Bleacher Report - ACC Basketball

Devil's Advocate: Duke Is Athletic Enough

Justin McTeer — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 23:10:17 -0500

Welcome to Devil's Advocate, my weekly Duke Basketball column. Each week, I'll take on a common argument or criticism against Duke used by analysts and/or Duke haters. My opinion might not be correct, but I'm just playing Devil's Advocate.

At halftime during Duke's 64-53 win over Arizona State in the semifinals of the NIT Season Tip-Off at Madison Square Garden, ESPN analyst Doug Gottlieb described the Blue Devils as "alarmingly unathletic" at several positions.

When asked to comment on Gottlieb's analysis after Duke beat Connecticut for the NIT Season Tip-Off championship, Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski took a jab at the former Oklahoma State point guard.

"[Gottlieb] should be an expert on 'alarmingly non-athletic'...an expert who actually knows what it feels like to be 'alarmingly non-athletic,'" said Krzyzewski after the game.

Apparently, Krzyzewski didn't appreciate Gottlieb's comments.

The non-athletic reputation will be something that Duke won't likely shake with Brian Zoubek seeing significant floor time and Jon Scheyer running the point, despite how well he performs (Scheyer has a 10.3/1 assist-to-turnover ratio while averaging 16.8 points per game).

But make no mistake, this is a Duke team that is more athletic than they look.

Guards Nolan Smith and Andre Dawkins are certainly athletes.

Mason Plumlee, currently injured, showed off his athleticism at the McDonald's All-American dunk contest a few months ago.

Miles Plumlee, Duke's starting big man, is 6'10" with a monstrous 36-inch standing vertical—he had to duck mid-air to keep from slamming his head on the rim on a block against Arizona State.

Before anyone gets carried away, let's be clear—no one is saying that Duke is one of the most athletic teams in the nation, or in the ACC for that matter.

But the Blue Devils, despite what anyone says, are athletic enough.

Athletic enough for what?

Well, they are athletic enough to post 45 rebounds, including 18 offensive boards, against an extremely athletic Connecticut team. The Huskies have struggled on the boards this season despite their size and athleticism, but give Duke credit—it's tough to grab nearly 20 offensive rebounds against anyone, let alone against a team with Connecticut's size.

Despite being widely regarded as one of the ACC's less athletic teams, the Blue Devils currently top the conference in rebounds with 44 per game, out-rebounding frontcourt-loaded teams like North Carolina and Florida State who have just as much size, if not more, than the Blue Devils.

Simply put, the Blue Devils can certainly hold their own against any team in the conference, especially once 6'10" Mason Plumlee suits up.

Duke may not be the most athletic team in the ACC, but they are athletic enough.

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Boston College Gets Key Road Win at Providence, Prepares for Michigan

Paul Seaver — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 22:18:10 -0500

On paper, it’s nothing special.

However, for Boston College the 82-77 victory over Providence on Saturday is a key win in the early stages of their schedule.

Rakim Sanders still sits on the sideline with a high ankle sprain, but the other core members of this Eagles’ team had no trouble in racking up stats.

After a rough trip to the Virgin Islands last weekend, Boston College (4-2) responded on the road at Providence ensuring victory before preparing for another tough road test at Michigan.

Following a 1-2 finish at the Paradise Jam tournament, which included losses to St. Joseph’s and Northern Iowa, the Eagles needed to pick up a win against a weakened Providence team.

Reggie Jackson had a career day in front of more than 10,000 fans at the Dunkin’ Donuts Center in Providence, Rhode Island. The sophomore racked up a career-high 20 points to go along with a career-best 12 rebounds for the Eagles.

Along with Jackson, Corey Raji added a double-double in his own right, finishing with 16 points and 10 rebounds, while junior Joe Trapani added 19 points and eight rebounds.

The final stats were great for the trio that has stepped up to replace the injured Sanders but the key play came from the other two starters for the Eagles late in the contest.

Trailing 77-75 in the final minute of play, point guard Biko Paris drove and found Josh Southern who converted on an old-fashioned three-point play to put BC ahead.

