Duke vs. Boston College: By The Numbers
By Chad Lykins — Overcoming their largest halftime deficit (16-points) in the Mike Krzyzewski era and even being down by 20-points with 11 1/2 minutes left in their ACC contest against the North Carolina State Wolfpack, the Duke Blue Devils (22-4, 9-2) once again dug down deep and found a way to pull out a victory over the Wolfpack, keeping them in the top tier of the ACC (along with North Carolina and Florida State). With that win, making it their third straight victory, the Blue Devils will go on the road as they will travel to the Conte Forum to meet the Boston College Eagles (8-18, 3-9) on Sunday evening. The Blue Devils will enter Sunday’s meeting undefeated on the road in league play (5-0), with a sixth straight road win making it the first time since the 2005-06 season where Duke has won six straight ACC road games. The Eagles bring in a 2-game losing streak, with their last and best win coming nearly 2 weeks ago as they took down Florida State in BC. Boston College is led by 6’8 freshman Ryan Anderson as he leads the team in scoring at 10.4 points per game and in rebounding averaging 6.9 rebounds per game. As it stands right now, the Blue Devils are in sole position of third place in the ACC (UNC and FSU both won Saturday) with a win Sunday will once again place them in a three-way tie atop the ACC with UNC and FSU. Duke will enter ranked #4 in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll and #5 in the AP Poll (66-24 all-time when ranked #5 in AP Poll). Sunday’s game will be televised on ESPNU with the tip-off set for approximately 6:00 PM ET.
Duke-Boston College Series
• Duke and Boston College have met 15 times heading into Sunday’s game with the first meeting between the two schools coming on Dec. 21, 1979.
• The Blue Devils lead the all-time series 13-2, including a 9-1 ledger since Boston College joined the ACC.
• Duke has won four straight and 12 of the last 13 games in the series.
• Mike Krzyzewski is 12-2 at Duke against the Eagles, including a 4-1 record at the Conte Forum.
• Seven of the 10 games since Boston College joined the ACC have been decided by 10 points or less.
• All five games in the series that have been played at the Conte Forum have been decided by 10 points or less.
• Duke and Boston College have met twice in the ACC Tournament with Duke winning both games. Read more
Duke Looks To Build On Resilient Comeback
Just when you think the Duke Blue Devils had turned the corner and were ready to become elite they go down by 20 to a bubble team at home. Once again the 2011-2012 version of the Duke Blue Devils doesn’t play a full 40 minutes and it’s been happening at home. For as bad as the first 28 plus minutes of the game were the final 11 and change were as good as you could ever hope for. Did NC State help dig their own grave? Of course they did, but this had more to do with Duke then it did with the Wolfpack. While both teams have to cooperate during a big comeback I felt that North Carolina blew the game more so than the Wolfpack did. The Blue Devils went on a 37-12 run to end the game which is simply incredible. First to score 37 points in about 11 minutes is almost unfathomable and with the Duke defense being under such a huge microscope this year to hold the Wolfpack to 12 points in 11 minutes is also quite remarkable.
Now what did I take from this game? Inexcusable defense in the first half, the Devils got spread out and totally abused with great cutting and passing. NC State did knock down shots they don’t normally hit and it showed in the second half, but the Duke defense needs to be better than that, especially at home. In the second half I thought the defense was solid for the first 9 minutes and then spectacular in the final 11. It’s quite clear what the Duke offense should and probably is going to be from now on: Seth Curry coming off down screens, Austin Rivers getting ball screens or Mason Plumlee one on one in the post. Everyone else is a complimentary piece on the offense, even Ryan Kelly and Andre Dawkins. Now I am not saying they shouldn’t get the ball or shots, just that they aren’t going to be isolated or the focal point of the offense unless they are having a great game. Dawkins will play a big role in spotting up both in transition and off drives which gives him plenty of shot opportunities and Ryan Kelly will be used on a ton of pick and pops and drive and kicks. My last thought is that it is quite clear that Duke has a solid 7 man rotation and Josh Hairston and Quinn Cook need to be used sparingly. I think both should play in every game, but in short spurts and they shouldn’t and haven’t earned the opportunity to play through mistakes. Both are way too inconsistent and I felt that both really stopped an earlier potential run in the second half with their shot selection and defense. Like I said both should play, just in spot situations somewhere between 2 and 10 minutes a game.
