Duke, + question on no zone D

I see Duke as a big loss no matter what unless they lose starters due to injury tonight. Go NC anyway. But...anyone know why Turg never switches to a zone D? Or do they and I just haven't seen it? Either he's a man to man coach all the way, or it fits personel the best, or he's just trying to keep it simple for now. I would think it would be easier for the opponent to game plan once they know it's gonna be the same ol'. Yall saw what a simple switch by Clemson did to us. I would think we could do it as well from time to time. 

This is all practice by coach T for the ACC playoffs

Duke is loosing, eihter that's bad and they take it out on us.
Or maybe they can be beat.  Go Terps.  Two Road Wins.

BC beat FSU, dang they scare me.
Hate the sure thing.

Duke came back, they were down 11 or more late.
We are not the only team where a lead is not safe

Any Duke fan who claims that game was won fair and square is living in a perpetual state of delusion.  The Rat started whining and crying incessantly about every call/non-call from the 15:00 mark of the 2nd half on when it was obvious that the Tar Heels were on the verge of pulling away.  Suddenly, and as is usually the case, the refs cave and Duke gets calls on at least 4 consecutive trips on offense (sending Zeller to the bench early with 4 fouls as a result)  It's maddening!  I was watching the Raycom broadcast here in Baltimore to avoid Dickie V on ESPN; during the last timeout prior to Zeller's final free throw attempts, they showed the graphic for "timeouts left" and "fouls" and lo and behold the foul calls are dead even...even in Chapel Hill!!  Not to mention that (once again) the calls were far too numerous and completely interfered with the flow of the game.  God forbid the zebras should allow the kids to decide the outcome of a high profile game!

River's shot was super clutch and the kid had a phenomenal game, Zeller/UNC missed crucial foul shots down the stretch and played pathetic perimeter defense on the last shot, but the fact is that the game never should have been that close at the buzzer.  The refs giftwrapped that one for Duke.  I'm generally not a conspiracy theorist type of poster, but I have eyes and follow the college game as closely as anyone I know.  Duke just isn't that good this year; in fact, it's one of the least-talented Blue Devils teams in recent memory.  Yet somehow they're still hovering around the Top Ten.  I hope to God they're exposed in the tourney again and get bounced early.

Terps have no chance on Sat.  Even if the game were close late, the refs would be sure to hand it to Coach K on a silver platter anyway.



LET'S GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO, MARYLAND!!!

C'mon, mac.....don't blame the loss on the refs.  North Carolina had their foot on the throat of Duke and let off on the accellerator.  Not to mention that Zeller missed clutch free throws down the stretch, put the ball in his opponent's basket, and failed to defend the player everyone knew would be taking the final shot from behind the three point stripe.  This was just a complete and utter failure by one of North Carolina's veteran players.  Of course Zeller is not solely to blame for the loss, but his play at the most crucial time stands out far more than his teammates.   

All true, Memphis...I'm not going to argue against the string of events you mention.  What really pissed me off was that one stretch I mentioned earlier in the 2nd half where the refs obviously amended their foul call approach and suddenly a 13-point lead for the Tar Heels is down to 7 and you could just feel the momentum shifting.  Coach K was popping veins, barking at anyone who would listen, and they caved.  Later, they missed Curry taking extra steps before another pivotal 3 during crunchtime; having said that, they also missed a blatant offensive foul (push off) on Barnes that led to a 2-point basket for him.  In a nutshell, the officiating was horrendous and intrusive on the outcome.  I gave props to Rivers and acknowledged Zeller's shortcomings in my previous post, but I'll bet you my last dollar that UNC doesn't receive anywhere near the favorable officiating during the rematch in March that Duke rec'd on the road last night.  And for the record, I despise UNC almost as much as Duke; I just despise shoddy/gutless/premeditated officiating even more.


LET'S GOOOOOOOOOOOOOO, MARYLAND!!

I did remember thinking that Curry travelled shortly after the ball was inbounded and the Barnes push off could have been an offensive foul, but I did think that the Duke player flopped and made it look worse than what it was.  I'm sure there were some missed calls on both ends throughout the game.  As for Coach K, he argues vehemently all the time.  I wish the NCAA would put a stop to that sort of thing, but it nevertheless continues and other coaches act in a similar fashion.  Even Gary Williams was known to work up a sweat against refs from time to time.  The bottom line is that North Carolina did more to shoot themselves in the foot than anything the refs could have done.  They had many chances to secure the outcome of the game and failed.

To me UNC got what they deserved. Henson dunked on Maryland at the end of the game when he shouldn't and that's karma bitting them in the ass. Or at least I tell myself that to make me feel better.

Go Terps!

Patsos and his Loyola-Maryland Greyhounds battle Iona for first place in the MAAC tonight at 7:00 on ESPNU.  Would love to see all of his hard work these last 7+ seasons finally be rewarded with a bid to the tourney this year.  He's still a big presence on the local sports radio circuit around here; no surprise given his knowledge of the game, insider connections, dry sense of humor, and storytelling skills.  Always a good listen.  Go get 'em, Jimmy!

Well the road just got a little toughr with Howard out for the rest of the season. It makes the fact that we have not recruited a PG for next season even more problematic. Now Stoglin is going to be the PG and Faust the SG. though I think Stoglin can do the job, it will impact his scoring unless now he just brings it up and shoots it without any passes at all which will probably happen alot, and Faust has not found his stroke all year so I think if the terps are to have any chance, in any game, Mosely will have to step up tp the plate and take on or share one of these roles. Unfortunately the time to go shorthanded is not when headed to Durham. 

