MBB: Duke 84, Auburn 78 Postgame Thread

[Billy Dat]

-Sion for Foster in the starting 5, something many had called for. The first sign, from this game, of Scheyer adjusting.

-The start was horrendous but we stopped the bleeding by 16:30 and never looked back.

-Evans getting first half minutes, a second Scheyer adjustment. What Evans did in the first half is, to me, a signature Cameron moment: it’s not Hall of Fame worthy, but it’s

pretty unique and, I think, will be remembered.

-For all the “true PG” debates, we have a primary playmaker and its Cooper Flagg.

-Brown’s first half really frustrated Broome and goaded him into some dumb fouls when he was being guarded by Broome - and that foul trouble had an impact on the game.

-Different guys made sequences of plays and big buckets during long stretches of the second half when our offense went stagnant. Sion’s offensive rebounding and drives, Cooper hit some ridiculously tough shots of penetration, Tyrese’s now famous buzzer beating 3 with 4:30 to go and his subsequent vsTennessee-esque spin-fadeaway in the lane. Kon’s drive with 1 to go.

-Auburn is really tough. We had to really play well to beat them. And still, it feels like we still have more gears.

Huge, huge, huge win. So good!

 

[DonerKebab]

And to think that if we had 1 or 2 less turnovers (and refs didnt butcher us at Kansas game or that illegal screen on Sion at UK vame) we would be perfect! I am so excited about our upside!!

 

[FosterCoachK82]

Really concerned about this team. Cooper takes way too many bad shots. Kon is a ghost. Khaman seems clueless out there. Proctor and Foster seem to have actually regressed. Brown is a turnover machine and takes way too many chances on defense. Evans is such a selfish player, this will haunt us if he continues to play. James just isn’t smooth and why did we pick up Gillis? Jon seems to have no clue. This looks like a mid-ACC bubble team.

 

[gillmic]

I thought that was Sion, not Evans. My bad. He was smirking after that, too.

Oh, you’re right, it was Sion. I guess I assumed that it was Evans because of the way that Baker-Mazara tossed him like a rag doll. The fact that it was Sion makes it even more egregious…to send a man of that size and build flying across the floor suggests that BM (I’m just calling him BM going forward…seems apt, and his name is too long) was being much too physical.

 

[DonerKebab]

"To make matters better, James celebrated his birthday tonight. "

What a way to celebrate a birthday!

 

[SkyBrickey]

Really concerned about this team. Cooper takes way too many bad shots. Kon is a ghost. Khaman seems clueless out there. Proctor and Foster seem to have actually regressed. Brown is a turnover machine and takes way too many chances on defense. Evans is such a selfish player, this will haunt us if he continues to play. James just isn’t smooth and why did we pick up Gillis? Jon seems to have no clue. This looks like a mid-ACC bubble team.

I always suspected you were a parody poster Foster. . I too think we are lucky to be in the KenPom 100.

 

[SkyBrickey]

Sion and Caleb both had good games tonight. Both can be true.

 

[Papa John]

I counted three fouls in less than a second of game time, including a dead ball technical. He threw Evans to the ground…isn’t that even a common foul?

It was Sion that Baker-Mazara lowered his shoulder into and knocked to the ground following the moment where the one official dragged him about 20 feet away from the scrum for possession after a missed FT by Broome. Sion embellished the contact, but it was clear that there was indeed contact, making it quite odd that a whistle was blown, a review was conducted, yet nothing was called. At the very least one would assume that either Baker-Mazara would be called for a foul or Sion would be given a warning or a technical for a flop. To call nothing after blowing a whistle when there appeared to be clear contact immediately after having conducted a review of a somewhat tense scrum for a loose ball in which there was also a bunch of contact both ways was an odd officiating decision, to say the least.

 

[brevity]

Duke 84, Auburn 78 (recap, box score, highlights, condensed game, presser)

Aided by 18 first-half points from Isaiah Evans and a 22-point, 11-rebound, double-double from Cooper Flagg, No. 9 Duke defeated No. 2 Auburn, 84-78, inside Cameron Indoor Stadium on Wednesday, Dec. 4. The ranked win snapped a brief two-game losing streak at home to top-25 opponents and moved the Blue Devils to 38-15 all-time in top-10 matchups at home.

Evans and Flagg were joined in double-figures by Tyrese Proctor and Caleb Foster, who chipped in 12 and 11, respectively. Flagg also added a team-high four assists and was joined by Sion James as leaders in steals (three) and blocks (two).

The highlights linked above are from the ACC. Here are ESPN's highlights:

The ACC also put up highlight reels for Isaiah Evans and Cooper Flagg, plus a clip of Tyrese Proctor hitting a 3 to beat the shot clock. (Duke MBB posted that play as well in a short clip titled "Shot of the szn".)

The Devils Den posted locker room interviews with Isaiah Evans, Cooper Flagg, Sion James, and Khaman Maluach. Since I singled out Evans above, I'll embed the James video below -- it's his birthday and his first start as a Blue Devil.