The next challenge for the Blue Devils is the Boston College Eagles. The Eagles are a very young team with seven of its top ten players being freshmen or sophomores. In his second year as BC’s head coach, I think Donahue is a very good and as long as he can recruit the Eagles will again be a factor in the ACC. However, this year’s Boston College team is not all that competitive at 8-18 and 3-9 in the ACC. The high for the Eagles this season is a 64-60 win over Florida State on February 8th. The Eagles play at a rather slow pace which makes their 15 turnovers per game an even bigger area of weakness. This is a team that shoots a lot of threes, but don’t shoot them at a very high percentage. Statistically this is one of the worst offenses in the country and their defense isn’t a whole lot better. The only area in which BC grades out well in is they don’t foul a whole lot. All that being said, BC just beat Florida State at home a week and a half ago and consistency doesn’t seem to be this Blue Devils team’s calling card.
Team Scouting Report Read more
Duke must show it can protect home court tonight against NC State
By Ray Horn — The Duke Blue Devils may have had their most impressive week of play with wins against North Carolina and Maryland. Duke showed a lot of toughness in coming back from ten down with 2 minutes and change left to defeat the Tar Heels. The Blue Devils showed some defense and rebounding to go along with toughness to stave off a Maryland run and win by 18. The official Austin Rivers coming out party occurred at the Dean Dome with his game winning shot and 29 point performance. Most fans knew it was only a matter of time before Rivers had such a big game and the hope is that there are more of these performances to come.
Miles Plumlee had quite possibly his best game in a Duke uniform with 13 points and 22 rebounds against Maryland. If you remember two years ago on their way to a national championship the Blue Devils received a 16 point 17 rebound performance against the Terrapins from Brian Zoubek. That was his coming out party, we can only hope that Miles Plumlee has a Zoubekian finish to his Duke career. Those two performances have stoodout, but lost in the shuffle has been the re-emergence of Seth Curry.
Curry has broken out of his shooting slump and has been terrific in his last three games, averaging 18.7 points per game on 19-38 shooting from the field and 11-21 shooting from the 3 point line. The redshirt junior has also taken care of the ball with 7 assists to only 2 turnovers in the past three games. I had been clamoring for Duke fans to support Curry as it was only a matter of time before he got going again and now he is back to being an all ACC caliber guard. Remember, in the preseason Coach K felt that Curry was going to be one of the better guards in the country. Keep an eye on the Duke defense throughout the rest of the regular season. The defense was strong against Maryland and Coach K stated that Curry and Rivers are playing their best defense of the season and Tyler Thornton is really stepping up on that end of the floor.
The North Carolina State Wolfpack are the next opponent for the Blue Devils. They are on the bubble for the NCAA Tournament and are looking for that signature win to lock them into the field. In his first year on the job as Wolfpack head coach, Gottfried has done a wonderful job on the recruiting trail and has a top five class locked in for next season. In terms of on court performance, Gottfried has done a good job with this crew that was very inconsistent and sloppy last year. Gottfried puts a heavy emphasis on sharing the ball and not just running sets for one specific player. The Wolfpack play a seven man rotation and all five starters average in double figures.
A big move for the Wolfpack was converting Lorenzo Brown from shooting guard to point guard with the transfer of Ryan Harrow. Brown has done an excellent job of distributing the ball averaging nearly seven assists per game. On the defensive side of the ball, NC State puts a lot of emphasis on protecting the rim without fouling, but struggles in guarding the three point line. By my count the Wolfpack have played 8 games against teams that are legitimate contenders for NCAA at large tournament berths. Their record in those games is 2-6. They are giving up 77 points per game and teams are shooting over 47 percent in those games. The staggering stat in those games is that NC State’s opponents are shooting over 41 percent from the three point line. Although the Wolfpack have struggled with upper echelon teams, they still have plenty of talent and the offensive firepower to knock off a team like Duke.