I don't think many thought we had much of a chance in this one anyway, but now it could get really ugly those last 10 min when the walk ons will surely have to get some playing time.  

Skins you're right.
Tough to figure, it was almost like they were down to just a few minutes or less of falling asleep.
But to me they have been fun to watch and competitive.
Not in early December though being crushed by Alabama and what was it near 100 points scored by Iona.
Hope we can be respectable and not revert back to that point.
Sargarin had the betting line at 17.58 Thursday morning.
The Terps have been beating the Sargarin points pretty regularly.
Sargarin doesn't take into account House Risk or Cash Flow.
We will see.
Do they still allow men to practice with the women?
NCAA was talking about changing that a few years ago, can't remember the outcome.
Maybe we could use a couple of those guys.
Go Terps.

I think Loyola beat Iona last night so that is how bad we were early without a PG. It was fun while it lasted and this team has already exceeded my expectations for the year so I am not mad, but when you are this thin, you can't afford for anything to go wrong. Hopefuly the early season experience will help them down the stretch. I still think they have a chance to win one more this year, but as i have been saying, next year is going to be an issue with still only one, oft injured, true PG on the team. i am really hoing Mark is scouring the JUCO circuit for someone to transfer here. Gary made great use of the Junior Colleges whenver he got thin and found some real gems over the year. Usually I would not want to go that way because you only get them for tow years, but in this case it would be just the stop gap transition to give Mark a chance to recruit one and give him a freshman year to learn. 

The whole "Duke gets every call" is really getting old.  Duke is a great team, and a sure first ballot HOFer coach.  It was funny that the fouls called during the game was about even between both teams, and even that was enough to get somebody worked up - lol.

I guess there is always a chance MD could win today at Duke - but highly unlikely.  But still, they have to play the game, and I guess everything can happen.

Good day to head to the Motorcycle show at the Timonium Fairgrounds.
Maybe I'll be able to catch the game on the radio.
Snow and Ice guess this wimp will take the car or truck .

Skins, the Terps exceeded my expectations as well.
I expected the type of season BC is having.
Speaking of BC its about the only win they have a chance of if they are better than early this year.
GT and Miami will be a lot tougher now.
Years like this, I always feel bad for the seniors, "there is no next year" for them.
I'm looking forward to next year, even if they don't get a guard.
Although that would be nice and Gary did get a good JUCO transfer every now and then.
Go Terps.

The whole "Duke gets every call" is really getting old.  Duke is a great team, and a sure first ballot HOFer coach.  It was funny that the fouls called during the game was about even between both teams, and even that was enough to get somebody worked up - lol.

Just because something is "getting old" doesn't mean it's not true.  Coach K is no doubt a HOF coach, one of if not the best ever, and I've lauded his accomplishments and coaching skills on these threads many times; but that doesn't mean he doesn't turn into a whining spoiled brat when things aren't going his team's way.  It's the ultra annoying part of his coaching style that he knows will help gain him an advantage when he needs it.  Not nearly as endearing as Gary screaming wildly at no one in particular and sweating through his suits.

Don't try convincing me that this year's version of the Blue Devils is a great team...always a great program, but definitely not a great "team" this year.  Rivers is one of the most selfish players to wear a Duke jersey in some time.  Sure, they'll probably bulldoze a short-handed Terps team today, but what will that prove?!?  They've been winning games by the skin of their teeth and losing games this season that in past years would have been unthinkable. 

Nothing funny about the foul calls being even when everyone knows the unwritten rule is to be able to enjoy some semblance of a homecourt advantage; but that goes out the window 9 times out of 10 when Duke is involved.  And you damn well know that their opponents aren't afforded the same equitable/favorable treatment when they play in Cameron.

The bias and benefit of the doubt is a result of too many successful Duke teams to remember, so more power to them...they've earned it.  The harsh reality is that Duke getting calls and Dickie V having his nose shoved up their butts is as clockwork as the sun coming up in the morning...and yes, I'm sick of it.  Ultimately, Zeller and the Tar Heels gave/choked away that game, but there was a stretch midway through the 2nd half where the refs definitely lent Duke a hand.


LET'S GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO, MARYLAND!!

We're hangin in there but duke is killing us inside...this is the point before half where we start to have issues...
f 

Only down 6 with 8 to go is a very good showing under the circumstances, but Stoglin os 4-14 and half the team has 4 fouls. it gets ugly from here

Can't really post too much huh. I mean same ol same ol...in a nutshell just not good enough..some of the screens we were trying to set were repeatedly weak/predictable/uneffective. But oh well back to the drawing board lets go get the BC game and get to 5-6

How about this.

Except for the 4 turnovers Faust stepped up to the plate with a season high 15pts on good 50% shooting, parke scored 12 pts in 8 min. Not sure why he didn't get moe playing time.

The problem here is MD does not know how to play big. Padgett and Pankey played 78 min and scored 4 freaking points!!!

Alex Len is very very very soft and way moer undisciplined than I would expect for a guy with his international experience. HE reaches and tries to jump over people instead of moving his feet and gettign in position. He had 4 fouls in 8 min. Duke did to us what we do in December to guys. We simply wear them down. They stay with us much like we stayed with Duke but as the game wears on they just are deep enough and good enough to keep coming the last quarter of the game. That is where we need to get, and with next years recruits, hopefully we get closer to that. With 8:41 left its a 4 pt game. 

I don't feel too bad except that Stoglin was 4 of 16 and the disappearing act from our bigs. The plumlees are pretty good but they arent the twin towers. We just made them look that way.