MBB: Duke @ Virginia Tech (Tue 1/12, 7:00 pm, ACCN) Pre-Game and In-Game Thread

[Billy Dat]

Every game feels big this season because making the NCAAs is not assured. This is our first chance for a quadrant 1 win (I assume ND is not top 75).

Based on everything I am reading, here and elsewhere, they seem strong where we are weak or they counter our strengths really well:
-The clean up the defensive glass and we've been using offensive rebounding to fuel our offense
-They allow a high % of 3 point shooting but we haven't been shooting it that well
-They get to the line a ton, and we don't
-They are a nice offensive machine and our defense has been bad over these past 2 games

So it doesn't really feel like we are in a position to go up to Blacksburg and win. But, that's why they play the games and we've certainly got enough firepower on both ends to win this game. My quick scan of the advanced metrics makes this feel like an even match-up. The size match-up is also even...aside from Mark Williams, both teams feature (per DBA's preview above) a small ball frontline and pretty diminutive backcourts. The betting line is Duke -1.5 which naturally plays into Duke having the bigger brand name and all of that, trying to pull that square money to bet Duke, but it feels like most of the world sees VTech as a slight favorite.

What I am looking for:
-Can we clean up our turnovers?
-Can Hurt win his match-up with Aluma (regardless of whether they guard each other, which guys will have the more effective overall game)
-Can we run them off the 3-point line? When we do, will it turn into a lay-up line/foul fest/drive-and-kick barrage as we aggressively contest, they blow by to the hoop and we are in defensive rotation?
-Can we use Mark Williams? Can he give us an advantage with his size or will he be unable to guard in their spread perimeter offense?
-Wither Jalen Johnson? I feel like we see him tonight and it feels like we'll need him even if the expectations are not high since he hasn't seen game action in a month. We'll need his help on the glass alone, which reminds me...
-Brake, this is the game we need you to show some of the form that's been missing these past few games. Freshman are inconsistent and you have had 2 meh games. We need a good one tonight.
-This is a great test for our 3-headed monster of Goldy/DJ/Roach. If they can go head-to-head with VTech's waves of might mites, I'll be impressed. We especially need these guys to be active on the glass.
-Is the tight rotation of the past 2 games a settling into usual Duke form or will foul trouble mean that we see more of our 6'6"-6'7" guys, namely Baker and Coleman?
-Will we shoot better?
-Will we get to the line more frequently. The days of, "Duke makes more FTs than their opponent attempts" seem so very far away.

Again, this feels like a big game. We need wins like this to punch our March ticket. Let's GO!!!!

[jv001]

Every game feels big this season because making the NCAAs is not assured. This is our first chance for a quadrant 1 win (I assume ND is not top 75).

Based on everything I am reading, here and elsewhere, they seem strong where we are weak or they counter our strengths really well:
-The clean up the defensive glass and we've been using offensive rebounding to fuel our offense
-They allow a high % of 3 point shooting but we haven't been shooting it that well
-They get to the line a ton, and we don't
-They are a nice offensive machine and our defense has been bad over these past 2 games

So it doesn't really feel like we are in a position to go up to Blacksburg and win. But, that's why they play the games and we've certainly got enough firepower on both ends to win this game. My quick scan of the advanced metrics makes this feel like an even match-up. The size match-up is also even...aside from Mark Williams, both teams feature (per DBA's preview above) a small ball frontline and pretty diminutive backcourts. The betting line is Duke -1.5 which naturally plays into Duke having the bigger brand name and all of that, trying to pull that square money to bet Duke, but it feels like most of the world sees VTech as a slight favorite.

