UNC-Duke I: The Recap
While I am well aware of the other games on last night's college basketball slate, no single game was bigger than North Carolina at Duke. And that's not just for fans of either team, but for the majority of the college basketball nation.
Prior to the game, I had written some notes leading up to the game but did not have the time to post until late in the business day; therefore, I only disseminated the notes to a group of people.
PRE-GAME NOTES ABOUT UNC @ DUKE (in italics)
In the first of two meetings, the Blue Devils host North Carolina in what must be a must-win games for both teams after being on the business end of defeats over the weekend.
1. For North Carolina, the key is to place pressure on Duke's ball handlers and score in the open court.
- This did not happen for more than a half and Duke capitalized as a result.
2. On the other side, Duke must frustrate sophomore phenom Tyler Hansbrough in addition to avoiding scoring droughts.
- First, Duke frustrated the heck out of Hansbrough with Brian Zoubek on the defensive end. Zoubek's energy and ability to annoy Hansbrough set the tone for Duke taking a comfortable 1st half lead.
- Second, Duke's scoring woes have been documented. One major scoring drought that lasted longer than 5 minutes allowed Carolina to steadily chop at the lead and eventually overtake the Blue Devils.
3. Look for Duke to find an additional scoring valve early on and to find open shots for Scheyer and Nelson.
- Scheyer had a career night (26 points on 8-for-18 shooting) and anyone following Carolina knows that they cannot cover the perimeter at all. Nelson and Henderson also got some great looks, especially for Henderson in the early going.
While I am well aware of the other games on last night's college basketball slate, no single game was bigger than North Carolina at Duke. And that's not just for fans of either team, but for the majority of the college basketball nation.
Prior to the game, I had written some notes leading up to the game but did not have the time to post until late in the business day; therefore, I only disseminated the notes to a group of people.
PRE-GAME NOTES ABOUT UNC @ DUKE (in italics)
In the first of two meetings, the Blue Devils host North Carolina in what must be a must-win games for both teams after being on the business end of defeats over the weekend.
1. For North Carolina, the key is to place pressure on Duke's ball handlers and score in the open court.
- This did not happen for more than a half and Duke capitalized as a result.
2. On the other side, Duke must frustrate sophomore phenom Tyler Hansbrough in addition to avoiding scoring droughts.
- First, Duke frustrated the heck out of Hansbrough with Brian Zoubek on the defensive end. Zoubek's energy and ability to annoy Hansbrough set the tone for Duke taking a comfortable 1st half lead.
- Second, Duke's scoring woes have been documented. One major scoring drought that lasted longer than 5 minutes allowed Carolina to steadily chop at the lead and eventually overtake the Blue Devils.
3. Look for Duke to find an additional scoring valve early on and to find open shots for Scheyer and Nelson.
- Scheyer had a career night (26 points on 8-for-18 shooting) and anyone following Carolina knows that they cannot cover the perimeter at all. Nelson and Henderson also got some great looks, especially for Henderson in the early going.
4. Team Stat Pack: Duke has scored 70 or more in 3 of 9 ACC games this season (3-0). Conversely, Duke has only given up 70 or more points on three occasions all season (1-2). UNC averages 88.1 ppg and has been held under 70 just once (69 points @ St. Louis).
- This was the proverbial "something's gotta give it" matchup with two teams excelling at opposite sides of the ball. It always seemed like this would be played with the winner reaching the 70-point mark.
POST GAME REMARKS
Of course, you're going to hear from the real media that Duke "played their hearts out" and that "they are running on fumes" by the end of the game. Both points are mostly true. Duke played with heart for 40 minutes and most of their players were running on fumes by game's end. In my opinion, Duke's gameplan was flawed. Why would a 7-deep team try to play up-tempo against a quicker, more talented team that can go 11 or 12 players deep? From a basketball approach, this makes zero sense. I won't even comment on McRoberts' and Zoubek's hideous footwork on the offensive interior (thanks, Wojo). I guess I just did.
POST GAME REMARKS
Of course, you're going to hear from the real media that Duke "played their hearts out" and that "they are running on fumes" by the end of the game. Both points are mostly true. Duke played with heart for 40 minutes and most of their players were running on fumes by game's end. In my opinion, Duke's gameplan was flawed. Why would a 7-deep team try to play up-tempo against a quicker, more talented team that can go 11 or 12 players deep? From a basketball approach, this makes zero sense. I won't even comment on McRoberts' and Zoubek's hideous footwork on the offensive interior (thanks, Wojo). I guess I just did.
As for Carolina, they are lucky that Duke missed shots whenever the lead reached double digits. I expected more out of the gate from the Tar Heels following an embarrassing loss to NC State. If Roy is a good coach, he will have his talented group of youngsters sit through the following games to avoid complacency leading up to the one n' done tournament: Kansas/Arizona (1997), George Mason/Connecticut (2006), and UNLV/Duke (1991). All are painful defeats, yet all are invaluable lessons in humility that will better equip Carolina for future battles.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment