#2
Duke 85
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Duke will take what defenses give them, but they'll also scratch and claw their way into doing what they want on offense when they can. So Williams fought past the Wake guards to attack the basket again and again, Battier took Wake off the dribble when he could (especially on the baseline), and Dunleavy did an interesting variety of things on offense, including posting up and hitting the turnaround jumper. Duke took the open jumper when it was there but made sure to work the ball around and attack Wake in different ways. Of course, Duke's deadliest weapon is its fast break, since everyone on the team can run and finish, and Williams and Duhon are exceedingly clever in transition. Wake slowed that down by immediately sending their men downcourt after they missed, but it came at a cost: rebounding. Duke took advantage of Wake's precautions against the break by dominating them on the boards one-on-one, with Boozer performing especially well here. But it was on the offensive boards where the quicker Devils really hurt Wake, scoring on putbacks and earning second and third shots with regularity. While Duke was certainly efficient on offense, their defense is what truly won them the game. They made adjustments to Wake's early schemes and completely neutralized Wake's Darius Songaila. They relentlessly shadowed Wake's three point shooters and forced players like Broderick Hicks and Josh Shoemaker to take shots. The defense played through foul trouble and still stuck to their men, selectively applying pressure and forcing the usually error-free Deacs into 19 turnovers. I thought the key play of the game came in the second half when Wake was down 9 and had the ball. They had had success working it in down low, but as they crossed the center line, Williams stole the ball and ran it back for a dunk. This deflated the Deacs and sparked a game-ending run for Duke. Wake came out with a lot of energy and took it right to Duke, scoring on an easy post-up and a three. James had an early jumper for Duke, but Wake led 7-2 just a couple of minutes into the game. Jason Williams knew it was time for him to make a play, so he pulled up and buried a three. Then Duke tied the game up as Wake had a defensive breakdown and left the basket unguarded, so that Jase found Carlos all alone. Nate then found Mike Dunleavy for a three, but Wake moved the ball around well and hit a game-tying three. While the Deacs were getting nothing inside, they took good shots from the perimeter and found ways to get open. Duhon came back with an unbelievable drive and uncannily found Boozer cutting for a dunk, but Wake came right back and tied it up again at 12. Duke looked like they were going to take control with a 6-0 run with back-to-back threes by Battier and Duhon. Shane's came on a relocation pass from Boozer, and Chris' was from over 24 feet on a Williams pass. Shades of Chris Collins! Wake hit a three and then scored on a short jumper to cut the lead to 18-17, but then Dunleavy found Williams for three. After another Wake basket, Battier dished out to Dunleavy for three, again giving Duke a small working margin. This time, Wake came back furiously, going on a 7-0 run to take their last lead of the game at 26-24. They played some tremendous defense as Duke missed a couple of close-in shots, and hit a three to take the lead. Duke refocused as Nate James kicked off an 11-0 run with a drive right down the heart of the defense. After an offensive foul by Wake, Jason drove right by O'Kelley for a basket. to take a 28-26 lead with about six minutes left in the half. The Devils sensed that now was the time to take a stand, so they slapped the floor, drove the crowd into a frenzy, and forced a miss that Boozer rebounded. He threw it ahead to Duhon, who spotted Williams streaking ahead of him. From midcourt, he lofted a pass that Jason caught in mid-air and tipped in, a spectacular play that really energized the team. After a couple of more defensive stands, Jason got fouled on the way to the basket and hit 2. The Devils pushed the Deacs further and further away from the basket and limited them to one shot, so after a Hicks miss, Duke took advantage when Duhon quickly found Battier for a three. Duke now led 35-26 and went off on another run after Craig Dawson hit a free throw. This one started after Williams finally missed a shot but Dunleavy was there for the putback. Songaila then missed a close baseline jumper and Dunleavy got the board. Shane drove right down the center