Quotes & Notes - February 4
at North Carolina
After every game I always watch the press conference, read the quotes, and study the box score. Quotes & Notes is my wrap-up of Duke’s most recent game(s).
Quotes
“First, you have to congratulate North Carolina. They played a great game. The game that [Harrison] Ingram and [Armando] Bacot had, 46 points and 23 rebounds between the two of them, they were great. Thought their defense bothered us in the first half. The main story for me was the loose balls. As you look throughout the game, they were hungrier to get them. And it turned into – I’ll have to go back and watch the film to see – but I bet close to 15, maybe even 20 points. You have to give them credit for that. They have a really good team. They play really well together. Their defense is terrific. And still, we score 84 points….Our thing was getting stops tonight, which we just could not do. In transition, they push it hard, we probably had some miscommunication there and I just wasn’t happy with the way we competed. That’s disappointing for me. You can play really well and compete your butt off and still lose to them. Because they’re a really good team. But we didn’t compete to the level that you need to, to have a chance to beat this team tonight. That’s what I’m disappointed about. Hats off to them, they were terrific, they’re really good. I think they’re as good as anybody. We have to learn from this quickly, make no excuses, get back to work. And now there’s the second half of ACC play to go. But tonight was not good enough for me, for our program, for our team.”
- Coach Scheyer on the North Carolina game
“I have to be on them and get back to it on Monday. End of the day, when I say this, this is my responsibility. This is our responsibility. But you have to compete. You still have to bring it. For us, we have to get back to work in practice on Monday. I know the teams I’ve played on, coached on, the team the last year and a half – we compete. We show up. Tonight wasn’t the level that it should be. We’ve got to learn from it like we do every game. Take responsibility. That includes coaches, that includes players, and get back to work on Monday. It takes what it takes. You’ve got to put the work in. You’ve got to get back to it. That’s it.”
- Coach Scheyer on how to address the poor effort
Stats
North Carolina played excellent, imposing their pace, physicality, and veteran experience from the opening tip. In the first half, UNC had 12 fast break points, 10 assists to 1 turnover, and outscored Duke 10-0 in points off turnovers for a 45-35 halftime lead. In the second half, Duke only allowed 4 fast break points and outscored the Tar Heels 30-12 in the paint. But, as Coach Scheyer mentioned, the Blue Devils were unable to string together defensive stops, giving up 48 second half points. At 0.79 points-per-shot, Duke posted a three-point efficiency below 0.80 pps for just the second time all year (0.75 at GT). Carolina outscored Duke by 21 points from the three-point and free throw lines combined, the largest advantage in “line points” for any Duke opponent so far this season.
Notes
After the game, Coach Scheyer was extremely disappointed with the competitive effort from his team, but said “throughout this year, this group hasn’t gotten it perfect all the time. The core group is back from last year, they always respond. They always respond. I’m looking forward to seeing how we respond on Monday. Practice on Tuesday. And then, getting ready for our game on Wednesday. That’s what this is about for me.” I look forward to seeing how the guys respond as well. Congrats to North Carolina on the win, they played great.
Next Play: Wednesday Feb 7 | 9:00 pm ACCN | Duke is back at home, welcoming Notre Dame to Cameron.
Thanks for reading, Go Duke!
Sources