***DUKE VS NOTRE DAME OFFICIAL GAMEDAY THREAD***

[krzyzewskiville]

Tonight is a big one - heck this is a big week. The conference is obviously down some this year, but it doesn't change how a three game conference road trip without your starting PG (for at least the first game), at any point during conference season is grueling. I'm not looking ahead, because tonight will be tough enough, but ESPECIALLY grueling when you end the three game stretch with a big rivalry game.

Back to tonight. I think it's safe to say the Fighting Irish have been a bit of a surprise this year. Mike Brey is one of they best in the conference so the fact that he's got his Notre Dame team rolling isn't too shocking. They come into tonight's conference with the same 7-2 conference record as the Blue Devils and are 9-0 inside the Purcell Pavilion.

I haven't seen the Fighting Irish play this season outside of a few minutes of the Howard game on MLK Day and the end of its win over the Holes. I'm sure we can expect a fundamental team that shoots it well, defends well and rebounds the basketball. We will have to limit the turnovers tonight to save possessions and have a decent shooting night to win this game.

Tonight's game is once again a 7pm est tip and will air on ESPN. Duke comes in favored by -5.5 and I'm not sure I like us to cover in this one. I think we win, and I think we win in a nail-biter with the Fighting Irish covering ATS.

Duke 77

Notre Dame 75

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

 

[The_Only_Blue]

Need to do 4 key things and we'll win...

Rebound- we should dominate due to our size advantage
Low turnovers
Stay out of foul trouble especially Mark
Don't leave points on the free throw line

Duke-74
ND- 69

 

[sheyduke]

Duke by two .

 

[skysdad]

Duke 77
ND 75
OFC

 

[AlanInNJ]

I think it's a dogfight too. I really feel like finishing strong at UL over the weekend was huge for Duke! Let's value the ball and finish strong.

ND 66
Duke 71

 

[denverexpat]

An experienced team with a good winning run going, I expect we keep it close with TO's and FT shooting...unless we clean up those areas...goes to the wire...Duke by 3

 

[dukecorey]

Keels activated per Duke Basketball Twitter account. Let’s Go

 

[timritterus]

Glad Keels is back if true. Hope they bring him off the bench. I expect a very difficult game.

 

[K-oach Q]

ND had nobody and I mean nobody that can play with Paolo inside….so I love the game plan to have him out at the three point line all the time.

 

[Mac9192]

Ugly half of basketball. Happy to be up 13. Concern now is we have to shoot at the same rims ND just clanked for 20 minutes.

 

[K-oach Q]

I’m hoping the offense runs smoother in the second half since K will be standing on that side directing things for them.
Overall the defense was solid. They missed a few bunnies but solid overall.

 

[denverexpat]

dont know what to make of that half...pretty awful on both side for both teams but a 13pt lead is a good result. Hoping it improves second half...or ND stays the same

 

[K-oach Q]

Paolo needs to touch the ball inside ten times this half…if he doesn’t it’s bad coaching.

 

[The_Only_Blue]

Keep the pedal to metal. Don't let them get comfortable

 

[bullcity gamer]

This is the best Duke has played defensively all season! They are playing as one unit on defense and imposing their will on the interior while taking Notre Dame’s strength away from them (3 point shooting and back cuts).

 

[sheyduke]

Just keep this Defense up .

 

[christophero]

Dang just got out of work and we're up 20. Keels is back. Theo has 6 he has stepped up his game recently, as has AJ and Mark. 9 rebounds for Theo? Wow. Banchero looks like he is dominating based on the box score. Moore and Roach with 2 between them but good defense. We may need more than that when we play the big dogs. Keels will help.

 

[denverexpat]

Moore and Roach struggling but still winning by a good margin. Still double digit TO's too. Odd game but a good W

 

[KDSTONE]

Dang just got out of work and we're up 20. Keels is back. Theo has 6 he has stepped up his game recently, as has AJ and Mark. 9 rebounds for Theo? Wow. Banchero looks like he is dominating based on the box score. Moore and Roach with 2 between them but good defense. We may need more than that when we play the big dogs. Keels will help.

On the screen it captioned “interesting anomaly: Duke leads 54 36. Duke leads rebounding 50-34”. What is anamolous about that? Had muted sound ( had enough of Corey for one night)

 

[KDSTONE]

Moore and Roach struggling but still winning by a good margin. Still double digit TO's too. Odd game but a good W

Roach seemed to play much better without Keels, much more poised. Could just be a coincidence but team chemistry is a peculiar thing

 

[denverexpat]

Roach seemed to play much better without Keels, much more poised. Could just be a coincidence but team chemistry is a peculiar thing

Keels was 1-8 too...so those 3 combined made 2 FG the entire game....out of 19 shots. That is lost in a 14 pt win but we need them to deliver in tougher games. Definitely a strange game

 

[christophero]

This team is tough
Banchero is playing with an edge. Guards need to shoot better, but that's just nitpicking. Our 3rd best win of the season.

 

[The_Only_Blue]

Once Paolo got settled in he was practically unstoppable in the mid range game tonight. Hopefully our outside shooting is better Saturday

 

[Mac9192]

Keels was 1-8 too...so those 3 combined made 2 FG the entire game....out of 19 shots. That is lost in a 14 pt win but we need them to deliver in tougher games. Definitely a strange game

Yeah to win by 14 when Moore, Roach, and Keels go 2-19 proves how strange a game it was. We definitely can’t have that from those 3 moving forward.

 

[youngman42]

Great win and good D. Still need to work on developing identity. Banchero still relies on talent but seems to struggle every game to find himself and his game.

