MBB: Duke vs Virginia (Sat, Jan 19, 6pm ET, ESPN) Pre-Game and In-Game Thread

[Troublemaker]

Please put your thoughts about the game in this thread.

Note that UVA has a big game tonight against rival VaTech

[Troublemaker]

Those that have predicting future games as if Duke will continue to play exactly like how we played against Cuse last night after Tre went down are being foolish.

Tre's injury happened in the middle of the game, so we had no time to plan/practice/adjust to being without him. Likewise, apparently Cam was a very late scratch and so we weren't prepared to play without him, either. That, plus all the other factors that were mentioned in the pregame thread created a situation where Duke looked worse than what we really are, even without Tre. Both defensively and offensively.

Now that we have 4 full days to prepare and adjust to Tre's (very likely) absence, let's see how we look against UVA on Saturday.

The big thing is we need Cam to be back. I think usually players only miss 1 game with flu-like symptoms, so I think we can count on him for UVA. But it's very possible Cam isn't well enough to practice with the team until Thursday or Friday. Hopefully the mental reps until then will help.

[jv001]

Those that have predicting future games as if Duke will continue to play exactly like how we played against Cuse last night after Tre went down are being foolish.

Tre's injury happened in the middle of the game, so we had no time to plan/practice/adjust to being without him. Likewise, apparently Cam was a very late scratch and so we weren't prepared to play without him, either. That, plus all the other factors that were mentioned in the pregame thread created a situation where Duke looked worse than what we really are, even without Tre. Both defensively and offensively.

Now that we have 4 full days to prepare and adjust to Tre's (very likely) absence, let's see how we look against UVA on Saturday.

The big thing is we need Cam to be back. I think usually players only miss 1 game with flu-like symptoms, so I think we can count on him for UVA. But it's very possible Cam isn't well enough to practice with the team until Thursday or Friday. Hopefully the mental reps until then will help.

Tre's injury and Cam's illness couldn't have come at a worse time. With those two out, Jack White was moved(at game time) into the starting rotation. I don't know if that had anything to do with his horrible shooting night but tired legs at the end of the game probably did. Tre's injury took away our best defender and best distributor for our wings. Coach K will have several days to get the guys up to speed and Alex and Jack will know their roles come game time. We do have the best coach in college basketball on our side. Not that he doesn't make mistakes, but his positives are far more than his negatives. GoDuke!

[Rich]

Those that have predicting future games as if Duke will continue to play exactly like how we played against Cuse last night after Tre went down are being foolish.

Tre's injury happened in the middle of the game, so we had no time to plan/practice/adjust to being without him. Likewise, apparently Cam was a very late scratch and so we weren't prepared to play without him, either. That, plus all the other factors that were mentioned in the pregame thread created a situation where Duke looked worse than what we really are, even without Tre. Both defensively and offensively.

Now that we have 4 full days to prepare and adjust to Tre's (very likely) absence, let's see how we look against UVA on Saturday.

The big thing is we need Cam to be back. I think usually players only miss 1 game with flu-like symptoms, so I think we can count on him for UVA. But it's very possible Cam isn't well enough to practice with the team until Thursday or Friday. Hopefully the mental reps until then will help.

I hate to be Mr. Negative, but the flu this year (if he has the flu) is a really bad strain. A coworker of mine got it over Christmas break and is still struggling. Plus, there's a pretty good chance others on the team have been infected considering they were all confined in a plane during the trip back from Florida. I assume Cam has roommates on the team. Oh, and for good measure, we haven't yet had our obligatory foot injury! Our team is in a very precarious state right now. Sorry to have to vent and dump all of that on ya'll and no, I don't feel any better.

[jv001]

I hate to be Mr. Negative, but the flu this year (if he has the flu) is a really bad strain. A coworker of mine got it over Christmas break and is still struggling. Plus, there's a pretty good chance others on the team have been infected considering they were all confined in a plane during the trip back from Florida. I assume Cam has roommates on the team. Oh, and for good measure, we haven't yet had our obligatory foot injury! Our team is in a very precarious state right now. Sorry to have to vent and dump all of that on ya'll and no, I don't feel any better.

