MBB: Duke vs. Army (Sun, Nov 11, 1pm ET, ESPN) Pre-Game and In-Game Thread

[ChillinDuke]

Not to be the wet blanket, but we have another game coming up. Which is great. Because it means the season is actually here in earnest.

#228 Army's Black Knights are next, fresh off a tight 73-69 win over #259 Marist.

ESPN lists Army's roster as having 25 players. What?! I pulled up CBS, and they too list 25 players. So now I'm kinda upset I started posting this much more complicated preview than previously thought.

I keed (sorta).

The Black Knights return their top 4 scorers and 5 of their top 6 minute getters off a team that finished 13-17 last year with its most impressive win over, you all guessed it, UMBC (by 11 on 12/1). To better calibrate, they lost at Wake Forest by 29 on 12/8/17. Their most notable addition is 6'2" freshman starting guard Josh Caldwell, although two other freshmen got burn against Marist: 6'0" guard Aaron Duhart and 6'8" forward Ben Kinker.

Army started 4 guards and 1 big in their game against Marist.

On the front line, Army started 6'9" junior forward Matt Wilson, who scored 24 against Marist on 8-8 shooting and 8-12 FTs to go along with 6 rebounds. Matt averaged 12 and 6 last year as a sophomore but notably didn't even attempt a three point shot. Back-up bigs include a seemingly generic slew of 6'8" players including senior John Miller, sophomore Alex King, and freshman Ben Kinker. Those three combined for 3 pts, 6 boards, and a rejection in 35 minutes against Marist on 0-7 shooting (0-6 from 3). So not much out of the second wave.

On the perimeter, they started freshman Josh Caldwell who led the team in minutes with 30. He didn't score a ton but he filled the stat line with 5 pts, 6 rebs, 4 asts, and zero turnovers on 2-8 shooting and 1-4 threes. Freshman jitters in his first game? I think the fact that he led the team in minutes is telling. The other perimeter starters were 6'1" senior guard Jordan Fox, 6'0" junior guard Tommy Funk, and 6'4" senior guard Jacob Kessler. Fox led the team in scoring last year and scored 14 pts against Marist on 4-7 from deep. Funk led the team in minutes last year (essentially tied with Fox) and hit the clinching three pointer against Marist, finishing with 15 and 6 assists on 4-6 and 2-3 from three. Kessler played 20 minutes against Marist with very little to statistically show for it, finishing with only 1 pt, 3 rebs, but added 3 steals (he had 20 steals all of last year, so I'm not particularly worried about that stat). As far as I can tell, the biggest impact guard off their bench might be freshman Aaron Duhart who had 6 pts in 14 minutes against Marist on 2-3 from deep. Sophomore Lonnie Grayson also got 12 minutes but had very little to show for it.

So in summary, Matt Wilson appears to be the only big man of consequence on Army's squad at a height that Marques/Javin should have zero problem with and with no notable shooting range. The only guard with any notable height is 6'4" Kessler who did very little against Marist and only averaged 5.2 ppg last year. The rest of the guards are headlined by Fox and Funk with potential from relatively unknown freshman Caldwell. None of those guys are over 6'2" but should provide the bulk of the Knights' scoring punch.

There is basically nothing about this team that scares me in any way, regardless of how we looked on Tuesday night.

By all metrics, this should be a total romp. But I'll be watching, regardless.

- Chillin

[OldPhiKap]

Army always plays smart and physical. And I applaud their service to our Nation.

(This is my effort to make the internet a better place by saying at least one positive thing about our opponents all year. I conveniently waited until after the Kentucky game though).

First regular season home game in Cameron? That’s a mighty big ask.

[UrinalCake]

Army will literally have to bring their firearms to have any chance in this game. Much respect to our servicemen, and I love the tradition that K has established of playing his alma mater, but this game is going to be a laugher. Only thing I’ll be looking for is whether our guys continue to play hard. I expect Buckmire to get 8+ minutes on this one.

[TruBlu]

Army always plays smart and physical. And I applaud their service to our Nation.

(This is my effort to make the internet a better place by saying at least one positive thing about our opponents all year. I conveniently waited until after the Kentucky game though).

First regular season home game in Cameron? That’s a mighty big ask.

Hopefully, you will make an exception for unc in regards to saying one thing positive about our opponents. To say something positive about them would be fibbing.

[OldPhiKap]

Hopefully, you will make an exception for unc in regards to saying one thing positive about our opponents. To say something positive about them would be fibbing.

No, I've got a few months to come up with something. I'm committed to making this world a better place, one meaningless post at a time.

I went to the Duke-Army game a few years ago. It was perhaps the only visiting crowd that got 100% respect from our fans. And when we play the National Anthem at the beginning, the players line up across the whole court and show their respect. It really is a neat thing.

I wish them well this year in all their games after Saturday. And for safe travels during their service.

[BullBlue]

I was thinking about this game this morning. Duke has scored over 100 points in the last 4 games going back to McGill during the Canadian trip, not counting CTC.

