Duke 95
Georgia Tech 63

February 9, 2002.  Alexander Memorial Coliseum.

  Georgia Tech was a team on a roll, having won three in a row after starting the season 0-7 in the league.  Granted, the wins were against bottom-feeders Clemson, Florida State and UNC (it still sounds strange saying that), but they were solid wins nonetheless.  The Jackets were aided by the return of their 7-foot center Luke Schenscher, who had shored up their weak inside game with some scoring and shot-blocking.  Given the way Duke thrashed Tech in their earlier meeting, combined with technicals, histrionics by Duke players and coaches and the rather physical way Tech was playing that game, the Jackets had all of the intangibles on their side.  And for the first fifteen or so minutes, the Jackets were able to hang around.  A large part of that was their emotion and effort, but a larger part was due to some defensive lapses on Duke's part and turnovers.  The Devils were sloppy with 12 first half turnover, including a couple of charges.  Certainly, a part of that was the defensive pressure that Tech threw on at the beginning of the game, but the Devils knew a press was coming and are  usually quite adept at stopping them. 

   But Duke adjusted and concentrated on their primary defensive mission: shutting down Tech's potent perimeter game (they're the best three point shooting team in the league), and in particular stopping Tony Akins.  When he's left open, he can drain a number of long shots in a hurry.  Tech hit 3 threes in the first ten minutes of the game, and then only 1 the rest of the way.  With their primary mode of attack stymied, about the only thing Tech could manage the rest of the way was scoring off of offensive rebounds.  With Tech's offense slowed down at last, Duke got into a nice offensive rhythm at the end of the first half and carried that into the second.  A 14-point halftime lead quickly turned into 20 points and had ballooned into 30 by the ten minute mark.  The Jackets pretty much went into the tank as Duke went into its delay game and gave plenty of time to the reserves.  Duke took Tech's angry energy, let them tire themselves out, and then knocked them out.  Considering that this was yet another Thursday- Saturday turnaround for the team, they really rose to the challenge and looked like they were more energetic as the game went on. 

   Duke started off rather inauspiciously as Jason Williams was called for a charge and BJ Elder stroked a three at the other end.  Dahntay Jones, who is starting each game more and more aggressively these days, answered with a drive on a Duhon feed.  After an Ed Nelson jumper, Carlos Boozer       struck back with consecutive three point plays, though he missed the free  throw on the first.  A Duhon turnover led to an easy Tech basket, but Chris atoned by setting up Dahntay for a score.  With five minutes gone by, Duke held a slim 9-7 lead.

   The next three minutes saw Tech gaining slim leads with Duke quickly catching up.  Duke was getting some surprising outside shooting from players not necessarily known for it: banger Nelson hit another jumper, slasher  Isma'il Muhammad sank a three and physical player Clarence Moore also  drained a three.  Duke countered with sub Dan Ewing hitting a three and Jason Williams getting into the act with a three and a drive.  With over 11  minutes left, the score was knotted at 17.

   When Duke took the lead with a Boozer Dunk, they never trailed again. That play sparked an 8-0 run that gave Duke a bit of breathing room.  The run was characterized by some tremendous defensive playmaking.  Dunleavy stood his ground and was fouled after he grabbed a rebound, and sank both shots.  Nick Horvath darted into the passing lane and picked up a steal, which led to Williams dishing ahead to Dunleavy for an easy score.  Mike D then tipped a pass to Jason, who was fouled and also hit a couple of freebies. For the first time in a while, Duke looked nearly automatic from the foul line and was taking advantage of Tech's physical play.  All of this took place in just over a minute's worth of play.

   Tech has a tough group of youngsters, and they fought back with a 10-3 run. Nelson scored on a three point play after an offensive rebound, but was matched by a Williams three.  Two straight turnovers for Duke got Tech running with 7 straight points.  They were within a Schenscher missed free throw of tying up the game, but actually got the ball back on a Williams turnover with a chance to take the lead with 7:29 left in the half.  But a Tech player was called for an illegal screen and Jones hit both free throws to give Duke a 30-27 lead.  In another dispiriting play for Tech, Carlos Boozer missed 2 free throws, but Jones was there for the rebound and simple pass to Boozer for a layup.  Williams hit another couple of free throws after a drive to make it 34-27 with six minutes left.

   Tech had their chances to get back in the game, but Tony Akins missed 2 of 4 free throws during a a period where Duke turned the ball over a couple of times.  This is when Duke really got their act together on offense and  shut down the Jackets.  The Devils went on a 14-5 run to close out the half and take command of the game.  It started with a high-banking drive for Duhon (the "giant-killer"), a couple of Williams free throws and a long three by Dunleavy.  Mike D had that glow to him when he gets hot from the field, and so Duke got him the ball as much as they could.  Boozer got the ball in the paint, waited for the double-team, and then passed back to Dunleavy for another three.  Most impressive of all was a tough fadeaway jumper from 10'.  Meanwhile, Tech missed 6 shots and turned the ball over twice, while Schenscher missed 2 free throws.  With Duke's offense now in a solid rhythm, Tech was in trouble.

