Duke's next game will be a bit tougher- at #6 Texas A&M.
"This is the best of all possible worlds."
Dr. Pangloss - Candide
A look at Duke's freshmen.
https://goduke.com/news/2019/11/8/wo...ontribute.aspx
Next up for Duke is Texas A&M, in College Station Texas.
Team USA won an exhibition against Texas A&M last night by a score of 93-63, but the Aggies only trailed by three points after the first quarter. In the game, Chennedy Carter took down a 23-year old record as she scored 34 points against the U.S. National Team, knocking Michi Atkins of Texas Tech out of the record book.
Carter was shockingly efficient against Team USA (I use the word shockingly, as Carter is a volume shooter through whom the Aggies' offense runs, yet was still able to be incredibly effective against a pool of players from which the 2020 Olympic Team will be selected). She was 10-21 from the floor, 5-10 from three, and 9-9 from the line for 34 points (and with 3 assists, 2 blocks, and only one turnover). Her PPS (points per shot) was 1.619. To put that in perspective, 2018-19 NBA MVP Giannis Antetokounmpofinished sixth in the NBA in the PPS statistic for last season, at 1.60.
Three additional tidbits from Texas A&M's performance against Team USA, which (hopefully) Duke can exploit:
- First, Team USA shot 13-27 from three against the Aggies – and that was with Diana Taurasi shooting 1-5 from distance and the entire U.S. National Team shooting 1-8 from three in the second quarter. For Duke to take advantage of this, ball movement has to be incredibly crisp (where is where Lambert’s return will really help). Having newly found three-point prowess from Leaonna Odom and Jade Williams is crucial, as Duke can exploit mismatches and use a lineup (Lambert, Goodchild, Gorecki, Odom, Williams) that can shoot from all spots on the floor.
- Second, A&M only committed 11 turnovers (which is really impressive against the U.S. National Team), but Team USA still converted those turnovers into 24 points. Maximizing efficiency in opportunities is crucial for Duke – whether it is a fast break bucket, a halfcourt set, or getting to the free throw line. Duke cannot have empty possessions after A&M turns the ball over.
- Third, Carter played 32:03 against Team USA. The Aggies were -15 with her on the court. But the Aggies were -15 in the 7:57 when Carter was on the bench. Getting Carter in early foul trouble would be ideal, as Duke limits Texas A&M’s best creator which could stagnate the Aggies’ offense. Duke will have to see about matchups. If Carter is defending Gorecki or Lambert, Haley or Krya needs to put the ball on the floor and drive to the hoop to finish or have fouls drawn (Miela does not have the same ability to drive and is more prone to turning the ball over or having Carter simply steal it).
Excerpt:
Like all freshmen, there are areas of concern. All three are solid one-on-one defenders but Duke runs different zones, traps and presses, so there's a learning curve there.
We saw more man-to-man defense (and for longer stretches) against High Point than I can remember in recent memory. Given how the elite teams have been able to carve up Duke's matchup zone in recent years (their game plan is designed to attack it, as it is a McCallie stalwart), I hope that Duke will employ more man defense this year to best utilize the respective skillsets of these freshmen.
Pretty good turnout, a couple hundred folks in blue in a sea of maroon. Probably a total of 3,000 or so in a 12,000-seat arena.
Unsurprisingly, after a solid first half, we turned out to be not in the same stratosphere as TAMU in the 2nd, now 75-52 with 2:42 to play.
No more ranked teams on the schedule in November, with the next one being mid December against SC. Hopefully this is just TAMU is really really really good and not "Here we go again."
<devildeac> anyone playing drinking games by now?
7:49:36<Wander> drink every qb run?
7:49:38<loran16> umm, drink every time asack rushes?
7:49:38<wolfybeard> @devildeac: drink when Asack runs a keeper
7:49:39 PM<CB&B> any time zack runs, drink
Carolina Delenda Est
Minus-21 on the glass was the difference in the game. We did a respectable job against Carter (25 for the game, but only nine in the second half). Haley forced a few, some of which were pretty egregious.
Next.
With the Duke loss...
••• Dropped its third straight contest to Texas A&M and is now 1-6 all-time
••• Is now 0-4 on the road against A&M
••• Lost its 10th straight game against a ranked opponent and 14th consecutive road game against a ranked foe
••• Is now 9-7 all-time when playing in the state of Texas
••• Coach P is now 2-3 in the state of Texas since taking over Duke job in 2007-08
••• Won 39 out of the last 45 true road games in the month of November over last eight years
••• Coach P moved to 64-11 in November since arriving at Duke
••• Is now 40-26 against SEC opponents
••• Coach P moved to 23-23 against SEC opponents
Duke/Texas A&M Post-Game Notes (GoDuke.com)
https://goduke.com/documents/2019/11...game_Notes.pdf
To be fair to that factoid, A&M was ranked 6th, and on their own court.
Also to be fair, there was a time not that long ago that we would have at least been competitive. We'll be playing some other ranked teams this year, and some will be outside of the top 10. Those will be the ones to get a better gauge on where this team is, and if there is improvement from last year or more of the same.
Q "Why do you like Duke, you didn't even go there." A "Because my art school didn't have a basketball team."
Per Dan Olson (via ESPN):
There is also No. 17 prospect Deja Kelly, who is believed to have narrowed down her search to two schools -- North Carolina and Texas A&M -- after she decommitted from Texas.
What to expect for 2019 women's college basketball signing week (ESPN)
https://www.espn.com/womens-college-...l-signing-week
As Awhom pointed out in his broadcast thread, Duke plays at UNLV tonight. (He's got a link to the video in his post.)
I looked them up to see how they did last year, and it wasn't good. They finished 12-18, although they did have a winning conference record.
This is a game that Duke should win, even in an away game.
Duke dominated them last year at home 66-38, I have faith we'll come away with the victory.
Q "Why do you like Duke, you didn't even go there." A "Because my art school didn't have a basketball team."
Ugh.