***DUKE VS NORTH CAROLINA ACC TOURNEY SEMI-FINAL OFFICIAL GAMEDAY THREAD***

[DukefanKY]

I wanted to win but like I've said before, this tournament means nothing to me. Only the next one does. I honestly can't tell you who won the ACCT in 2012,2013, or 2014. I really don't remember. And I don't remember who won it in the years that we won national championships. And I don't care who wins it next year. It's the one that ends in April that I remember. I'm hoping for a memorable April.....

 

[Mac9192]

I just love how some get on here and pin the loss on Allen taking a bad shot at the end. It was a terrible shot decision, yes, and it was a bad decision on the charge call before that. He didn't shoot enough in the middle of the game, he only took 11 shots. He wasn't as sharp as we needed him to be. But what about when we were down 6 with a little under 3 minutes and we couldn't get a rebound and the Holes got 3 offensive rebounds and milked the clock down before Trent hit a 3 with under a minute to go? Or Duval having zero points to go along with 5 turnovers? Or Bagley only getting 13 shots and shooting an airball from the line?
This team did what they've done all year long, and that's play poorly for too long. The bigger problem with that is they did it against a solid team. One that made enough plays to win.

But if it makes some of you feel better, blame the game on a terrible shot to tie at the end by Grayson. But from where I sat, we lost the game because of the sh%%y way we played the first 35 minutes.

 

[LetsGoDuke301]

If UNC wins tomorrow they deserve a better seed then Duke. Better wins on the year. Don’t know about a one seed though. I think Kansas or Xavier deserves it more then UNC

Is what it is. They have 2 in the bag against us and we have worse losses. Other than Wofford of course. We had a chance to control our destiny and didn't capitalize.

I disagree that Xavier deserves it more than unc though.

 

[Showenuff]

You guys are crazy, uva is goin down, UNC gettin a one seed. But a 2 seed gonna win it !

 

[DukefanKY]

I just love how some get on here and pin the loss on Allen taking a bad shot at the end. It was a terrible shot decision, yes, and it was a bad decision on the charge call before that. He didn't shoot enough in the middle of the game, he only took 11 shots. He wasn't as sharp as we needed him to be. But what about when we were down 6 with a little under 3 minutes and we couldn't get a rebound and the Holes got 3 offensive rebounds and milked the clock down before Trent hit a 3 with under a minute to go? Or Duval having zero points to go along with 5 turnovers? Or Bagley only getting 13 shots and shooting an airball from the line?
This team did what they've done all year long, and that's play poorly for too long. The bigger problem with that is they did it against a solid team. One that made enough plays to win.

But if it makes some of you feel better, blame the game on a terrible shot to tie at the end by Grayson. But from where I sat, we lost the game because of the sh%%y way we played the first 35 minutes.

I blame it on what I blame most of our losses on. I made a post before about all of our losses but 1, having at least 16 turnovers.....17 tonight

 

[kingbluedevil]

I think the tank will be empty for the heels and Virginia defense will destroy them.

 

[LetsGoDuke301]

A tar heel fan brought up the fact that only 4 players scored for Duke tonight. That's crazy. And almost had a shot at winning it.

 

[Mac9192]

I blame it on what I blame most of our losses on. I made a post before about all of our losses but 1, having at least 16 turnovers.....17 tonight

True. Our senior leader gets a little out of control sometimes, and our one and done point guard is the same way a lot as well. Throw in the fact he isn't a shooter. So when Duval has 5 turnovers, it's magnified because he had 0 points.
Bagley had 19 points and 13 rebounds, but it felt like he was off tonight too.

 

[Dad2ze]

Relax guys. I just went back and we had 26 Blown assists, 15 blown blocks, and 17 blown steals. It all makes sense now.

 

[DukeRulesBasketball]

Relax guys. I just went back and we had 26 Blown assists, 15 blown blocks, and 17 blown steals. It all makes sense now.

And Trevon was a fainting goat

 

[Alaskan_Assassin_21]

A tar heel fan brought up the fact that only 4 players scored for Duke tonight. That's crazy. And almost had a shot at winning it.

Duval 0-6 (0-3)
O'Connel 0-1 (0-1)

O'Connel only bench player to attempt a shot. Delaurier passed up 2 wide open jump shots that need to be attempted to keep the defense honest

UNC with 9 players with a shot attempt

 

[BlueDaveil]

I reallllly wanted another shot at UVA but I honestly think we are better off having Carter and Duval resting before the tournament.

Coach said a few interesting things in the postgame about how we basically just played two of only several teams in the country with really great veteran guys that can hurt us in the middle of the zone- in this case Pinson and Maye. We are unlikely to face a team that can exploit that until later in the tournament and even with that we still only gave up 74.