Scouting Report
PG- #2 Lorenzo Brown So. Read more
Duke vs. North Carolina State: By The Numbers
After coming off of wins over North Carolina and Maryland last week, the Duke Blue Devils (21-4, 8-2) return to the floor Thursday night after a four-day layoff to host the North Carolina State Wolfpack (18-7, 7-3). The Blue Devils come into Thursday’s meeting again ranked inside the top-5, as they are #4 in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll and #5 in the AP Poll. When ranked #5 in the AP Poll, Duke is 65-24 all-time. The Wolfpack come in unranked in both polls. N.C. State is coming in off of a 3-game winning streak, with wins over Boston College, Wake Forest, and Georgia Tech. Those three teams are also 10th, 11th, and 12th in the ACC standings. The Blue Devils are currently in a tie for 2nd in the ACC (North Carolina defeated Miami last night) with the Florida State Seminoles. N.C. State is led by Scott Wood as he averages 13.4 points per game while shooting .462 from the field, .437 from three, and .949 from the free throw line. Sophomore C.J. Leslie is averaging 13.0 points per game and 6.4 rebounds per game for N.C. State. Thursday’s meeting will be televised live on the ACC Network with the tip-off set for 9:00 PM ET.
Duke-N.C. State Series
• Duke and N.C. State have met 235 times heading into Thursday’s game with the first meeting between the two schools coming in 1912.
• The Blue Devils lead the all-time series 138-97, including a 46-23 mark at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
• Duke has won two straight and five of the last six games in the series.
• Mike Krzyzewski is 46-20 at Duke against the Wolfpack, including a 22-5 record at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
• Duke has won 13 straight home games in the series. The Blue Devils have a +18.2 scoring margin in that span.
• The two schools have met 23 times in ACC Tournament play with Duke posting a 14-9 record in those games.
• Duke has won each of the last eight home games against N.C. State by double figures.
Numbers Game
• Duke is the only team in the NCAA to rank in the top 5 in RPI, Strength of Schedule as well as the AP and ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll. The Blue Devils are also 3-1 against teams in the top 10 of the RPI.
• The Blue Devils have won 20 or more games 27 times under Mike Krzyzewski, including each of the last 16 seasons.
• Duke has been ranked in the top 10 of the AP Poll for 89 straight weeks, the third-longest streak in NCAA history.
• The Blue Devils are 61-3 at home since the start of the 2008-09 season. Duke is 11-2 at home this season and has lost more than two home games just once in the past 16 seasons. Read more
Duke Looks To Build Off Emotional Win Over Their Actual Rival
By Ray Horn — The first thing I did when I woke up Thursday morning was check the score of the Duke/North Carolina game from the night before. I wasn’t checking the score because I didn’t watch the game, I had to make sure what I saw was reality and not a dream. This looked all too familiar; poor defense, blown opportunities on open shots and free throws.
Bear with me for a minute while I relive the end of that game. The Blue Devils picked up the defense and held the Heels to only 17 points in the final 11 and a half minutes, but blown finishes by Mason Plumlee, missed open threes from Tyler Thornton and a stretch of 2-9 from the free throw line looked like it would doom them. Harrison Barnes throws Seth Curry and connects on a mid range jumper, giving the Heels a 10 point lead with 2 minutes and change left to play. I am thinking to myself this team is just not tough enough, they don’t believe in each other, they just need to buy in to the coaches, they have the talent but they just aren’t going to get there this year. That’s when everything changed.
