Not often a blocked shot gets turned into a breakaway dunk like that. Didn't know Evans had hops.
Official game day thread- Duke vs Cuse
- Thread starter pisgah101
- Start date
Grayson could have left and he returned
Tre could have left and he returned
Flip could have left and he returned
Some of the guys do return
Back to back dunks by Harris and Evans. We See You Blue Devils!
blinked and it’s a 31 point lead. My goodness this team.
There you go Foster, more of that please
This team has a chance to be VERY special
Couldn't have asked for anything more. Easy win and our main players only played about half of the second half.
There’s several teams that can win it all, but the best two teams are Duke and Auburn.
Agreed. If Houston had a more consistent offense I'd add them to that as well.
Nice win, but it feels like we are Gonzaga blowing through the WAC. It's getting boring. Still, 20 and 3 and looking like a one seed.
Don't worry, Saturday won't be boring.
When did we lose our 3rd game?
Chris,
I understand what your concern is, but those Gonzaga teams really only had themselves and maybe Saint Mary’s make the NCAA Tournament as the only representatives from the WAC.
Duke and Louisville should both make the tournament. Clemson and Pitt are playing for their NCAA Tournament lives. As bad as the ACC is this season, it’s never been at the level of the WAC.
We cannot ignore Duke will have played a tough non conference schedule and secured wins against
Arizona (currently in 2nd place in the Big12)
Auburn (currently in 1st place of the SEC)
Illinois is still on the schedule later this month.
I don't expect a blowout Saturday but if it happens oh my look out.
It’s pretty amazing to follow-up Saturday with such a dominant performance on the road. The passing of the basketball is tremendous, the defense, the rebounding, the assists, the shooting, what don’t they do well? Best Duke team in 10 years and it’s not close. The great Zion team was a 30% 3-point shooting team. A severe fatal flaw.
Don’t get caught up in the old tropes like worrying that they need a loss or something to have some kinda Jedi-esque growth process. They lost a couple early. They’ve grown quite a bit. The old saying “winning is contagious” applies too! 16 in a row can easily carry on ad infinitum. Just enjoy it, This is a really nice group of players!
Georgia Tech really did Duke a solid recently in giving both UL and Clemson a 2nd loss in the league race. Insurance is never a bad thing.
Don’t get caught up in the old tropes like worrying that they need a loss or something to have some kinda Jedi-esque growth process. They lost a couple early. They’ve grown quite a bit. The old saying “winning is contagious” applies too! 16 in a row can easily carry on ad infinitum. Just enjoy it, This is a really nice group of players!
Georgia Tech really did Duke a solid recently in giving both UL and Clemson a 2nd loss in the league race. Insurance is never a bad thing.
I don't know if we will beat a couple of the SEC teams (I think Auburn would be a very different and difficult opponent), the tournament is always risky, but man, this is the most pleasurable team I've watched at Duke in a long, long time. Jon is doing great using the bench. I really appreciate that in him. Helps that we are dominating early and he can use it. But it helps those players become more acclimated if we need them - experience is important - but also, the bench is solid and vital.
Also gotta say, the players we landed in the Portal have turned out to be just awesome. I love those guys. All three. THey are competitive.
Malik Brown is such an amazing player. He's like a college Dennis Rodman on the defensive end and boards. And such a nuisance on the defensive end! Amazing player.
Also gotta say, the players we landed in the Portal have turned out to be just awesome. I love those guys. All three. THey are competitive.
Malik Brown is such an amazing player. He's like a college Dennis Rodman on the defensive end and boards. And such a nuisance on the defensive end! Amazing player.
Brown is my favorite player of These Blue Devils
Auburn & Alabama are the SEC’s Best IMO. I like a Healthy Duke’s Chances against any team in the country
Last edited:
Rough 8 game stretch to finish the regular season for the Illini:
@ Minnesota
vs UCLA
vs Michigan State
@ Wisconsin
vs Duke (at MSG)
vs Iowa
@ Michigan
vs Purdue
Brutal schedule, none of those games are givemes for them. Illinois just lost to Rutgers tonight and depending how they do to end the regular season they may play their way out of the NCAA Tournament.
@ Minnesota
vs UCLA
vs Michigan State
@ Wisconsin
vs Duke (at MSG)
vs Iowa
@ Michigan
vs Purdue
Brutal schedule, none of those games are givemes for them. Illinois just lost to Rutgers tonight and depending how they do to end the regular season they may play their way out of the NCAA Tournament.
This team is better then any the zags ever had and this ACC is better then any conference they ever played in. Don’t fall for this line, could we lose before the final four? Sure anything can happen but realistically Duke and Auburn are a leg up on every other team in the nation and we already have a W on them. We’d beat Kentucky and Kansas now by double digits
Those Big East battles were legendary in the 80s. Against SJU with Mullin, Wennington. Can’t remember if Mark Jackson’s career overlapped with theirs or not. Against Cuse and Nova and even BC had some good teams back then. Helped grow the sport.
Yep, Chris you know since you ran Track at St. John’s athletic game schedules are made out YEARS in Advance. Like you said it’s not Duke’s fault the conference is down this season. Coach Scheyer doesn’t schy away from playing tough non conference opponents.
Also, how many times have we’ve seen in recent years, “the big 10 is the best conference in men’s college basketball because they got 10 or 11 teams into the tournament”, but by the time the tournament gets to the 2nd weekend, only 1 or 2 big ten teams would be left in the tournament with none of them making the final 4.
In our now 16-game winning streak, we've won 14 by double digits. The exceptions have been hosting Auburn -- whose only loss this year is to us -- and @WF. We've had some slow starts, sure. We haven't always beat the spread, sure. Some stress in the final 4 minutes of games, sure. Lots and lots to be very optimistic about.
