Official Gameday thread- game 7- Duke vs Xavier

[pisgah101]

Licking our wounds after surviving what should have been an easy win better turn to preparing for battle pretty quickly with the X-men waiting on us.. Xavier could in all actuality be our best competitor to date after seeing Kansas play such uninspiring ball this week. With their lone L coming against a very good Indiana team these guys can play ball


This game is scheduled to tip at 330 and at the time of writing I do not see a line anywhere

The musketeers are coached by Sean Miller in stop number two. He formally coached Xavier for 5 years from 04-09 before leaving for Arizona. His overall record is 422-156 in 17 seasons with 11 ncaa appearances with 4 elite eights. He is from Beaver Falls PA originally and that just sounded like a nice place so I added that in here.

Unfortunately after the Oregon St game I dont see a win here-

Duke-63
Xavier- 67


* just researched beaver falls, nice town on the Ohio River. Looks like the type of town you’d enjoy thanksgiving in. Joe Namath is from there, and interestingly enough under notable people Archie Miller is mentioned but not Sean HA. I also just learned Archie’s real name is Ryan but they nicknamed him Archie because of how similar his personality was to Archie bunker… lol. The things you can learn at 2:50 am

 

[Fourteen44]

5 core players for Xavier are seniors so they have the experience. Plus, I’m not sold on this Duke team being able to score effectively…..

Duke 53
Xavier 60

 

[sheyduke]

Duke takes another loss today and the shooting woes continue. I hate it but I agree the offense needs a lot of work .

Xavier 70
Duke 60

 

[9dukejames]

Duke 65
Xavier 60

Duke shakes off an extremely bad shooting game.
I may be wearing Duke blue glasses as I would not be shocked if you guys are right.

 

[Fourteen44]

Duke 65
Xavier 60

Duke shakes off an extremely bad shooting game.
I may be wearing Duke blue glasses as I would not be shocked if you guys are right.

I could just be too hungover on Turkey lol

 

[sheyduke]

I could just be too hungover on Turkey lol

I couldn’t even drink during the game , lol.my wife thought something was wrong .

 

[JimboSlice00]

73-70 Duke.

Work in progress right now, but I think we play better today.

 

[Friction.]

Hard to predict a score but this could be the game Dariq breaks out because he has the ability against this team. I also think Mitchell is key for this game based on the makeup of X and he should be able to attack. I strongly feel this is not the right matchup for Young and I think Flip is going to get his first true test against their front court and have his struggles and maybe even foul trouble. Lively I can’t figure out yet.

But I really feel like Dariq can turn it up on this one and Mitchell can get back to preseason/1st game form. So I’ll say if Dariq and Mitchell both play well, we win.

 

[The_Only_Blue]

After yesterday we can't look much worse and hopefully we don't. It was a tough travel spot for any team even moreso for a young team. We survive and advance.

Duke 71
Xavier 64

 

[Duke Blu]

I have no idea

 

[Mac9192]

I’d like to think we can’t be as awful offensively today. I don’t know what to expect. We have a loaded roster, and if so and so is productive, can the ones that aren’t producing be good teammates?
Jon has his hands full.

 

[KDSTONE]

I’d like to think we can’t be as awful offensively today. I don’t know what to expect. We have a loaded roster, and if so and so is productive, can the ones that aren’t producing be good teammates?
Jon has his hands full.

I like the way Jon handles himself in those interviews on court. Confident calm engaged in the moment. A lot of those fb coaches prehalf time are complete tools, totally rude and distracted

 

[denverexpat]

Didnt see last nights game but what I have seen so far is a team still searching for roles...that needs to improve...shot selection needs to improve...leadership remains a question...a full ( -1) turnover of a roster obviously takes time to gel..but 6 games in there is little cohesion to our play...that said...Xavier hasnt played that tough a schedule either....toss up on who wins

 

[hart2chesson]

I would say a -2 pick either side, meaning bookmakers would clean up. Until John puts his OWN STAMP on this program, we are going to struggle.

