Duke MBB v Army (11/12, 7:00 PM EST, ACCN) Pre-game and In-game Thread

[DavidBenAkiva]

Coach K's first home game of his final season will be against his alma mater, the Black Knights of Army. The game falls on the day after Veterans Day, although this Black Knights team is hardly a group of veterans. Last year's Army team finished in the middle of the Patriot League at 7-7 and lost its matchup with Bellarmine in the quarterfinal of the CBI Tournament. In the offseason, 4 of the top 6 players, seniors, left the Army team. Head Coach Jimmy Allen's current squad has a number of freshman and sophomores in key positions with a few upperclassmen sprinkled through.

The Black Knights began their season with an 83-52 victory over D-II SUNY New Paltz on Tuesday. There's not much to glean from the box score other than that Army shot a suspect 6-22 from 3 in the game. Of course, Duke shot just 1-13 from 3 in their matchup on Tuesday night as well. That was against a superior opponent if we want to handicap the shooting performance.

KenPom has Army rated at 252nd in the country and estimates a final score of 85-60. I wouldn't be surprised if Duke scores closer to 100 in this matchup. Army isn't any older than Duke this year and there's a serious talent discrepancy. I also have a hunch that KenPom is overrating a team that has consistently finished in the middle of the Patriot League over the last few years. This roster does not have the same amount of experience as previous teams.

Duke fans will look to see how this team shoots and rebounds, the two areas of concern following the stirring Kentucky win. Army doesn't have the size to challenge Duke's interior attack. Will they double the post and free up space on the perimeter for shooters? And on the defensive end, can Duke exert its will against another guard-oriented lineup?

The fans should be there in full force to cheer on Coach K during his limited remaining games. The home schedule should start with an easy victory. At least, a veteran team would make it look easy.

[uh_no]

Coach K's first home game of his final season will be against his alma mater, the Black Knights of Army. The game falls on the day after Veterans Day, although this Black Knights team is hardly a group of veterans. Last year's Army team finished in the middle of the Patriot League at 7-7 and lost its matchup with Bellarmine in the quarterfinal of the CBI Tournament. In the offseason, 4 of the top 6 players, seniors, left the Army team. Head Coach Jimmy Allen's current squad has a number of freshman and sophomores in key positions with a few upperclassmen sprinkled through.

The Black Knights began their season with an 83-52 victory over D-II SUNY New Paltz on Tuesday. There's not much to glean from the box score other than that Army shot a suspect 6-22 from 3 in the game. Of course, Duke shot just 1-13 from 3 in their matchup on Tuesday night as well. That was against a superior opponent if we want to handicap the shooting performance.

KenPom has Army rated at 252nd in the country and estimates a final score of 85-60. I wouldn't be surprised if Duke scores closer to 100 in this matchup. Army isn't any older than Duke this year and there's a serious talent discrepancy. I also have a hunch that KenPom is overrating a team that has consistently finished in the middle of the Patriot League over the last few years. This roster does not have the same amount of experience as previous teams.

Duke fans will look to see how this team shoots and rebounds, the two areas of concern following the stirring Kentucky win. Army doesn't have the size to challenge Duke's interior attack. Will they double the post and free up space on the perimeter for shooters? And on the defensive end, can Duke exert its will against another guard-oriented lineup?

The fans should be there in full force to cheer on Coach K during his limited remaining games. The home schedule should start with an easy victory. At least, a veteran team would make it look easy.

I imagine every duke game will be a 'real' sellout this year. I tried to get tickets to see duke in Boston, for instance...nearly 500$.

The amount of people I know who aren't even duke, or even really college basketball fans who are telling me they managed to get tickets to a cupcake game just to say they saw one game in cameron with K is nuts.

[UrinalCake]

If memory serves, three years ago after blowing out Kentucky our next game was also at home against Army. We won, but the game was far closer than expected. So I’ll be interested to see how we respond. A natural letdown is to be expected, especially when we have games on two consecutive nights against easy opponents, but I would love to see the team keep the intensity up.

Also hoping to see AJ continue to round into form and Blakes get some burn. Joey knocking down some threes would be another welcome sight. We’re not really going to be challenged for a couple weeks until the Gonzaga showdown so I really want to see what the team works on and how they continue to develop.