I think UNC played fairly good defense tonight but they certainly didn’t force us into 17 turnovers, a lot of that was poor decision making on our part. The fact that we can have those types of games and still be within a play of winning at the end is pretty remarkable.

 

[LONMUNU]

At least we shot 83% from the free throw line!

 

[BlueDevilWildcat]

Man, it sucks to admit that UNC is better than us for the third year in a row. I won't be surprised if they beat UVA tomorrow and get a 1 seed. I really hate that team.

Disappointed most in Grayson. Not for this game but just for who he is as a player. It's not his fault that he's not a Nolan or Scheyer, but we needed him to be with so much youth on the team.

Not having a strong pass-first PG for the last 3 years is I think the biggest reason we've struggled with all this talent.

Our D is really good. Gives us a chance to at least get to the 2nd weekend.

 

[DiehardDukeFan4Life]

We sucked tonight. We played sloppy from the start. We put ourselves in a hole form the start. We made a game of if in the enc but if we hadn’t played so terrible in the first half then we probably would’ve won tonight but the ultimate goal is winning the NCAAT, so we jiust got to get ourselves ready for the NCAAT next week.

 

[tclark6]

Ok, only saw a few minutes of the game but unfortunately this team doesn't have a Quinn Cook! Quinn did an amazing job of leading a talented group of freshman with the biggest talent at that point guard spot. One of my Duke hater friends texted me before the game and asked if we would beat Carolina again and I said no...didn't think we would could do it so this game wasn't a priority for me tonight..
I see in the stats that Bolden only played seven minutes...why? He had been playing well...did he deserve only 7 minutes?

 

[Dahntay#1]

There has not been a bigger Grayson supporter than me. At this point though, Im disappointed in the player he has turned into. It's okay to make mistakes but the hip check along with the bad decisions at the end of the game were inexcusable. Unfortunately, this is who we have to lead all of these young guys. I was confident he was going to be what Cook was his senior year. I was way off on that.

 

[tclark6]

There has not been a bigger Grayson supporter than me. At this point though, Im disappointed in the player he has turned into. It's okay to make mistakes but the hip check along with the bad decisions at the end of the game were inexcusable. Unfortunately, this is who we have to lead all of these young guys. I was confident he was going to be what Cook was his senior year. I was way off on that.

I was hoping he would be what Quinn was in his senior year as well but he isn't...I still think he stayed longer than he should have and I get it, can't knock a kid for wanting to continue to play for a school and coach he loves and getting a degree from Duke! Will always be grateful to this kid for the way he was ready when his number was called in 2015...will always be one of my favs..

 

[tclark6]

Again, why did Bolden only play 7 minutes?

 

[MikeD2891]

Is what it is. They have 2 in the bag against us and we have worse losses. Other than Wofford of course. We had a chance to control our destiny and didn't capitalize.

I disagree that Xavier deserves it more than unc though.

How do we have worse losses? We have one home loss against UVA and any bad losses were on the road. UNC has several bad losses with more than 1 of them at home. Plus, the Wofford loss is worse than any loss we have.

 

[Bod1ne]

Again, why did Bolden only play 7 minutes?

Just guessing, but Carter was playing really well on D. The way the zone is set up, the center is on an island when the ball gets to the middle. Carter is quicker and can defend that space a better.

 

[MikeD2891]

There has not been a bigger Grayson supporter than me. At this point though, Im disappointed in the player he has turned into. It's okay to make mistakes but the hip check along with the bad decisions at the end of the game were inexcusable. Unfortunately, this is who we have to lead all of these young guys. I was confident he was going to be what Cook was his senior year. I was way off on that.

LOL that hip check is no different than when any other player does it. It was only focused on and magnified because it was in the middle of a run and it was Grayson who did it.

Brooks hurled himself off of the hip check like he was shot out of a cannon, he had just started running but reacted like he was running sprints at the time.

He deserved it anyway because nearly every single play of his during those first 10 minutes, he was mean mugging and flexing on nearby Duke players trying to start something.

 

[Duke Blu]

There has not been a bigger Grayson supporter than me. At this point though, Im disappointed in the player he has turned into. It's okay to make mistakes but the hip check along with the bad decisions at the end of the game were inexcusable. Unfortunately, this is who we have to lead all of these young guys. I was confident he was going to be what Cook was his senior year. I was way off on that.

I’m still holding out hope he just morphs into a super senior stud and leads this team to a title. Kid has more than enough ability to get it done. He’s played on this biggest of stages. I know he can do it. That’s what’s so frustrating.