   Within three minutes, Duke got a 20 point lead in the second half.  After spotting the Jackets a basket, Jones drove and hit a 15' jumper.  A missed Tech free throw started a Duke break that ended when Williams found Duhon for a three.  After Akins threw the ball away, Duhon hit Dunleavy for a 15' jumper, one of his signature shots.  Another Tech turnover led to Jones getting fouled and hitting 2 more.  Duke's offense just started to get in an even smoother flow, with every player throwing crisp passes and spotting up for jumpers that barely disturbed the net.  Tech would fight back, managing to only be outscored 11-10 over the next four minutes. 

   Jason hit a couple of threes in that span, while Dahntay actually posted up his man and shot over him.  But the Devils did a bad job stopping the drive, and Tech was able to score some layups.  Duke slowly tightened up its defense, with one sequence where Tech had three shots at the basket only to have the last attempt blocked by Dunleavy and then have it taken the length of the court by Duhon a particularly damaging one.  That Duhon basket made it 68-45 with thirteen minutes left. 

   Duke kept blasting away in its regular offense over the next four minutes and outscored Tech 16-6.  It was the Jason & Mike Show as the two combined for 16 straight points for Duke in the run.  Jason came off a curl and hit a short jumper in a move straight out of Trajan Langdon's playbook, Mike hit 3 threes and drove in on a Williams pass, while Jason hit a three of his won.  Duke's barrage of threes was making things it very difficult for Tech    to keep up, especially since Duke was jamming the perimeter.  Jason concluded his work for the afternoon by driving for a three point play. 

   Tech was just jacking up shots by now as Duke brought in the reserves and went to its slowdown game.  The Jackets were only able to score 11 points in the last nine minutes of the game.  Duke took away Tech's perimeter game and demoralized a young squad by firing at will from outside and hitting 8 of 11 in the second half alone.  Duke took what should have been a close and emotional contest and turned it into a joke.  The game I  expected this afternoon ended up being the one played at Clemson last week. With Maryland right on Duke's tail, every ACC win is crucial, so winning this one without having to sweat it too much was a great sign, especially  since Duke now gets a few days to rest before the big showdown with NC State.     

  ** Negatives:  

1. Valuing the ball.  When Duke turns the ball over, even against an  average team, they can make the game seem much closer than it really is.  When they stop turning the ball over, Duke becomes virtually impossible to stop. Duke had 8 turnovers in the game's first twelve minutes and led only 28-27. With only 4 turnovers the rest of the half, they upped their lead to 48-34.  

2. Blocking out.  About the only way Tech could score in the second half was via the offensive rebound.  Big forward Ed Nelson had 3 o-boards to his  credit.   

  ** Positives:  

1. Perimeter defense.  A look at Duke's defensive percentages relative to other ACC teams reveals a squad that is average in terms of points allowed and defensive field goal percentage, but one that is near the top of the league in defending the three.  This is a function of a quick perimeter but also a group that does well in switching and rotating.  Tech has six  different three point shooters and Duke did a good job on all of them.  

2. Offensive relentlessness.  Once Duke stopped throwing the ball away, they got into an astonishing groove.  Duke was 15-24 in the second half with just 7 turnovers--that is simply astonishing.  

3. Defensive rebounding.  This was a big key in Duke's first half run, especially since they weren't forcing a ton of turnovers.  Dunleavy, Jones and Boozer all stepped up and combined for 15 first half boards.   

Player-by-Player:  

  ** Boozer: A very odd game for Carlos.  His foul trouble and a couple of weird turnovers (including a charge) didn't make him a big factor in this game.  Combine that with Duke's hot shooting from outside and he just didn't factor into the equation of this game.  Weirdly, he was 5-5 from the field but only 1-4 from the foul line.  Of course, he still managed to grab 7 rebounds in his 25 minutes.  His shots were of the post-up variety, and I have a feeling he would have had many more touches if not for his foul trouble.  One of them came as an offensive foul for lowering his shoulder, and this seemed to make him a bit more tentative than usual.  When he was out of the game, Duke ran a variation of 5-out motion, where no one plays the post and all the players keep moving,  with the post players setting picks up high.   

  ** Dunleavy: Super-smooth game for Mike, who seems to thrive in this building. (Remember his ridiculous spin-to-the-basket move from a couple of years ago?) Mike did not score in the game's first ten minutes, and then exploded for 12 points, including 8 in the last four minutes of the half.  Then he scored 11 of Duke's 14 points in a two minute stretch that put the game away in the second half.  Is there a better streak player than Dunleavy in college?  Mike is great at picking his spots and is just as likely to make a slick pass as he is to take a shot.  In this game, he fed Boozer for a three point play and passed to Williams for threes on the perimeter. Mike also rebounded like a fiend (9, all defensive boards) and played superb help defense.  He came up with 5 steals, mostly by forcing Tech to pass the ball where they didn't want to.  I've said it before and I'll say it again: with Dunleavy patrolling the passing lanes, no team that depends  on a lot of passing will beat Duke.  Teams that can use dribble penetration to their advantage are the only ones who can put up a legitimate challenge. Opponents that can spread the floor and make Duke switch aggressively on its overplays have the best shot.  Lazy, cross-court passes are pounced upon by Duke like lions after a piece of meat.          