The Eagles used free throws down the stretch to complete the 82-77 win over the Friars.

The game between the two most highly touted programs in New England has become an annual occasion, and for the Eagles in 2009, their win over Providence could not have come at a better time.

With the win, BC remains above .500 through the first six games, improving to 4-2 overall as they get set to head to Ann Arbor as part of the ACC/Big Ten Challenge.

Michigan (3-2) had a difficult weekend down at the Old Spice Classic, dispatching Creighton behind the fine play of Manny Harris , before dropping back-to-back games against Marquette and Alabama.

It should be a good boost for either team who can secure a victory in the upcoming game.

The tip is set for 7:30 p.m., Wednesday.

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A Quick Look at the 2009 Big Ten/ACC Challenge

Bret Feddern — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 13:50:16 -0500

The Eleventh Annual Big Ten/ACC Challenge is set to kick off tomorrow, and it could finally be the Big Ten's turn to win it.

The ACC has won 10 straight Big Ten/ACC Challenges, winning a total of 62 out of the 97 games played in the Challenge to date. The Duke Blue Devils are undefeated in the series.

With seven teams in the Top 25, and two teams in the Top 10, the odds appear to be in the Big Ten's favor this year. The ACC has five teams in the Top 25, with one in the Top 10.

However, a closer look shows that the ACC has more undefeated teams and less total losses among the teams in the conference. Point being, this year's Challenge is anyone's guess.

Here is a quick look at the match-ups:

Monday, Nov. 30
Penn State (4-2) at Virginia (4-2)

Tuesday, Dec. 1
No. 22 Maryland (4-2) at Indiana (3-3)
No. 2 Michigan State (5-1) at No. 11 North Carolina (5-1)
Northwestern (5-1) at N.C. State (4-0)
Virginia Tech (4-1) at Iowa (2-4)
Wake Forest (4-1) at No. 6 Purdue (5-0)

Wednesday, Dec. 2
Boston College (4-2) at No. 15 Michigan (3-1)
No. 7 Duke (6-0) at Wisconsin (4-1)
Florida State (5-1) at No. 18 Ohio State (5-1)
No. 21 Illinois (4-2) at No. 19 Clemson (5-1)
No. 16 Minnesota (4-1) at Miami (7-0)

Overall, this year's Challenge could shape up to be the best ever. But a few of the match-ups really make what little hair there is left on Dick Vitale's head stand straight up.

The most anticipated game of the Challenge is the rematch of last year’s National Championship game, Michigan State and North Carolina. They played in last year's Big Ten/ACC Challenge and will battle it out again this year.

North Carolina won both games last year, but Michigan State might have the best team heading into this year's match. If the Spartans want to win this one, they are going to have to do so in the heart of Tar Heel country.

Another great match-up will be Duke at Wisconsin. In typical fashion, the Duke Blue Devils have yet to lose a game this year. They head into Madison for what could be their hardest game of the year.

The Badgers' only loss this year came at the hands of a tough Gonzaga team, and they are coming off a victory over No. 22 Maryland.

All of the games should be close, but only time will tell which conference will win the Challenge.

Note: The rankings used in this post were released prior to this week's games, and will likely change when the new rankings come out on Monday, Nov 30.

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"Crazies" For Our Team: Duke Tops List of Fan Bases in North Carolina

Tyler Lambert — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 11:57:22 -0500

Basketball, Football, Baseball and Men’s and Women’s Soccer are just a few of the sports that any university in the country would take great pride. With each of these sports, however, come rivals that show up again and again on the yearly sport schedules. The rivalry of Tobacco Road, which consists of the Duke Blue Devils and the North Carolina Tar Heels, is one of the most noted throughout the country.

Year in and year out, the Blue Devils and Tar Heels face off in every imaginable sport known to man.

The battle on the hardwood, the struggle between Hall-of-Fame coaches Mike Krzyzewski of Duke and Roy Williams of North Carolina, is one of the most note-worthy matchups in the country throughout the year.

