in 05-06 were classics. I couldn't stand Dudley and Marshall at all. Now look at where BC has went since then... They were strong in the Dudley days under Skinner.

I really hate to do it, but it's like fingernails ona chalk board. It's "has gone."

Similar to hazmat and has been, "has went" do be used in Boston colloquially since the day of yours when Paul Revered done rhode his stallion.

[Troublemaker]

Now BC's backcourt has some talent, in fact they're really quite good,

Yes, I remember Bowman and Robinson slicing up Duke's defense pretty good in the second half of the game at Cameron last season to turn a blowout win into a slightly uncomfortable win.

This opponent has two very good, quick, penetrating guards. Let's see how we handle that. It helps that BC won't have much of anything else, especially with Hawkins out.

I'm looking to see if Duke can retain the Full Forty Focus they displayed during the StFrank game.

Yeah, looking ahead, I was pretty excited to predict that BC would be our first 40 minute effort in awhile. Then, the boys surprised me last night by doing it a game early against St Francis and now I'm wondering if we can do it back-to-back. But, the factors that would lead me to predict a focused, 40-minute effort against BC are still there:

* This will be the first time this season that Duke will have three days off (today, Thursday, and Friday) in between game days. One of those days will be a rest day, I'm sure (likely today). But we're going to have two practice days to get ready for BC.
* This is our last game before finals, and our next game won't be until Dec 20th. So the coaching staff should be able to get the players to "empty the tank" on Saturday before the long break.
* We're catching BC at the right time with the Deontae Hawkins injury. If anyone's worried about the old theory that a team dealing with a major injury can come together and play well that first game without the missing player, BC already played that game, winning at Hartford and covering the kenpom spread. Now it's time to curl up and die, Eagles.

[Troublemaker]

No argument -- BC was good when they joined the ACC in 2006 (21 ACC wins in 2006 and 2007)

But Skinner kind of gave up recruiting at that point. His next team was 14-17 ... after a 22-12 bounce back, he was 15-16 in 2010 -- and the talent cupboard was empty when Steve Donohue arrived. It's been a struggle at BC ever since -- reflected by the disappearance of the crowds at the Conte Center.

But the decline started under Skinner ... not because he was fired.

True but I bet if they had stuck with Skinner, BC would've made a couple of NCAA tournaments in the 7 seasons (this season is #8) since they fired him. They were better off sticking with him, imo. Won't argue with you fiercely on this point, though.

[NYBri]

I really hate to do it, but it's like fingernails ona chalk board. It's "has gone."

“Earl, if I’da knowd you had want to have went, i’da seen to it you’da Got ta git ta go.”

Overheard at a bar in Louisville, Ky.

[MPandolfi]

This is an away game. But it's really not cus Boston hates college basketball. And BC is so mediocre.

I went two years ago (and will be there again on Saturday. Go Duke!!) and was shocked at how many of the fans were cheering for a Duke. It was easily 75/25 Duke.

[Henderson]

I really hate to do it, but it's like fingernails ona chalk board. It's "has gone."

H.L. Mencken in 1921 described "has went" as a notable American usage and criticized those who disparaged it. I've been told that it's also heard in Canada and in Glasgow and other parts of SW Scotland. My suspicion is that it predates the time when English speakers even worried about the difference between "simple past" and "past perfect" tenses.

Now Duck Tape. Don't get me started about Duck Tape.

But back to the topic at hand.

First of all, I'm jealous of all y'all who are going. I hope you and yours have a great time. Please provide post-game atmosphere reports.

Second, I'd like BC to be a good team, and I don't understand why they never bulked up. I like that they're in the ACC more than I like that other teams are in the ACC. BC is an ACC sort of school, and surely the ACC teams (including ours) benefit from exposure to the Boston-area recruiting market.

Third, I hope Duke mauls them by 40 and makes the entire lot (players, students, faculty, staff, administrators, and alums) wish they had went somewhere else.