We need to change things up. Does Jon need to meet with K after every game for Skull session? Can he not step up and take charge, try more things on his own? Are we permanently resigned to a slew of selfish OAD'S thinking more about minor injuries, and listening to their agents and other NBA players for advice?

Here's hoping for change, sorry for rant Pisgah. Sorry @skysdad this is why I have no interest in DBB. OFC

 

[timritterus]

Didnt see last nights game but what I have seen so far is a team still searching for roles...that needs to improve...shot selection needs to improve...leadership remains a question...a full ( -1) turnover of a roster obviously takes time to gel..but 6 games in there is little cohesion to our play...that said...Xavier hasnt played that tough a schedule either....toss up on who wins

Agreed about the roles. The truth is, this team desperately needs Whitehead to be one of it's leading scorers. I think everyone gets a lot better and fills roles appropriately if that ever happens. Players like Mitchell, Lively, and even Roach have no business trying to be an alpha scorer at this point. If Whitehead could be a 15 ppg type of player, I think it allows those guys and some others to fit a role and not be relied on for scoring on a nightly basis. This would make all of them better. At this point, it's just too early to say whether or not Dariq can become that guy.

The cohesion issue is pretty simple - guys who were hurt are now playing quite a bit and players are trying to figure out who they are on this team. I'm okay with that because there's nothing we could've done differently. The one thing I will say is I missed Coach K yesterday. Really needed someone to light a fire into our guys. Admittedly, however, I didn't see a single huddle. Hopefully Scheyer was doing some of that yesterday.

Rooting for our guys big time today, but keeping my expectations pretty low. That said, yesterday at minimum should have provided motivation. I hope.

 

[christophero]

I criticized the team yesterday so today I will predict a victory. Duke 77-Xavier 75. This is an experienced veteran team so we will have our hands full today. But I think we play much better and advance. Play like we did yesterday and we lose, but I predict a bounce back game.(not sure I believe this but going for optimism here)

 

[AlanInNJ]

I can’t imagine we shoot 26% two games in a row. I think as long as we continue to play tough defense and don’t force things on offense we win. One player doesn’t need to be a hero. We need a few guys to step up and have decent games and we win.

These tough and tight pre conference games are crucial character building tests for this young team. There are no gimmies.

Duke 72
Xavier 65

 

[KDSTONE]

I can’t imagine we shoot 26% two games in a row. I think as long as we continue to play tough defense and don’t force things on offense we win. One player doesn’t need to be a hero. We need a few guys to step up and have decent games and we win.

These tough and tight pre conference games are crucial character building tests for this young team. There are no gimmies.

Duke 72
Xavier 65

Awesome pick as that’s the score of Duke Kansas 91 iirc

 

[christophero]

In our 2 games away from Cameron we have not shot well. 3 if you count Houston. If we don't shoot well today, it cannot be considered an anomaly. So I'm hoping for better shooting or we might really struggle on the road this season. Does Schutt get a shot? Not today but in one of our easier games. I suppose you could throw him in for a few minutes today but that might be asking too much of the kid. We are favored by 4 today which seems odd. Bounce back effect I guess.

 

[sheyduke]

In our 2 games away from Cameron we have not shot well. 3 if you count Houston. If we don't shoot well today, it cannot be considered an anomaly. So I'm hoping for better shooting or we might really struggle on the road this season. Does Schutt get a shot? Not today but in one of our easier games. I suppose you could throw him in for a few minutes today but that might be asking too much of the kid. We are favored by 4 today which seems odd. Bounce back effect I guess.

Schutt isn’t getting in . I think you need to let the nine that’s playing figure it out . Is Roach the leader? Then he needs to become vocal. Flip is Flip waiting to see how he plays today . Lively and Mitchell . Grow a pair . Blakes and Young, just keep doing what your doing ( they know their roles). I’ve been hard on Grandison as I feel the need to be . I get you all say he does a lot of the little things ( hitting those free throws were crucial to the win),BUT …. I need him to atleast shoot 30 percent from three. Whitehead gets a pass because he hasn’t played .

