Duke 95
Texas 69
(November 22, 2000)

Duke Lassoes Texas

  Duke's victory over Texas was remarkable in its ease and efficiency.  The Devils had a superb gameplan and Texas coach Rick Barnes was unable to adjust to Duke's all-out, withering pressure.  And in this sense, it was more offensive pressure than defensive pressure.  What I mean by that is while the turnover and steal numbers were about even for both squads, Duke did a much better job at attacking after they forced a miscue.  Furthermore, Duke's rare victory on the boards simply propelled their fast break that many more times.   The Devils took the Longhorns off the dribble again and again,  drawing fouls and getting three point plays galore.  Coach K used the game as an opportunity to get his bench some quality minutes, and they responded with enthusiastic defense if nothing else.  This is certainly the most polished and focused Duke has looked all year, and I think getting out on the road may have been useful in getting his team's attention.

  Poring over the stat sheet, one can see that Duke's starters scored all but 8 of their 95 points.   Carlos Boozer was especially efficient, getting 14 points and 11 boards in just sixteen minutes.  Mike Dunleavy also sparkled with 11 points on 4-4 shooting, 4 boards and 4 assists.  Shane Battier was a defensive demon with 2 blocks and 3 steals to go along with his 16 points. But the true star of the game was Nate James, with 26 points, 4 boards, 2 steals and 0 turnovers.  Duke shot 46% to Texas' 39% and made 25 free throws to Texas' 19 attempts.  In all respects, this was a classic Duke win,  emphasizing pressure defense and attacking the basket.

  James and Mike D. got Duke going early, with Nate scoring 6 and Mike hitting for 5.  The great thing about Nate's early work is that it was so varied: on a trademark tip-in, a 15' jumper, and on the break.  Mike also scored on a tip and an authoritative drive up the middle for a dunk.   Duke led 11-4 at that point, despite the fact that Jason Williams picked up two early fouls and had to sit.  Once again, Chris Duhon seamlessly blended in, and even led a break that wound up with Nate scoring.  After a Texas bucket, Duke scored 6 straight points and took complete command of the game, just seven minutes in.

  Williams started to turn the game into his own personal highlight reel, as he hit a three, knocked down 2 free throws and scored on a drive to put Duke up 24-12.  Every time Texas would manage to score, Duke would reel off 4 or 5 points in a row to knock them back even further.  Duke got Texas into the bonus rather quickly and took full advantage, and started to make some noise on the offensive boards.  Boozer had two tip-ins in just a couple of minutes while Battier knocked down a three.  The play that summed it all up for Duke in the half was a sequence where Duhon went to the floor to pick up a steal, tossed it ahead to Dunleavy, who made a slick pass to James, who scored and was fouled.  That put Duke up 37-17, but Texas went on a 10-2 run to make things interesting.   Duke responded with better defense and got to the foul line.  Dunleavy finished up his great half with a spectacular player where he got the hoop and one, putting the Longhorns in a 17-point hole.  For the half, Duke was an impressive 16-18 from the free throw line as the refs weren't allowing Texas to pound away.  The 8 turnovers were a  concern, as they let Texas back into the game, but the strong rebounding by Boozer and Battier, many of them in traffic, helped Duke build up its lead. Duke was really attacking off the dribble instead of settling for threes, with a 24-9 margin in favor of twos as well as the aforementioned free throw attempts.   

  Some have said that Duke hasn't put their opponents away this year when they had a chance.  This time around, the Devils took no chances and absolutely blitzed the Longhorns in the second half.  The first five minutes of the half saw a 19-4 Duke run that featured a rampaging Williams dishing out three assists, faking a wrap-around pass and going in for a layup, and breaking his man's ankles with a crossover that gave him an easy lane for a layup.  James hit a couple of threes in this sequence in his favored left corner spot, and Battier followed up an assist to Nate with a three of his own from Jason.  The most spectacular play came in transition when Dunleavy found Boozer with a perfect pass for an alley-oop that he hammered down. Duke led 65-33, and the men from Austin were running around as if they'd just spotted Charles Whitman.    