Duke schedule with scores:http://www.goduke.com/SportSelect.db...45&SPSID=22726.

The whole country, with the exception of Big Blue Nation, seems to be enjoying the drubbing Duke put on KY. We know Coach K is a patriotic guy (see Olympics) and he loves his alma mater. Will Duke score over 100 in this game also, or will Coach K try to keep the score a little more respectable, by subbing deeper into the bench than he normally would?

[gep]

Army will literally have to bring their firearms to have any chance in this game. Much respect to our servicemen, and I love the tradition that K has established of playing his alma mater, but this game is going to be a laugher. Only thing I’ll be looking for is whether our guys continue to play hard. I expect Buckmire to get 8+ minutes on this one.

I hope the guys come out as focused and play as hard as they did against KY... regardless of the score... for team-building and the future, not to overwhelm Army.

I was thinking about this game this morning. Duke has scored over 100 points in the last 4 games going back to McGill during the Canadian trip, not counting CTC.

Duke schedule with scores:http://www.goduke.com/SportSelect.db...45&SPSID=22726.

The whole country, with the exception of Big Blue Nation, seems to be enjoying the drubbing Duke put on KY. We know Coach K is a patriotic guy (see Olympics) and he loves his alma mater. Will Duke score over 100 in this game also, or will Coach K try to keep the score a little more respectable, by subbing deeper into the bench than he normally would?

My thoughts are that Coach K will not have players put the brakes on... but play to their normal levels... again, regardless of the score. Maybe rotations will be changed and experimented, but every player on the court should be playing hard.

As Coach K has always said, respect the opponent and respect the game. To me, part of respecting the opponent is to not let up and play at half-speed.

[jimsumner]

So, Army > UMBC, UMBC> Virginia, Virginia > Duke.

We should be very afraid.

[kAzE]

So, Army > UMBC, UMBC> Virginia, Virginia > Duke.

We should be very afraid.

Duke >>>> Kentucky, therefore UMBC would probably beat Kentucky by 50.

[cato]

Katy bar the door.

[DU82]

No, I've got a few months to come up with something. I'm committed to making this world a better place, one meaningless post at a time.

I went to the Duke-Army game a few years ago. It was perhaps the only visiting crowd that got 100% respect from our fans. And when we play the National Anthem at the beginning, the players line up across the whole court and show their respect. It really is a neat thing.

I wish them well this year in all their games after Saturday. And for safe travels during their service.

And hopefully the students will NOT add "you suck" after the "Hi...", as they did against Ferris State. (Ferris State, really kids? My lawn is getting more and more crowded.)

[OldPhiKap]

And hopefully the students will NOT add "you suck" after the "Hi...", as they did against Ferris State. (Ferris State, really kids? My lawn is getting more and more crowded.)

No one did that at the Army game I attended (maybe four years ago?). And I would also be very disappointed if that was done.

I'm not a fan of that rejoinder in any game other than UNC.

[ChillinDuke]

OK, I've waited long enough.

Can someone at least tell me how the heck Army has a roster of 25 players?! I mean, it can't be a mistake on both ESPN and CBS Sports, can it?

- Chillin

[OldPhiKap]

OK, I've waited long enough.

Can someone at least tell me how the heck Army has a roster of 25 players?! I mean, it can't be a mistake on both ESPN and CBS Sports, can it?

- Chillin

It’s not a roster. It’s a platoon.

[pfrduke]

OK, I've waited long enough.

Can someone at least tell me how the heck Army has a roster of 25 players?! I mean, it can't be a mistake on both ESPN and CBS Sports, can it?

- Chillin

Doesn't appear to be a mistake - here's the official roster: https://goarmywestpoint.com/roster.aspx?path=mbball

Still not sure on the answer as to why (except for lots and lots of walk ons).

ETA: Not a one-year phenomenon either - last season 20 guys saw game action.

[Tappan Zee Devil]

OK, I've waited long enough.

Can someone at least tell me how the heck Army has a roster of 25 players?! I mean, it can't be a mistake on both ESPN and CBS Sports, can it?

- Chillin

They are not on an athletic scholarship.

[BigWayne]

They are not on an athletic scholarship.

Yep. Same thing goes on at Navy and Air Force because everybody is on non-athletic scholarship.

There is a NCAA travel roster limit of 15, so you won't see 25 guys in Cameron.

[camion]

Doesn't appear to be a mistake - here's the official roster: https://goarmywestpoint.com/roster.aspx?path=mbball

Still not sure on the answer as to why (except for lots and lots of walk ons).

ETA: Not a one-year phenomenon either - last season 20 guys saw game action.

They come at you in waves?


Or would that be a Navy thing?

[devildeac]

It’s not a roster. It’s a platoon.

Platoon?

Wait, what are they going to do, play five 5 man rotations?



Start the tank.

[devildeac]

Yep. Same thing goes on at Navy and Air Force because everybody is on non-athletic scholarship.

There is a NCAA travel roster limit of 15, so you won't see 25 guys in Cameron.

I'll bet you will. The other 10 will be in camo'.