What I am looking for:
-Can we clean up our turnovers?
-Can Hurt win his match-up with Aluma (regardless of whether they guard each other, which guys will have the more effective overall game)
-Can we run them off the 3-point line? When we do, will it turn into a lay-up line/foul fest/drive-and-kick barrage as we aggressively contest, they blow by to the hoop and we are in defensive rotation?
-Can we use Mark Williams? Can he give us an advantage with his size or will he be unable to guard in their spread perimeter offense?
-Wither Jalen Johnson? I feel like we see him tonight and it feels like we'll need him even if the expectations are not high since he hasn't seen game action in a month. We'll need his help on the glass alone, which reminds me...
-Brake, this is the game we need you to show some of the form that's been missing these past few games. Freshman are inconsistent and you have had 2 meh games. We need a good one tonight.
-This is a great test for our 3-headed monster of Goldy/DJ/Roach. If they can go head-to-head with VTech's waves of might mites, I'll be impressed. We especially need these guys to be active on the glass.
-Is the tight rotation of the past 2 games a settling into usual Duke form or will foul trouble mean that we see more of our 6'6"-6'7" guys, namely Baker and Coleman?
-Will we shoot better?
-Will we get to the line more frequently. The days of, "Duke makes more FTs than their opponent attempts" seem so very far away.

Again, this feels like a big game. We need wins like this to punch our March ticket. Let's GO!!!!

Must spread those sporky things. Not much to add but we are due for a hot shooting game from three point line(other than Hurt). This is one season I can truthfully say, I don't know what to expect from our Blue Devils.
GoDuke!

[DavidBenAkiva]

One other factor in this game tonight is the home/road advantage. In normal years, there would be a huge home-court advantage for Virginia Tech. The pandemic has wiped that out. This was the first season in NFL history that road teams outscored home teams and had a slight advantage in record as well. Announcers keep talking about how teams aren't afraid to play in Cameron this year. Well, that's also because there are no Cameron Crazies this year. This cuts both ways. Was the performance that Duke put on in South Bend a sign that this Duke squad is going to benefit from the road environment this season?

[UrinalCake]

I’m also interested to see how our defense fares against an offense that takes better care of the ball. We did a great job forcing turnovers against BC and Wake, but against a stronger opponent we can’t depend on getting those easy stops and scores. Also can we continue to play small against a better opponent who presumably has more size, or will we have to adjust with moving Hurt off of the 5 spot?

[DavidBenAkiva]

Further news from Duke, which traveled to Blacksburg yesterday:
- Henry Coleman and Nate James are still in Durham as they deal with an illness but have so far tested negative for COVID
- Patrick Tapé remains sidelined due to a back issue
- Jalen Johnson is a game-time decision

https://twitter.com/DukeMBB/status/1349030881877495809

Good thing VT isn't that big because Duke's frontcourt is suddenly thin.

[CameronDuke]

NEWS - from official Duke Men’s Basketball Twitter account

Henry Coleman & Asst Coach Chris Carrawell: did not travel w/ team to VA Tech (both are ill, continue to test negative for COVID-19)

Patrick Tapé: remains sidelined (back)

Jalen Johnson: game-time decision tonight

[Music man55]

Usually Cassell is a house of horror for our Bluedevils, but this year that shouldn’t matter. I think we can win this game but we can’t turn it over a lot. I also think we will see Johnson in the game, but how many minutes, not sure. It would be nice to see Duke at 4-0 at the end of the night. Hopefully, we make it happen. Go Duke!!

[SavDukeGrad]

Usually Cassell is a house of horror for our Bluedevils, but this year that shouldn’t matter. I think we can win this game but we can’t turn it over a lot. I also think we will see Johnson in the game, but how many minutes, not sure. It would be nice to see Duke at 4-0 at the end of the night. Hopefully, we make it happen. Go Duke!!

Even without fans, it is by far my least favorite arena in the ACC. The lighting, among other things, is horrible.

[TywinBlue]

Agreed. Cassell Coliseum is the worst lit basketball venue in the ACC.

We can " thank" former Virginia Governor Mark Warner for it:
During the ACC expansion vote on the early 2000s, he allegedly would not allow Virginia to vote in favor unless VaTech was added as well.

Anyone taking a ride to Blacksburg for a conference game should " thank " Warner in their own way.

[sagegrouse]

Agreed. Cassell Coliseum is the worst lit basketball venue in the ACC.

We can " thank" former Virginia Governor Mark Warner for it:
During the ACC expansion vote on the early 2000s, he allegedly would not allow Virginia to vote in favor unless VaTech was added as well.

Anyone taking a ride to Blacksburg for a conference game should " thank " Warner in their own way.

