MBB: Duke v Pitt (Tue 1/28, 9:00 pm, ESPN) Pre-Game and In-Game Thread

[DavidBenAkiva]

After dropping Miami like a group of frozen iguanas, Duke gets a week off to rest, recuperate, and prepare for next part of the ACC schedule. On the horizon, a trio of road games awaits and then 8 of 9 games in North Carolina to close out the regular season. But first, it's Pitt.

The Panthers, sporting new uniforms under second year head coach Jeff Capel, are a scrappy and improving team. The Panthers sit in the bottom half of the ACC, but are demonstrating a bright future. The season began with an impressive victory of Florida State. Unfortunately, that was followed by a home loss to Nichols State. Were it not for that roadbump as well as a home loss to Wake Forest, we might be talking about the Panthers as an NCAA Tournament bubble team with impressive wins over FSU and Rutgers to go along with a tight loss at home (in OT following a controversial call) to Louisville. This team has talent and can play well at times. They haven't put it all together yet.

The Panthers are young, a little thin, but play good defense. They are one of the best teams at forcing turnovers, doing so on about a quarter of opponent possessions. This is not a team that likes to pick your pocket, though. They don't have many guys that will strip the ball. It's all about making bad decisions. Their defense does have a weakness. They are getting killed on the offensive glass. Pitt ranks near the bottom in defensive rebounding rate. Duke is one of the best offensive rebounding squads in the country, so getting clean looks after an offensive board will be a major key for the Blue Devils. Cutting down on TO's will also be a factor.

Pitt isn't a particularly deep team. Their backcourt trio plays a ton of minutes. Xavier Johnson is the PG (6'3" SO) and the best shooter on the team, at least so far this year. He can be a bit loose with the ball, so Tre Jones and Jordan Goldwire will present him problems. Besides Johnson is fellow SO Trey McGowens (6'4"), the leading scorer on the team (13.3 pts/game). McGowens has struggled with his shot this year but has overall been the best scorer on the team. Completing the backcourt is Charlotte transfer Ryan Murphy (JR, 6'2"). Murphy is a gunner that has taken more 3's than 2's on the season. He came off the bench against UNC last week but is playing starter minutes.

On the wings are FR F Justin Champagnie (6'6") and SO F Au'Diese Toney (6'5"). The freshman Champagnie has been a bigger part of the offense than Toney, although neither have shot the ball well at all, hitting well below 30% from 3 on the season. Champagnie is hitting his free throws better than 80% and so might be a better shooter as a sophomore and beyond. He is the leading rebounder on the team, pulling in 6.7 per game. Up front, Pitt relies on their only senior, 6'9" F Eric Hamilton, a grad transfer by way of Wichita State and UNC Greensboro, to provide production. He starts most games but plays less than 20 minutes. Hamilton is a guy that is not outstanding in any way but provides good minutes and leadership. JR Terrell Brown (6'10") plays about as much as Hamilton does, usually off the bench, and is the only real shot blocker on the team. Both Hamilton and Brown have been a bit foul prone, so expect to see Vernon Carey pressure them early in this matchup. Coach Capel also relies on FR G Gerald Drumgoole, Jr. (6'5') to help out in the backcourt. Drumgoole is a non-shooter and hasn't scored much at all - his career high so far is 4 ppints against Canisius. He does play a few minutes here and there and keeps the regulars fresh.

Pitt is a little like Georgia Tech. They have some good defenders and good guards but struggle to score. Shooting is a real problem, although they do crash the offensive glass well and get to the free throw line at a good clip. They play a really slow pace, among the slowest of all teams in the country and only have an 8-man rotation. And they like to get to the free throw line. Duke will have to avoid fouling. It's a young team that only has 1 SR on the entire roster. Their top players are mostly FR and SOs. They are improving under Capel and look like they will be a competitive team in the near future. Duke will have to avoid overlooking the Panthers and play with focus after a week off to close out January.

[duke2x]

For those suitably inclined, Duke has put GA tickets on sale to the public. It's amazing how fast the Ticket Office responds when Coach K calls out the Crazies on the radio for their wire-to-wire attendance.

[jv001]

After dropping Miami like a group of frozen iguanas, Duke gets a week off to rest, recuperate, and prepare for next part of the ACC schedule. On the horizon, a trio of road games awaits and then 8 of 9 games in North Carolina to close out the regular season. But first, it's Pitt.

