MBB: Michigan St 68, Duke 67 Post-Game Thread (Elite 8)

[nmduke2001]

Maui all over again at the end. Zion doesn’t get a touch and we lose a close one.

[bludevil_33]

Still the best team this year regardless of a one game tournament.

I disagree. This team had one (Kentucky), maybe two (Texas Tech) or three (at Virginia) dominating performances against elite talent, the best one being the very first game of the season.

Other than that, it was the kind of scratching and clawing and freshman mistakes you'd expect from a team starting four freshmen. Duke lived up to its hype too infrequently.

[wsb3]

It is disappointing to say the least but what a fun ride. I will always wonder what could have been if we had stayed healthy. We were not able to have the continuity to become our best. I hate losing but what an incredible weekend of college basketball. So proud of the game Javin played. I believe he had a double double.

[WakeDevil]

We crushed them on the boards.

There is offensive rebounding, and there is defensive rebounding. Rebounding totals without reference to turnovers are not meaningful.

[bludevil_33]

Maui all over again at the end. Zion doesn’t get a touch and we lose a close one.

Did you not see how many times we turned it over trying to get the ball to Zion in the last five minutes? And RJ had just hit several shots in a row. Come on.

[GGLC]

I'd be surprised if he didn't come back.

Get ready to be surprised.

[KandG]

Played with fire for a lot of the latter part of the season and finally got burned. I still love this team.

Finally a team beat us by making almost no mistakes down the stretch. Have to credit Michigan State, and let's face it, to beat us they needed some luck. Thought the key sequence was Goins' first three that was heavily contested, and the circus shot by McQuaid to put them back up 58-56. We defended exceptionally on both and they got five points to get the momentum back.

Yes, Zion should have touched the ball on one of those final sequences, but let's give MSU credit, they made it really hard for Zion to get the ball the final 8 minutes or so -- probably the best job of any opponent outside of Texas Tech. That fact that even Tre Jones got a turnover (his first in 85 minutes of tournament play) on an entry pass tells you how tough it was.

Still thought we could pull off a miracle finish, but I had a bad feeling when we only had 3 fouls in a one possession game and there were three or four minutes left. Our ability to defend without fouling (good and bad) ended up robbing us of the ability to extend the game in case we made mistakes -- and this young team committed too many tonight.

Obviously, the run at the end of the first half was also a big contributor to our demise, but we've had lapses like that all season. Just cost us too much against a very well-coached opponent, and now we're not going to the Final Four.

[Wander]

A lot of Freshmen mistakes in this game, but ultimately this L falls on K. Zion hardly got the ball down the stretch. Pretty inexcusable coaching that the best college player in pretty much a decade is on your squad.

We've only had two games that we've lost while fully healthy this year. Here are the combined stats for the last minute of those games:

• RJ takes shots on 8 possessions, makes zero and gets 1 point from a free throw
• Zion takes 0 shots

RJ is a good player, but the above has to be one of the most disappointing statistics in Duke basketball history – and is going to look more so when Zion eventually Lebrons the NBA.

[Wildling]

Jack White, Bolden and De Laurier are those guys. Its just a shame they aren't on the level of Quinn Cook or Amile Jefferson etc.

Oh man, what a difference Cook and Jefferson would have made on this years team! I don't think people realize the amazing amount of leadership they provided to the young guys. Something this years team was missing big time!

[WHOneedsSOX]

Did you not see how many times we turned it over trying to get the ball to Zion in the last five minutes? And RJ had just hit several shots in a row. Come on.

Yeah, I agree. RJ took that horrible 3 right before the last possession but he got 2 free throws to tie the game. Can't ask for much better than that.

[Onlyduke]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=im-DVGLSM14

Thanks bludevil 33.

[Ian]

Tactically, we should have been fouling like crazy on that last possession where MSU hit the 3, not only would be make it harder for them to score, but it also gets quicker into the bonus so we have a shot to force FTs late.

But overall, we lost this game the last 5 minutes of the 1st half when our frehsmen lost their composure and played like freshmen, we could have thrown a knockout punch there, but instead we got sloppy with the ball.

This is what happens with young inexperienced team. The tournament is a cauldron that tests both your skills and your will, it's hard to maintain mental balance when you haven't been through it before. That's ultimately the problem with the OAD recruiting philosophy. Yes we caught lightning in a bottle in 2015, but even 2015 had huge veteran contributors like Quinn and Amile who can help guide the team. Having a group of freshmen trying to figure it out on their own is not a good recipe for success.

[JD for Three!]

Frankly, I was shocked that the ref even called the foul that sent R.J. to the line. I don’t watch the NBA because I hate the way it is called. It is horrible when they call college games that way. Maybe when they change the one and done process they will take all of that crap with them to the NBA.

Otherwise, a great bunch of kids that made the year fun. I feel sad for them that they won’t get a shot at the title.

[kAzE]

Get ready to be surprised.

Okay, if you're so certain, I'll pie bet you: Tre Jones will be a back for a sophomore year at Duke.

[Steven43]

Pulling HARD for the Virginia Cavaliers now.

[kako]

Guys just didn't step up (Tre/Cam). In the end the ball only touched RJ's and Zion's hands. Nobody else wanted it.

Jones held Winston to 9-23 shooting. He worked his tail off out there on defense, grabbed 4 boards, had a block, and he still had a 5:1 A/TO ratio. I'd say he did his job.

9F

[dukelifer]

Tough loss. Duke had its chances. Up 1 with 44 sec- cant ask for more. But Duke did not execute down the stretch of either half. This was a fun team to watch but these games can go either way. All 4 teams in the FF easily could have lost this weekend. A bounce here, a free throw there and it is all different. CBS is really upset. This FF will attract no eyeballs. The other 4 could start their own FF and I bet it would be of greater interest.

[bluenorth]

What a great ride the season was. The players looked tired tonight, probably the cumulative effect of so many minutes played by the core group over the course of the year. Give credit to MSU for defending so hard and effectively.

Thank you to all of the players and the staff who made this such an exciting year. Now I can put the defibrillator back into storage for a while (the silver lining in the outcome).

[HereBeforeCoachK]

Get ready to be surprised.

Get ready for the G League then

[tmoon78]

I’m not sure I’ve ever seen an elite 8 game where neither team got into the bonus to shoot free throws. The majority of duke’s turnovers were when they were trying to enter the ball to Zion in the post. The only way to defend Zion below the free throw line is to either not allow him to catch the ball by bumping/holding him when he tries to jump and catch the entry pass or to absolutely body and hit his arms on every shot attempt. Michigan state did both the entire game and were rewarded by never being called on those plays. Duke still had their chances to win the game but the only reason the Spartans were still in the game is because they were allowed to play football in the paint