***DUKE VS ILLINOIS OFFICIAL GAMEDAY THREAD***

[krzyzewskiville]

Keeping this one short and sweet. We've got to start defining rolls and coming together sooner than later because in an already shortened season, March is going to sneak up on us pretty quick. At this point, I certainly want to see a win, but I also want to see vast improvement on the offensive end.

Poor shot selection (WAY TOO OFTEN), turnovers, free throw's and struggling to finish in the paint have cost us immensely in the loss to MSU, and honestly, to some extent, against CSU and Bellarmine.

Duke comes into the game a -3.5 favorite - which surprises me a bit. Illinois is a senior laden team and we haven't proven a thing. I wish I could say the crowd would be a factor, but we know the answer to that, too.

Tip is slated for a 9:30pm est tip and will air on ESPN.

Duke - 76

Illinois - 75

GO DUKE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[IFaZe]

9:30 huh...you gotta be ******* kidding. With this time change it’s dark at 5 and I’m ready for bed...

 

[hart2chesson]

Head says Illinois,even though as always heart says Blue Devils. Nonetheless, U of I is really good and have to give them the nod, 77-70. OFC

 

[JohnstonCDevil]

Going to be tuff, but I am expecting a Moore and Baker break out tonight, so Duke by a couple buckets!!!!
OFC

 

[durhamgolfer]

Going to be tuff, but I am expecting a Moore and Baker break out tonight, so Duke by a couple buckets!!!!
OFC

I agree. I think it was huge for Baker to see the ball go through the nets last game. Hopefully with that, the lid will start to come off the basket for him. I wonder how much these shooting woes come from having more responsibility on the court for both these guys. Moore is trying to take more responsibility for the flow of the offense and Baker is playing more D. Sometimes, it takes a while for all of that to click. Hope tonight is the night.

 

[Fourteen44]

I’ll be on a plane during most of this one but:

Duke 70
Illinois 74

Here’s to me being wrong.

 

[BOOGIEMAN1914]

execute and defend...#dukeallday

 

[Mpm277]

I accidentally missed the Duke/MSU game thinking it was the next day so I'm just happy to see Duke play primetime on a channel that I don't have to go find a stream to watch.

 

[skysdad]

Duke 76
Ill. 75

OFC

 

[Laettner15]

Cut down turnovers.... Illinois loves to run in transition

knock down shots

put Kofi in ball screens away from the basket.. when Baylor did that to them it opened up the lane so much

Duke - 71
Ill - 68

 

[timo0402]

Until proven otherwise, I’ll have to think we will struggle for large stretches. This will be similar to the MSU flow. Doesn’t end well for us. 80-73 ILL.

 

[HuffyJB]

Illinois has much more defined roles than Duke, and they know who they are and what they do well much more than Duke does right now. I don't know if Duke is ready to win a game like this yet - this group needs to continue to evolve and familiarize, and they will get better with time.

Duke - 72
Illinois - 77

 

[AlanInNJ]

Lockdown defense in the second half will shut Illinois down. Duke will scrap and fight and scratch out a sloppy win. Moore finds his confidence and puts up solid numbers and leads scorers in the second half.

Duke 69
Illinois 65

 

[BlueDevilStop]

Really interested to find out the game plan in defending Ayo Dosunmu. And I hope Duke follows the blue print Baylor laid out when it comes to drawing Cockburn out of the paint.

Duke-Illinois Game Preview |

Both Duke and Illinois will be playing their 2nd ranked team of the season in this matchup inside Cameron Indoor Stadium. Duke fell to 8th ranked Michigan State while Illinois came up short against #2 Baylor. After three subpar performances to start the season, Duke will look to put together...

bluedevilstop.com

 

[christophero]

Duke 80. Illinois 73. We are tired of hearing how bad we are and how we have no chance. Cue Rocky 3 training montage.

 

[jnastasi]

Duke 80. Illinois 73. We are tired of hearing how bad we are and how we have no chance. Cue Rocky 3 training montage.

Love the attitude.
Sadly, I think our guards get outplayed.
Duke 63
Illinois 76

 

[skysdad]

unc cheater u on ESPN at 7:30. If we are lucky we might get the Duke game by 10 pm. Why not start the unc game at 7:00? OFC

 

[sheyduke]

Want to say Duke but I think turnovers and the points from them become Dukes down fall against an older team.

