MBB: Louisville 79, Duke 73 Post-game thread

[robed deity]

A couple of other thoughts:

-Per Duke Lifer's comments about Louisville playing like the more experienced team, their targeting of Hurt when they had the ball was very effective. They hunted that match-up repeatedly with success.

-Their bigs hit some backbreaking 3s

-The voice of Mark Jackson was in my head when Big Vern closed out on Ryan McMahon..."Hand Down, Man Down!". Maybe Vernon was worried about a blow by, or maybe he was just tired, or maybe he was afraid of fouling out...but he needs to get big on that close-out...McMahon's 3 was a huge shot at the time and everyone except Vern seemed to now he was going to take it because that's all he does.

Agree, and I also thought Fresh Kimble (all name team) had 2 other back breakers, a step back and an And one.

[jv001]

A couple of other thoughts:

-Per Duke Lifer's comments about Louisville playing like the more experienced team, their targeting of Hurt when they had the ball was very effective. They hunted that match-up repeatedly with success.

-Their bigs hit some backbreaking 3s

-The voice of Mark Jackson was in my head when Big Vern closed out on Ryan McMahon..."Hand Down, Man Down!". Maybe Vernon was worried about a blow by, or maybe he was just tired, or maybe he was afraid of fouling out...but he needs to get big on that close-out...McMahon's 3 was a huge shot at the time and everyone except Vern seemed to now he was going to take it because that's all he does.

Didn't one of the announcers say that McMahon has not hit a three all night and bingo. Jinxxxxxx.
GoDuke!

[Durham Blue Devil]

On the local postgame show, Coach K strongly implied that the refs letting Louisville play an overly physical brand of basketball was unacceptable. He said, “they talk about allowing freedom of movement, tonight there was no freedom of movement”, “this was the most physical play against one of my teams in YEARS”, and “hopefully we never have to play in that kind of game ever again, but if we do, we will be more experienced and more ready for it”.

The first half was battle ball. The clutching, grabbing, pushing, and shoving was constant, which led to turnovers, and easy fast breaks for Louisville. Tough game. Coach K went on to say how proud he was of his guys and that they actually got better tonight and will be better for it playing against that type of physical/dirty play.

[Billy Dat]

Agree, and I also thought Fresh Kimble (all name team) had 2 other back breakers, a step back and an And one.

Yeah, a lot of guys on their squad made big plays.

A positive, Goldwire made a clutch contested fast break lay-up.

It is frustrating that we don't seem to get many 3s in rhythm and in balance. The offensive shot selection down the stretch, as others have said, was so poor. You could tell we had no confidence in our halfcourt execution.

[jv001]

On the local postgame show, Coach K strongly implied that the refs letting Louisville play an overly physical brand of basketball was unacceptable. He said, “they talk about allowing freedom of movement, tonight there was no freedom of movement”, “this was the most physical play against one of my teams in YEARS”, and “hopefully we never have to play in that kind of game ever again, but if we do, we will be more experienced and more ready for it”.

The first half was battle ball. The clutching, grabbing, pushing, and shoving was constant, which led to turnovers, and easy fast breaks for Louisville. Tough game. Coach K went on to say how proud he was of his guys and that they actually got better tonight and will be better for it playing against that type of physical/dirty play.

I thought the same thing but didn't say it. I didn't want to be called a whiner. Especially at the beginning of the game, Louisville played very physical. Lot's of slapping at the ball and getting the arm and hand of Duke players. And what happened to being in the cylinder or whatever that rule is?

GoDuke!

[ncexnyc]

Last year RJ took a bunch of crap from many on this board, but at least he wasn't shy about putting the team on his back and attempting to carry them. We really could use a go to guy this year, but so far nobody has stepped up.

Vernon is quickly playing himself out of contention for any post season awards. We come up against some solid bigs these past few games and Vernon isn't having his way with them. Hopefully he'll find his way going forward.

I wouldn't stress Baker's poor play tonight. It took Cassius several games to get back to where he was prior to his injury. Speaking of Cassius, I feel bad for him. He had a monster game, only to airball that 3pt attempt.

I also believe the teams poor play has had an negative effect on Tre. It looks as though he's trying to do too much.

Lots of basketball left to be played and as long as the young guys learn from these past two games we'll be ok.

[fisheyes]

On the local postgame show, Coach K strongly implied that the refs letting Louisville play an overly physical brand of basketball was unacceptable. He said, “they talk about allowing freedom of movement, tonight there was no freedom of movement”, “this was the most physical play against one of my teams in YEARS”, and “hopefully we never have to play in that kind of game ever again, but if we do, we will be more experienced and more ready for it”.

The first half was battle ball. The clutching, grabbing, pushing, and shoving was constant, which led to turnovers, and easy fast breaks for Louisville. Tough game. Coach K went on to say how proud he was of his guys and that they actually got better tonight and will be better for it playing against that type of physical/dirty play.

Yes. I saw the presser and agree with K's assessment. He is very careful not to complain and he was very gracious in congratulating Louisville on being the better team tonight. But he certainly got his point across. He knows exactly where that line is that he should not cross. They will learn from this. Not a disaster. Disappointing but not a disaster.

Next play...

