Duke vs Georgia Tech

[Jesus_hurley]

http://crazietalk.net/blog1.php

My take on tomorrows game. I hate it when we play Georgetown and Georgia Tech - I can't abbreviate either one of them to GT in those years.

[bjornolf]

Living in the DC area, most people abbreviate it either G-town or GU or just G. So, I usually abbreviate it G-town, and thus can still call Tech GT. ;)

[captmojo]

Here's to hoping they will truly come out a 'Wreck'.

[devildeac]

I expect the usual amount of hewitt thuggery during the game today.

[captmojo]

FUCK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[CameronBornAndBred]

FUCK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I was gonna say something similar but more eloquent....and then realized yours works better.

[Devil in the Blue Dress]

There was bad karma going into this game..... a lot of hot air over yonder, looking ahead to Final Four and even next year.

[gadzooks]

Give Tech a lot of credit for their D, but we just couldn't adjust. 3 pt and free throw shooting were pathetic. Feh.

[EarlJam]

I hope Paul Hewitt gets a Brown Spider bite on his rectum tonight. Also, I hope all the Georgia Tech players get kidney stones overnight. And lastly, I hope John Salley's asshole grows shut tonight and that Mark Price gets a big blister on his left nut.

In short, FUCK!

But hey, congrats to Georgia Tech.

-EarlJam

[OZZIE4DUKE]

Where is today's Bedeviler poll? I want to vote for Mason. Said so in MOTM thread.

[YmoBeThere]

They were physical it was nice to see us being physical right back in many situations. If there freshman hadn't hit 3 out of 3 3 pointers at one point, I think it would have been a different game. He bricked them up after that, but Lawal really came on.

[devildeac]

[CameronBornAndBred]

Where is today's Bedeviler poll? I want to vote for Mason. Said so in MOTM thread.

I'm giving Mason the MOTM...and maybe the bedeviler as well. I just didn't see much of anything worth shouting about from anyone else. Still thinking about it, still stewing. Dammit Devils.

[rockymtn devil]

A conference loss on the road against a super-talented squad that had lost some games it shouldn't and had its back against the wall? Nothing to worry about in my not-so-humble opinion.

The bad news? We shot poorly on the road which, it needs to be said, might be a problem since the ACC/NCAA Tournaments are not held in Cameron. The good news? We were every bit as strong down low as one of the biggest, most physical teams in the ACC. If we're not 3 for 87 from 3, we win going away. I'm more upbeat after this loss than I was after our wins over Clemson/ISU.

[TNTDevil]

A conference loss on the road against a super-talented squad that had lost some games it shouldn't and had its back against the wall? Nothing to worry about in my not-so-humble opinion.

The bad news? We shot poorly on the road which, it needs to be said, might be a problem since the ACC/NCAA Tournaments are not held in Cameron. The good news? We were every bit as strong down low as one of the biggest, most physical teams in the ACC. If we're not 3 for 87 from 3, we win going away. I'm more upbeat after this loss than I was after our wins over Clemson/ISU.

Word.

Coach said in his pre-game interview (paraphrased) that playing three games in six days, with a lot of travel involved, is tough; and going against a quality opponent will show exactly of what the team is made.

I was busy in the kitchen but listened/watched the game on TV. If anyone other than that *loser" Scheyer shows up... well it's a different outcome.

RMD has it right. No shame in losing a conference game to a quality opponent on their floor. GT did what they had to do to win. Duke did what we always do, compete to the end, and today, we just came up short.

This time.

[CameronBornAndBred]

I noted on the recap on the front page that we actually outperformed GT in lots of stats, falling short barely in rebounding, and unfortunately barely in scoring. The big stat difference? Free throws, and it hurt. Lots of folks blamed the refs; I'm not sure if I'd put a loss on them but GT did go to the line twice as much as Duke...literally. Because of the free throws, GT was able to win even though they shot worse than us and less often during the game.

[captmojo]

My eloquence precedes my analysis. I had very little time to express my feelings back then.

Here goes.While it's never good to lose, weaknesses were exposed. Hope and understand that the team and the staff have the message. My understanding is that there were a great number of factors in play. What most of it boils down to, appears to me, is a lack of focus. Note a turning point at the under 4 minute mark. Down by 5, the Devils came alive for a brief moment, led by Nolan, with a good 3 and a nice rebound at the other end. Note a 3 that Kyle finally got to fall, and other good play in the final minute of urgency when faced with the prospect of a bad final outcome. Where had this type of play been for the previous 30 minutes?

The officials should not have allowed the game to be played with as much physicality as was allowed, by both combatants. Mugging was an accepted practice throughout. I thought I was looking at a Matt Doherty coached team wearing gold. Too many fouls were committed but they could have been limited had the refs maintained a little more law and order from the opening jump ball to establish a better understanding by the players to know what was acceptable. This is supposed to be a non-contact sport, after all.

When this team is out-rebounded, then is when it's offense must be most efficient. I'm not certain that the spread style offense for the entire game is the best plan. A little diversity might have made for a bit more of that efficiency. Inside-out ball movement works to create more opportunities.




Damn it! Next play!

[devildeac]

I noted on the recap on the front page that we actually outperformed GT in lots of stats, falling short barely in rebounding, and unfortunately barely in scoring. The big stat difference? Free throws, and it hurt. Lots of folks blamed the refs; I'm not sure if I'd put a loss on them but GT did go to the line twice as much as Duke...literally. Because of the free throws, GT was able to win even though they shot worse than us and less often during the game.

I just want to see the game called consistently on BOTH ends of the floor. Not equally but consistently. I don't have too many problems with our PF but when hewitt's thugs continue the hackery and it is ignored by the assclown refs, they just continue. And, if called, they whine about it. Imagine the outcry if, when they come to CIS, We shoot 28 FT and they ONY shoot 14. espn and smellmore will scream for days about how Duke gets all the call.

Shooting 21% from 3-land and forgetting what a rebound was in the 2nd half didn't help our cause.