  Duke started to substitute liberally at this point, with Sanders and Horvath getting quite a few minutes.  Texas looked like a beaten team, though with the dogs called off they were able to put up 25 points in the last ten minutes.  Duke still had one last spectacular play left, as Dunleavy switched hands on his way to the basket, getting the hoop and one.  This was a solid overall performance against a team that didn't know what hit them.  Duke knocked them back and they didn't know how to respond, and the Devils took full advantage of this by constantly attacking and running them ragged. Duke will need to play in a similarly disciplined fashion against Temple, a team that's impossible to intimidate or rattle.  It's going to be a very rough game, possibly won by whoever fights harder in the post.   

** Positives:  

1. Pressure defense.  Flummoxed Texas the entire game.  Duke didn't just pressure the passing lanes, but also quickly collapsed in the post and swiped away a number of balls that were put on the floor.    

2. Rebounding.  Outstanding effort by Boozer who used his size and strength to clear folks out.  The bench contributed a third of Duke's 39 rebounds, with Horvath and Duhon leading the way with 4 apiece.        

3. Offensive aggressiveness.  Duke smelled blood and took it right to Texas. Texas blocked a lot of shots but still seemed taken aback by the assault from a team known for its jump-shooting tendencies.  Texas' guards couldn't handle Jason Williams or Chris Duhon, who broke them down with ease.  

** Negatives:  

1. Defending the mid-range jumper.  This was about the only thing working for Texas, as Brandon Mouton and Royal Ivey were able to penetrate, pull up and hit the short jumper.     

2. Bench scoring.  I'm reaching here, I realize.  Duke didn't really need much scoring from the bench, but it would have been nice for Nick and Casey to score a couple of times to boost their confidence.   

Player-by-Player:  

** Boozer: Despite a slightly-below average shooting percentage, Carlos had a fine game.  His defensive intensity was greatly stepped up from his last game, as his three blocks and domination of the Texas frontcourt would indicate. His offense wasn't quite as smooth as it was against Villanova, but to his credit he only turned the ball over once.  He scored on a couple of put-backs, two post-ups, and an alley-oop.  He was also a solid 4-4 from the foul line. He also got a great number of touches, he just couldn't put some of them home.  We all know that Carlos can score, but it's his defensive improvements that are crucial.   

** Battier: Another day at the office for Shane, drifting over towards defense since his team had a huge lead and a hot hand in James.  Helped Boozer in the paint by swiping away at passes and getting his back on defense. Shane has not had much of a presence on the boards lately, so seeing him fly after rebounds was a welcome sight.  He had a rough first half offensively, hitting a three but missing 3 closer shots.   He made up for it by piling up 5 points at the foul line in addition to his aforementioned defense.  He was very effective in the second half, hitting a 15' jumper, a three and getting a three point play in addition to continuing his defensive  terrorization of the Texas post men.    

** Dunleavy: Nice and smooth.   Had an early tip and drive and also cleaned up on the boards.  He was causing havoc in the passing lanes and did a great job of trapping on the sidelines as well.  Really did a little of everything as the matchups were in his favor.  Texas has athletic post men but they weren't that tall or strong, so Mike was able to keep them under control, getting a block and three steals.  Interestingly, he didn't attempt a single jumper, instead attacking the basket.  It was a bit strange to see him miss 3 of his 6 free throws, however.

** James: A huge game for Nate in every respect.  Coach K applauded him for his efficiency, so he only had the ball in his hands for a few seconds before he made a decision to shoot or pass.  This is the highest goal for a motion offense.  He had 13 in each half, which isn't bad for a guy who's more or  less the team's fifth option.  He hit 3 threes, a tip-in, a 15' jumper, 2 transition buckets, a post-up and a very strong drive that ended with a running one-hander.  It was nice to see him diversify his offense a bit, especially since Texas was concentrating on everyone else so much.  I don't think Barnes was prepared to have James drop 26 on his team, including those drives.  Nate also played his hard-nosed Duke defense, grabbing 2 steals. He was beaten off the dribble a few times by quicker guards who pulled up, but was otherwise a force.  He also found time to grab 4 rebounds.    