  ** Jones: Dahntay struggled from the field but did his usual good job on defense and the foul line.  Eight of his twelve points came in the first three minutes of each half.  When other players got hot, he stayed out of the way and was content to screen and play defense.  When Tech was guarding Dunleavy and Williams with more energy at the beginning of each half, Dahntay took it upon himself to get more involved at that end.  He hit 2 foul shots that helped turn the game's momentum around, namely when Tech was whistled for a moving screen down by just 1 point in the first half.  Dahntay was in a one-and-one situation, and calmly drained both shots.  This was his first sub-.500 shooting day in a while, but none of the misses were especially bad--they just didn't drop.  I thought it was interesting that he went to his jumper a bit more often today rather than attacking off the dribble, but Tech did do a decent job of cutting him off.  His post-up of a smaller guard was a great sequence that I'd like to see repeated.         

  ** Williams: After an off-game from the field on Thursday, Jason was simply on against a Tech perimeter that couldn't keep up with him.  Of course, the most encouraging stat was his 7-7 showing from the foul line.  He's a streaky shooter any way you look at him, but he's quite capable of correcting flaws in his form.  Jason was just unstoppable, completing 8 assists in addition to scoring 28 points.  Other than his turnovers, which were mostly at the beginning of the game, he was simply an offensive machine.  Off the dribble, his play was astonishing as he drove to the basket at will. His shot looked smooth and relaxed.  Most of his assists were to Dunleavy, many of them on out-of-bounds plays.  Perhaps the stat of the game is this: in the first half, Williams and Dunleavy combined to score 14 straight points for Duke.  In the second half, they had a 19 straight point stretch.   

  ** Duhon: Another very good game for Chris, where his assists were a little down (4) because many of the players he passed to were fouled going up. Chris was very aggressive in driving the lane, looking for scores.  He had one of his high-banking floaters and another quick drive for a score, which helped set up his long threes later.  Related to that was his 4-4 mark from the foul line, which should encourage him to drive even more.  The    main negative here were his turnovers, which seemed more careless than anything.  It's taking Chris some time to strike a proper balance between running the team, defending opposing point guards and looking for his own offense.  In some respects, he has the toughest job on the team because he has so many roles.  In addition, he has to learn when to defer to Williams, because when Jason is on a roll, he needs the ball in his hands.  Still, some of the passes Chris has been connecting on lately are just sick.  Naturally, his defense was great as he picked up a 5-second closely guarded call and helped force Tony Akins into 6 turnovers.  

  ** Sanders: Casey was very active, but this resulted in him winding up with 4 fouls in five minutes of play.  I had him down for a block but the  stat keeper disagreed.  I wasn't all that upset with his fouls, however: he wasn't faked out on any of them and some were even reasonable given the situation.  But his foul tendencies are one thing that prevents him from getting more minutes.  

  ** Horvath: Nick had a pretty good defensive game.  That steal he picked up showed he's nicely understanding Duke's play in the passing lanes, and his relocation pass to Ewing for a three was a good one.  Not a spectacular game by any means, but he did a few little things, and when you only get 8 minutes of burn, the little things stand out.  He still looks awkward on offense but is moving without the ball a lot better.  Nick was 2-4 from  the foul line but managed to airball one of them--he just needs more  confidence out there.     

  ** Ewing: A mixed review for Dan, who hit a couple of threes but missed his other 3 shots.  Dan also turned the ball over a couple of times, but did pick up a block.  The first three he hit came very early in the game, which was nice to see since he's been hesitant to take shots in those situations.  I'm not too worried about his performance here--the big key is that he played 21 minutes and held his own.  I still suspect that he will need to come up big in a game later in the year, when Jason or Chris get into serious foul trouble. 

  ** Love: As usual, Reggie was a load on the offensive boards, grabbing 3 in just three minutes.  I'd love to see him get a minute or two in more competitive game action, especially against teams that hold significant rebounding advantages against Duke.  Reggie fought hard around the basket, picked up a steal and got fouled going up, hitting 1.    

  ** Causey: Mark is from the Atlanta area, so he got in a couple of minutes. He took a shot and missed.  

  ** Buckner: Andre was fouled driving to the basket and hit a freebie.

  ** Christensen:  Matt prevented a dunk by fouling.    

  ** Next Game: Thursday, Feburary 14th vs NC State in Cameron.  The Pack are close to an NCAA lock by now.  So their next step is to boost their seed, and beating Duke in Cameron would do a lot for it.  Their young and athletic club will be a significant challenge, and Duke must exploit their lack of size by running things through Boozer.  Either he'll score in a one-on-one matchup or get the ball to an open shooter.  Either way, good things happen when he gets touches inside.     

      Reported by Rob Clough, tmc@duke.edu

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