As I was just beginning to feel better after last night. Wow. GoDuke!

[Saratoga2]

I posted comments on the PhaseIII string that I probably should have posted here. Trying to see some positive things the coaches can ask the team to do be be competitive.

[Troublemaker]

I hate to be Mr. Negative, but the flu this year (if he has the flu) is a really bad strain. A coworker of mine got it over Christmas break and is still struggling. Plus, there's a pretty good chance others on the team have been infected considering they were all confined in a plane during the trip back from Florida. I assume Cam has roommates on the team. Oh, and for good measure, we haven't yet had our obligatory foot injury! Our team is in a very precarious state right now. Sorry to have to vent and dump all of that on ya'll and no, I don't feel any better.

Aren't there usually different strains running around, some worse than others?

Hopefully the Duke medical staff and, I imagine, constant IVs can play a positive role.

[PackMan97]

Now that we have 4 full days to prepare and adjust to Tre's (very likely) absence, let's see how we look against UVA on Saturday.

If only Duke had a Hall of Fame coach that could do the adjusting...

If you'd like...I'm sure State will trade you one of our guards

[CDu]

Well, at least we get a lot of time to talk about yesterday's game, amiright? Anywho, I will distract myself now by writing up the scouting report for UVa. Though we do have a number of UVa fans that can chime in as well. Here goes:

UVa is a terrific team. They are extremely well-coached, extremely disciplined, extremely experienced, and now have a fair amount of talent on the court as well. It's not a good time to be facing them without our PG and perhaps without (or possibly with a limited) Reddish as well. But, such appears to be the case. So, time to make lemonade.

UVa is methodical. They are patient on both ends, and make every possession count. On defense, they do everything at an elite level except block shots and force turnovers. They run the pack line defense, and Bennett has yet another group of stout players to run it to perfection. It's a frustrating defense designed to protect the paint and minimize easy looks. Generally speaking, the weakness of the pack line is 3pt shooting. Which is, unfortunately, not our strength. To beat them, we'll need to be well organized and pick our spots and find good shots. Or, we'll need to beat them in transition. Which is, of course, hard to do when they don't turn it over at all.

On offense, UVa shoots extremely well from 3 and from the FT line. They take good shots, and they rarely turn it over. They slow the game down to maximize their defensive presence, but they still get it done efficiently on offense. This will be roughly the second-toughest game we face short of a deep tourney run. They are no joke.

Centers: Jack Salt (6'10", 250lb fifth-year senior from New Zealand) is the starting center. Salt is a big, rugged, super-strong, but entirely unskilled (offensively) big. He rebounds well offensively, and is more of a positional defender. He knows his role, and makes no effort to step outside of it. Salt will commit his fair share of fouls (2.6 per 20 mpg), but that's okay because he's not asked to play 30+ mpg. Jay Huff (7'1", 230lb redshirt sophomore) is the backup center. Huff is a terrific rebounder and shotblocker, and also has nice shooting range. That said, he plays fairly sparingly (~10mpg).

Forwards: Mamadi Diakite (6'9", 225lb redshirt junior from Guinea) is the starter. Diakite is a solid shotblocker and okay rebounder, with a not terrible jumpshot. He's not the most fluid with the ball in his hands though, and like Salt he doesn't try to force things on offense. But he plays his role solidly. Braxton Key (6'8", 225lb junior transfer from Alabama) is the primary option off the bench in this role. Key is a terrific rebounder and has good shooting range. He's quite capable of putting up big point totals as the Hoos' sixth man.