But I’m not here to discuss this epic battle due to take place later on in the year. I’m not even here to discuss the universities as a whole. No, I’m here to discuss the fans of both the Blue Devils and Tar Heels. I might even throw in the fans of the Wolf Pack at NC State as well.

Located in the cities of Raleigh, Durham, and Chapel Hill, the three universities are separated by less than 30 minutes round-trip. This makes for great rivalries, short away games, and a large fan base throughout the great state of North Carolina.

Let’s start off with the Wolf Pack of NC State.

Found in the center of Raleigh, North Carolina, is North Carolina State University. Home to the beloved Wolf Pack, NC State is home to one of the largest, if not largest, fan bases in the entire state. What makes NC State such a desirable team to root for?

NC State is noted for their hustle and rough play.

On the football field, the Wolf Pack are guaranteed to put up a fight and challenge the ball handlers of the opposing team by hustling up and down the turf. That hustle may not always translate into wins, but it does guarantee a fan base full of proud supporters who will cheer on the Pack even through difficult times.

Hustle and tenacity can also describe the NC State Basketball Program.

On the hardwood, the Pack has struggled through the years. Having difficulty finding their way once ACC play begins has played a large part in their downfall, although injuries and players departing early for the NBA can also contribute to their inability to win.

The Pack, led by coach Sidney Lowe, are an always dangerous team to upset some of the heavy-weights in the ACC, although even winning against lesser competition is now coming at a premium.

Athletics at NC State are now dramatically on a rise. With younger, more talented recruits finding their way to Raleigh, the teams are now beginning to find success off and on the court. Winning may not always come easy, but one thing is for sure: NC State will always supply one of the largest and loudest fan bases in the country.

Fan Base Grade: B+

When hasn’t the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill be considered one of the top athletic universities in the country? Throughout the years, UNC has been a trademark of consistency and winning. The fan base of the Tar Heels has also been consistent as well, showing up to every athletic competition in massive groups.

The football program, led by coach Butch Davis, has slowly taken off in the past few seasons. Led by NFL-talent galore and an upstart coach, the Tar Heels have excelled in every aspect of the game since Davis arrived in Chapel Hill.

They have also owned the in-state rivals as well. Although NC State provided a bump in the road last season when they went into Chapel Hill and upset the Tar Heels, 41-10, UNC has been the most consistent football team in the Triangle area over the last five years.

When it comes to the basketball program, however, there is no need in comparing the Tar Heels to the Wolf Pack. UNC has one of the most historic and successful programs in the country, and that success has kept rolling the past few seasons under coach Williams.

When Williams arrived in Chapel Hill after leaving Kansas, many Tar Heel fans were prepared to see where he would lead the program. Needless to say, after winning the 2005 and 2009 NCAA Championships at UNC, Tar Heel fans have their answer.

The fan base showed up to the Final Four and Championship games along the way, giving UNC the home-court feeling it needed to advance and conquer. Although the fans of UNC may sometimes seem to brag about their success, they have reason to as UNC is one of the top athletic universities in the entire country.

Fan Base Grade: A-

Duke University, nestled in historic Durham, is home to one of the most successful athletic programs in the history of the NCAA. The fans have consistently followed the Blue Devils around the country, whether that be for Final Four basketball games or long road trips.

Is there an any more active and loyal fan base in the country?

Rebuilding. That is the word that describes the Duke Football program under second-year head coach David Cutcliffe. After arriving in Durham two years ago, Cutcliffe promised the Blue Devil fans that he would turn the once lowly Duke football team into a well-respected program once again.

That promise was met the first year as the Blue Devils finished the 2008 season at 4-8. The previous two years under former coach Ted Roof, Duke racked up a combined 1-23 record in rout to becoming one of the biggest laughing stocks in all of college football.

This season, expectations grew larger as Duke has a current record of 5-6 heading into their final game of the season versus Wake Forest. Although the Blue Devils will not be bowl-eligible this season, they have a chance to finish the season above .500 for the first time since 1994.

