Delaware at Duke - Sat, Dec 1, 2:00pm RSN/ESPN3
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skins
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I really enjoyed that Murphy interview. I certainly had high hopes for him coming into this season, and while his development has been slower than expected, he'll have his share of big moments for us this year. Seeing his confidence boost after his first couple buckets was probably my favorite part of the game. it's very easy to be happy for those who buy in to what K preaches, and based on that interview it's clear that Murphy is all in.
DukeNukem05
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That's Gary.bdotling said:
bdotling
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yeah his passes were all pretty nice, was really surprised by them. It's been awhile where we've had somebody who can attack aggressively and dish, usually it's just the first part and then sometimes dish, but not to with as great of an effect. Also, sometimes he was a bit too unselfish with it too
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Dattier said:
rome8180
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I know it's not that important a game, but here's a write-up I did of it for the blog:
After a historically tough start to the season, Duke had its easiest win by far against an overmatched Delaware team. No one expected Duke to struggle in this one – they were favored by 20+ in the Vegas books – but it was still nice to see no diminishment in intensity as Duke rolled to an 88-50 victory. Not only did they easily beat the spread, they did so without one of their best players, starter Seth Curry. Curry is resting off an ankle tweak as well as lingering shin issues.
How much of a pushover was Delaware, really? Not as much of a pushover, according to Kenpom, as Duke’s first opponent of the season, Georgia State. Duke won that game by 19, but didn’t quite cover the spread, so it’s safe to say this was a better performance. More important than the final score, perhaps, is that the margin was big enough to get Duke's bench quality minutes. Alex Murphy got on track after not playing much at all in the first seven games. While Coach K quickly shot down questions about the importance of the bench, insisting that he was more concerned with developing the starting five, it can’t hurt to have players ready to contribute, especially if Seth’s injury(ies) cause him to be out for more important games. Even in that scenario, I would expect junior Tyler Thornton to be ahead of Murphy in the rotation, but it’s reassuring if Murphy, Jefferson, and Hairston are all ready to contribute. Hairston has shown he can be a factor, getting key baskets both against UK and OSU. Jefferson has exhibited a knack for scoring in exhibitions, and that was on display again today as he had 12 points on quick and crafty finishes around the basket.
Games against “cupcakes” are not only good for bench development, they are fun for fans. While the payoff may not be as much as a tight, come-from-behind victory against OSU, cupcake games are also relatively stress-free, especially when the team looks as cohesive as they did against Delaware. TT had maybe his best performance of the season, with 10 assists, three steals and six rebounds (though a different box score I checked had it as 8/3/7). He continues to show why he is Coach K’s preferred sixth man, despite the strident protests of many Duke fans. Sheed was his usual, precocious self, making crisp passes off the drive for six assists and finishing tough shots through contact on several occasions. Kelly was a marksman, burying midrange jumpers and three-pointers to finish with an extremely efficient 18 points. Mason also had 18 in just 24 minutes. Cook struggled shooting a little bit, but had six assists to just one turnover, including his usual dose of highlight-reel finds to Mason Plumlee on the break.
Duke as a team had 23 assists on 35 made baskets while committing just 11 turnovers. Delaware, on the other hand, had only three assists to 15 turnovers, which speaks to the level of defensive play from Duke. Add in the quality play from the bench and this was pretty much the perfect “comfort” game for a fan. Though it will not mean much in terms of RPI and maybe doesn’t tell us much about who Duke is as a team, games like this are a nice change of pace after November’s gauntlet. Up next, however, is Kenpom-ranked #56 Temple, a team good enough to beat Duke if Duke does not come out focused. Based on their performance against Delaware, however, it doesn’t look like this team will be taking any games off.
After a historically tough start to the season, Duke had its easiest win by far against an overmatched Delaware team. No one expected Duke to struggle in this one – they were favored by 20+ in the Vegas books – but it was still nice to see no diminishment in intensity as Duke rolled to an 88-50 victory. Not only did they easily beat the spread, they did so without one of their best players, starter Seth Curry. Curry is resting off an ankle tweak as well as lingering shin issues.
How much of a pushover was Delaware, really? Not as much of a pushover, according to Kenpom, as Duke’s first opponent of the season, Georgia State. Duke won that game by 19, but didn’t quite cover the spread, so it’s safe to say this was a better performance. More important than the final score, perhaps, is that the margin was big enough to get Duke's bench quality minutes. Alex Murphy got on track after not playing much at all in the first seven games. While Coach K quickly shot down questions about the importance of the bench, insisting that he was more concerned with developing the starting five, it can’t hurt to have players ready to contribute, especially if Seth’s injury(ies) cause him to be out for more important games. Even in that scenario, I would expect junior Tyler Thornton to be ahead of Murphy in the rotation, but it’s reassuring if Murphy, Jefferson, and Hairston are all ready to contribute. Hairston has shown he can be a factor, getting key baskets both against UK and OSU. Jefferson has exhibited a knack for scoring in exhibitions, and that was on display again today as he had 12 points on quick and crafty finishes around the basket.
Games against “cupcakes” are not only good for bench development, they are fun for fans. While the payoff may not be as much as a tight, come-from-behind victory against OSU, cupcake games are also relatively stress-free, especially when the team looks as cohesive as they did against Delaware. TT had maybe his best performance of the season, with 10 assists, three steals and six rebounds (though a different box score I checked had it as 8/3/7). He continues to show why he is Coach K’s preferred sixth man, despite the strident protests of many Duke fans. Sheed was his usual, precocious self, making crisp passes off the drive for six assists and finishing tough shots through contact on several occasions. Kelly was a marksman, burying midrange jumpers and three-pointers to finish with an extremely efficient 18 points. Mason also had 18 in just 24 minutes. Cook struggled shooting a little bit, but had six assists to just one turnover, including his usual dose of highlight-reel finds to Mason Plumlee on the break.
Duke as a team had 23 assists on 35 made baskets while committing just 11 turnovers. Delaware, on the other hand, had only three assists to 15 turnovers, which speaks to the level of defensive play from Duke. Add in the quality play from the bench and this was pretty much the perfect “comfort” game for a fan. Though it will not mean much in terms of RPI and maybe doesn’t tell us much about who Duke is as a team, games like this are a nice change of pace after November’s gauntlet. Up next, however, is Kenpom-ranked #56 Temple, a team good enough to beat Duke if Duke does not come out focused. Based on their performance against Delaware, however, it doesn’t look like this team will be taking any games off.