Wings: DeAndre Hunter (6'7", 225lb redshirt sophomore) is one of two headliners here for the Wahoos. Hunter had a breakout season in the second half of last year as a second-year freshman. But he chose to return to school and UVa appreciates that. Hunter has continued how he finished last year, and is deserving of a spot on the All-ACC team. He's extremely athletic, extremely strong, versatile defensively, and can score at all three levels offensively. He'll be playing in the NBA next year almost certainly. Alongside Hunter is the other big name in Kyle Guy (6'2", 175lb junior). Guy has long since dropped the man bun, but his game hasn't dropped off at all. He's electric offensively: a terrific leaper, good ballhandler, and an elite shooter. He's unfortunately undersized for his natural position (SG), so his NBA prospects may be a bit more limited. But he's a first-team All-ACC level of player. Just an absolute stud scorer. He will play as much as his legs can handle.

Guards: Ty Jerome (6'5", 195lb junior) runs the show. Jerome is a stout defender, very physical despite not necessarily being overly athletic (not that he's an athletic liability, just that he's not explosive like Hunter and Guy). Jerome is a steady hand as a point guard, crafty enough to get his shot in tough spots. He's not really a break-you-down PG, but he is a terrific distributor and game manager. Jerome is also a fantastic shooter. He and Guy work to make the offense go, and he Guy and Hunter take the VAST majority of the shots for UVa. Kihei Clark (5'9", 155lb freshman) is the backup PG. Clark is a LITTLE fella, but he's lightning quick and a dynamo with the ball in his hands. His size really limits him overall, but he's a pesky presence when he is in there. Jerome will often move off-ball alongside Clark as well.

The Hoos play a 7.5 man rotation, and will generally play smaller whenever Salt is out. They slow the pace, which keeps them out of serious foul trouble most of the time. It will be a meatgrinder of a game for us. Hopefully our young team finds themselves up to the challenge!

[simplyluvin]

Key questions that I have for this game:

1. Overall, what is our psyche without Tre in the lineup?
2. Who handles the ball and how do we handle the rigorous ball pressure that the hoos bring?
3. Can we shoot from the perimeter? There will be little to no dribble-drive opportunities, so that largely negates RJ's strength. Pack line is maddening that way.
4. Can we up our half-court defensive intensity and keep it up for 40 minutes? We saw the impact when Tre was out in terms of intensity, although overall we played OK.
5. What is Zion's game against the pack line? Will he find space within 5 feet to be effective?

[FerryFor50]

I think the outcome of the UVA game really depends on how good you think UVA is this year. Is their 15-0 record a product of their schedule? Probably not. They've proven over the years that they're a tough, solid defensive team.

Their best wins were over Wisconsin (kenpom 14) and Maryland (kenpom 19). They also handled Clemson and FSU way easier than Duke handled Clemson and FSU, but have a total strength of schedule ranked 128th.

They're #2 in defense and #6 in offense.

Their best players are Kyle Guy, Ty Jerome (who hit a huge shot against Duke last y ear) and Deandre Hunter. If Cam plays, I expect him to get assigned to Hunter. Missing Tre will hurt a lot in guarding either Guy or Jerome. Barrett will get assigned to one of those two.

As for bigs, UVA has a stretch 4 in Jay Huff (Duke recruited him a bit). Huff put up 11 against Clemson and has shot 55% from 3 this year, but hasn't taken a ton. They also have moving screen machine Jack Salt. I expect Bolden will be on him.

Mamadi Diakite will be a handful on the glass, I suppose. But he'll also likely get assigned to Zion, who outweighs him by about 70lbs.

Hopefully Cam plays and Duke shakes off the loss against Syracuse. We'll need Jack to start knocking down shots again, too.

I suspect UVA will be a loss, especially if Cam doesn't play. But at least it's at Cameron.

[DarkstarWahoo]

Probably a jinx for me to be posting here before the VT game, but I like this place a lot more than Techsideline, so here we are. Some scattered thoughts based on what's been said already...