[Saratoga2]

If memory serves, three years ago after blowing out Kentucky our next game was also at home against Army. We won, but the game was far closer than expected. So I’ll be interested to see how we respond. A natural letdown is to be expected, especially when we have games on two consecutive nights against easy opponents, but I would love to see the team keep the intensity up.

Also hoping to see AJ continue to round into form and Blakes get some burn. Joey knocking down some threes would be another welcome sight. We’re not really going to be challenged for a couple weeks until the Gonzaga showdown so I really want to see what the team works on and how they continue to develop.

Am I wrong in thinking Blakes tried to trip a player and coach K pulled him after that to talk to him?

[SlapTheFloor]

Coach K's first home game of his final season will be against his alma mater, the Black Knights of Army. The game falls on the day after Veterans Day, although this Black Knights team is hardly a group of veterans. Last year's Army team finished in the middle of the Patriot League at 7-7 and lost its matchup with Duke fans will look to see how this team shoots and rebounds, the two areas of concern following the stirring Kentucky win.

Also hydration

[Billy Dat]

I didn't realize that our next two games are back-to-back Friday and Saturday. Giddy up. I assume that will result in K spreading out the minutes. Still, I am interested in...

-Will the defense continue at a high level against lesser competition
-Do we think K is going for faster pace? If last game was faster than last year, do we want to play even faster?
-Will Paolo and Trevor continue their high level performance on both ends
-Will the presumed increased attention on both players lead to good opportunities for the others on the court, especially from 3
-Can we shoot better than 35% from 3
-Can we shoot better than 70% from the line
-Can we get to the line and prevent foul shots as we did last game
-Assuming better performance against lesser players, will our defensive rebound stats be much improved?
-Can Paolo drawing doubles in the high post lead to some nice hi-lo action with Mark?
-Will here be a deliberate focus on trying to create better opportunities from 3 or will we just run the offense through Paolo and Trevor and see what plays they can create?
-What gift will Army give to K? Wait, I already know, the honor of attending and being called a cadet. Happy Veterans Day to you all!

[flyingdutchdevil]

I didn't realize that our next two games are back-to-back Friday and Saturday. Giddy up. I assume that will result in K spreading out the minutes. Still, I am interested in...

-Will the defense continue at a high level against lesser competition
-Do we think K is going for faster pace? If last game was faster than last year, do we want to play even faster?
-Will Paolo and Trevor continue their high level performance on both ends
-Will the presumed increased attention on both players lead to good opportunities for the others on the court, especially from 3
-Can we shoot better than 35% from 3
-Can we shoot better than 70% from the line
-Can we get to the line and prevent foul shots as we did last game
-Assuming better performance against lesser players, will our defensive rebound stats be much improved?
-Can Paolo drawing doubles in the high post lead to some nice hi-lo action with Mark?
-Will here be a deliberate focus on trying to create better opportunities from 3 or will we just run the offense through Paolo and Trevor and see what plays they can create?
-What gift will Army give to K? Wait, I already know, the honor of attending and being called a cadet. Happy Veterans Day to you all!

I'm interested in:

-Will Coach K try the Williams/John experiment?
-Outside of toughness, what does AJ bring to the table at this point?
-Can Roach average at least three 3 pts per game? Once the doubles happen, Roach will be open

[uh_no]

-Can Roach average at least three 3 pts per game? Once the doubles happen, Roach will be open

given that he only shot like 31% last year, and only made 26 3's on the entire season last year, I'm going to go with a resounding "no." Unless he is significantly improved from deep, roach does not need to be taking the 10 3's a game he'd need to average 3 made per game.

[kako]

The only thing that can cause Duke to loose this game is a mental let down after beating UK. The Crazies should be in full force for their first meaningful game since the spring of 2020. I trust in K and the staff to keep the players' sharpness up. I also have to believe we will see nary a cramp, if only because few players should see major consecutive minutes.

Great respect to the US Military Academy as an institution, but their hoops team should get overrun in battle tomorrow.

9F

[flyingdutchdevil]

given that he only shot like 31% last year, and only made 26 3's on the entire season last year, I'm going to go with a resounding "no." Unless he is significantly improved from deep, roach does not need to be taking the 10 3's a game he'd need to average 3 made per game.

