11-1 a must in non conf

this team is poised unlike years in the past. things dont go their way (2-14 from the arc vs. siena, 21 points 1st half vs temple), they find a way to the basket. i will credit dj as it appears, he scores at will and when we most desperately need it.

let me ask everyone...why is beating Duke sooo out of the question?

in their last couple games, I've been scouting them extensively and they are flawed. Their big guys seem to be very uncomfortable with the ball in their hands. Singler is solid but with pressure in his face he does get flustered. If you keep Smith shooting he can be contained, because I believe his strong suit is beating you off the dribble and driving. Scheyer can shoot but he is iffy also. Look I'm not saying we are a better team but it seems like we have no chance from most of you. I think there def is a chance, we will have to play perfect but its possible. If we beat Stony Brook on Wed. then 6-0 going to Duke is the best we could have asked for. I think its possible.

let me ask everyone...why is beating Duke sooo out of the question?

in their last couple games, I've been scouting them extensively and they are flawed. Their big guys seem to be very uncomfortable with the ball in their hands. Singler is solid but with pressure in his face he does get flustered. If you keep Smith shooting he can be contained, because I believe his strong suit is beating you off the dribble and driving. Scheyer can shoot but he is iffy also. Look I'm not saying we are a better team but it seems like we have no chance from most of you. I think there def is a chance, we will have to play perfect but its possible. If we beat Stony Brook on Wed. then 6-0 going to Duke is the best we could have asked for. I think its possible.

For me personally...I'm just being realistic when it comes to the Duke game.  Can we beat them???  Absolutely.  But when talking about our record at the end of the year...I'm chalking the Duke game up as a loss. 

I still expect a solid effort from our guys....and expect a great game.  If we execute...we can beat them!!!

There is a big difference between playing Duke at MSG and playing Duke at Cameron Indoor.

I mean I'm not going into it blind thinking we are going to dominate or even win but I just think us being written off after this type of a start is a bit rash.

There is a big difference between playing Duke at MSG and playing Duke at Cameron Indoor.

Is it still true that Duke has not lost a non conference game at Cameron since February 26, 2000?

I mean I'm not going into it blind thinking we are going to dominate or even win but I just think us being written off after this type of a start is a bit rash.

It's certainly not impossible but it's also not probable.

Quote from: Dave on November 29, 2009, 07:51:55 PM

There is a big difference between playing Duke at MSG and playing Duke at Cameron Indoor.

Is it still true that Duke has not lost a non conference game at Cameron since February 26, 2000?

Yep

There is a big difference between playing Duke at MSG and playing Duke at Cameron Indoor.

You are 100% right Dave.  It would be ASTONISHING if we beat Duke.  Pinstripes - could we play perfect in that atmosphere?  POSSIBLY but unlikely not.  But even IF we play perfect, that doesn't mean we beat Duke.

Duke seems a lot tougher than in years past if you judge them based on the UConn game.  If we can play within 10-15 points, it's a good trip to get some road experience.  The goal is to play close.  If we win, we'll be the talk of the sports world....just aint gonna happen...and I will be rooting for st johns so dont think its cuz im biased.

Playing within 10/15 points is not the goal. Playing close is not the goal. We are capable of winning. They were better then us in 99 when we should have won. They were better then us in 2000 when we won. They were alot better then us Hatten's year. They are better then us this year. Winning is the goal this year. I expect and almost guarantee the team will show up. (maybe not guarantee but would be devastated if they got blown out). I believe, maybe just because I want to. But this team looks good. We are athletic and have depth. Hopefully they don't play great and miss shots. Maybe Dwight Hardy turns into Bootsy Thorton. Nobody heard of bootsy until he went for 40. Come on guys get excited. It has been a long long time. We not only show up this week. We play to win and expect to win. That is the goal!

Playing within 10/15 points is not the goal. Playing close is not the goal. We are capable of winning. They were better then us in 99 when we should have won. They were better then us in 2000 when we won. They were alot better then us Hatten's year. They are better then us this year. Winning is the goal this year. I expect and almost guarantee the team will show up. (maybe not guarantee but would be devastated if they got blown out). I believe, maybe just because I want to. But this team looks good. We are athletic and have depth. Hopefully they don't play great and miss shots. Maybe Dwight Hardy turns into Bootsy Thorton. Nobody heard of bootsy until he went for 40. Come on guys get excited. It has been a long long time. We not only show up this week. We play to win and expect to win. That is the goal!

OK I admire your optimism but come on dude.  The last non ACC team to beat Duke in Cameron was St Johns --- and a TOP TEN st johns team.  Duke has proven to be as good as anyone in the country not named kansas arguably.  We just aren't going to win in Cameron.  It's not that I don't think you're giving Duke enough credit, I don't think you are giving Cameron Indoor Stadium and the Cameron Crazies enough credit.  If this was MSG or on a neutral court I'd be right there with you.  A single digit loss IS an awesome outcome on saturday.  Trust me.

I would agree a single hard fought loss would be an accomplishment, but that shouldn't be the goal. Showing up playing hard should be a given not a hope. I know Cameron is really tough, but they do lose there in Conference occasionally. I don't know the stats but I imagine many of their non conference wins have been against some really poor teams. I also understand they probably beat some good teams. I don't expect a win but I do expect a game.