- Jack Salt. As has been mentioned, screening is probably the biggest thing he brings to the table. (I'd quibble with some assessments of those screens, but that's neither here nor there ) Moving or stationary, the man was chiseled from marble by God himself. I can't imagine how well he must be doing with the UVA coeds with that physique and his Kiwi accent. All of which is to say that he is a particularly bad "matchup" for Tre Jones in his current condition (although it sounds like he's not likely to play).
- Huff is the polar opposite. He's offensively skilled and gets moved around by a stiff gust of wind. He had the best game of his career against Clemson, but I can't picture him holding up against Bolden or DeLaurier, let alone (gulp) Zion.
- Speaking of which...who guards Zion? Not that anyone has any players who are truly equipped, but UVA at least has a system to work with. I suspect the lineup will start Jerome-Guy-Hunter-Diakite-Salt, and Hunter will draw him first. Key and Diakite will also wind up taking turns. The referees will probably play a part in how it all goes.
- Kihei Clark was referred to as 5-9 on this thread, and that's probably his program height. Him a widdle guy. But he's quietly one of the amazing stories of college hoops this year. Generously listed at 5-9, the 394th-ranked player in his class, and he was starting for a top 5 program within six games. He's fallen off since he broke his wrist, particularly offensively, but he's valuable in getting Jerome some rest and time off the ball. Weirdly, I think if Jones can't go, that limits Clark's effectiveness since his main contribution is in hounding opposing point guards. I don't know that he can be as effective against, say, R.J. Barrett.
- Hunter has been something of an enigma this year. His stats look good at the end, but he seems weirdly passive. Maybe I'm expecting too much, but he needs to take control more for UVA to be a true national contender.
- Guy tends to have huge first halves and quiet second halves. I don't know if teams are scheming him out of games or not, but it's something to watch.

That's all I've got for now.

[dukelifer]

I think the outcome of the UVA game really depends on how good you think UVA is this year. Is their 15-0 record a product of their schedule? Probably not. They've proven over the years that they're a tough, solid defensive team.

Their best wins were over Wisconsin (kenpom 14) and Maryland (kenpom 19). They also handled Clemson and FSU way easier than Duke handled Clemson and FSU, but have a total strength of schedule ranked 128th.

They're #2 in defense and #6 in offense.

Their best players are Kyle Guy, Ty Jerome (who hit a huge shot against Duke last y ear) and Deandre Hunter. If Cam plays, I expect him to get assigned to Hunter. Missing Tre will hurt a lot in guarding either Guy or Jerome. Barrett will get assigned to one of those two.

As for bigs, UVA has a stretch 4 in Jay Huff (Duke recruited him a bit). Huff put up 11 against Clemson and has shot 55% from 3 this year, but hasn't taken a ton. They also have moving screen machine Jack Salt. I expect Bolden will be on him.

Mamadi Diakite will be a handful on the glass, I suppose. But he'll also likely get assigned to Zion, who outweighs him by about 70lbs.

Hopefully Cam plays and Duke shakes off the loss against Syracuse. We'll need Jack to start knocking down shots again, too.

I suspect UVA will be a loss, especially if Cam doesn't play. But at least it's at Cameron.

UVa will frustrate this young team- they do what they do very well. They take time off the clock- they run their sets patiently and they have some really good 3 -pt shooters and Duke's 3 point D has been a weakness all year. Their packline D looks solvable but few have figured it out. Duke will need to shoot it well and limit mistakes. Tough game with Tre- even tougher without him. But Duke should be underdogs at home- so they should act accordingly.

[DavidBenAkiva]

If you haven't seen it yet, I highly recommend this review of Virginia's Blocker/Mover offense from Jordan Sperber, AKA hoopsvision68

[DavidBenAkiva]

If you haven't seen it yet, I highly recommend this review of Virginia's Blocker/Mover offense from Jordan Sperber, AKA hoopsvision68

Some thoughts:

1) I wouldn't be surprised if we see a zone defense against UVA. While that seems absurd given their great shooting, it also takes Jack Salt and Mamadi Diakite out of their offensive roles and limits the slips and backdoor cuts. It bogs down the cutting action of their entire offense. Without Tre Jones able to apply pressure on Ty Jerome and Kehei Clark, one of the best things Duke could do is maximize the absurd length on the team - R.J., Cam, Zion, Javin, and Marques are a pretty great package to play zone, disrupting passing lanes, preventing all that blocking/moving action of UVA. Against UVA last year, Duke was very good on defense against a similar lineup. They held UVA to 99.6 points per 100 possessions (PPP) and just 6-22 shooting from 3. It was on offense where Duke struggled against Virginia. After the Duke game last year, UVA put together a string of +100 PPP games stretching all the way until their eventual loss to UMBC.

