Duke MBB v. Virginia post-game thread

[Devil in the Blue Dress]

You mean just like Cameron?

I can think of an effective way for Duke to prevent the FSU students from rushing the floor.

No, what happened at FSU was not like what happens at Cameron if the students rush on the floor. Dick Vitale and other TV analysts have commented about the danger at FSU.

Of course, the best way to prevent such an event from occurring again is to win the game and head to the dressing room.

[weezie]

I'd like to hope that the refs at FSU don't allow the hard fouling to get so quickly out of hand like they did last night. Duke shouldn't always be penalized for intense, pressing defense when the other team gets thrown off balance. The nastiness of the kicking, tripping and slapping by our opponents goes ignored while Duke Blue blood is actually being shed.
The final dust-up between Singletary and Paulus caused the ref to single out Greg for a little lecture when instead both of them could have been pulled aside together and spoken to. The ACC really needs to figure out when it is appropriate to intercede before something ugly happens. It's a little scary making out there.

[DukieInBrasil]

YES!!! The ACC season has finally started, and what a nice way to welcome it in. I was so impressed with this win, more so than any other game. The only other game that impressed me even close to this much would be the championship game in Maui. As in that game, Duke answered lots of questions about its character in a positive way. The Marq. game showed us that this Duke team has a steelier nerve than last year's team, while this win showed that the team has evolved even further. They rebounded from a string of unimpressive performances with a resounding answer that, yes, this team has character.

The Good
• Ballhandling - Paulus and Smith combined for the best performance from the PG position so far this year, 8 ast to 2 TOs is outstanding against any team, but especially against a team with a good backcourt. We'll win most any game that Paulus and Smith combine to score 17 pts and 8 asts to go with 3rebs and 3 steals. Beyond our PGs, the team handled the ball well and we ended the game with a huge +9 in the a/to dept while causing the Wahoos to have a -10 a/to.
• The Captain - Demarcus played a statement game, re-asserting that he in fact is the leader of this team. Nelson's play has been very productive all season, doing a bit of everything (as he did last night) even though he wasn't as assertive with his offense as he could have been. Dropping 20 pts on 12 shots is sweeeeeet!!!! When I said above that this game showed character, I think that is highly reflective of their Captain. Last year's leaderless team left the 4 current So. with little idea of what Duke is supposed to play like in the ACC, with only (currently) 3 players who have tasted what it feels like to announce to the league that "We've come to win!" Demarcus showed them today what it looks like to play for real in the ACC.
• Rebounding - We out-rebounded the team that out-rebounds its opponents by a wider margin than everybody else. Thank you Dave and welcome back Lance. Though I would like to see more than 1ppg from the two, 11rebs is good work, and something Duke has missed mightily of late.
• Balance - The offense was only mildly explosive, but with great balance. We had a dominant scorer in Nelson who led 6 players to score 8 or more points. Dave and LT scored but 1 pt., while the other 7 scored 84. Rebounding and handing out assists were also well balanced with nearly everyone doing at least a little of both.
• The Freshmen - Singler had an excellent game, actually right at an average game for him so far. I can't remember how many of his makes were post shots but he made 5 from inside the stripe. I have already raved about Smith's play but his progression as a player is starting to really blossom at exactly the right time. Taylor's play was alright, his shooting was a bit off, but 2-6 from 3 is respectable. Chuck in 4 boards, a steal and a block and vòila, he had a productive game. 27 pts from our Fr. class will go a long way to helping Duke excel in the ACC this year.
• 3pt Shooting - Once, again Duke shot productively from 3, or better said, Paulus and Nelson shot lights out from 3 while everyone else shot <25% from deep.


The Mediocre
• FT shooting - 67% from the stripe is nothing to cry about, but it could be costly in a tighter game.

The Bad• _____________

[Virginian]

As a native Virginian, Virginia resident and brother to two UVA grads, I LOVED this game. We played great. We ran, we scored, we blocked, we fought, we rebounded, we soared.

It was SWEET.

Okay, I know people here have substantive critiques and sagacious comments. I'm taking them all in. But I just wanted to say I'm a very, very happy Duke alum/fan today.

Please, Paulus and friends, keep it up.

Thanks.

[mayrer]

So much to like tonight. For me, this game was highlighted by excellent passing by Paulus and others and the growing confidence of Nolan Smith. Duke also pressured the ball very well and forced some turnovers into easy baskets. The rebounding was excellent- very few second chance points by Virginia. The midrange and inside game looked much better tonight. Virginia is not very big so that helped- but still there were a lot better looks from the short range than in the last few games- and many more in the flow of the offense. Singler down low can be automatic with some good ball movement and passing. Duke only had that little stretch in the first half when they went cold. Nolan Smith had some really nice moments – passing, shooting, defending and driving and his spelling Paulus helps to keep Gregg fresh, limiting his mistakes late. When Smith starts playing like this on the road- Duke will be much better. Henderson was much more himself tonight- played very much under control throughout. King struggled with his shots in one stretch but he is more than just a shooter and makes contribution- he is a natural rebounder and sees the floor very well. Scheyer is still struggling with the wide open threes but he was very active and never really lets his misses get to him. All in all- a very nice way to start the ACC season- got to love those easy wins.

Good game, good defense leads to better offense, fewer scoring droughts. Re: Henderson, a lot of very good players have played poorly in their first games back in their hometowns, distractions, pressure to perform, etc. He's constantly improving.

Tomorrow night is Duke's first game on an opponent's home floor, and that always is a challenge, esp. for a young team.