I know some people may find this shocking but do we get some votes on Monday for top 25? Our RPI is currently #2 in the country. I don't think we'll be top 25 but we might get some votes which would be cool. 2011 class how you doing? Ring Ring Ring

I'm expecting some votes.

Pinkston would look nice right next to Omari Lawerence for the next 3 years. That would be the sh_t right there!!

we are 2 wins from being in the top 25!!

We beat two teams that received votes for the top 25 as of last week - Temple received 4 and Siena 1.

Others Receiving Votes: Gonzaga 90, Florida State 84, Georgia Tech 76, California 72, Mississippi 67, Xavier 67, Oklahoma State 59, Memphis 56, Florida 52, Kansas State 49, Wake Forest 49, Dayton 48, Brigham Young 42, Tulsa 31, Miami (FL) 24, Texas A&M 10, Missouri 8, Mississippi State 7, Old Dominion 7, Pittsburgh 6, UNLV 5, South Carolina 4, Temple 4, Baylor 3, Arizona State 1, Cal State Fullerton 1, Harvard 1, New Mexico 1, Siena 1, Virginia Commonwealth 1

I doubt we beat Duke at Cameron, but we are the exact type of team that could give them problems.  Athletes EVERYWHERE...will push it.  We have somebody that can both man-up with Singler and is also quicker than him (DJ). 

I haven't see Duke play this year, but last year they had holes all over the place.  They weren't a very athletic team and they had nobody in the frontcourt that could punish you. I would think they are more athletic this year and more dynamic from the guard positions, but if they aren't hitting their shots they are more than beatable by a decent team. 

 I believe that we do have a solid chance at beating duke this yr..last yr duke beat us by what 9 pts??..ok so the game wasn't really that close they just couldn't hit free throws at the end..last time we played @ duke didn't we have geno as a pg starting with a bunch of freshman..I believe we startd that game on a 7-0 run..ok we got killed but I believe this is a muchhh better team then that year..last yrs game we were in foul trouble the whole game with no depth!..I think paris had 4 1st half fouls..plus with duke losing henderson paulus n that kid that transfered to memphis how much better r they??..we've added depth and some scoring..I'm not sure if plumblee is gunna play but I think we should give them a battle..I think the toughest challege will be that enviorment its crazy down there!! I'm excited to see how we play!..I think its great to have this game at the begining of the season though so tha win or lose its gonna be a great game for us to build on and see what we have to work on so we can be better in march

First off welcome to the site Matt.

Sure we have a chance to beat Duke. I also have a chance with Megan Fox. My point is that its not impossible to beat Duke by any means but its improbable to beat them at Cameron Indoor.

Also in reference to the game you are talking about Duke was blowing us out by so much they let us crawl back into a respectable margin. If Coach K didn't pull the dogs off they could have beaten us very very badly.

If we have any shot at beating Duke there is no better time than now.

Thank you

I do agree with you in the sense that its inprobable beating duke at cameron not just for us but any team at that its a very very tough enviorment and that's an understatement..
   I also agree that duke let us crawl bak into that game I just feel that they lost a lot of weapons from last year and we gained a few..ur rite if anytime this is the time I know I'm a little optomistic but I have a feeling about this team that I haven't had ina while..
   

I believe that we do have a solid chance at beating duke this yr..last yr duke beat us by what 9 pts??..ok so the game wasn't really that close they just couldn't hit free throws at the end..last time we played @ duke didn't we have geno as a pg starting with a bunch of freshman..I believe we startd that game on a 7-0 run..ok we got killed but I believe this is a muchhh better team then that year..last yrs game we were in foul trouble the whole game with no depth!..I think paris had 4 1st half fouls..plus with duke losing henderson paulus n that kid that transfered to memphis how much better r they??..we've added depth and some scoring..I'm not sure if plumblee is gunna play but I think we should give them a battle..I think the toughest challege will be that enviorment its crazy down there!! I'm excited to see how we play!..I think its great to have this game at the begining of the season though so tha win or lose its gonna be a great game for us to build on and see what we have to work on so we can be better in march

Nice to see a new poster - Welcome, Matt.

Personally, before watching Duke play this year I would have agreed with you that they are not as good as last year.  They lost henderson (paulus was a backup and sucked so I wouldnt think that would be a negative) and williams.  However, after watching them play ASU and then UConn, it is obvious this Duke team is VERY different than the teams of the last few years.

Can anyone remember the last time Duke played a good, athletic team, shot horribly, and won?

This Duke team can score in a variety of ways - they aren't as "live and die by the 3" as previous teams.  Singler can mix it up both inside and outside, Dawkins and Smith can both shoot AND slash, and even Plumlee version 1.0 is much improved from last year and tougher than many of the doofy bigs Duke has ran out there in the past.  This Duke team battled with UConn and outrebounded them.  They seem hungrier and tougher, even if they are just as "unathletic" according to Doug Gottlieb.

I fear we are going to lose by 20, I just hope it's a gradual 20 rather than a first half blow out.  If we keep it under 15, I'll be real happy with our guys.  This game helps REGARDLESS of what happens because we play in a hostile atmosphere against a top 10 team before BE play.  Should really toughen us and prepare us for the season.

I admire all of you optimists, and at one point I probably thought the same way as you, but I just can't see us beating Duke if they play the way they did against Uconn - and you can't see them shooting that poorly again, esp. at home.