This was the "classic" trap game after the big win over Auburn. Some of the more historically-minded on here can correct me, but I don't think Duke has had a great record when it comes to road ACC openers, at least in recent years. I have to say this augurs well going forward. Well done.
MBB: Duke 76, L'ville 65 Post Game Thread
- Thread starter scottdude8
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kako
Member
You can't compare freshman Flagg to freshman Laettner easily. For one, it's important to recognize the other guys on the 1988 team. The '88 Devils had Danny Freakin' Ferry, NPOY on the team. And they had Alaa Abdelnaby (future NBA player) also in the frontcourt. And there were so many other upperclassmen that got major minutes that had all been in the program for 3+ years. Also Laettner wasn't asked to carry the team like Flagg is. And the game as changed so much since 1988.
If one has been around to view each player and team, it's fun to try and compare, sure. But IMO it's not really possible.
9F
Fair. When I got to Duke in 1990, Christian was already a junior and I didn't see much of freshman Laettner.
SkyBrickey
Member
Cooper's game is a lot more like Grant Hill's than Christian Laettner's.
So he did shoot it off the top of the backboard! I thought I was seeing things!
My thoughts:
1. Good gosh almighty do I love watching Brown play. The team was SOOOO much better with him on the floor today. He even got into the act on offense in this one. Such a huge get on the transfer portal.
2. To win by 11 when Flagg and Knueppel combine for 12-29 from the field (3-12 from 3) is a great sign. To be fair, Knueppel had 6 assists and no turnovers, and Flagg managed 20 and 12 with an assist, 2 steals, and a block. But the other guys really came to play today, and that's a great sign.
3. Relatedly, it was really nice to see the team go on a sustained run with Flagg off the floor. Not that we want to make a habit of Flagg getting in foul trouble, but it was nice to see the team show it could make winning plays without Flagg.
4. Tough nights for Evans and Maluach. Maluach in particular feels much more of a matchup play at the moment. For Evans, it just comes down to whether he's shooting well on a given night.
5. A solid, workmanlike 16 minutes for Gillis, and he hit a 3! He's not going to make any wow plays, but he is a serviceable backup to Flagg. Just comes in, knows his role, and doesn't step out of it.
6. Nice to see Foster making shots. The defense could have been better, and obviously 3 fouls in 13 minutes isn't great. But getting 9 points in those 13 minutes is a positive step.
7. After a clunker from the FT line against Auburn, we went 12-14 from the stripe tonight. I'll take it.
Just really pleased to get the ACC season off to a good start. Going on the road and winning by double digits is a great way to get things going.
1. Good gosh almighty do I love watching Brown play. The team was SOOOO much better with him on the floor today. He even got into the act on offense in this one. Such a huge get on the transfer portal.
2. To win by 11 when Flagg and Knueppel combine for 12-29 from the field (3-12 from 3) is a great sign. To be fair, Knueppel had 6 assists and no turnovers, and Flagg managed 20 and 12 with an assist, 2 steals, and a block. But the other guys really came to play today, and that's a great sign.
3. Relatedly, it was really nice to see the team go on a sustained run with Flagg off the floor. Not that we want to make a habit of Flagg getting in foul trouble, but it was nice to see the team show it could make winning plays without Flagg.
4. Tough nights for Evans and Maluach. Maluach in particular feels much more of a matchup play at the moment. For Evans, it just comes down to whether he's shooting well on a given night.
5. A solid, workmanlike 16 minutes for Gillis, and he hit a 3! He's not going to make any wow plays, but he is a serviceable backup to Flagg. Just comes in, knows his role, and doesn't step out of it.
6. Nice to see Foster making shots. The defense could have been better, and obviously 3 fouls in 13 minutes isn't great. But getting 9 points in those 13 minutes is a positive step.
7. After a clunker from the FT line against Auburn, we went 12-14 from the stripe tonight. I'll take it.
Just really pleased to get the ACC season off to a good start. Going on the road and winning by double digits is a great way to get things going.
Dr. Maturin
Member
That was a great win. Despite the terrible start we covered the Vegas and KenPom spreads. We'll see how Louisville weathers their injuries but they're #51 in KenPom right now. Good chance this ends up as a Q1 win.