When it comes to the Duke Basketball program, history is on the side as coach Krzyzewski has shaped Duke into a national powerhouse. Playing their home games in the historic Cameron Indoor Stadium, the Blue Devils are always primed to be one of the top teams in the country and make a deep run in the NCAA Tournament.

The fan turn-out at basketball games is unlike any other. The student section, known as the “Cameron Crazies”, is one of the most well-known fan bases in college basketball today. Whether it be providing the Blue Devils a spark or distracting the opposing teams’ top player, the “Crazies” are guaranteed to play a major part in any home contest.

Coach Krzyzewski, or Coach K, challenges the Duke fan base to come out to games and provide energy for his team. Coach Cutcliffe challenges the Duke fan base to buy tickets to football games and watch the Blue Devils develop into a respected program. The Duke fans have lived up to the billing, and have excelled any expectation that the coaches could ever have imagined.

Fan Base Grade: A+

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Boston College Missing Rakim Sanders, While Road Tests Approach

Paul Seaver — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 15:19:30 -0500

Arguably the best player on the Eagles’ roster has been completely non-existent for Boston College to start the season.

Junior Rakim Sanders was one of three Eagles who were suspended for unspecified violations of team rules. After serving his suspension in wins over Dartmouth and St. Francis (NY), Sanders returned to resume his starting role.

Four minutes into the start of his season, Sanders went down with an apparent leg injury in the opening game of the Paradise Jam down in the U.S. Virgin Islands. After playing only four minutes into his junior year, Rakim suffered a high ankle sprain and is expected to miss anywhere from two to four weeks of play.

A trip to the sunny island turned out to be one to forget for the Eagles. After losing Sanders in the opening minutes against St. Joseph’s, BC succumbed 84-80 for their first loss of the season.

With a possible matchup against Purdue looming, the Eagles loss to St. Joe’s brought up a second round game with South Dakota State instead. The Eagles handily took care of business, winning 75-58 to improve to 3-1.

On the last day of the Paradise Jam, the Eagles took on Northern Iowa in another consolation game. After holding a lead at halftime, the Eagles struggled again in the second half, looking like a team who was missing the services of Rakim Sanders.

Corey Raji had 18 points, but Northern Iowa used a big second half to knock off BC 81-69.

Sitting at 3-2 through the front five games of the season, the Eagles appear desperate to get Rakim Sanders back, however, may have to make due without him for a few more weeks. With that being said, the Eagles look ahead to some tough road games.

Tomorrow night, November 28th, Boston College will head down to Providence, Rhode Island for their annual matchup with the Friars. Although Providence is predicted to finish somewhere in the bottom half of the Big East, it is still a tough road test for the Eagles, especially while Sanders will still be in street clothes.

While looking to avoid starting only .500 through the first six games, the Eagles are also prepared to head to Ann Arbor next week for a game with top 25 Michigan as part of the ACC-Big Ten Challenge.

Boston College has entered the season returning everybody but Tyrese Rice. However, their lineup has certainly been affected by suspensions and the Sanders injury compounds the issue even further. As Rakim will not be in action again for the upcoming road tests, the Eagles will look to figure out a way to stay on track as the month of December approaches quickly.

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What Did Duke Teach Us in Win Over Arizona State?

Mike Kline — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 09:23:11 -0500

The nation learned a lot about this year's version of the 2009-10 Duke men's basketball team on Wednesday night.

And for the most part it isn't a good thing if you are a Blue Devil fan.

Duke avoided an early exit from the NIT Tipoff Classic by defeating Arizona State 64-53. The win can only be described as ugly and if nothing else it revealed more about the Blue Devils whose previous four games were all blow out wins over inferior talent.

So what did we learn?

Duke is not very quick

Not sure this should come as much of a surprise but it bears repeating as ASU for most of the game showed its superior quickness in getting to lose balls, rebounds, and to the basket.

Unlike the experts like ESPN's Doug Gottlieb who pronounced Duke as an unathletic team, it is more that Duke lacks the vertical quickness and overall speed that some other schools possess in greater abundance.

