Duke losing to Rhode Island?

Post #1 » by **jman3134** » Sun Nov 16, 2008 11:11 pm

Interesting matchup. Bitee and Daniels graduated, but this team still seems to be giving Duke a lot of trouble. If only they put the freaking game on TV! (instead of poker and women's college basketball) ESPN really drops the ball constantly. This brings some concerns to mind regarding the status of this program. What is going on with their chemistry? Last season around this time, they were hard nosed and giving Pitt all they could handle with Fields. Now, they are losing against a rebuilt Rhode Island squad. Either it speaks to RI being a surprise team, but more likely than not it demonstrates Duke's incohesive play.

In other news my Islanders are up against Illinois......hopefully it's a good game like the aforementioned upset alert.

ClipperDomination · Post #2 » by **ClipperDomination** » Mon Dec 1, 2008 2:58 am

Two words as to why they almost lost this game:

Jimmy Baron

Polynice4Pippen · Post #3 » by **Polynice4Pippen** » Wed Dec 3, 2008 5:11 am

Duke looked damn good tonight at Purdue. Nolan Smith is giving them another dimension as starting PG that Paulus simply couldn't provide. And Scheyer, Singler and Henderson are all benefitting. And as always Duke's perimeter defense is suffocating. For the first time since the Redick/Sheldon years the Dookies actually look like legit Final 4 material.

UrbanLegendMD · Post #4 » by **UrbanLegendMD** » Sat Dec 6, 2008 10:30 pm

Michigan? Maryland beat them.

Polynice4Pippen · Post #5 » by **Polynice4Pippen** » Sat Dec 6, 2008 10:44 pm

NurbekIL wrote:Michigan? Maryland beat them.

Michigan now has wins over Duke and UCLA. That's quite the tournament resume so far. And Michigan lost at Maryland. A lot of teams lose in College Park.

Post #6 » by **jman3134** » Sun Dec 7, 2008 6:39 am

It was at Michigan. Huge win for this rebuilt program...what a job Beilein has done! I mean Duke destroyed them earlier, but were sort of exposed when their shots just weren't falling. Then again, this happens with any team. It was tightly contested throughout and Michigan hit some really big shots.

Unclecreepy · Post #7 » by **Unclecreepy** » Sun Dec 7, 2008 7:06 am

I was at this Michigan vs Duke game.
It was a great win for Michigan.
But I do they they will live and die by the 3 pointer.
Fortunately it was falling for them " Novak" tonight.

Liqourish · Post #8 » by **Liqourish** » Sun Dec 7, 2008 9:08 am

Novak knocked down some threes, but the keys to the game for Michigan were their 1-3-1 zone and attacking the rim against Dukes interior defense. Sims and Harris got whatever they wanted inside. Grady's penetration also opened things up on the perimeter.

Duke settled for 3's against Michigans zone and Duke has been mediocre from 3 (31%) all year so far. Duke shot 21% from 3 in both games against Michigan. The only difference was the amount of 3's they settled for. Duke shot 4 of 19 from three in their November 21st meeting with the Wolverines. Yesterday afternoon, Duke shot 7 of 33 from downtown. Duke also didn't get to the line 25 times like the last game because of their jumpshooting.

With wins over #4 UCLA and now #4 Duke, Michigan should at the very least crack the top 25.

Post #9 » by **jman3134** » Sun Dec 7, 2008 6:20 pm

I wouldn't say they were lucky, but Sims hit a lot of big shots. He can normally step out and hit the three, but he was on fire- his confidence was sky high and he was a huge inside outside threat.

Harris got to the basket virtually at will, even though Scheyer is an ok defender.

Duke's interior players didn't receive as many touches as they could. When they did, Thomas and Zoubek were surprisingly effective. This is what I think is the biggest difference with this year's team- their inside players are improved.

Sarlonus · Post #10 » by **Sarlonus** » Sun Dec 7, 2008 10:07 pm

I was at the game yesterday. I am actually a student at Michigan and a member of Maize Rage. We were absolutely glad to see a huge crowd and a victory. We had some recruits in for the game so the win means a whole lot for Michigan Basketball. The team will only get better once Laval Lucas-Perry can play (which will be Dec 20). From what I hear, he is our third best player.

Unclecreepy · Post #11 » by **Unclecreepy** » Sun Dec 7, 2008 11:39 pm

I hope Laval Lucas-Perry is as good as you say.
I know I cringe when I see Merritt, Lee and Shepard out there on the floor handling the ball.
I also hope the big "freshman" fellas we have riding the bench become somewhat decent players.

Post #12 » by **jman3134** » Sun Dec 21, 2008 9:32 pm

Good start for Lucas-Perry from the perimeter. Sims and Harris are on another level, but he is definitely an added bonus- Laval was the difference in their win the other day.