 

[hart2chesson]

I just love how some get on here and pin the loss on Allen taking a bad shot at the end. It was a terrible shot decision, yes, and it was a bad decision on the charge call before that. He didn't shoot enough in the middle of the game, he only took 11 shots. He wasn't as sharp as we needed him to be. But what about when we were down 6 with a little under 3 minutes and we couldn't get a rebound and the Holes got 3 offensive rebounds and milked the clock down before Trent hit a 3 with under a minute to go? Or Duval having zero points to go along with 5 turnovers? Or Bagley only getting 13 shots and shooting an airball from the line?
This team did what they've done all year long, and that's play poorly for too long. The bigger problem with that is they did it against a solid team. One that made enough plays to win.

But if it makes some of you feel better, blame the game on a terrible shot to tie at the end by Grayson. But from where I sat, we lost the game because of the sh%%y way we played the first 35 minutes.

Totally agree....that stretch where they kept getting offensive rebounds took up a lot of clock, and it was plays like that which cost Duke as a TEAM, and not any one player.... OFC

OFC

 

[Mpm277]

Again, why did Bolden only play 7 minutes?

There was a moment in the second half when K put in Bolden, UNC immediately scored because of a defensive mistake by Bagley, and then K immediately took out Bolden (and subbed in Javin and White). Still can't figure that one out.

 

[Mpm277]

I think UNC played fairly good defense tonight but they certainly didn’t force us into 17 turnovers, a lot of that was poor decision making on our part.

You don't think their defense forced us to make bad decisions? 17 turnovers is terrible and UNC's defense last night is to credit for that. They dictated the majority of the game and outworked us.

 

[DukeRulesBasketball]

LOL that hip check is no different than when any other player does it. It was only focused on and magnified because it was in the middle of a run and it was Grayson who did it.

Brooks hurled himself off of the hip check like he was shot out of a cannon, he had just started running but reacted like he was running sprints at the time.

He deserved it anyway because nearly every single play of his during those first 10 minutes, he was mean mugging and flexing on nearby Duke players trying to start something.

I believe the hip check play is what killed our momentum the rest of the game. Seems like the team wasn’t quite the same after that.

 

[Mpm277]

I believe the hip check play is what killed our momentum the rest of the game. Seems like the team wasn’t quite the same after that.

I agree. UNC kept trying to give us that game and we kept refusing to take it. Grayson's dumb hip check ruined our momentum. We did go on a run near the end, Grayson's three was huge for us. Then again, his charge and terrible last shot attempt were two costly decisions.

 

[dachampishere2]

You don't think their defense forced us to make bad decisions? 17 turnovers is terrible and UNC's defense last night is to credit for that. They dictated the majority of the game and outworked us.

I don't think they were a big reason for that. We had guys fumbling the ball. The bigs kept bringing the ball down after rebounds last night for some reason. And seems like once every 5 games we can't make good passes into the post. Throwing the ball right out of bounds

 

[Mac9192]

I don't think they were a big reason for that. We had guys fumbling the ball. The bigs kept bringing the ball down after rebounds last night for some reason. And seems like once every 5 games we can't make good passes into the post. Throwing the ball right out of bounds

Moving the ball around benefits everyone. We didn't do enough of that. Then we force something.
For us to win it all, all 5 starters have to not care who scores. I don't think that's the case with this team. Sometimes we also lack intensity, or concentration. Or maybe both.
Hope I'm wrong but having only one veteran is probably going to be our downfall.
Has anyone given thought that maybe lack of experience leads to some of the turnovers? One more steady person out there to assist Grayson would really help. Lord knows he needs it, he gets wobbly out there at times. This causes some on here to blame Allen for everything from the loss of the game to them losing their job.

 

[dachampishere2]

Moving the ball around benefits everyone. We didn't do enough of that. Then we force something.
For us to win it all, all 5 starters have to not care who scores. I don't think that's the case with this team. Sometimes we also lack intensity, or concentration. Or maybe both.
Hope I'm wrong but having only one veteran is probably going to be our downfall.
Has anyone given thought that maybe lack of experience leads to some of the turnovers? One more steady person out there to assist Grayson would really help. Lord knows he needs it, he gets wobbly out there at times. This causes some on here to blame Allen for everything from the loss of the game to them losing their job.

I think Duval being hobbled changed the game as well. He couldn't break his man down like usual. He was definitely moving gingerly. We need him to attack the basket to be effective. He didn't have his explosion last night.

 

[Mpm277]

Hope I'm wrong but having only one veteran is probably going to be our downfall.

This is my concern for next season. Many on this board acted like we won the title when Zion committed. And don't get me wrong, I want the best players we can get. But who are our experienced players next season? A couple guys who get spot minutes this season.

 

[Mac9192]

This is my concern for next season. Many on this board acted like we won the title when Zion committed. And don't get me wrong, I want the best players we can get. But who are our experienced players next season? A couple guys who get spot minutes this season.