Lack of quickness and speed in no way means Duke is unathletic as Gottlieb and others proclaimed, but it is a significant weakness and it showed against the Sun Devils.

Duke has plenty of good basketball players who are athletic in their own right but they won't be winning any foot races anytime soon. And in a close game or with the right mismatches it can be a fatal flaw for the Blue Devils.

Jon Scheyer is mortal

Scheyer had played nearly 140 minutes before Wednesday night's game without a turnover. He had two against ASU.

Still Scheyer was one of the main reasons that Duke won the game with his steady play even when Duke faced its largest deficit of the year.

He may not possess those typical point guard qualities, but he has held in own while running the offense for the Blue Devils.

More Zone Please

Mike Krzyzewski is a proud man who has built his best teams on the backs of intense man-to-man defense.

The problem is this year’s Blue Devils aren't really capable of playing the type of man-to-man defense they have in years past.

Arizona State really exploited that fact Wednesday and had little trouble taking the slower Duke defenders off the dribble and creating lay ups, fouls, or scoring opportunities for teammates.

It was especially painful to watch 7 foot 1 inch Brian Zoubek attempting to come out, as he is suppose to help defensively on high screens based on Duke's man defense.

The problem is it created more mismatches and fouls than it did help for the Blue Devils defense.

Yet Krzyzewski only showed the zone one time down court in the second half.

Why?

Better, faster teams than the Sun Devils will exploit Duke's lack of vertical quickness in the man defensive scheme.

The solution would be to play more zone and force those teams to out shoot you. And while there has been talk of seeing more zone this season we all saw on Wednesday, Krzyzewski still wants to live and die with man-to-man.

It may be fine against some teams but against the likes of Connecticut who plays Duke in the NIT Championship game Friday, it could get real ugly real quick.

But who am I to question a coaching legend?

Duke can win without Kyle Singler but...

The results are guaranteed to be ugly.

Singler was clearly off Wednesday and never seemed comfortable. This could have been attributed to several causes but only he knows what the problem was.

The positive Duke can take from this game is that they can win without their do-it-all star. He did hit some big shots at key moments, but his overall game seemed forced and that led to many uncharacteristic mistakes by the preseason All-American.

All in all a win is a win and Duke will certainly take it. However, the win was a wakeup call for the Blue Devil players and the fans.

There has been a lot of talk about how good this Duke team is. But the fact remains that until they beat a team like Connecticut on Friday this team they still are unproven

So far the Blue Devils have only four convincing wins over mediocre opponents and one over a team predicted to finish in the middle of the road in a weak Pac 10 Conference.

It may be best to quell all of those talks of final fours and deep tournament runs until Duke can prove it can win a game against a team equally as good and who has superior speed.

They will get their chance very soon.

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Virginia-Stanford: Cavaliers Face Early Test on the Hardwood

Ben Gibson — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 22:31:04 -0500

Life on the East Coast may be an adjustment for new Virginia coach Tony Bennett, but none of that matters this week in Cancun, Mexico.

Bennett may not have much experience against the ACC juggernauts like Duke, but he knows plenty about the team Virginia is playing Tuesday night, the Stanford Cardinal.

Indeed, this Virginia-Stanford duel seems much like star-crossed lovers. On one hand you have Bennett, the former coach at Washington State who came to love Pullman, Washington as a second home.

On the other hand you have Johnny Dawkins, the Duke legend and long-time assistant who has switched coasts to sharpen his teeth at Stanford.

Bennett is 1-1 against Dawkins head to head, as both teams won their home games against the other in the PAC-10 last season. His new team had a pretty bad stumble against South Florida, but has continued to slowly improve on the defensive end toward a 3-1 record to start the season.

However, the fact remains that this is one of the first real tests Virginia is going to face this season. By the end of this contest, we will know much more about each team as both programs try to improve upon disappointing results last season.