 

[Edouble]

Great team win by the Blue Devils!

Scion and Maliq are making strong cases to siphon game minutes from their freshman counterparts, with Scion getting the well earned start tonight.

Proctor had a great, great game. Glad Evans finally had his coming out party. I’m still laughing at the posters who claimed he was not physically ready. Sheesh!

Cooper is like water. He fills whatever shape the game vessel takes. He can do it all (except maybe deep shooting).

I am worried about Kon. Every time he has a subpar outting , I hear about how the other team was scheming for his offensive game. Well, they schemed for Reddick, Dunleavy, RJ, Grayson, Ingram, etc., etc. and those guys never laid so many eggs in a row. They’re putting Cooper #1 on their scouting report and he always delivers.

I was surprised to hear that Broome is considered to possibly be the best player in the country. I thought he was good, but not great. There was one sequence where Broome went in for a dunk and Scion blocked his shot, but also fouled him. If that would’ve been Elton Brand, Greg Oden, Emeka Okafor, or other big men who have been the best player in the country, the play would’ve ended with a monster dunk.

 

[wilko]

"I don't believe in the ACC. I just believe in Duke." - J. Lennon

And that’s Reality…

 

[SkyBrickey]

"Late in the shot clock, open up the Coop"
-Spud Garcia

 

[DevilInTheHill]

Agreed. Similarly, Auburn made halftime adjustments to prevent wide open threes for Isaiah.

 

[DonerKebab]

.

I was surprised to hear that Broome is considered to possibly be the best player in the country. I thought he was good, but not great. There was one sequence where Broome went in for a dunk and Scion blocked his shot, but also fouled him. If that would’ve been Elton Brand, Greg Oden, Emeka Okafor, or other big men who have been the best player in the country, the play would’ve ended with a monster dunk.

He still got 20 and 12 against us despite us guarding him really well for most game (and other top 10 teams).

 

[Edouble]

He still got 20 and 12 against us despite us guarding him really well for most game (and other top 10 teams).

Yeah, he also took and missed three 3 pointers. He also fouled out and looked fairly one dimensional to me.

 

[SkyBrickey]

Yeah, he also took and missed three 3 pointers. He also fouled out and looked fairly one dimensional to me.

He had a bad game. 8-18 from the field and 0-3 from 3. Great work by Brown, Maluach, Flagg.

 

[kAzE]

Wow. Crazy stat. Pearl really sent them to the boards.

15 min for Man Man tonight and 25 min for Maliq. Something to watch.

Not surprised at all. Young bigs always take the longest to develop. Dereck Lively was a total mess 8 games into the season. Mark Williams didn't get it going til something like 25 games into his freshman season. Man Man is doing just fine, but he has to run his own race.

Luckily, Maliq is way better than our previous back up bigs (Ryan Young, Theo John, etc.). All due respect to those guys, but Maliq is clearly proving himself invaluable to this team.

I did have a problem with some of the gambling for steals he did in the 2nd half that led to breakdowns and easy dunks in the 2nd half. But overall, his activity on defense is a major asset. I can't remember where I heard it, but I like the baseball analogy for Man Man and Maliq. They are like 2 very very different styles of pitchers, but both effective.

 

[SkyBrickey]

Not surprised at all. Young bigs always take the longest to develop. Dereck Lively was a total mess 8 games into the season. Mark Williams didn't get it going til something like 25 games into his freshman season. Man Man is doing just fine, but he has to run his own race.

Luckily, Maliq is way better than our previous back up bigs (Ryan Young, Theo John, etc.). All due respect to those guys, but Maliq is clearly proving himself invaluable to this team.

I did have a problem with some of the gambling for steals he did in the 2nd half that led to breakdowns and easy dunks in the 2nd half. But overall, his activity on defense is a major asset. I can't remember where I heard it, but I like the baseball analogy. They are like 2 very very different styles of pitchers, but both effective.

Agreed. Maliq was a difference maker tonight. What a luxury to have two really exceptional bigs.

 

[DonerKebab]

Yeah, he also took and missed three 3 pointers. He also fouled out and looked fairly one dimensional to me.

He had a bad game. 8-18 from the field and 0-3 from 3. Great work by Brown, Maluach, Flagg.

With respect, Cooper shot 7 of 18, and 0 for 4 from 3. So he made one more field goal but missed one more three. He had a few other good stats but his shooting wasn't the best either.

Though not efficient with being the focal point of opposing defenses, both players are studs.

 

[trinity79]

Really concerned about this team. Cooper takes way too many bad shots. Kon is a ghost. Khaman seems clueless out there. Proctor and Foster seem to have actually regressed. Brown is a turnover machine and takes way too many chances on defense. Evans is such a selfish player, this will haunt us if he continues to play. James just isn’t smooth and why did we pick up Gillis? Jon seems to have no clue. This looks like a mid-ACC bubble team.

But still we beat the number 2 ranked team, the alleged best team in the alleged best conference. So wouldn't that make Scheyer a coaching genius? Guess we'll have to do away with the blue devil and have a new mascot this year.