MBB: Duke 88, NC State 69 Post-Game Thread

[Billy Dat]

The Zone was an act of desperation that worked. Kudos to K for the verve. It completely altered the entire game.

I thought Goldwire was incredible tonight. I also thought Moore was extremely helpful as a ballhandler and finisher. It was great to see the “old Cassius”. J Rob gave us a heck of an effort.

I am thrilled that we won but I am not sure what it means going forward. We still seem unable to play M2M against top 50 offenses. Still, I won’t quibble. We got a big win we desperately needed.

[Kedsy]

After watching the team struggle defensively for at least the last 3 years, I am convinced that freshman cannot defend consistently at a high level.

Duke's dRating national rank the past three seasons:

2020: #11 (and counting)
2019: #6
2018: #9

What exactly have you been watching?

[Kedsy]

Just like everyone was saying before the game, I'm glad Stanley stepped up as a third option behind Robinson and Goldwire.

[uh_no]

Also, Cassius alley-oop #2 (the one-handed slam) was the SCTop10 #1 play.

my angle was effectively perpendicular to the ray from the center of the ball to the hoop when cassius grabbed it...so from my perspective, it was as par away as it could possibly seem.

When the pass was thrown, several things went through my head in quick successions:

- oh stanley is over there, he should throw the lob
- ah crap, he way overthrew it
- da heck? stanley is going up for it?
- that is going to get tipped into the crowd for sure

At that point, my brain turned into some sort of goop, because the next part of my memory is me squatting on the ground with my hands on top of my head screaming like a lunatic.

Zion's 360 tomahawk last year was one thing...but this broke me. There is no amount of rationality to what happened on that play. The replays don't do justice to what I saw.

[camion]

my angle was effectively perpendicular to the ray from the center of the ball to the hoop when cassius grabbed it...so from my perspective, it was as par away as it could possibly seem.

When the pass was thrown, several things went through my head in quick successions:

- oh stanley is over there, he should throw the lob
- ah crap, he way overthrew it
- da heck? stanley is going up for it?
- that is going to get tipped into the crowd for sure

At that point, my brain turned into some sort of goop, because the next part of my memory is me squatting on the ground with my hands on top of my head screaming like a lunatic.

Zion's 360 tomahawk last year was one thing...but this broke me. There is no amount of rationality to what happened on that play. The replays don't do justice to what I saw.

When I saw the play in real time I thought, “What? How?? No Way!!!”

On seeing slow motion replays the What and How were answered. I just kept repeating the No Way!!! while replaying it several more times.

[Kedsy]

Well, the armchair Duke fan's dream: Justin Robinson and zone defense. Nice that it added up to a revenge game and another home win against NC State (a team that has won just once at Duke after 1995).

OFFENSE

Possessions: 71.4 (an OK pace for us)
oRtg: 1.23 (1.28 adjusted; outstanding)
eFG%: 51.6% (not great, but we'll take it)
3pt%: 33.3% (acceptable)
2pt%: 52.1% (decent, not particularly good)
%threes: 23.8% (a little low)
FT rate: 42.9% (very strong)
OR%: 47.1% (fab)
TO%: 16.8% (pretty good; 6th straight game under 20%)
a/to: 1.17:1
%assisted: 46.7%
fast break pts: 25 (28.4% of points; really, really good)

DEFENSE

dRtg: 0.97 (0.89 adjusted; good; 5th game out of seven in which our dRating was under 0.90)
eFG%: 47.5% (pretty good)
3pt%: 23.8% (very good)
2pt%: 53.8% (not so hot)
%threes: 35.0% (high, for this year's Duke team; only 11th time in 30 games that an opponent has taken 30% or more of their shots from three)
FT rate: 31.7% (not great)
DR%: 76.9% (very strong; 5th game out of last six in which we've topped 72% in this stat; 4th out of six that we've topped 76%)
TO%: 15.4% (lousy; 10th defensive TO% under 20% in our last 12 games)
a/to: 1.27:1
%assisted: 53.8%
stl%: 11.2% (nice; two decent steals games in a row, after 8 disappointing steals performance in our 10 games before that)
blk%: 10.0% (15.4% of 2pt shots) (strong man emoji)
fast break pts: 6 (8.7% of points; very good)

So, really good offense and really good defense. Not sure the zone can be a long term thing, but it certainly turned the game around tonight.

[mgtr]

So, it is alleged that ou tired old coach needs to bring in fresh ideas to play modern
ACC ball. Our decreipt old coach has many tricks in his bag, and to quote a famous gentleman who once ruled 42ND street You ain.t seen nothin. yet!

[gep]

It was no wonder the guys did better the second half. They had to play the entire first half of offense with Keatts out on the floor practically in their shorts and yelling in their ears!! The ref asked him once to get back of the line but never inforced it. Shoulda had a couple to big fat T's called on him, bless his unsportsmanlike heart.
Love, Ima

I thought the same thing, Ima. Reminded me of Buzz, the way he was out on the floor.

This is my most biggest peeve in college basketball. Coaches are sometimes near the key on the court... yet NO T. I can't stand it... AT ALL. If they can't stand in their "box" where they are supposed to, then CALL A T. They suspend players for leaving the bench area... after review AFTER the game. They should do the same for coaches...

[wsb3]

This is my most biggest peeve in college basketball. Coaches are sometimes near the key on the court... yet NO T. I can't stand it... AT ALL. If they can't stand in their "box" where they are supposed to, then CALL A T. They suspend players for leaving the bench area... after review AFTER the game. They should do the same for coaches...