No, it's Duke's and UNC's fault. When the ACC looked into expansion in the early aughts, all nine members were in favor except for Virginia, Duke and UNC if I recall correctly -- and hoping for a first time. Three-fourths of the ACC membership had to approve a school for admission to the conference. There needed to be one more vote for expansion. Aha!! If Va Tech was a candidate, there is no way Virginia could oppose. No one really wanted VT in the conference -- remote location, close to other ACC schools, no natural fan base, etc. -- but a slate including Virginia Tech could get seven out of nine votes. If Duke and UNC had supported another expansion slate -- any of Miami, BC, Pitt and Syracuse -- VT would not have been invited. But Duke and UNC chose to stand on principle and got the worst possible result. VT was added to the slate of candidates -- Virginia voted "yes" -- and VT, Miami and BC joined the ACC.

You don't need to be John Nash ("A Beautiful Mind") to dope this out. Any politico on Capitol Hill could tell you that if you are going to lose, get the best deal you can. Therefore, it was Duke's and UNC's fault.

[BlueDevilStop]

Further news from Duke, which traveled to Blacksburg yesterday:
- Henry Coleman and Nate James are still in Durham as they deal with an illness but have so far tested negative for COVID
- Patrick Tapé remains sidelined due to a back issue
- Jalen Johnson is a game-time decision

https://twitter.com/DukeMBB/status/1349030881877495809

Good thing VT isn't that big because Duke's frontcourt is suddenly thin.

I agree. VT isn't the worst team to play with a depleted front court. Still, not an ideal situation for Duke. Might need a big night from Hurt even more than usual.

[Kedsy]

I agree. VT isn't the worst team to play with a depleted front court. Still, not an ideal situation for Duke. Might need a big night from Hurt even more than usual.

Is it really depleting our frontcourt, though? No offense to Henry and Patrick, but they've combined for a total of one minute in calendar 2021.

(And Jalen hasn't played in more than a month, so the fact that he's a game-time decision is actually a plus for our frontcourt depth.)

[chrishoke]

Too many things going against us tonight. I'm seeing a 15 point butt whipping. Go Devils.

[Zooks]

I know this has been said before, but I have to say it again:

Shame on the ACC for creating a private new cable network that I cannot receive through my cable company. I know Comcast in horrible, but the ACC sold me out.

It's 2021 -- what kind of a new tv service is too incompetent to allow me to pay it directly ala carte for membership? I cannot change my provider, and I cannot justify purchasing a second full cable package to reward the ACC for its greed.

You may be able to watch the game on the ESPN app. If you have a smart TV, you can download the ESPN app, then log in with your Comcast account info. In the app, you can browse by sport, choose basketball and it should be there. You can also use the on demand section to watch the game later.

If you don't have a smart TV, you can get the app on an computer or laptop and watch it that way.

I use the ESPN app on my Roku to watch the games (I use my mother-in-law's cable log in for the ESPN app since I got rid of cable a few years ago)

Hope that helps.

Go Devils!!!

[Kedsy]

You may be able to watch the game on the ESPN app. If you have a smart TV, you can download the ESPN app, then log in with your Comcast account info. In the app, you can browse by sport, choose basketball and it should be there. You can also use the on demand section to watch the game later.

If you don't have a smart TV, you can get the app on an computer or laptop and watch it that way.

I use the ESPN app on my Roku to watch the games (I use my mother-in-law's cable log in for the ESPN app since I got rid of cable a few years ago)

Hope that helps.

Go Devils!!!

Are you using Comcast or another cable provider? Because far as I know, what you're suggesting absolutely does NOT work with Comcast.

[-jk]

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Let's Go Duke!

-jk

[whereinthehellami]

I got VT by 11

Blacksburg is a college town with one of the prettiest campuses in the ACC.

[rsvman]

Yet another really sluggish, slow start. It gets tiresome, having to come from behind in almost every game.

[gumbomoop]

Announcers haven’t noticed JJ in game.

[Zooks]

Are you using Comcast or another cable provider? Because far as I know, what you're suggesting absolutely does NOT work with Comcast.

DISH network