 

[pisgah101]

Flip… omg

 

[The_Only_Blue]

Right now Flip is it...Lively is not.

 

[Duke1783]

Schutt isn’t getting in . I think you need to let the nine that’s playing figure it out . Is Roach the leader? Then he needs to become vocal. Flip is Flip waiting to see how he plays today . Lively and Mitchell . Grow a pair . Blakes and Young, just keep doing what your doing ( they know their roles). I’ve been hard on Grandison as I feel the need to be . I get you all say he does a lot of the little things ( hitting those free throws were crucial to the win),BUT …. I need him to atleast shoot 30 percent from three. Whitehead gets a pass because he hasn’t played .

I was sitting here thinking who is going to transfer at the end of the year. Schutt is probably the guy

 

[ioliva]

Lively showing that shot blocking potential today. He just needs to learn how to play offense

 

[ioliva]

I was sitting here thinking who is going to transfer at the end of the year. Schutt is probably the guy

Lol what? Why would he transfer? He wasn’t really thought to be a huge contributor this year. I know it’s rare here but freshman
Don’t have to get 20-30 mpg to stay at a school

 

[Fourteen44]

This fan camera is dumb. That is all.

 

[christophero]

Looks like it's going to be another close game. We just went up 5. So far so good. Flip with 10. Roach looks much better today.

 

[youngman42]

Who honestly thought Filipowski would be this much more advanced and better than Lively? Lively has great athleticism but he’s not a great basketball player at this stage by any means.

Filipowski has tons of talent.

Roach is not shooting well so far even against mostly bad talent. That has to change significantly for March to be meaningful. Can certainly happen. But has to.

 

[Duke1783]

Lol what? Why would he transfer? He wasn’t really thought to be a huge contributor this year. I know it’s rare here but freshman
Don’t have to get 20-30 mpg to stay at a school

For the same reason all the others transferred. He wants to play

 

[K-oach Q]

Yesterday we couldn’t score and today we are putting up points during timeouts!

 

[Fourteen44]

Let’s get it to 10 for the half….

 

[ioliva]

For the same reason all the others transferred. He wants to play

Again… he’s a freshman. 99% of non 5 star freshman understand that there’s a low chance of cracking the lineup of a team like Duke. He was barely in the top 100 players, he’ll stay regardless

 

[Fourteen44]

Let’s get it to 10 for the half….

Never mind, let’s run a terrible set, turn it over, and allow a layup lol

 

[JimboSlice00]

Look much better today. Dariq still a far way away.

 

[pisgah101]

Did anyone else realize wojo was with green burg now??

 

[K-oach Q]

Hope that end of half doesn’t bite us.

We had the last shot up 8….could have been 10 or 11 but no worse than up 8. Instead Whitehead turns it over and they score so we are only up 6.

 

[The_Only_Blue]

Decent first half but terrible ending. Can't get trapped and give up the ball especially coming out of a timeout. Possible 4 point swing right there

 

[sheyduke]

Schutt isn’t transferring. He can shoot but he choose Duke to learn and advance his skill. He’s going to rake the Blakes approach, hopefully. Duke is passing and making shots . Lively is learning and Whitehead. Better game then I thought it would be . Oh and Flip, he’s gone but man is he letting the game come to him.

 

[Duke1783]

Again… he’s a freshman. 99% of non 5 star freshman understand that there’s a low chance of cracking the lineup of a team like Duke. He was barely in the top 100 players, he’ll stay regardless

Rather than mention all the other transfers Duke has had that fit that description, I’ll just say right and everyone else is wrong

 

[Fourteen44]

Can we start a thread for transfer talk? Or is there one already?