If Virginia is going to pull off the victory Tuesday night, look for recently returned sophomore center Assane Sene to play a pivotal role. After serving a three-game suspension in which the Cavaliers played with virtually no frontcourt at all, Sene returned in fine fashion to record eight points in seven rebounds.

While Sene continued to show the promise that keeps Virginia fans excited for the future, he also continues to frustrate the fan base with his excessive fouling. After all, what good is Sene's return if he only spends his time on the bench in foul trouble?

Bennett was quick to note that Sene is not going to be the magic cure to Virginia's woes, however, his progression is critical to the team's success.

"I think defensively we did better because we didn't have to double and instead we could spread out and make the opposing players make shots over the top," Bennett told reporters after Virginia's victory over Oral Roberts, however "we have to get him to play with his feet instead of his hands and play in proper position."

Bennett has already shown strong decision making when it comes to adjusting to his team's talents. While the four-guard lineup had to have made sense in theory with his thin front court, Virginia simply did not have the shooters to make that game plan feasible.

Against South Florida, when the Bulls recognized that Virginia could not hit from the outside they simply clogged the paint and slowed the offense. Bennett wisely countered the next few games to put Mike Scott and Jerome Meyinsse on the floor for extended periods of time to keep the defense honest.

While this decision has improved the offensive sets, it has not improved the rebounding. If the Cavaliers are going to be successful, they must find a way to limit second chance opportunities for the Cardinal. They will also likely need a few extra opportunities themselves.

The Cavaliers have a tough task in front of them, Stanford may be 2-2 at this point in the season, but they are coming off a 30-point victory last weekend. They also are 5-1 all-time against Virginia, including a one-point victory in 2007, the lone loss for the Cavaliers at the John Paul Jones Arena in its inaugural season.

Indeed, Stanford has had Virginia's number as of late. For whatever reason, the Cavaliers have seemed to struggle not only in terms of stopping the Cardinal, but even mustering the energy to put forth a good effort. If Virginia does not contain Landry Fields, it may be a case of history repeating itself.

Fields has scored at least 20 points in every game this season, making him the first player to do that since Brook Lopez at Stanford. The senior had a breakout season last year when he was given the opportunity, averaging nearly 15 PPG and filling up the stat sheets with 42 steals and 66 assists.

His experience and his overall game make him a dangerous threat to Virginia, and if the Cavaliers cannot manage the ball, this game could turn quickly.

That means the pressure will be on sophomore guard Sammy Zeglinski, one of the most pivotal players on the team this season. Zeglinski may be a very likable guy, but he needs to prove that he can effectively run the offense against high quality teams.

The good news for Zeglinski is that he probably has had his best back-to-back performances ever in last week's victories over Rider and Oral Roberts.

The young man from Philadelphia has a tendency to get a bit skittish under the bright lights of the John Paul Jones Arena, but looked very poised last week. Zeglinski did not gamble as much on defense and moved his feet to keep opposing shooters at bay.

Also, Bennett wisely has divvied up the ball-handling duties, allowing Zeglinski time to catch and shoot the ball. As a result, his numbers have skyrocketed, and he has 12 and 13 points respectively in the past two contests.

If Virginia can consistently get those numbers out of Zeglinski, mixed with the potential for defensive efficiency, the Cavaliers can make some noise this season.

The greatest motivation for Bennett's club though may not just be victory, but the opportunity to play Kentucky if Virginia wins. This would be a huge opportunity for the Cavaliers to show their stuff on a national stage.

Granted, Virginia could very well be laughed out of the building. However, it could also show that the Cavaliers made the right choice in hiring Bennett if they were to keep it competitive.

Bennett ball may not always be beautiful, but it beats losing by 30.

The Cavaliers will learn a great deal about themselves in Cancun. The season is young, but there is already things to be excited about. Conversely, there are still nagging concerns.

Bennett realizes though that Virginia must take these things in stride.

"My challenge to them though is just don't go back down to ground zero," Bennett said. "There might be some setbacks but let's make sure we just keep knocking and maybe eventually we'll be able to push that door open."

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