Going on the road to Syracuse and whipping them after mauling UNC told me a lot about this team’s mentality. They said the right things after the UNC game about not liking their late-game letdown, but they backed that up last night. I keep thinking back to last year when Cooper, not yet a member of the team, said last year’s team was soft and that was going to change this year. It appears that Jon has surrounded Cooper with players who feel the same way. I’m not worried about them easing up, and as others said, they seem to be getting even better. Barring injuries (please Lord!), they are going to be a force in the NCAAs for anybody, bar none.
2014-2015 was my favorite team and they played as one unit. This team has a very similar feeling to it. Hope they keep building this unity and hopefully they have the same ending to the season.
Being a 1 seed and contender is really all you can ask for.
As of today, this is the best Duke team I’ve seen in the one and done era, and I don’t think it’s debatable. Cooper is a DOG, but what separates him from the other freshmen is he plays just as hard defensively. Kon is pretty special too. Not bad to not be the best freshmen on your team, but most likely the 2nd best in the league.
The rest of the guys get it too. They seem perfectly content with being second fiddle to Cooper.
When your best player isn’t selfish, you’ve got a really good chance to cut the nets in April.
The rest of the guys get it too. They seem perfectly content with being second fiddle to Cooper.
When your best player isn’t selfish, you’ve got a really good chance to cut the nets in April.
THIS! I’ve noticed the bench and how happy they get when their teammates make plays. They cheer for one another. Last night we saw it during the Foster made basket, Harris dunk, and Evans breakaway dunk. It’s also a great sign Foster is not pouting on the bench, he is cheering for his teammates!!
Good Energy is Contagious and This Team has been “TOGETHER” all season long. Keep it up Blue Devils!!!
Agree. I think it’s our best since 2010 personally and when I say that I mean that was a TEAM not just individual talent. This team is both so it honestly might be above 2010. We just have to see the ending
This. I see an unselfishness with this group I haven't seen since 2010. And honestly, we are still not as good as we can be, and that's pretty damn exciting and scary for everyone else.
So fsr so good but I will wait and see. We certainly have a decent shot at the final four. That 2015 team was really clicking at year's end in a tough ACC. I think Jon has assembled a title contender for sure.
Last edited:
Clemson is going to be Dukes biggest test left next to Illinois.
Their guards match up well with Duke and so does their front court . Can see Kon in early foul trouble in this one .
Their guards match up well with Duke and so does their front court . Can see Kon in early foul trouble in this one .
Agree here. They have a big front court...6'11, 6'10, 6'8. We might have to end up going to our big lineup at times with Mal, Brown and Flagg
I'm a little late to the party, but I thought the game against 'Cuse was like men against boys, particularly in the second half. The talent level and execution was not even close. The ACC really is pretty weak this year, but also, I think Duke is really, really good!
I genuinely hope we get tested at Clemson and against Illinois. Of course I want to win both, and I believe we will, but I want to see some tough competition and second half deficits to better prep us for the tourney. Of course we need to make it out of the first weekend, but that sweet 16 weekend can be a juggernaut and sometimes a matchup nightmare.....see S. Carolina in 2017.
As far as seeding goes, IMHO, there is no way at this moment there are 4 teams playing better than Duke. There's still a lot of basketball to be played though.
I genuinely hope we get tested at Clemson and against Illinois. Of course I want to win both, and I believe we will, but I want to see some tough competition and second half deficits to better prep us for the tourney. Of course we need to make it out of the first weekend, but that sweet 16 weekend can be a juggernaut and sometimes a matchup nightmare.....see S. Carolina in 2017.
As far as seeding goes, IMHO, there is no way at this moment there are 4 teams playing better than Duke. There's still a lot of basketball to be played though.
It'll be interesting to see who can force the other team to match-up. Will their bigs be able to keep up w/ our normal line-up including Proctor, Kon, and Sion? Their guards can't match our backcourt size. Could be a great opportunity for Isaiah.
They are statistically a slightly better 3pt shooting team than we are, including their bigs. Match-up looks really competitive.
Last edited:
The 2015 team deserves some flowers. That team didn't become elite defensively until down the stretch in Feb/March, and they also had some head scratching January losses, however the ACC was MUCH tougher then. As of today, I'd have this team ahead of the 2015 team, but not by much.
I'm not the type that bases how good/bad a Duke team is strictly off how far they made it in the tournament, that's dumb in a single elimination style format. For example, I think the 1999 Duke team is the best Duke team and maybe the best college basketball team ever assembled. 2002 and 2004 aren't far behind.
But the job isn't done yet for this team. They need to stay connected and stay committed on the defensive end while staying hungry. That 2015 team flipped the switch defensively, this team just needs to make sure the switch stays where it is.
Oh, and the Paolo team isn't anywhere close to this team. That team lost 82-67 in the ACC championship, had some head scratching losses throughout the season, and ended the year ranked #49 on Ken Pom D. NOT CLOSE. They made the final four but they were also down 5 to MSU with 3 minutes left in the 2nd round.
I'm not the type that bases how good/bad a Duke team is strictly off how far they made it in the tournament, that's dumb in a single elimination style format. For example, I think the 1999 Duke team is the best Duke team and maybe the best college basketball team ever assembled. 2002 and 2004 aren't far behind.
But the job isn't done yet for this team. They need to stay connected and stay committed on the defensive end while staying hungry. That 2015 team flipped the switch defensively, this team just needs to make sure the switch stays where it is.
Oh, and the Paolo team isn't anywhere close to this team. That team lost 82-67 in the ACC championship, had some head scratching losses throughout the season, and ended the year ranked #49 on Ken Pom D. NOT CLOSE. They made the final four but they were also down 5 to MSU with 3 minutes left in the 2nd round.
Similar threads