The Panthers, sporting new uniforms under second year head coach Jeff Capel, are a scrappy and improving team. The Panthers sit in the bottom half of the ACC, but are demonstrating a bright future. The season began with an impressive victory of Florida State. Unfortunately, that was followed by a home loss to Nichols State. Were it not for that roadbump as well as a home loss to Wake Forest, we might be talking about the Panthers as an NCAA Tournament bubble team with impressive wins over FSU and Rutgers to go along with a tight loss at home (in OT following a controversial call) to Louisville. This team has talent and can play well at times. They haven't put it all together yet.

The Panthers are young, a little thin, but play good defense. They are one of the best teams at forcing turnovers, doing so on about a quarter of opponent possessions. This is not a team that likes to pick your pocket, though. They don't have many guys that will strip the ball. It's all about making bad decisions. Their defense does have a weakness. They are getting killed on the offensive glass. Pitt ranks near the bottom in defensive rebounding rate. Duke is one of the best offensive rebounding squads in the country, so getting clean looks after an offensive board will be a major key for the Blue Devils. Cutting down on TO's will also be a factor.

Pitt isn't a particularly deep team. Their backcourt trio plays a ton of minutes. Xavier Johnson is the PG (6'3" SO) and the best shooter on the team, at least so far this year. He can be a bit loose with the ball, so Tre Jones and Jordan Goldwire will present him problems. Besides Johnson is fellow SO Trey McGowens (6'4"), the leading scorer on the team (13.3 pts/game). McGowens has struggled with his shot this year but has overall been the best scorer on the team. Completing the backcourt is Charlotte transfer Ryan Murphy (JR, 6'2"). Murphy is a gunner that has taken more 3's than 2's on the season. He came off the bench against UNC last week but is playing starter minutes.

On the wings are FR F Justin Champagnie (6'6") and SO F Au'Diese Toney (6'5"). The freshman Champagnie has been a bigger part of the offense than Toney, although neither have shot the ball well at all, hitting well below 30% from 3 on the season. Champagnie is hitting his free throws better than 80% and so might be a better shooter as a sophomore and beyond. He is the leading rebounder on the team, pulling in 6.7 per game. Up front, Pitt relies on their only senior, 6'9" F Eric Hamilton, a grad transfer by way of Wichita State and UNC Greensboro, to provide production. He starts most games but plays less than 20 minutes. Hamilton is a guy that is not outstanding in any way but provides good minutes and leadership. JR Terrell Brown (6'10") plays about as much as Hamilton does, usually off the bench, and is the only real shot blocker on the team. Both Hamilton and Brown have been a bit foul prone, so expect to see Vernon Carey pressure them early in this matchup. Coach Capel also relies on FR G Gerald Drumgoole, Jr. (6'5') to help out in the backcourt. Drumgoole is a non-shooter and hasn't scored much at all - his career high so far is 4 ppints against Canisius. He does play a few minutes here and there and keeps the regulars fresh.

Pitt is a little like Georgia Tech. They have some good defenders and good guards but struggle to score. Shooting is a real problem, although they do crash the offensive glass well and get to the free throw line at a good clip. They play a really slow pace, among the slowest of all teams in the country and only have an 8-man rotation. And they like to get to the free throw line. Duke will have to avoid fouling. It's a young team that only has 1 SR on the entire roster. Their top players are mostly FR and SOs. They are improving under Capel and look like they will be a competitive team in the near future. Duke will have to avoid overlooking the Panthers and play with focus after a week off to close out January.

Thanks for the Pitt review. Another game that Duke should be favored by double figures, but a game that if we don't start out fast, the crowd will get into it and then anything can happen(see Clemson). I guess we should focus on Drumgoole because he seems to be the least rated shooter of the guards. Those kind of players have hurt us in the past. I'm just kidding there. I guess this will be a somewhat weird feeling game for Coach K and Coach Capel.
GoDuke!

[Tripping William]

Thanks for the Pitt review. Another game that Duke should be favored by double figures, but a game that if we don't start out fast, the crowd will get into it and then anything can happen(see Clemson). I guess we should focus on Drumgoole because he seems to be the least rated shooter of the guards. Those kind of players have hurt us in the past. I'm just kidding there. I guess this will be a somewhat weird feeling game for Coach K and Coach Capel.
GoDuke!

This game is in Cameron.

[DavidBenAkiva]

Thanks for the Pitt review. Another game that Duke should be favored by double figures, but a game that if we don't start out fast, the crowd will get into it and then anything can happen(see Clemson). I guess we should focus on Drumgoole because he seems to be the least rated shooter of the guards. Those kind of players have hurt us in the past. I'm just kidding there. I guess this will be a somewhat weird feeling game for Coach K and Coach Capel.
GoDuke!

To be clear, this will be a home game for Duke.

FWIW, Pitt just squeezed past Boston College at home last night and is now 4-4- in conference play. Pitt takes on Syracuse this weekend before traveling down to Durham.