** Williams: While his shooting was not spectacular, he did enough to drop 20 on Texas and ring up 7 assists.  He totally destroyed his namesake on the Longhorns and essentially forced Barnes to bench him, all this despite Jason's 2 early fouls.  This game was a study in redemption after his out-of-control performance in last year's games at MSG.  One thing about Jason's game is that he tends to come in very focused after he's been sitting on the bench for awhile.  After not doing much in the first couple of minutes before he picked up those fouls, when he reentered the game he immediately scored 7 points and picked up a steal.  His daring enabled Duke to completely put the Longhorns away in the second half as he shredded the defense with his penetration.  He kept his turnovers to a reasonable number (3) and forced Texas to play offense on a one-on-one basis.  I could live with him taking a couple of fewer threes a game, but otherwise he's coming right along.  

** Duhon:  A bad shooting night but another nice floor game.  He steadily ran the team in Jason's absence and played some nice defense.  His 5 assists were to 4 different players, including his roommate Sweet.  He is great at the penetrate-and-pitch play, finding open shooters spotting up.  He missed all of his threes and had a couple of his layup attempts swatted away, but did manage to finish one drive.  Chris took a charge in addition to getting a floor-burn steal.     

** Horvath: A surprise and welcome appearance for Nick, who briefly appeared in the first half to no doubt test his foot, and then got some extensive playing time in the second half.  The most pleasant aspect of his return was his surprising facility with shot-blocking, as he blocked a jumper going up, grabbed the board and threw an outlet pass.  Nick had a nice rebound bucket and also made a smart move when he was double-teamed in the post, and found a wide-open Williams for three.  He looked slower than usual out there, however, and a bit tentative at times, but also added some energy to the team. I'm happy to see play with such savvy after some poor preseason showings. If he can put up solid rebounding numbers and score every now and then, he'll be a huge asset to the team.   

** Sanders: Came into the game and immediately blocked a shot, making a solid initial impact.  He also had 2 quick fouls, one of them very questionable. He got some big second half minutes and was quite capable at the defensive end, but frankly horrible at the offensive end.   And his 1-4 from the free throw line wasn't encouraging either, especially since I know he can make  those shots.  I was happy to see Duke feeding him the ball as much as possible, but he simply wasn't going in quickly or aggressively enough.  He seemed very discouraged by his 4 fouls, something that he needs to get over in order to become more effective.  With Temple's big but slow front line, he might be useful if he's ready to be aggressive.      

** Sweet: Was able to play a bit for his hometown crowd, and even hit a short but well-contested jumper.   Looked a bit nervous out there,  understandably, as he had a couple of balls slip out of his hands.  Did get a steal and 2 boards.  Solid appearance for a player I think the coaches would like to give more minutes to.     

** Buckner: Not much to show other than a turnover.  

** Simpson: Got an offensive board and hit a free throw when Texas absurdly fouled him with just seconds left.      

Next Game: Friday, November 24th vs. Temple in the NIT finals.  This will be quite a test for Duke, since this Temple team really looks like it has its act together.  Even after losing Mark Karcher, Pepe Sanchez, Lamont Barnes and others, the Owls' young players have matured rapidly.  The backcourt of Lynn Greer and Quincy Wadley is one that can really shoot and handle the ball, though neither is what I'd call a pure point.  Center Kevin Lyde is a tough defender and good rebounder who scores mostly around the basket.   Forward Alex Wesby is also a very efficient scorer.  The Owls have some solid depth with Ron Blackshear a threat to shoot from anywhere on the court and center Ronald Rollerson a 290-pound load.  The also play their trademark matchup zone defense, which makes it very difficult to get easy shots inside and can force teams to take quick long-range shots.  Temple likes to shorten the game by stretching out their possessions to take up the entire duration of the shot clock and frustrate their opponents.  The Owls prefer to keep games close and win with their defense, and don't do well coming from behind.  Jason Williams will need to be very patient and try to penetrate the zone and pitch out to open shooters.  The Owls almost never turn the ball over, and Duke will need to try to force them out of their comfort zone a bit and get some easy baskets.  The key to the game will be Duke's ability to hit the mid-range jumper, the one shot that will always be available against the zone if you screen correctly.  On defense, Duke will need to pay close attention to the threes and make things difficult for their shooters.  This means that Boozer will need to have a great defensive performance against Lyde because he won't get as much help as usual.  I'm very curious to see these two teams play each other twice, because it will be very difficult for either team to beat the other twice.    

Reported by Rob Clough, tmc@duke.edu 

Rob's Archive