MBB: Duke 71, Xavier 64 Postgame Thread

[DukieInBrasil]

Nice win from the young Duke squad.
They met the challenge at winning time and actually expanded the lead to close it out.
Good stuff!!!

[scottdude8]

Today, we learned Jeremy Roach can be The Guy when needed. That’s a big step forward.

We saw flashes from both Dariq and Dereck today. Nothing consistent, but flashes. I was encouraged.

A different finishing group, which is going to continue to be a story for this deep team.

Our offense is a work in progress, but our defense is going to keep us in just about any game. That’s a pretty nice position to be in with a very young team in November.

[ClemmonsDevil]

Excellent effort! Thrilled with this game!

[miramar]

Instead of shooting 27% as they did last night, Duke shot 50%.

Now I can give thanks.

[sagegrouse]

Nice win. Intense defense... seriously. Roach was the leader and the top scorer.

Anyone notice the TV voodoo hex against Xavier's center Jack Nunge? It showed his wife in the stands and streamed the coverage from her phone of his first 3-point shot, which swisher. Box score says he was 1-13 for the game.

[SkyBrickey]

Nice win. Thought we looked a lot better than yesterday.

Jeremy MOTM but better play from Mitchell and Lively. We are growing.

Proctor is a mystery to me right now. Looks like he has all the skills to score 15 a game but is just not yet shooting well or creating with confidence. Hope he turns the corner along with Lively and Whitehead. If all 3 can get it going on offense, our ceiling is very high.

[-jk]

Nice win. Intense defense... seriously. Roach was the leader and the top scorer.

Anyone notice the TV voodoo hex against Xavier's center Jack Nunge? It showed his wife in the stands and streamed the coverage from her phone of his first 3-point shot, which swisher. Box score says he was 1-13 for the game.

Worse: it was a headset camera - with no stabilization. ESPN producers are trying to drive me nuts. It's working.

-jk

[kAzE]

Best win of the year by far. Jeremy Roach's best game since March. He apparently developed a midrange game, which is great news. The shot was falling and he took good shots. We can't expect this good of a shooting performance on a consistent basis, but he really carried the team today.

The defense down the final stretch of the game was absolutely stifling. Filipowski's ability to match up 1 on 1 with pretty much anyone is amazing. I think he's the main reason we are able to have Ryan young on floor in crunch time and not take a step back defensively. Flip continues to impress me with his defense.

[Saratoga2]

Today, we learned Jeremy Roach can be The Guy when needed. That’s a big step forward.

We saw flashes from both Dariq and Dereck today. Nothing consistent, but flashes. I was encouraged.

A different finishing group, which is going to continue to be a story for this deep team.

Our offense is a work in progress, but our defense is going to keep us in just about any game. That’s a pretty nice position to be in with a very young team in November.

Roach had a great game today. What a change one game makes. Mitchell also had an excellent game. Filipowski always has a very good game despite his offense deserting him in part of the second half.

I agree that Derek looked great defensively and played with increase intensity. He might be in late in games because of it but he will have to be able to hit his FT's to be in at crunch time. Dariq has improve a lot of but can look unpolished at times.

Ryan Young is a great asset for this team. In fact, we have at least 9 trustworthy players and can wear down most opponents.

[jwillfan]

Today, we learned Jeremy Roach can be The Guy when needed. That’s a big step forward.

We saw flashes from both Dariq and Dereck today. Nothing consistent, but flashes. I was encouraged.

A different finishing group, which is going to continue to be a story for this deep team.

Our offense is a work in progress, but our defense is going to keep us in just about any game. That’s a pretty nice position to be in with a very young team in November.

Not sure I agree about either Whitehead or Lively. Lots of work still to be done. Also puzzled at lack of minutes by Grandison. Proctor a head-scratcher. Positives though, aside from Roach asserting himself, is continued great play by Filipowski and the re-emergence of Mitchell. Blakes and Young deserve kudos, too.

[HereBeforeCoachK]

Roach had a great game today. What a change one game makes. Mitchell also had an excellent game. Filipowski always has a very good game despite his offense deserting him in part of the second half.

I agree that Derek looked great defensively and played with increase intensity. He might be in late in games because of it but he will have to be able to hit his FT's to be in at crunch time. Dariq has improve a lot of but can look unpolished at times.

Ryan Young is a great asset for this team. In fact, we have at least 9 trustworthy players and can wear down most opponents.

Nice win today. Someone asked me yesterday what would be different with Jon versus K....I said he'll play more players....

[CameronDuke]

Heck of a win for the squad. Roach played like a captain. He did it all. Mitchell played so smooth. Coach Scheyer got a win versus a seasoned coach and tough squad. Much better 3-point shooting, Duke held their own on the glass, and now get to play for a championship on Sunday. This defense is really, really good. Awesome win!

Let’s Go Duke!

[heyman25]

Glad we got the win and Roach did what he can do best. Come up big when we need his A game. Young gave us a lot. Rebounds and scoring. Grandison did not play much,but was ok.

Freshmen all had good moments and disastrous moments. Proctor had a pre Kansas game. He had a bad sequence, Missed a 3 ,let his man get a layup, and then bad pass resulting in a turnover. Flip had balance issues with a lot of slips on the court. He got a lot of big rebounds. Shooting was off the mark.Mitchell gave us some scoring. He was 100% better than Oregon State game.Whitehead was shaky with the ball. Lost the ball at critical times. Lively had some good moments. Eventually maybe next game Lively and Whitehead will demonstrate why they were so highly ranked.