Davidson transfer Bates Jones is giving better minutes than Joey Baker, a top 50 recruit, at this point.

I'm sure Baker may be a good kid. But basketball-wise, he is a disappointment. He really has just never developed the way one would expect from a top 50 ranked recruit. We seem to consistently fail to develop these types (especially on the offensive end). His shooting is very inconsistent from game to game and you can see he doesn't shoot with confidence but throws up "hope" shots. I don't know whether it is mental (competing at this level) or that he just hasn't worked enough. He had four years to bust his butt to become a quality 3 point shooter and never got it done. That's disappointing. I suppose he could come alive in the tourney but the odds are heavily against that.

 

[Liftee]

Was there a strong wind in the arena? Or were the rims unusually small? I've never seen 2 teams so cold, I mean not even close on many of their shots.

But ND has some good wins lately so this is a good one to blow them out and quiet the crowd. I treasure road wins. Let's take the next one and I'll be happy for awhile.

 

[pinecreek]

Yes, ND was so inept they had to take it to the rim. Many were blocked, altered. Duke had many offensive rebounds , tap outs as well. Very odd to see so many bricks. Something going on there.

 

[The_Only_Blue]

This team is tough
Banchero is playing with an edge. Guards need to shoot better, but that's just nitpicking. Our 3rd best win of the season.

I really like the way Paolo has played the last few games. It seems like when he sees his teammates struggling he turns into the alpha dog that he is and that's the way he needs to keep thinking. He's the only one on the court that will probably have a mismatch every night and he needs to take advantage of it.

 

[GAAP]

Davidson transfer Bates Jones is giving better minutes than Joey Baker, a top 50 recruit, at this point.

I'm sure Baker may be a good kid. But basketball-wise, he is a disappointment. He really has just never developed the way one would expect from a top 50 ranked recruit.

Ratings are kinda meaningless, especially when we’re looking at seniors and grad transfers.

 

[GAAP]

Duke with only 3 FT? What would Brad Brownhole say?

 

[mhjoie]

Everybody in the country took ND to cover tonight and yet all I see on this board is "Odd game!" Shit we dominated from the tip and made them look inept. The same team that beat up Kentucky a month ago in the same building. Duke looked strong tonight. A good sign heading into Feb.
very pleased with the effort and outcome.
**** Carolina! Let's go!

 

[geddoughton23]

Duke is much more talented on the front line. Leading by 15 is good, but they need to run plays to force the advantage

 

[mhjoie]

Duke is much more talented on the front line. Leading by 15 is good, but they need to run plays to force the advantage

Leading by 15 on the road is good...but they need to run plays to keep the advantage?
Run plays? Guys I'm sorry but all this crap about running plays is so overrated! We have 4 or 5 players that 27 NBA scouts were in attendance to watch...
You are telling me that Duke needs to run a Princeton offense to win games in 2022? Some of you weren't around in 1986 cause I'm here to tell you, K has been allowing his best players to isolate for 40 years and yet some of us are still begging for "Hoosiers" the movie type last second draw ups for our team...it's man to man and it's about sets not secret plays to create winning plays!

 

[geddoughton23]

I'm almost certainly wrong, but the game ball looked a little too orange and lopsided. The shooting was dreadful. Notre Dame looked scared...a compliment to Duke's front line.. Duke has the best front line in the country...they have about 6 weeks to learn to use it.

Bates Jones needs to play a lot more. He understands spacing and passing angles, and he'll make the shot if wide open . Clear out for Banchero, Griffin and Williams. This is a 1985 team. Exactly what Coach Krzyzewski understands.

Roach needs to average 7 assists, and Keels must drive less, and be ready to make wide open 3s

 

[geddoughton23]

Yes. They need to run plays. They played really well, but only scored 57 points. Banchero, Griffin and Williams are pros. The most talented front line in the country. They need to screen until one of the bigs gets an open shot, and then crash the glass.

I've never seen a Duke team like this. Roach, Keels and Moore are fine on the perimeter. The difference makers are Banchero, Williams and Griffin.. Jones should be the first sub because he can screen, pass and defend

 

[duke4life831]

I hate the way we play Keels. For some reason when he’s on the court we have him being the primary ball handler. He over dribbles way too much and takes really bad shots off the dribble way too often.

It’s pointless to have Roach and Keels out on the court at the same time. It’s just an awkward fit. Having 2 sub 50 TS% guys out there at once isn’t going to work. That and lack of ball movement leads to us having those long stretches of really bad offensive play.

 

[IFaZe]

Player of the game Mark Williams. He had ND looking lost from start to finish . Coach after 50 years is playing to OUR strengths and not the opponents ? Am I dreaming 😅

 

[IFaZe]

Been a long time since I’ve seen that bad of shooting against Duke. Mark had a lot to do with it, our defense, but damnnn😂

 

[QC Dukie]

Player of the game Mark Williams. He had ND looking lost from start to finish . Coach after 50 years is playing to OUR strengths and not the opponents ? Am I dreaming 😅

One dude above would disagree with you. It’s bad coaching.

 

[AlanInNJ]

So nice to see us play to our strengths on defense. We knew they were going to shoot a lot of 3's so we ran them off the line. We were dominant inside, so when they tried to drive they were stuffed. That was an excellently executed defensive effort. Yes, it was a little ugly to watch, and our offense was stagnant at times. We shot LOUSY from 3 and still won easily by double digits. I know it's a message board and we are here to discuss (and sometimes complain and vent), but as a fan I have a hard time coming away anything but thrilled about the game last night. So many predicted a 1-2 point squeaker. Not so much! Bring on UNC!!