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Minnesota postgame reaction

rome8180

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Oct 8, 2012
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Hopefully no one has beaten me to this, but here's a writeup I did for our blog if you guys approve:


It’s hard to find much to criticize in Duke’s 89-71 to win over the Minnesota Golden Gophers. Coming into the game, Kenpom and Vegas both had the game as a relative wash. But any nervousness this might have caused Duke fans was quickly alleviated by extremely efficient shooting, balanced scoring and pesky defense.

And Duke did all this despite officiating that was inconsistent to say the least. When one of the announcers said at the end of the game that it had been a closer game than the margin reflected, he just as easily could have said the opposite. Duke might have won by 30 if there had not been several head-scratching calls in the first half. At one point a Minnesota player slid across the floor with the ball, a play that almost always is called a travel, but in this case no call was made. Minutes later, Ryan Kelly dived after a loose ball and was called for a travel – despite the fact that, unlike the Minnesota player, he did not have possession of the ball at the time. In another instance, a Duke pass was clearly deflected out-of-bounds, but Minnesota was awarded possession by the referee with the worst angle on the play. The list goes on. Most of these bad calls resulted in Minnesota points or, what amounts the same thing, lost Duke points.

But this was not enough to stop a team that shot 54% from the floor, 80% from three (!) and nearly 81% from the line. All five starters scored in double figures, and if some Duke fans worry about limited bench production – Amile Jefferson scored the first and only bench points late in the second half – it’s hard to be overly considered when your starting lineup plays like this. Mason Plumlee had another monster game, with 20 points and 17 rebounds. Seth Curry was lights out from everywhere on the court, twice beating the shotclock with plays created out of nothing, to finish with 25 pts on 8-11 shooting. If he can stay healthy, he is headed for a first-team all-conference season. Cook had perhaps his best game as a Blue Devil, scoring 17 points and dishing out four assists to go along with five (!) steals. Maybe his finest moment came when he hit a buzzer-beating three to give Duke some nice momentum going into the second half. Kelly, meanwhile, had a quietly efficient Kelly-like game, recording 14 pts, six rebounds and three blocks. And last but not least, freshman Rasheed Sulaimon continued his precocious play by adding 11 pts, including three tough finishes through contact. Considering that Sheed has been shooting better from three-point range than inside the arc so far, Duke fans should be encouraged by his newfound ability to finish through contact.

About the only thing that marred a near perfect performance from Duke was the inability of the bigs and Tyler Thornton to stay out of foul trouble. For Thornton, a defender who makes a living bodying up opposing guards, this is nothing new and something that, given Cook’s improved play and Duke’s abundance of competent ball-handlers, Duke can probably live with. But with both Mason and Kelly both hampered with fouls most of the second half, the team’s already somewhat suspect rebounding took a big hit. The Golden Gophers were able to get several offensive boards, sometimes more than one in a possession, which either led to baskets or free throws. Neither Mason nor Kelly showed a huge propensity toward foul trouble last year, fouling out just once a piece, so maybe this is nothing to be concerned about. But last season Miles Plumlee was part of the rotation, and his departure means that Mason and Kelly both have to carry heavier loads defensively and on the glass.

Fortunately for Duke, there is still the return of Marshall Plumlee to look forward to, a player Coach K has called “the sixth best player on the team.” Even if this proves to be somewhat of an exaggeration, MP3’s 7’0” presence, his rumored workhorse attitude, and his natural Plumlee athleticism should help tremendously to spell Mason and provide extra defense and rebounding.

As with every season, I’ll probably be banging my head against the wall in frustration soon enough, maybe as soon as later today if Duke cannot handle VCU's "40 minutes of havoc." But for now it’s hard not to be very excited about this team. They have great shooting, good ball-handling, senior leadership, and most refreshing of all, a potential NPOY player on the inside.
 
Seth looked a helluva lot like his brother yesterday. Probably the most Curryish game I can remember from him.
 
I'm so less nervous about this Duke team, than Duke teams of the past (excluding 2010). They've got balanced, efficient scoring and solid senior leadership. I would love for Mason to stay a part of the NPOY discussion, even if he doesn't ultimately win the award. Cook looks like he's ready to be the man at point. Curry so good, maybe he shouldn't have been practicing the past 4 years (jk).

I picked up on the same comment by the announcer about the score wasn't indicative of the supposed close nature of the game. I thought it was pretty specious.
 

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