In the pregame I said there were two "chaos factors" to worry about. One was a poorly shooting, but trigger happy team getting hot from 3. The other was Louisville's tendency to both force and commit a lot of turnovers.
Well, the first one was disastrous early. We didn't come in with a focused approach to limiting their 3s, and they burned us. Still, 8/11 was never going to last. Thankfully they cooled off and we eventually hit enough 3s after our cold start. After a disjointed start, our defense was really good over the last 25 minutes or so.
The second one was decisive in our favor. Chucky had a couple of pesky moments, but didn't really make us pay. We won the TO battle 15-7.
Obviously, it wasn't all good. We have to start games better. It seems to me that we spend the first few minutes feeling out games on offense, not really running sets. In football, teams often script the first 15 plays or so. Could we benefit from scripting a few offensive sets early? Also, we still can be way to comfortable settling for 3s. The game completely changed once we started attacking the basket. The key to this team's growth will unlocking the halfcourt offense over the next few months.
In the pregame I said there were two "chaos factors" to worry about. One was a poorly shooting, but trigger happy team getting hot from 3. The other was Louisville's tendency to both force and commit a lot of turnovers.
Well, the first one was disastrous early. We didn't come in with a focused approach to limiting their 3s, and they burned us. Still, 8/11 was never going to last. Thankfully they cooled off and we eventually hit enough 3s after our cold start. After a disjointed start, our defense was really good over the last 25 minutes or so.
The second one was decisive in our favor. Chucky had a couple of pesky moments, but didn't really make us pay. We won the TO battle 15-7.
Obviously, it wasn't all good. We have to start games better. It seems to me that we spend the first few minutes feeling out games on offense, not really running sets. In football, teams often script the first 15 plays or so. Could we benefit from scripting a few offensive sets early? Also, we still can be way to comfortable settling for 3s. The game completely changed once we started attacking the basket. The key to this team's growth will unlocking the halfcourt offense over the next few months.
I think it’s a great suggestion. I’m thinking the entire team and coaching staff should watch that part of the game multiple times. During that span, the offense was working very well. Hopefully they can figure out how/why and keep it going!
They actually pointed out towards the end of the broadcast that we have won 6 of our last 7 ACC openers.
wavedukefan70s
Member
You may be on to something. Running feeler plays then adjust .didn't even think about that in basketball.
Dr. Maturin
Member
Per Torvik, Duke was 14/16 shooting at the rim. That is remarkable. Meanwhile Louisville only attempted 7 shots at the rim, making 4. This was a blowout dressed up as a semi-close game due to their crazy start from 3.
It was a road game against a very experienced, if not deep mid-level team. The game demonstrated some of Dukes weaknesses but also highlighted our strengths. We have a very good team that has a very high ceiling but that has to improve quite a bit to reach that ceiling.
Better starts, Maluach game understanding and agressiveness, 3 point shooting are all in need of work.
Honest question: do we currently have any recurring feeler plays/plays in general? We seem to have a few two-person set pieces that will come up as our offense moves but nothing that feels to me like a fixed play that would have a name or number.
I don’t have my eyes on 100% of the game though, usually have at least one of three kids hanging on me.
I don’t have my eyes on 100% of the game though, usually have at least one of three kids hanging on me.
Bigwayne17
Member
Without being too critical of Maluach, Maliq has shown that he deserves to start.
With right around 6 minutes to go Brown had an easy dunk off of a set play and then on the other end a terrific defensive sequence where he went straight up to defend a shot that rimmed off and he ended up with the rebound.
It looked like the type of play that Khaman would’ve gone for the block, taking himself out of the play completely and allowing an easy offensive rebound/put back.
Those are the type of plays that Maliq routinely makes, winning plays. (Remembering that he is several years older and with more basketball experience than Khaman)
I’ve been very impressed with him so far and can’t sing his praises enough. Just seems like a winner and the type of DUDE you want on your team.
With right around 6 minutes to go Brown had an easy dunk off of a set play and then on the other end a terrific defensive sequence where he went straight up to defend a shot that rimmed off and he ended up with the rebound.
It looked like the type of play that Khaman would’ve gone for the block, taking himself out of the play completely and allowing an easy offensive rebound/put back.