Ryan Kelly took an ill advised three with John Henson in his face and at first glance it looked to be an air ball that would lead to North Carolina running 35 seconds off in their next possession and basically putting any hope for a comeback to rest. Kelly’s shot was called deflected by John Henson and Duke retained possession. I’ll admit, I didn’t think Henson tipped it when watching it live and of course ESPN doesn’t show any replays of important plays so I am still not sure whether or not Henson touched it, but the referees deemed he did and that’s all that matters. After the inbounds, Tyler Thornton ball faked into the post and was given enough room to knockdown a three. Still down 7 with about 2 minutes left to play and North Carolina has the ball, all they have to do is run 35 seconds off the clock. Kendall Marshall makes a lazy pass, Mason Plumlee picks it off. He drops it off to Tyler Thornton who finds a streaking Seth Curry for28 footthree pointer. Was it a travel, probably, but officials normally aren’t going to call that on a shooter because it all has to do with when they deem the player has full possession of the ball. All of sudden it’s a 4 point game andNorth Carolinais feeling the pressure. On the ensuing possession, Harrison Barnes tries to take matters into his own hands instead of running clock and commits the offensive foul, barreling over Ryan Kelly. Duke then goes to an open Ryan Kelly who misses the three, but chases down his own miss and sticks in the midrange jumper. Its now 82-80 and this is when I really believe Duke is going to win this game. North Carolina looked like a bunch of freshmen who were trying to avoid losing and Duke looked like a veteran team not giving up and executing brilliantly. Zeller gets fouled in the post, but only makes 1-2 and on the ensuing play Duke fakes as if Ryan Kelly is going to set a down screen for Seth Curry and instead Curry is actually setting the screen for Kelly. Kelly gets a good look and seems to be fouled by Henson, but whistles are silent. Mason Plumlee gives Tyler Zeller a shove, something both sides had been doing all game and something that had gone uncalled all game. Zeller tips the errant shot into his own basket. I’ll admit it was pretty lucky that Zeller tipped it in, but if Zeller had missed the ball Mason Plumlee would have gotten the miss and thrown it down. Zeller is then fouled and goes back to the line and again only makes 1-2. Austin Rivers gets the ball and the rest is history. Read more
Duke vs. Maryland: By The Numbers
By Chad Lykins — After an exhilarating victory over rival North Carolina on Wednesday night, the Duke Blue Devils (20-4, 7-2) return home to meet the Maryland Terrapins (14-9, 4-5) on Saturday. Duke won the first meeting earlier this season over the Terrapins, 74-61. Duke enters Saturday’s meeting once again in a tie with UNC and Florida State for first in the ACC. The Terrapins are led by sophomore Terrell Stoglin, who is currently averaging a conference best 22.0 points per game. Stoglin scored 16 points over the Blue Devils in the first meeting. In the past four games for Maryland, Stoglin is averaging 27.0 points per game, including a 33 point performance over the Miami Hurricanes. The Blue Devils will come in ranked #9 in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll and #10 in the AP Poll. They are 37-13 when ranked #10 in the AP Poll all-time. With their 20th victory coming against UNC, it marked the 16th consecutive seasons with at least 20 wins and the 27th season with 20 or more wins under coach Mike Krzyzewski. Saturday’s game will be televised on ESPN with the tip-off set for 4:00 PM ET.
Duke-Maryland Series
• Duke and Maryland have met 172 times heading into Saturday’s game with the first meeting between the two schools coming in 1926.
• The Blue Devils lead the all-time series 111-61, including a 51-14 mark at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
• Duke has won four straight and 10 of the last 11 games in the series.
• Mike Krzyzewski is 52-21 at Duke against the Terrapins, including a 22-8 record at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
• Duke has won four straight home games in the series. The Blue Devils have a +20.3 scoring margin in that span.
• The two schools have met 18 times in ACC Tournament play with Duke posting an 11-7 record in those games.
• The Blue Devils topped Maryland, 74-61, earlier this season behind a 23-point, 12-rebound effort from junior Mason Plumlee. Read more
UNC Scouting Report — Player By Player
As Duke prepares to head into the land of pastel polos, popped collars and hot pink Croakies, let’s take a moment and look at the scoring ineptitude of Kendall Marshall and the absolute refusal to pass by Harrison Barnes. PJ Hairston’s shooting chart was not available as SCACCHoops.com had an issue with his name. Seems like that happens to him a lot.
Starters
Kendall Marshall (PG) — 32 mpg | 6.5 Points Per Game | 9.8 APG | 5.34 Shots Per Game
Game planning against Marshall sounds easy on paper. Pressure him on defense and if you can’t rattle him into making a bad pass (he averages nearly 3 turnovers a game), turn him into a shooter. While he does have a 49.5% effective field goal percentage, he only shoots 5 shots per so this is not something he feels comfortable doing. As you can see by the chart above from our friends at scacchoops.com, Marshall is cold from nearly everywhere on the court except for threes-pointers from the left side. Forcing him right and having the help stay with their man on defense will put Marshall in situations where he is likely to do the least amount of damage.