of the defense for an easy layup, a move he rarely uses but one that crossed up the Deacs at just the right time. After a Boozer rebound, the big man had a chance to score but missed a chippie. But Williams tracked down the board and then lasered the ball over to Battier for a quick-strike three. Duke was now up 42-27 and in command. Songaila finally hit another basket, but Dunleavy followed up his own miss for an easy putback. At this point, Dave Odom got whistled for a technical, though he claimed he was yelling at his players (to box out, one would presume) and not the officials. Shane hit 1 of 2 shots, but Wake then turned the ball over with 39 seconds left in the half. Shane missed a three with a couple of seconds left, and Wake rebounded, taking time out. But the Deacs promptly turned it over (9 on the half) and Duke had a last chance, but Boozer missed a close-in shot. Still, Duke had an amazing 21-14 rebounding edge and only committed 6 turnovers. Duke's run and defensive dominance had stunned the Deacs a bit, but they would come out fighting in the second half. The Deacs came out on a 7-2 run, with Hicks hitting a three and Murray hitting a runner. Duke only countered with a Battier tip-in of a Boozer miss. But then came the first instance of what would be a second-half trend: every time the Deacs would close to within 9, Jason or Mike would do something great. In this case, Mike rejected a Dawson jumper and batted it to Shane. He passed it to Duhon who fed Jason for a three. Then Duhon swiped the ball and gave it up to Jason on the break, who hit Dunleavy for a reverse layup. Duke led 52-36. After an O'Kelley basket, Matt Christensen dove on the floor to recover a steal. Next thing we know, we see Matt racing down the court, taking a perfect pass from Dunleavy in stride, and slamming it down with a man in front of him. Cameron just erupted, but Wake was patient and cut it to 12 at 54-42. On cue, Williams hit a three to extend the lead just a bit more. But this time, some Duke mistakes helped the Deacs out. Jason had a rare turnover as the ball was simply stripped away as was dribbling, and the Deacs ran it back for a score. Then Christensen missed 2 free throws and compounded his error by fouling for a Wake three point play. Dawson missed the freebie, but another Williams turnover led to some more Wake free throws. They closed within 9 at the thirteen minute mark. In response, Jason hit another three, but Wake went on a small 6-3 run to close to within 65-56 with nine minutes left. Then came Jason's steal and dunk and a 7-0 run by Duke. Wake got a bad break when the arrow for a double lane violation when they were taking foul shots gave the ball back to Duke, and the Devils jumped on this with Chris finding Shane for a three. Then Songaila stepped on the baseline trying to get to the basket thanks to some sticky defense from Shane and Carlos. Duke started to slow down the offense a little bit and worked it into Dunleavy, who posted up for a nice turnaround jumper. Wake was starting to get to more offensive rebounds (but just 7 on the game), but simply couldn't convert. Meanwhile, Dunleavy was excellent at the free throw line, hitting 4-4.
Duke scored the next 9 points of the game after
Wake hit a shot with 4:28 remaining.
First came Boozer finding Battier for a three, and then Shane
rolling to the basket for another. Jason
hit a couple of free throws after getting fouled after an offensive
rebound, and Duke led by 25 with two minutes left.
Duke called off the dogs, and the only spectacular play remaining
was Reggie Love dunking a tip-in over three people. Duke
had patiently for an opportunity to put the Deacs away, and they siezed it
when it arrived. While Wake
was missing their leading scorer and best slasher on the team, Josh
Howard, they still had a solid collection of players.
Duke shut down the big guns and made players like Hicks and
Shoemaker take shots. To
their credit, both played very well, hitting a number
of tough shots. But neither
had the individual talent to dominate Duke, especially in Cameron.
** Positives: 1. Rebounding.
Especially on the offensive end, as Dunleavy and Love had some big
tip-ins. But during Duke's
big first half run, the biggest key was Duke's ability to force Wake to
shoot awkward jumpers and then get good position for the rebound. 2. Shooting.
This one is pretty obvious. 14-26
is a great line, but these
weren't just shots jacked up. Duke
picked their spots and took open looks, and put more pressure on Wake as a
result. 3. Defensive pressure.