I am waiting for one of them to get run over and we will wait to see if it is a block or a charge.

But still my pet peeve shall remain the ridiculous amount of time spent reviewing plays.

[House G]

Well, the armchair Duke fan's dream: Justin Robinson and zone defense. Nice that it added up to a revenge game and another home win against NC State (a team that has won just once at Duke after 1995).

OFFENSE

Possessions: 71.4 (an OK pace for us)
oRtg: 1.23 (1.28 adjusted; outstanding)
eFG%: 51.6% (not great, but we'll take it)
3pt%: 33.3% (acceptable)
2pt%: 52.1% (decent, not particularly good)
%threes: 23.8% (a little low)
FT rate: 42.9% (very strong)
OR%: 47.1% (fab)
TO%: 16.8% (pretty good; 6th straight game under 20%)
a/to: 1.17:1
%assisted: 46.7%
fast break pts: 25 (28.4% of points; really, really good)

DEFENSE

dRtg: 0.97 (0.89 adjusted; good; 5th game out of seven in which our dRating was under 0.90)
eFG%: 47.5% (pretty good)
3pt%: 23.8% (very good)
2pt%: 53.8% (not so hot)
%threes: 35.0% (high, for this year's Duke team; only 11th time in 30 games that an opponent has taken 30% or more of their shots from three)
FT rate: 31.7% (not great)
DR%: 76.9% (very strong; 5th game out of last six in which we've topped 72% in this stat; 4th out of six that we've topped 76%)
TO%: 15.4% (lousy; 10th defensive TO% under 20% in our last 12 games)
a/to: 1.27:1
%assisted: 53.8%
stl%: 11.2% (nice; two decent steals games in a row, after 8 disappointing steals performance in our 10 games before that)
blk%: 10.0% (15.4% of 2pt shots) (strong man emoji)
fast break pts: 6 (8.7% of points; very good)

So, really good offense and really good defense. Not sure the zone can be a long term thing, but it certainly turned the game around tonight.

To your last point, I fell asleep last night thinking about the game and woke up at 4 am thinking about Jack Givens.

[cruxer]

Didn’t K institute the zone D very late in the 2015 season?

I remember this well. The zone was a wrinkle in the Louisville gameplan (at Louisville!) which gave us a nice bounce back after a loss. It did seem to restore our defensive confidence for the rest of the regular season, but as others have pointed out, we didn't really use it in the tourney much at all even though we played outstanding defense for those 6 games. Go figure.

-c

[weezie]

This is my most biggest peeve in college basketball. Coaches are sometimes near the key on the court...

Sometimes?! Try nearly every game. St. Tony sashayed out to the free throw line this past Sat night for a tete a tete with the ref as his team came in on a time out. K got an angry warning and the sharp finger point when he walked down the bench line.
Selective reffing, that's all it is.

[weezie]

Just like everyone was saying before the game, I'm glad Stanley stepped up as a third option behind Robinson and Goldwire.

Love this!

[Scorp4me]

We should have an 8 man rotation on any given night. Start Goldwire, Moore, Jones, Stanley, and Carey. Robinson should take all of Javins minutes, I'm sorry to say it but I can't believe it's taken K this long. It's like he doesn't want to believe what he sees sometimes. The other two should come from whoever has the hot hand on that night. Plenty of options in Alex, Alex, Joey, and Matt. And we should not be afraid to use the zone. Doesn't have to be our identity, but it should be an option that we don't feel bad about using. Heck with the defensive pressure we can exert work on a full court or 3/4 press. Don't let them know what's coming!

[DevilHorse]

Also, Cassius alley-oop #2 (the one-handed slam) was the SCTop10 #1 play.

A highlight for sure for the Camera Crazies in attendance.

Larry
DevilHorse

[weezie]

Help me out here, haven't read whole thread but has anyone commented on how well Hurt played last night? Youngster was banging! He looked like a whole new guy.
Grit. That's what it is.

[Saratoga2]

Yep, we saw this two seasons ago with Carter and Bagley. Made the switch about halfway through the conference season, but then by the end of the season opponents had figured it out.

I like mixing in the zone but also think it will be very matchup-dependent. NCSU and UNC-CHeat are good candidates because they shoot poorly - State had several wide open threes in the second half that they missed. Of course they were getting those when we were playing man too, so maybe there’s no difference. Against a team like Notre Dame or VT we’d be playing M2M full time.

I'm surprised Duke has never tried the Pack-Line which UVA has used so effectively. In a way, the 2-3 zone we were playing with active guards had some of the same features.

[Devilwin]

Team win. Accolades to them all. One thing that does worry me is Wendell's ball handling. But he is tough and hard nosed..

[Indoor66]

Actually, UNC plays a 7-man rotation. Not that deep.

And if we're going to play a zone, we're probably going to play fewer players than usual since the guys don't expend as much energy in a zone. I would expect Jack and AOC to be out of the rotation. Maybe another player or two also.



UNC historically has been a great team against the zone and this season put up 92 points in the Carrier Dome. It's true that they're not usually loaded with shooters, but their passing and offensive rebounding against the zone are amazing.

Now, with that said, Duke should zone them, anyway.

I imagine we will come out in M2M and see how it is working. If needed, we will switch to zone.

[Indoor66]

So, it is alleged that ou tired old coach needs to bring in fresh ideas to play modern
ACC ball. Our decreipt old coach has many tricks in his bag, and to quote a famous gentleman who once ruled 42ND street You ain.t seen nothin. yet!

That was "nuttin" and he said that because his knickname was the "schnoz".