Reggie Bullock (SG/SF) – 21.2 mpg | 8.6 Points Per Game | 4.5 RPG | 7.39 Shots Per Game | 10 Free Throws Taken
After the injury to Dexter Strickland, Reggie Bullock has entered the starting lineup for the Tar Heels, giving them the tallest backcourt in the conference. Unfortunately for Duke, the Blue Devils have one of the smallest. Like all UNC players not named Kendall Marshall, Bullock passes it little, averaging only 1 per game. While he has good size, Bullock has not shown a willingness to hit the glass, preferring to enter into transition at the first opportunity. His 55.8% effective field goal percentage ranks Bullock 14th in the ACC so stopping this sophomore from Kinston, NC will be important. He does not draw fouls well at all, as he has only taken 10 free throws all year. Keeping Bullock out of the corners but making him take jumpers is the ideal play here. Ideally, you’d like him shooting a three from the top of the key as he has only hit on 11.8% of his shots from there. Read more
Part II – Duke vs. North Carolina: By The Numbers
In part two of “By The Numbers”, I will be focusing on player and team statistics of both, Duke and North Carolina, throughout the 2011-12 season. As well as looking at the statistics of the players that will be playing in tonight’s game, as they have performed in previous Duke-UNC games. I’ve also referred to the ultimate source of stats for college basketball, Statsheet, for a number of statistics on Duke and North Carolina.
Duke (19-4, 6-2) vs. North Carolina (20-3, 7-1)
Wednesday, February 8, 2012 l 9:00 p.m. l ESPN/ACC Network
Duke Player Statistics
• When coming off a loss this season, Duke averages 80.7 points per game. Mason Plumlee averages a double-double at 15.3 points and 10.0 rebounds in those three contests, while Ryan Kelly (14.3 points) and Austin Rivers (11.7 points) both average double-figures when coming off a loss.
• Duke currently has 4 players averaging in double figure scoring, Austin Rivers (14.5 points), Ryan Kelly (12.6 points), Seth Curry (12.6 points), and Mason Plumlee (11.6 points).
• Austin Rivers was named ACC Rookie of the Week for the league-leading sixth time on Monday. He ties former Blue Devil Luol Deng for the most ACC rookie awards in Duke history and ties five others for the third-most in ACC history.
• Mason Plumlee is one of two players (joined by Keith Clanton, Central Florida) in the NCAA averaging at least 10.0 points, 9.0 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.5 blocks per game.
• Ryan Kelly has increased his scoring average by 6.0 ppg. from a year ago and is tied for second on the team at 12.6 points per game. Kelly has scored in double figures 15 times this season after doing that just nine times in his first two seasons.
• Mason Plumlee ranks second in the ACC in rebounding at 9.7 rpg. He has grabbed 12 or more rebounds 10 times this season including three of the last four games.
• Austin Rivers ranks 12th among freshman in scoring with a team-high 14.5 points per game. Johnny Dawkins was the last Blue Devil freshman to lead the team in scoring in 1983.
• Mason Plumlee has improved his free throw shooting over the last four games, going 24-of-32 (.750) from the line during that span. He was 37-of-93 (.398) from the free throw line prior to that stretch. Plumlee ranks fourth in the ACC in free throw attempts per game (5.4 ftpg.).
• Andre Dawkins is averaging 10.8 points and 2.6 three-point field goals per game in ACC play. He is 21-of-49 (.429) from long range in league games.
• Ryan Kelly leads Duke in the three-point field goal shooting, going 29-of-64 (.453) Andre Dawkins is 2nd on the team in three-point field goal shooting on the season. He is 51-of-125 (.408) from three.
• In the 5 games that the junior class (Mason Plumlee, Seth Curry, Ryan Kelly, Andre Dawkins) have played in, Duke has outscored North Carolina by 51 points (367-to-316). Duke is 4-1 in those 5 games.
• In three career games against North Carolina, Seth Curry is averaging 17.7 ppg while shooting 49% from the field and 41% from three-point range.
• Lone senior Miles Plumlee has played in five career games against North Carolina. He is averaing 4.8 points per game and 7.4 rebounds per game in the series.