While Dunleavy and Williams had some nice one-on-one steals, the
pressure I'm talking about here is a bit more subtle.
Duke pressured Wake by guarding the perimeter vise-tight, and
bodying up down low. Wake had to think about too many of their shots, and
that hesitation cost them. ** Negatives: 1. Cutting off
penetration. The one
thing Wake did well on offense was drive, because Duke was playing them so
closely. Duke kept up with
them for the most part but gave up a few runners. 2. Falling for the
fake. Duke also was
confused by the pump-fake a couple of times, letting the Deacs get a few
more open shots. 3. Fouls.
This was the biggest problem.
Christensen getting quick fouls is not unexpected, but James also
had 2 in the first half and had to sit a long time in the second with 4.
Of greater concern was Boozer, who picked up his
third foul early in the second half, but he played defense with a remarkable
degree of control and was able to hang in there.
Player-by-Player: **
Boozer: Despite foul
trouble and difficulty finishing easy shots, Carlos did a great job
containing Darius Songaila and forcing him to put the ball on the floor.
Songaila got nothing easy and had to put up a number of awkward
baseline jumpers. Carlos'
only points came on easy dunks, and he missed 5 close-in shots and 1
jumper. Still, his defense
was a big key in this game and should not be overlooked, nor should his
passing to the open man. He
found James once and Battier twice for jumpers.
**
Battier: Started slow, but kept chugging along and hit a hot streak.
He scored 9 of his 12 first half points in the final four minutes of the
half, including 2 threes, a drive and a free throw.
In the second half, he again finished well, scoring 8 of his 10
points in the last eight minutes of the game.
On defense, he wasn't out in the passing lanes as much as usual
because he was helping on Songaila, but it paid off as Darius had nowhere
to go against Duke. Just
another day at the office for the All-American. **
Dunleavy: While Battier and Williams had their usual incredible
performances, it was Mike D who ended up being the difference in the game.
He was looking for his shot rather actively, but he wasn't forcing things
at the same time. The reason
is because he looked to diversify his game, taking the jumper when it was
there but also posting up well and going after offensive rebounds.
He confidently swished both of his first half three attempts and
crashed the offensive boards for two tip-ins.
He was aggressive on defense, grabbing a couple of steals.
In the second half, he was one of the few productive players during
a scoring drought, finding Christensen for a dunk, Williams for a three
and calling his own number for a trey.
Down the stretch, he
scored 6 straight points for Duke to keep the Deacs at arm's length.
Throw in a couple of blocks and a charge taken, and you have a very
fine night. It was good to
see him so aggressive yet smart out there. Mike needs to feel confident
out there, because he has the potential to be as big a weapon as Battier
or Williams. With his size
and ballhandling ability, he does some things that no one else can do,
like post up and shoot it with either hand.
**
James: Foul trouble really hurt Nate, not allowing him to get into any
kind of rhythm. He was solid
early, hitting a jumper that put Duke on the board and grabbing several
rebounds, as well as hitting Mike for a three.
But then foul trouble hit, and aside from a basket that tied Wake
at 26, he didn't do much of anything in the rest of the game.
He quickly got into serious second half foul trouble and spent much
of it on the bench. I sense
that he may have a breakout
game at Maryland, a place where he usually tends to do rather well.
**
Williams: Despite a foot
that was sprained, Williams absolutely tore Wake apart.
His feel for the game has improved so much in the last year it's
sometimes difficult to believe that he's the same player.
He has an incredible sense of when he needs to take over a game and
when he needs to lie back and evaluate the action on the court.
He's especially adept at finding the hot player.
When he sees Shane go into one of his shooting trances,
he knows to get it to him immediately.
When the defense collapses, he knows that Boozer will be waiting
for the pass. He knows when
Nate James will be waiting in the corner for a pass so he can drop in one
of his threes. And he's remarkably daring in transition, which sometimes
results in a mistake but more often develops into a great play.
His quickness with the dribble makes it difficult to press or trap
him. Lastly, his crossover is
lethal and he's used it to break many an ankle on his way to the basket.