By no means am I throwing in the towel on this season, but up to now, this hasn't gone how I thought it would. I don't like a lineup full of one and dones, told Hart before season I was worried about too much talent. I hope I get proven wrong, and I've said it before, but not everyone can score 20+, someone has to do the dirty work. We are into March now, and we are all fussing about the same thing we were a month or 2 ago. Now time is getting near the end, and we are hoping to catch lightning in a bottle. Again, not quite what I expected.
I can slightly understand the hype over next season, only if this one wins it all. If not, I don't see where anyone can logically think it will be better with less experience, I don't care how many 6-2 guys Zion has dunked on.

 

[DukefanKY]

I think next season will look a little different in that I believe Tre Jones will be a better shooter than Duval, and I believe Cam and RJ will work more than just mostly in the paint. I think we are a little harder to guard next year.

 

[MikeD2891]

By no means am I throwing in the towel on this season, but up to now, this hasn't gone how I thought it would. I don't like a lineup full of one and dones, told Hart before season I was worried about too much talent. I hope I get proven wrong, and I've said it before, but not everyone can score 20+, someone has to do the dirty work. We are into March now, and we are all fussing about the same thing we were a month or 2 ago. Now time is getting near the end, and we are hoping to catch lightning in a bottle. Again, not quite what I expected.
I can slightly understand the hype over next season, only if this one wins it all. If not, I don't see where anyone can logically think it will be better with less experience, I don't care how many 6-2 guys Zion has dunked on.

How much better could it have gone? We lost 7 games including last night for the whole season. We could have gone completely undefeated and won last night and then tonight for the ACC championship is the only way this could have gone better.

Teams like UNC meanwhile have lost huge home games to teams like Wofford and Miami on their Senior Night. They may have beat us in the ACCT and one other time, but I'd still argue our season has gone about the same as our rival unless they win the tournament tonight.

 

[Mpm277]

How much better could it have gone? We lost 7 games including last night for the whole season. We could have gone completely undefeated and won last night and then tonight for the ACC championship is the only way this could have gone better.

Teams like UNC meanwhile have lost huge home games to teams like Wofford and Miami on their Senior Night. They may have beat us in the ACCT and one other time, but I'd still argue our season has gone about the same as our rival unless they win the tournament tonight.

That's basing our success in comparison to our rival. Besides, we're more talented than them.

 

[ajmitch81]

That's basing our success in comparison to our rival. Besides, we're more talented than them.

It's gone just fine to me. It's all about the tournament now. If they win six, and they have just as good a shot as anyone, then this year will be a huge success!

 

[hart2chesson]

By no means am I throwing in the towel on this season, but up to now, this hasn't gone how I thought it would. I don't like a lineup full of one and dones, told Hart before season I was worried about too much talent. I hope I get proven wrong, and I've said it before, but not everyone can score 20+, someone has to do the dirty work. We are into March now, and we are all fussing about the same thing we were a month or 2 ago. Now time is getting near the end, and we are hoping to catch lightning in a bottle. Again, not quite what I expected.
I can slightly understand the hype over next season, only if this one wins it all. If not, I don't see where anyone can logically think it will be better with less experience, I don't care how many 6-2 guys Zion has dunked on.

On point Mac, and I have to agree how ARE we better next yr w/even LESS PROVEN EXPERIENCE RETURNING??.OFC

 

[tclark6]

There was a moment in the second half when K put in Bolden, UNC immediately scored because of a defensive mistake by Bagley, and then K immediately took out Bolden (and subbed in Javin and White). Still can't figure that one out.

Thanks...only saw a few minutes of the game...when they were reviewing Grayson's hip check so I decided I was going to let watching the rest of the game ruin a perfectly good Friday evening...

 

[Mac9192]

How much better could it have gone? We lost 7 games including last night for the whole season. We could have gone completely undefeated and won last night and then tonight for the ACC championship is the only way this could have gone better.

Teams like UNC meanwhile have lost huge home games to teams like Wofford and Miami on their Senior Night. They may have beat us in the ACCT and one other time, but I'd still argue our season has gone about the same as our rival unless they win the tournament tonight.

Like I said, I'm not giving up on the season, but I couldn't disagree with you more. We were the preseason #1 team, and expected to win the acc after bringing in Bagley to an already stellar class.
As of now, our main rival, who was supposed to "rebuild" this year, beat us 2 out of 3 and are playing for the acc title tonight. Honestly we lost about 3-4 more games than I expected, counting last night.
I didn't hype these 4 future millionaires up, but I bought the hype. Throw in a Hall of Fame coach, I didn't think we would have the same problems in March as December. Those growing pains are still there.
There isn't a team out there we can't beat, but unfortunately there's also more that can beat us than we thought as well.
With our recent NCAA results, most fans will breathe a huge sigh of relief if we get out of the first weekend.
Is that what we thought in October?