Those are the type of plays that Maliq routinely makes, winning plays. (Remembering that he is several years older and with more basketball experience than Khaman)
I’ve been very impressed with him so far and can’t sing his praises enough. Just seems like a winner and the type of DUDE you want on your team.
brevity
Member
Duke 76, Louisville 65 (recap, box score, highlights, condensed game, full replay, presser)
Cooper Flagg led the team with 20 points and was joined in double-figures by teammates Tyrese Proctor (13), Kon Knueppel (12) and Sion James (11). Flagg finished with 12 caroms, tallying his second consecutive double-double and Maliq Brown also snagged double-digit rebounds, grabbing 11 for a new personal season-high. Knueppel also dished a team-high six assists, giving the freshman his fifth game with at least three assists in the last six Duke contests.
With the win in Duke's conference opener, the Blue Devils have now started ACC play with a win in six of the last seven seasons and are now 53-19 in ACC lid-lifters.
The above highlights are from the ACC Digital Network. Here's the ESPN cut:
Louisville's 247 Sports affiliate has the Duke postgame press conference linked above and embedded below, and also comments from Cardinals coach Pat Kelsey and players Terrence Edwards and J'Vonne Hadley.
The ACC Digital Network also provided a video of Cooper Flagg highlights:
Duke MBB posted to social media a clip of Maliq Brown highlights. It's interesting that some of the noteworthy plays on offense -- Mason Gillis' 3, Isaiah Evans' assist, Kon Knueppel's 3 -- started with a steal or assist from Brown.
Cooper Flagg led the team with 20 points and was joined in double-figures by teammates Tyrese Proctor (13), Kon Knueppel (12) and Sion James (11). Flagg finished with 12 caroms, tallying his second consecutive double-double and Maliq Brown also snagged double-digit rebounds, grabbing 11 for a new personal season-high. Knueppel also dished a team-high six assists, giving the freshman his fifth game with at least three assists in the last six Duke contests.
With the win in Duke's conference opener, the Blue Devils have now started ACC play with a win in six of the last seven seasons and are now 53-19 in ACC lid-lifters.
The above highlights are from the ACC Digital Network. Here's the ESPN cut:
Louisville's 247 Sports affiliate has the Duke postgame press conference linked above and embedded below, and also comments from Cardinals coach Pat Kelsey and players Terrence Edwards and J'Vonne Hadley.
The ACC Digital Network also provided a video of Cooper Flagg highlights:
Duke MBB posted to social media a clip of Maliq Brown highlights. It's interesting that some of the noteworthy plays on offense -- Mason Gillis' 3, Isaiah Evans' assist, Kon Knueppel's 3 -- started with a steal or assist from Brown.
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The why is pretty simple, they were allowed to drive without a defender's hand in their chest which enabled them to attack and either score or draw help. The how is a little bit tougher. Unfortunately whether or not the rules of basketball are enforced is not within the staff's control.
CrazyNotCrazie
Member
First half was not pretty and not much fun. But that was quite the "patented Duke run" (TM) in the second half - it was a real thing of beauty. Once the defense really starts clicking, it creates easier baskets which makes everything work better. The half court offense is still a work in progress.
This Louisville team is a lot better than the last few years. They are largely seniors/fifth years so will be starting over again, but their new coach seems to be doing a nice job, and I'm guessing their boosters are opening their wallets. I remember Edwards from JMU in the tournament last year.
This Louisville team is a lot better than the last few years. They are largely seniors/fifth years so will be starting over again, but their new coach seems to be doing a nice job, and I'm guessing their boosters are opening their wallets. I remember Edwards from JMU in the tournament last year.
12/31/16 @VT = L.
12/9/17 @BC = L
1/8/19 @Wake (2nd ACC game) = W
12/6/19 @VT = W
12/6/20 @ND = W
1/12/22 @Wake (4th ACC game) = W
12/20/22 @Wake (2nd ACC game) = L
12/2/23 @GT = L
12/8/24 @Louisville = W
You can draw your own conclusions from the data, but I agree. Most of those losses aren't OK.
SkyBrickey
Member
Yes, we run lots of different sets/plays. All have multiple scoring options based on what the defense gives us. Do we pound the ball into the post to score like we did in the days of Elton Brand and Jahlil Okafor? No.