[dukelifer]

On the local postgame show, Coach K strongly implied that the refs letting Louisville play an overly physical brand of basketball was unacceptable. He said, “they talk about allowing freedom of movement, tonight there was no freedom of movement”, “this was the most physical play against one of my teams in YEARS”, and “hopefully we never have to play in that kind of game ever again, but if we do, we will be more experienced and more ready for it”.

The first half was battle ball. The clutching, grabbing, pushing, and shoving was constant, which led to turnovers, and easy fast breaks for Louisville. Tough game. Coach K went on to say how proud he was of his guys and that they actually got better tonight and will be better for it playing against that type of physical/dirty play.

That definitely explained the start but not the end. Yes- Duke has to work hard to come back- they had the game tied. Execution in the final 5 min lost the game. This also happened in the Clemson game. Winning close games is tough. This is how you win a championship. Duke has to figure it out- better set plays- using the pass more. Last year Zion or Barrett could break down the defense- Tre cannot. They have to pass better and hit open shots.

[jv001]

I don't think the offense is running near as smooth without Wendell. There are too many times that we go deep into the shot clock and have to take a desperation three. I know it happened a couple of times tonight. I will really be glad to have Wendell Moore back.

GoDuke!

[weezie]

Carey's head was hanging pretty low as he sat far away on bench in the last two minutes. Outside of the last huddle time out too. We were all wondering why he didn't get back in.

[SavDukeGrad]

Yes. I saw the presser and agree with K's assessment. He is very careful not to complain and he was very gracious in congratulating Louisville on being the better team tonight. But he certainly got his point across. He knows exactly where that line is that he should not cross. They will learn from this. Not a disaster. Disappointing but not a disaster.

Next play...

Everyone should watch Coach K’s presser. He said the physicality of the game knocked our guys back in the beginning, and that led to turnovers and run-outs. Said it reminded him of a 90s era Pistons-Bulls game. Which matches what I saw.

He also said he wasn’t a sour grapes kind of guy. And very emphatically stated that after any loss, he always credits the other team and never throws his guys under the bus. Pure gold.

[Kfanarmy]

Completely agree with this post. We don't have the experience nor talent of the 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020 group. We're probably more in common with 2012 and 2016.

Luckily, the landscape is down this year. We need to survive the first weekend of the NCAA tournament.

Maybe we should let them play the remaining season schedule and ACC tournament first? The NCAA tournament is HUGE, but we can try to enjoy the game until then.

[richardjackson199]

This one was tough, but I really think we will be fine. We just need to get back to being that team who has to fight for everything together every possession for 40 minutes. This team is that Vintage Duke team. Maybe bring back those gothic Duke blue uniforms if they need reminding. We'll learn from this one and be just fine.

Go Duke!

[uh_no]

sometimes you're going to miss a bunch of open looks, and the other team is going to hit a ton. We had our chances....those last few possessions were horrid. It wasn't even really hero ball...it was like...do-nothing-ball...everybody was waiting for someone else to do something and we got some really terrible looks. Yeah we were down three, but with 2:30 left, get them however you can! The irony is we stopped them a couple times there, so if we had gone for twos instead of waiting for someone to get an open three (which given nobody was trying to get the ball inside, was unlikely), we could very well have had the lead anyway.

Carey needs to learn to be more physical. this and the GT game are just glaring.

ANyway, a bit of a break until FSU comes to town. Lots of time to improve, and hopefully get moore healthy. it's quite the hand thing he's got on.

[buddy]

Carey's head was hanging pretty low as he sat far away on bench in the last two minutes. Outside of the last huddle time out too. We were all wondering why he didn't get back in.

I think he didn't get in because he wasn't playing defense. With 4 fouls he was backing off. It seemed like after all the clutching and grabbing he got a couple of cheap ones called on him, but he obviously doesn't like contact. And he's going to see more of it.

[richardjackson199]

I think he didn't get in because he wasn't playing defense. With 4 fouls he was backing off. It seemed like after all the clutching and grabbing he got a couple of cheap ones called on him, but he obviously doesn't like contact. And he's going to see more of it.

Agree 100%. We're young and our freshmen will learn to play with 4 fouls. Great learning game in January. I wanted the win of course. But win the next opportunities. i'll feel better after we beat FSU, sweep the cheats, and hear what Roy has to say about it.

[brevity]

In case you missed it, here is the condensed game.



Oh, sorry, that was John Calipari getting ejected in the Kentucky-Arkansas game. You can find the Louisville-Duke game here.

[UrinalCake]

At the risk of sounding like a Debbie downer, I think we might be overvaluing Moore just a bit. We’re certainly a better team with him than without, but I’m not expecting him to be a savior who magically fixes all of our problems when he returns. He’s not a creator or a shooter and he turns the ball over a lot. He’s had good games but he’s had bad games too. Would he have made the difference in this one? Maybe, but it’s certainly not guaranteed.

[Ima Facultiwyfe]

Ours are still the guys I'd rather bring home on the bus.
Love, Ima

[robed deity]

At the risk of sounding like a Debbie downer, I think we might be overvaluing Moore just a bit. We’re certainly a better team with him than without, but I’m not expecting him to be a savior who magically fixes all of our problems when he returns. He’s not a creator or a shooter and he turns the ball over a lot. He’s had good games but he’s had bad games too. Would he have made the difference in this one? Maybe, but it’s certainly not guaranteed.

True. However, I do think it wouldn't have hurt to have Moore's physicality in tonight's game.