Finally Alexander and Sherman are some of the worst announcers ever. ESPN should review these 2 Jokers.Only Bill Walton as an announcer is as annoying.

[kAzE]

Not sure I agree about either Whitehead or Lively. Lots of work still to be done. Also puzzled at lack of minutes by Grandison. Proctor a head-scratcher. Positives though, aside from Roach asserting himself, is continued great play by Filipowski and the re-emergence of Mitchell. Blakes and Young deserve kudos, too.

The main issue right now with some of the freshmen is that pretty much none of them have been role players up to this point their careers, and they really need to get used to not having the ball as much as they once did. The crunch time lineup was Roach, Filipowski, Young, Blakes, and Mitchell. At least for now, the #1 and #2 options on this team are Filipowski and Roach, and the other 3 guys on the floor need to be glue guys in some form or another, and have to be able to contribute in some way outside of scoring. Blakes and Young seem to know exactly what they are and play within themselves. Blakes gets after it on defense and is the classic glue guy. Young crashes the glass, and scores or finds cutters from the post. Mark Mitchell has done a really good job filling that wing role as a switchy defender who get his scores from cutting, grabbing offensive rebounds and getting out in transition. That appears to be our best 5 right now, which is crazy to think about. If someone told you Blakes and Young would be playing over Lively, Whitehead, and Proctor in crunch time, that would have sounded insane 2 months ago.

We'll see what happens when Dariq gets his legs under him, he will obviously be getting a good chunk of usage on offense eventually, but at the moment, he's a bit of a ball stopper who makes questionable decisions with the ball. It seems like he's thinking a bit too much and not making instinctual plays.

[Alan_Wilson]

That was the Roach I was looking for against Kansas. Playmaker all around. He clearly was the best player on the floor tonight. Also, Young was huge. This team's offensive rebounding is, dare I say it, reminiscent of 2010.

[UrinalCake]

Nice to see our offense open up after the slogfest yesterday. Roach really took control and had the type of dominant all around game we've expected of him coming into the season. Maybe a bit too ball dominant at times but that's going to be part of his role. He hit so many key buckets mostly in the midrange.

The team has a ton of room for improvement but is still pretty good right now. Should be a fun season watching how much they can develop.

[simplyluvin]

Solid win for the team and a very good bounce-back performance overall. Roach played like an All-American today, and he carried us today. Ryan Young had a couple of key baskets late.

Much better game from Mark Mitchell, and Lively was better defensively today.

We'll have to up our game even more for the next one, but I like the signs of growth.

[6th Man]

Not sure I agree about either Whitehead or Lively. Lots of work still to be done. Also puzzled at lack of minutes by Grandison. Proctor a head-scratcher. Positives though, aside from Roach asserting himself, is continued great play by Filipowski and the re-emergence of Mitchell. Blakes and Young deserve kudos, too.

I tend to be in your camp. Lively can block shots, but I'm curious to know what he was like in high school to get the #1 ranking? Did he have the ability to post/shoot? I have zero idea and am just curious. Not trying to be negative but curious as to what his potential is over the course of the season. Whitehead seems to need to let the game come to him more. Forcing way too much. It was good to see upperclassman Roach take over when needed and Mitchell had a more controlled and well played second half.

[Billy Dat]

Best win of the year by far. Jeremy Roach's best game since March. He apparently developed a midrange game, which is great news. The shot was falling and he took good shots. We can't expect this good of a shooting performance on a consistent basis, but he really carried the team today.

The defense down the final stretch of the game was absolutely stifling. Filipowski's ability to match up 1 on 1 with pretty much anyone is amazing. I think he's the main reason we are able to have Ryan young on floor in crunch time and not take a step back defensively. Flip continues to impress me with his defense.

Early in the game, after Flip scored our first 7 and then we stopped being able to score, I was wondering what the heck was going on with Roach's offense. He must have heard me.

So far, in this young Scheyer era, it really is unlike anything we have seen in recent times with the "we go with whomever has it going" lineups to close games. It's a blessing and a curse, because it means we don't yet have a core group that is consistently rising above the median. Or, put another way, we have no superstars. But, I am enjoying it. Obviously it is frustrating to watch segments of clogged toilet offense, but aside from the end of the Kansas game, the defense has shown up when we need it most.

I like your points about Flip's defense and think that is largely true. Mitchell also gives us that flexibility. He's not the offensive player that Flip is, but X was trying to hide Colby Jones on Mitchell because Jones was gimping a bit and Mitchell made him pay a few times. He had a couple of huge plays down the stretch.

As for Young, the kid is smart and always seems to be in the right spot. He makes up for lack of athleticism with guile and he is very very tough one-on-one in the post. He made a number of huge plays on both ends down the stretch.

People keep saying our celing is really high and, you know what...it is! That's exciting.

Looking forward to a big game Sunday, I hope we get Gonzaga.

Aside - Wojo in the studio is interesting. He needs to pick up the pace and by a little more dynamic, it's not his natural setting. He'll get better. I am amazed how many Duke guys have broadcast jobs - it's insane.

[gumbomoop]

ESPN producers are trying to drive me nuts. It's working.

All they have to do is assign the insufferable CA to call our games.

We get Shulman/Bilas on Sunday, 3:30 EST, ABC.