He scored 12 first half points, hitting an early three to break
Wake's momentum, and then found Boozer for a dunk.
He later hit another three, scored on a drive hit some free throws
and then converted an alley-oop. He
also found time to hit Duhon for a three.
In the second half, he followed Wake baskets with threes on 3
different occasions, and then essentially sealed the game with a steal and
dunk. He finished with 27 and
it all flowed very naturally and easily.
About his only mistakes were a careless dribble that was filched
and a bad pass. **
Duhon: Really had his moments, like when he threw a lob pass to
Williams from halfcourt that Jason converted, or when he sank a 24'
jumper. Threw up an airball
from the corner in the first half and also missed another short jumper.
He also Capeled again, passing up an open jumper to take a more
difficult shot. But he was
also the consummate playmaker, finding Battier for a couple of threes,
Boozer for a dunk, and Williams for a three.
A solid game with only 1 turnover (a miscommunication), and he did
well in replacing James on the perimeter. **
Christensen: "The Monster" had the jam of the game, but also
made a few unfortunate mental errors.
His dumb foul after he missed 2 freebies nearly swung the momentum
of the game over to Wake, and his rapid foul rate is taking away from his
effectiveness as a sub. On
the other hand, he came up with 3 good rebounds, scrapped for a steal,
played otherwise solid defense and had that senior highlight-reel jam.
The ten minutes he was out there were ten minutes that Boozer got
to rest and avoid foul trouble. **
Sanders: Casey took a charge and missed a short jumper.
The charge was a very heady play, because he was actually out near
the three point line, noticed that a Wake player didn't see him, and just
lined up to get knocked down. ** Love: Reggie
had an incredible putback dunk on a Sanders miss that got his name chanted
in Cameron. He simply flew in
and jammed it in with both hands, demonstrating great ups and strength. ** Simpson:
Nothing of note. Came in for
Williams so Jason could get a curtain
call. **
Buckner: Nothing to note here. Came
in for Dunleavy for a curtain call. ** Cameron Craziness:
The Gorilla this time was the drum major, and came out to dance
with the Devil during one timeout. Cameron
was packed and loud the entire time.
Billy Packer was in Cameron to call the game, and the students
remembered his unpleasant comments towards two ushers with "Go To
Hell Billy Packer" signs and chants.
The Crazies got into O'Kelley's head with a great "0"
Kelley cheer, where they raised their hands up to form an "0",
reflecting his recent struggles. He
missed his first two foul shots. Someone was holding up a milk carton-type
"missing" sign with O'Kelley's face on it that said
"Missing Shot". After
Odom's paroxysms on the sideline, chants of "Little Davey", his
old nickname that he detests and "Little coach" were chanted.
Matt had his "Monster's out of the cage" chant and Jason
had a new one "J-Will, J-Will, Rock You"--to the tune of the
Queen song, complete with foot stomping.
I really liked this one and it could have potential. ** Next Game:
Saturday, January 27th vs Maryland in Cole Field House.
Duke has won three straight in Cole.
Dixon has a slight injury and might be limited, but the Terps'
Byron Mouton is a tough player who can really score. Boozer will have his
usual challenge with Lonnie Baxter while the Battier- Terence Morris
matchup should be a great one. Steve
Blake outplayed Jason 2 out of 3 last year, and I'm sure Jason will keep
that in mind. The Terps have
a very solid bench with Mike Mardesich, Danny Miller, Drew Nicholas and
Tahj Holden coming in. Christensen
will be key in providing some relief minutes
for Carlos. Reported by Rob Clough, tmc@duke.edu |
| Rob is a thirty one year old Duke grad who's been an ACC fan since he was nine years old, when a young Duke team was beaten in the finals by Kentucky. Since that time, he has been fascinated by the entire league and started writing volumes on it in rec.sport.basketball.college and other electronic forums in 1991. Recently, he has been writing ACC analyses for Jazzy J's colbasketball.miningco.com site and regularly contributes features on women's basketball for the Duke Basketball Report. |