2) There will be time to prepare. Duke had 1 day between an emotional road win against FSU to prepare for the Syracuse zone. The team now has a full 4 days to prep for the Cavaliers. I think that is huge. And hopefully Cam Reddish and everyone else on the team can be fully healthy and ready to play. Never count out Coach K's ability to game plan.

3) It'll get easier after this... for a little while. Injuries are never good, but the timing is about as best as it could be. Duke will have a relatively easy schedule for about 2 1/2 weeks after the UVA game with matches at Pitt, home against Georgia Tech, at Notre Dame, and home against St. John's and Boston College before traveling to Charlottesville. The game at UVA starts a much rougher slate of the ACC schedule with games at Louisville, home against NC State and UNC, and then at Syracuse and VA Tech.

[DarkstarWahoo]

Point of order...while Salt and Diakite will both start, I doubt they'll wind up playing all that much together. UVA is at its best with Key at the 4.

[Reddevil]

JWill made a great point last night. With Tre as an on the ball defender, the opposing PG has to turn his back to his teammates. This effects vision and passing. Without Tre the opposing PG's can bring the ball up facing his teammates. This of course is bad for Duke. I wonder if a combination of full court pressure and zone can help to disrupt the ease at which the opposition can play. It may also be a way to prevent the interior lobs for dunks that have plagued the team for the past two games. The coaching staff will figure it out. I am just spit-balling here.

[devildeac]

And starting at (point) guard at 6-7ish and 270ish...

...Zion Williamson!!

[Billy Dat]

After circling this game on the calendar and getting psyched for a contrast in styles for early season ACC bragging rights, I now contemplate a marquee match-up where I have absolutely no idea how we'll play on either end of the court. We have lost the head of both our offense and defense.

Considering UVA's dominance using sleep-inducing pace, I find it hard to believe we'll pivot in that direction. I also hope we don't abandon our defense and resort to zone.

The only positive I can glean is that, like 2001 after Boozer went down, it will be interesting to see how radically K changes things up. Assuming Cam is back and everyone else can go, the only advantage we have is that UVA won't be able to prepare for an approach they have never seen on film this season.

If I had to guess at what we'll do...

-Start Bolden and White, bring Javin off the bench. AOC is now a part of the regular rotation.
-We'll mix things up with All of Zion, RJ and Reddish sharing the responsibility of bringing the ball up. I think we'll need to provide different initial looks to be effective on offense.
-Without Tre, do we continue to try and pressure to speed them up and create live ball turnovers and to push pace? I think we have to. In 2001, K's move against UNC was to stick Battier at the top of the defense. This team doesn't have anyone that defensively savvy. We definitely need Z on the boards...maybe we do something similar with Cam and have him up top?

I wonder if, like 2001, K stayed at Cameron all night to game plan? Maybe, like 2001, Debbie K swung by CIS to check on the old man at Mickie's request and, as she peeked into his office (after scanning her eyeball and reciting passwords in 6 dead languages), he looked up and said, "Do you think Brennan Besser can guard Kyle Guy?

I'll keep thinking...

[Troublemaker]

But Duke should be underdogs at home- so they should act accordingly.

Some of it depends on tonight's UVA-VaTech result, but I expect Vegas to open Duke as slight favorites for Saturday's game, as surprising as that will be to some on here.

Now, I don't know if Duke will close as the favorite, as I expect money to pour in on UVA, much of it from Duke fans.