Meant to say average attempted 3s per game. He averaged 3.5 last year. UK didn't double much (which is why Roach only took 1 three). I suspect these cupcakes will double Paolo (and possibly Keels). Roach should be open and I hope he lets it fly.

[cato]

Am I wrong in thinking Blakes tried to trip a player and coach K pulled him after that to talk to him?

Was that the play where a foul was called right in front of Coach K? My sense was the K argue that no foul occurred and then maybe had a side conversation about committing a foul like that in that location on the court.

[CDu]

Was that the play where a foul was called right in front of Coach K? My sense was the K argue that no foul occurred and then maybe had a side conversation about committing a foul like that in that location on the court.

That tripping foul was committed by Moore (not Blakes), and I agree with you that Coach K was arguing with the refs that it wasn't a foul as it was incidental contact (Wheeler was out of control).

I don't remember seeing Blakes involved in any questionable incidents. But I guess I'll have to re-watch those few minutes he was in the game.

[MChambers]

That tripping foul was committed by Moore (not Blakes), and I agree with you that Coach K was arguing with the refs that it wasn't a foul as it was incidental contact (Wheeler was out of control).

I don't remember seeing Blakes involved in any questionable incidents. But I guess I'll have to re-watch those few minutes he was in the game.

Moore was trying to get out of the way of the Kentucky player, but the contact caused the Kentucky player to go down hard.

[UrinalCake]

I was gonna say, I don't remember a Duke player tripping anyone and I'm quite certain it didn't happen because if it did then we would have seen it 1000 times per hour on constant loop on every sports channel.

[uh_no]

Meant to say average attempted 3s per game. He averaged 3.5 last year. UK didn't double much (which is why Roach only took 1 three). I suspect these cupcakes will double Paolo (and possibly Keels). Roach should be open and I hope he lets it fly.

oh okay haha. totally on board, then!

[FerryFor50]

Moore was trying to get out of the way of the Kentucky player, but the contact caused the Kentucky player to go down hard.

In the replay, it looked like there was very little contact there at all. Moore looked like he successfully got out of the way - and definitely didn't trip him.

[Phredd3]

In the replay, it looked like there was very little contact there at all. Moore looked like he successfully got out of the way - and definitely didn't trip him.

He clearly tried to avoid him, and just as clearly didn't succeed. There was obvious contact. On the other hand, it's not like Moore was moving toward him or intended to make contact. I agree with K and thought it was a harsh call. At speed, though, I understand why they called it.

[CDu]

He clearly tried to avoid him, and just as clearly didn't succeed. There was obvious contact. On the other hand, it's not like Moore was moving toward him or intended to make contact. I agree with K and thought it was a harsh call. At speed, though, I understand why they called it.

Yeah there was definite contact. Had there not been contact Wheeler gets to the rim.

It definitely wasn't intentional contact though, and it was clearly initiated by Wheeler being a bit out of control. Moore probably could have just taken the charge in fact, but tried to get out of the way instead. Unfortunately, in doing Wheeler tripped over Moore's leg rather running full on into Moore's chest for a charge. Tough break for Moore for trying to avoid the collision.

[dukebluesincebirth]

Initial line set at Duke -24.5 on Bovada for this one. Tough game to bet. As others have explained above, army will likely be severely overmatched. However, K will not be trying to show up the guys from West Point. He’ll put his grandson in and enjoy the moment when we build a big lead. I bet Duke -1 vs Kentucky but will stay away tonight. Just excited to see this team play another game, especially in Cameron! I hope the crazies are in full effect. Let’s go Devils!

[flyingdutchdevil]

Initial line set at Duke -24.5 on Bovada for this one. Tough game to bet. As others have explained above, army will likely be severely overmatched. However, K will not be trying to show up the guys from West Point. He’ll put his grandson in and enjoy the moment when we build a big lead. I bet Duke -1 vs Kentucky but will stay away tonight. Just excited to see this team play another game, especially in Cameron! I hope the crazies are in full effect. Let’s go Devils!

Coach K will also be experimenting this game (and the next 4). I assume he wants to get Griffin as many minutes as possible. He wants to see what Blakes can provide. He wants to see Williams/John for a few possessions (if not more).

The Banchero/Keels show will be there, but it won't play 30+ minutes.