Illinois- 75
Duke- 68

 

[denverexpat]

This will be a real test against a good back court and presence inside - havent seen much of how we will defend teams who have this combination yet so should be a real measuring stick for this team. If we shoot well from outside we have a chance, it we shoot under 30% from 3 I dont think we can stay close. Looking forward to seeing how we do.

 

[Voldukie]

I think we get bombed..We are too young and inexperienced to deal with their sets and screening action. Dosunmu and Cockburn have advantages over whomever we guard them with. They may sit zone and help out on Hurt and let the others shoot until they warrant being guarded. We need major improvements from William's, Roach and especially Wendell or it will be ugly ..really hope I am wrong but my gut says otherwise.

ILLINI - 81
DEVILS - 64

 

[500HP_Devil]

Really really surprised at the line. I thought for sure we would be 4-6 underdogs. I’m wondering if computer models ultimately set the line based on a number of different metrics one of which is home court which means zilch right now. Hope I’m wrong but this should be a good learning experience for us and no matter what at least we didn’t get boat raced by Ga Tech who lost to both Mercer and GA State!

As I speak line is up to Duke -4...wow

 

[DukeRulesBasketball]

Win or lose, I just want to see Duke with some improvements and things that they can build on going forward. Never betting against Duke though.
Duke:68
Illinois: 63

Let’s Go Duke!!

 

[Quavarius]

Since stats don’t matter this early in the season, throw everything away:

Duke- 100
Illinois- 0

 

[Shatterthesky22]

I think we get bombed..We are too young and inexperienced to deal with their sets and screening action. Dosunmu and Cockburn have advantages over whomever we guard them with. They may sit zone and help out on Hurt and let the others shoot until they warrant being guarded. We need major improvements from William's, Roach and especially Wendell or it will be ugly ..really hope I am wrong but my gut says otherwise.

ILLINI - 81
DEVILS - 64

Yeah this is probably gonna get ugly.

 

[christophero]

the reason we are favored is probably due to our loss last week and the way we historically bounce back after a loss. But yeah, based on what we've seen Illinois should be favored.

 

[dukedevilz]

Not in effect until Friday, December 11th. But, this could potentially move up the start-time for future games.

 

[DukeNation12]

Being from Illinois I’ve waited for this matchup for a very long time!! Last time Duke faced Illinois was in Maui against one of my former HS teammates.

Both teams come ready to play tonight and show they are top 10 teams. Duke wins 72-69!

LETS GO DUKE NATION!!!

 

[bleediteveryday30]

View embedded media

Not in effect until Friday, December 11th. But, this could potentially move up the start-time for future games.

COVID-19 curfew is effective across NC Friday. Here's what you need to know about it.

The curfew "takes into account that the longer into the evening you go, the more people get more uninhibited, thus more of an opportunity to spread the virus," said Gov.

journalnow.com

Reading that makes me think we're good.

 

[IFaZe]

I’m predicting my tits up no later than 8 🤷‍♂️

 

[IFaZe]

OFC doesn’t stand a chance 😂

 

[IFaZe]

Somebody ought to be slapped

 

[GAAP]

Having gone back and reviewed the past game threads, my prediction is:

Illinois 10,000,000
Duke 5

 

[timo0402]

Having gone back and reviewed the past game threads, my prediction is:

Illinois 10,000,000
Duke 5

Ridiculous. No way we only score 5.

 

[skysdad]

Seth Greenberg said at halftime of the cheater u/ Iowa game that Illinois will win so I guess that's it then. OFC

 

[skysdad]

Ok which ESPN will we have to switch to see the start of our game? OFC

 

[skysdad]

Getting close to game time. Let's get off to a good start. Cut the turnovers in half and play solid D. OFC

 

[Laettner15]

 

[DukeRulesBasketball]

Seth Greenberg said at halftime of the cheater u/ Iowa game that Illinois will win so I guess that's it then. OFC

Your right Sky. If Greenburg said it( a guy who still isn’t coaching since he got fired) Duke might as well forfeit. Lol

 

[DukeRulesBasketball]

Would be nice if we could go small and draw Kofi away from the basket

 

[DukeRulesBasketball]

Wonderful! We have TV Teddy as a ref!