MBB: Duke v Tenn (Sat 3/18, 2:40, CBS) Pre-Game and In-Game Thread

[-jk]

Survive and advance, baby!

And: Hello again, Rick!

-jk

[WHOneedsSOX]

Darn going to miss most of this one. Was hoping for a late afternoon start.

[pfrduke]

A few metrics per Torvik:

Full season - TN is 4; Duke is 18
Since Feb. 1 - TN is 32; Duke is 11
Since Feb. 16 (i.e., last month) - TN is 23; Duke is 2

[tommy]

Haven’t played em I don’t think since the Austin Rivers year. And that was the only time in like the past 40 years. These programs do not know each other at all.

[DavidBenAkiva]

Tennessee looks like a team playing without a PG because they are. The loss of Zeigler (torn ACL) a couple of weekends ago really shows. They lack guard play but are are a big team and very tough on offense. They force a lot of turnovers but also cough up the ball a lot. They struggle to shoot the ball. Their defacto PG 6'3" SR Santiago Vescovi is the only one on the team with a 3P% above 33%. He is a smart player but not particularly athletic. Most of his shots come from behind the arc. Tennessee is a great offensive rebounding team, so keeping them from getting second and third shot attempts will be key. They are just frustrating to play, tough to score against, and play a slow tempo. Without Zeigler, they are like a more extreme version of Virginia, better on defense but worse on offense. It will be a rock fight.

[Saratoga2]

Tennessee looks like a team playing without a PG because they are. The loss of Zeigler (torn ACL) a couple of weekends ago really shows. They lack guard play but are are a big team and very tough on offense. They force a lot of turnovers but also cough up the ball a lot. They struggle to shoot the ball. Their defacto PG 6'3" SR Santiago Vescovi is the only one on the team with a 3P% above 33%. He is a smart player but not particularly athletic. Most of his shots come from behind the arc. Tennessee is a great offensive rebounding team, so keeping them from getting second and third shot attempts will be key. They are just frustrating to play, tough to score against, and play a slow tempo. Without Zeigler, they are like a more extreme version of Virginia, better on defense but worse on offense. It will be a rock fight.

I agree with this synopsis. I see the current Duke team as equivalent or slightly better on defense and substantially better on offense. Big doses of our top six and small doses of our remaining subs will be in order. Lots of recovery time before playing again. Just avoid injuries and fouling at a high rate.

[CameronDuke]

Blue jerseys tomorrow?

[DavidBenAkiva]

When was the last time Duke beat a higher seed in the NCAA Tournament? Was it the 1994 Regional Final against Purdue?

[SouthernDukie]

When was the last time Duke beat a higher seed in the NCAA Tournament? Was it the 1994 Regional Final against Purdue?

Did we not play even one higher seed in our 2010 run?

Edit. Strike that. We were number one seed and I didn’t even remember that.

How in the world were we the #1 seed when we were so ‘alarmingly unathletic’? Funny how the memory plays tricks on you.

[Mtn.Devil.91.92.01.10.15]

When was the last time Duke beat a higher seed in the NCAA Tournament? Was it the 1994 Regional Final against Purdue?

Odds are every game going forward will be against a higher seed. However many that is.

[AGDukesky]

When was the last time Duke beat a higher seed in the NCAA Tournament? Was it the 1994 Regional Final against Purdue?

Yup that is the last time

[AGDukesky]

Also Tennessee may have been a good offensive rebounding team during the year but certainly was not against Louisiana. The whole game I was thinking Duke should own the boards.

[Matches]

Yup that is the last time

By my count we are 0-6 against higher-seeded teams since that Purdue game. One of the Ls was the title game vs Arkansas that same year.

Which would mean we’ve played 5 games against higher-seeded teams in the past 28 years. 😳

[Mtn.Devil.91.92.01.10.15]

Yup that is the last time

Wow. Almost 30 years of never pulling a seed upset. We clearly should have changed coaches years ago...

[UrinalCake]

Forcing turnovers has not been one of our strengths but I would love if we could capitalize on their lack of PG by generating some easy buckets out of runouts. Unfortunately our fast break execution has not been great either. I expect this to be a tough game, TN was a top-5 overall team for a chunk of the season before the injury, but we are on such a roll right now that if we play our game I think we can come out with a W.

[bshrader]

Forcing turnovers has not been one of our strengths but I would love if we could capitalize on their lack of PG by generating some easy buckets out of runouts. Unfortunately our fast break execution has not been great either. I expect this to be a tough game, TN was a top-5 overall team for a chunk of the season before the injury, but we are on such a roll right now that if we play our game I think we can come out with a W.

I dont know what Tennessee team we'll get tomorrow, but watching them turn it over last night 18 times against a less than mediocre Louisiana defense, and many of those were just unforced, gives me hope. Our offense is executing much better than theirs right now. If we can limit our turnovers (which will be a tall task given the tenacity of the UT defense), I like our chances to win this one.

It will be interesting to see who the put on Flip. Hopefully he returns to his form and gets over whatever nerves/stomach big he had last night. But I think he's a real problem for them. Plavsic cant stick with Flip's versatility, and Nkamhoua is giving him 3-4 inches. Maybe they go with Aidoo. Will be interesting to watch.

[TKG]

Don’t lose sight of our secret weapon - - - Rick “ Mr. November” Barnes.

[clinresga]

Odds are every game going forward will be against a higher seed. However many that is.

Don't you love this? Being the hunter, not the hunted? Going into each game knowing that we are underdogs, at least on paper? Saying "I really think these guys could pull this off" instead of "I hope we don't screw this up?" Could all end Saturday. But won't jinx us by saying what I think will actually happen.

[fan345678]

A few metrics per Torvik:

Full season - TN is 4; Duke is 18
Since Feb. 1 - TN is 32; Duke is 11
Since Feb. 16 (i.e., last month) - TN is 23; Duke is 2

#1 since Feb. 17

[wavedukefan70s]

They went zone on the Cajuns and went on a run. That's crucial we handle that well.