• Junior Andre Dawkins has played in five career games against North Carolina. During that span, Dawkins is shooting 45% from three-point range. Read more
Part I – Duke vs. North Carolina: By The Numbers
In preparation for the first Duke vs. North Carolina game of the 2011-12 basketball season, I will be doing a two part special of “By The Numbers”. If you are familiar with my previous posts of “By The Numbers” they are basically a statistically and historically breakdown of Duke and their current opponent. In part one, you will see a lot of the same. Part two will be slightly different, as it will mainly focus on the individual and team statistics throughout the season between Duke and North Carolina.
Duke. North Carolina. The time is here. Separated by only 8 miles on Tobacco Road, the Duke Blue Devils (19-4, 6-2) will make the short trip to Chapel Hill to meet rival, the North Carolina Tar Heels (20-3, 7-1) on Wednesday night. The Blue Devils will come into Wednesday’s game off of a home overtime loss to the Miami Hurricanes, this past Sunday. The Tar Heels are currently on a 5-game winning streak. After their loss to Miami, Duke dropped to #9 in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll and #10 in the AP Poll. North Carolina enters ranked #5 in both polls. Wednesday’s meeting will mark the 233rd game between the two schools. North Carolina leads the all-time series, 131-101. The game will be televised nationwide on ESPN with the tipoff set for 9:00 PM ET.
Duke-North Carolina Series
• Duke and North Carolina have met 232 times heading into Wednesday’s game with the first meeting between the two schools coming on Jan. 24, 1920.
• Mike Krzyzewski is 36-36 all-time against North Carolina, with an 11-14 mark at the Dean E. Smith Center. Krzyzewski did not coach either game against North Carolina during the 1994-95 season.
• Duke has won four of the last five in the series, including a 75-58 win over North Carolina in the 2011 ACC Championship game, the last meeting between the two schools.
• Duke has won 21 of the last 31 games in the series dating back to the 1998-99 season. The Blue Devils have won eight of the last 13 games in Chapel Hill in that span, by an average margin of victory of 11.8.
• Duke and North Carolina have met 74 times during the Coach K era. The Blue Devils are 36-36 versus the Tar Heels with Mike Krzyzewski as the head coach. Krzyzewski missed both games against North Carolina during the 1994-95 season while recovering from back surgery.
• Wednesday’s game marks the 149th straight meeting between Duke and North Carolina in which at least one of the schools is ranked in a national poll. The streak dates back to Feb. 25, 1955.
• Since the beginning of the AP poll in 1948-49, at least one of the teams has been ranked in 152 of the 168 meetings (counting Wednesday’s game). Read more
Go To Hell Carolina, Go To Hell
By Ray Horn — Well losing at home to Miami isn’t what you want to do coming into a road game against your arch rival who just so happens to be ranked in the top 5. Duke was pathetic in the first half against the Canes and then played an incredible second half only to falter in overtime and lose their second home game of the season. Consistency is the name of the game and you have to play with energy for the full 40 or 45 minutes and Duke didn’t. Missed free throws will haunt the Devils as Austin Rivers only made 1-2 at the end of regulation causing overtime instead of a win. Seth Curry, Austin Rivers and Quinn Cook each went 0-2 inovertime and those free throws also would have given Duke a win.
Positives to take from the game were Austin Rivers and Seth Curry. Both of those guys were taking and making big shots and other than the overtime period Quinn Cook played terrific at the point. This was a particularly big game for Seth Curry who had been struggling, and it was great to see Seth be aggressive and hunt his shot. Ryan Kelly played an okay game, but was saddled with foul trouble for most of the second half. Mason Plumlee, who had been playing terrific over the last couple weeks, had his worst showing of the season and was dominated by Reggie Johnson.
All in all, it was a loss and there is no way around it, but after the losses to Temple and Ohio State where the team showed no fight whatsoever it was good to see the Blue Devils at least put up a fight. You can’t expect to win after how poorly they played in the first half, but if you just watch the second half you can see the potential in this team. Until each player plays with the energy and consistency they did in the second half, they are going to continue to struggle. North Carolina, along with Ohio State, will be the most talented team Duke has played all year. But, if the rivalry has taught us anything it is that either team can win at any time on a given night.