[jv001]

To be clear, this will be a home game for Duke.

FWIW, Pitt just squeezed past Boston College at home last night and is now 4-4- in conference play. Pitt takes on Syracuse this weekend before traveling down to Durham.

For some reason I thought it was at Pitt. I thought I saw the game listed for TV with Duke vs. Pitt. Since Pitt was last on the commercial, I thought the game was in PA. Thanks again for that information.

GoDuke!

[Fish80]

For some reason I thought it was at Pitt. I thought I saw the game listed for TV with Duke vs. Pitt. Since Pitt was last on the commercial, I thought the game was in PA. Thanks again for that information.

GoDuke!

Bumping to stay on page 1

[Acymetric]

​Why is this game so far away?

[devildeac]

​Why is this game so far away?

"...Doesn't anybody stay in one place anymore..."

[DevilHorse]

I agree with most of the observations about the Pitt team by DBA.

Allow me to add my own as I've watched 2/3 of the Pitt games this year.

Pitt is a streaky/momentum team. They are capable of big time droughts and streaks during the course of a game. Coach Capel has them passing often around the perimeter, and under the basket (sideline to sideline) when things are going good. So pressure on the ball and playing the passing lanes can provide some fertile ground for steals; but you can expect that there will be secondary passes inside if Duke does not get the steals on the perimeter and the ball gets inside. The back-door will be wide open. However, I've seen Pitt miss more than their share of bunnies this year. Perhaps it was rabbit defense that did it.
Vernon Carey will be able to foul out several Pitt big men if our guards can get him the ball, but: he will get more than a few shots swatted first, and his effectiveness will be mitigated if he shoots less than 67% from the charity stripe.

Champagnie gets big rebounds at crunchtime and hits free throws. McGowen takes a number of ill-advised shots, but has athletic talent and may be growing into a nice player. Don't leave Murphy open please; he's a good shooter for a half.


Larry
DevilHorse

[kako]

Normally I'd say this might be a game that Duke might overlook. Given the gap since the Miami game, I'd say that's not the case. They should be hungry to play again. Pitt will be coming off a road game against the Cuse, back home for a day+ then on a plane down to Durham. Pitt is better this year, but talent/enthusiasm/rest should win out. Barring injuries between now and game time, I'd say give the points. Duke in a potential rout.

9F

[Green Wave Dukie]

"...Doesn't anybody stay in one place anymore..."

DD - nice one. I’m gonna King ya.

[devildeac]

DD - nice one. I’m gonna King ya.

Beautiful.

[Fish80]

DD - nice one. I’m gonna King ya.

King Rice? Sacre Bleu!

[Devilwin]

Normally I'd say this might be a game that Duke might overlook. Given the gap since the Miami game, I'd say that's not the case. They should be hungry to play again. Pitt will be coming off a road game against the Cuse, back home for a day+ then on a plane down to Durham. Pitt is better this year, but talent/enthusiasm/rest should win out. Barring injuries between now and game time, I'd say give the points. Duke in a potential rout.

9F

Only concern I have is the play of Carey. Seems sluggish of late.

[Tripping William]

Normally I'd say this might be a game that Duke might overlook. Given the gap since the Miami game, I'd say that's not the case. They should be hungry to play again. Pitt will be coming off a road game against the Cuse, back home for a day+ then on a plane down to Durham. Pitt is better this year, but talent/enthusiasm/rest should win out. Barring injuries between now and game time, I'd say give the points. Duke in a potential rout.

9F

“K eats his young.” —Mike Brey

[UrinalCake]

Only concern I have is the play of Carey. Seems sluggish of late.

I think Carey has hit the freshman wall, which I define as both the physical/mental grind of hitting conference season and having one tough game after another, AND the fact that opponents now have enough game tape that they can effectively game plan against you. Teams are doubling him and challenging him to make the right reads to find the open man, and he’s still learning to do that. He often goes into his spin move even when there’s a defender sitting there waiting for it. And on the defensive end teams are running the pnr over and over until he can stop it.

I think the extra days off between two home games, and the extra practices that I expect get scheduled in as a result, will be great for Carey to get back on track. One extra wrinkle is that Capel knows as well as anyone how we like to run our system.

[tteettimes]

Injury update anyone?...Joey Baker, Wendell Moore??.???
Either one almost ready to play again??

[DukieInBrasil]

Injury update anyone?...Joey Baker, Wendell Moore??.???
Either one almost ready to play again??

Joey Baker has been playing lately, in fact shot 3-5 from 3 vs Miami. Last i saw, Wendell was gonna be ready "in February".

[Pghdukie]

Any line out yet ?