Team Scouting Report
PG- #5 Kendall Marshall So. — The key to guarding Marshall is putting pressure on him. When you back off Marshall he will pick you apart with his passing because of his size and vision. In North Carolina’s three losses this year Marshall was pressured and not allowed to see passing lanes. Seth Curry really struggled guarding him at UNC last year and Quinn Cook has struggled so far this year defensively. Cook looked much better guarding the ball against Miami, but the size differential between he and Marshall gives Kendall a huge advantage. Tyler Thornton is probably the best choice to defend Marshall as he does a good job against players who aren’t all that quick, but really struggles against quickness like Larkin of Miami. The problem with having Thornton on Marshall is that Marshall can in turn guard Thornton, another guy that isn’t going to score much. Before the season I felt that in order to beat UNC you would have to make Marshall play defense and really exploit that matchup, but in UNC’s three losses this season only UNLV exploited the matchup and that was for only 13 points. Loucks of FSU had 6 and Teague of UK had 8. Defending Marshall is much more important than forcing him to play defense, although making him guard isn’t a bad thing as Marshall isn’t a particularly good on ball defender. The Duke offense is going to clearly be best with Quinn Cook running the point but I really don’t think he’ll be able to check Marshall, so I am going with Thornton and Curry to have to play a huge role in this game. If Curry can really step up and bother Marshall I think Duke has a legit chance. If not, it could get ugly.
SG- #35 Reggie Bullock So. — Bullock replaced the injured Dexter Strickland in the starting lineup four games ago. Since becoming a starter Bullock is averaging 32.5 minutes, 9.8 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 1.5 assists per game on 15-37 shooting (40.5 percent) from the field and 8-19 shooting (42 percent) from three. Bullock has kind of surprisingly been very good on the defensive side of the ball for the Heels. It looks like Bullock struggles off the ball and Roy Williams has masked this by putting him on a shooter or scorer and just having Bullock guard them tightly, giving little help. Against Terrell Stoglin of Maryland, Bullock used his size to effect Stoglin’s shot even when he got by him. If I were a UNC fan I wouldn’t be happy with how much Bullock has been shooting the ball, nearly ten shots a game is too many. In transition, he has done well finding his shot, but in the half court he has forced it a bit. Seth Curry is too short to guard Bullock as this would give him the ability to post up, but Maryland got away with it so Duke may be able to as well. The Terps used Pe’Shown Howard, Terrell Stoglin and Nick Faust to guard Bullock and none of them are known for their size. Bullock is not a penetrator or a guy that takes a lot of pull ups on guys even if he has a big height advantage. Unfortunately I think Bullock is a terrific matchup for UNC in guarding Curry which means Seth may have to run the point and allow Dawkins and Rivers to slide over to the wing. I think Duke is going to need Thornton to pressure Marshall, but that means that Curry or Dawkins is going to be guarded by Bullock which isn’t a good matchup for Duke. Any of these combinations would put a lot of pressure on Austin Rivers to score each and every time. This means that with Curry on Marshall, Bullock or Barnes would have to defend Austin Rivers.
SF- #40 Harrison Barnes Jr. — Barnes is the one guy that everyone is worried about, but I haven’t really seen
anything from him to be overly concerned about. The preseason All-American candidate is a terrific player yet he doesn’t have a great handle and struggles in driving to basket. While he does showcase an accurate jumper and one dribble pull up, if Barnes has to put the ball on the floor more than once he becomes pedestrian. His favorite offensive plays are coming off a screen straight into a jumpshot, catching on the wing and using a jabstep to create separation before shooting, or sweeping through the lane and taking a pull up jumper off one or two bounces. Barnes would have a big advantage in the low block against Andre Dawkins or Austin Rivers, but Roy Williams hasn’t put Barnes down there a whole lot and I don’t think he is going to start now. It does make it a little more difficult to post Barnes up when Zeller and Henson are both hanging around the basket. Defensively Barnes is fairly good, but nothing spectacular. This is another spot that using Austin Rivers could work well. Rivers would really have to fight off screens to guard Barnes, but I think putting quickness on him is the best way to guard him. Crowding Barnes and forcing him to dribble is your best chance to slow him down. If Roy Williams continues to not run any curls or postups for him, it takes away some dangerous facets of his offensive game. Barnes hasn’t really had to guard anyone like Rivers and I think the quickness could be a big problem for him. Andre Dawkins did a good job in limited minutes against Barnes last year, but on the other end Duke would need a really aggressive Dawkins off the ball moving and hunting his shot. Read more
