Quotes & Notes - November 30
at Arkansas - ACC/SEC Challenge
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 of all, congrats to Arkansas. They played a really good game. We knew they would be incredibly hungry - desperate for this game. They had a couple of tough losses, and we have a lot of respect for their talents and coaching and what they do. Even with [Tramon] Mark being out, we knew it'd be an incredibly difficult game. With that said, we expected to win, so the loss is disappointing. The beginning of the second half was key and we came out and just gave up a bunch of layups. We mixed up our defense a little bit and played some zone, played some man. Bought us some time with [Kyle Filipowski] being out, so we're thinking, down one at half, we feel pretty good. And then we get [Filipowski] back, but it wasn't the collective toughness that you have to have on the road, with some of those stops and some of those rebounds….At the end, I thought we showed a lot of heart. I know I have a locker room full of guys that are competitors and winners. A lot of people would have been run out of the gym at that point. I don't know exactly what it was, 10, 11, with a couple minutes to go and you're two free throws away. All you have to do is get one stop and you’ve got a chance there at the end. I think that's a credit to our guys with what they have inside of them. We just have to do that all the time.”
- Coach Scheyer on the Arkansas game
“There’s just a resistance you have to have. We have a lot of guys that are capable of having big nights offensively and scoring. But whether their shots are going in or not, you have to be the same way all the time on that end. I thought our offense right away affected our defense. The resistance on the ball, our second level defense, our protection coming over on the weak side, it wasn’t there for us to the level that it needs to be. Bottom line. There's some plays, as you look around, it’s just a couple of loose balls. They out-rebound us by six, but they only had five offensive rebounds. I thought there were a couple of key ones here and there in the first half. [Chandler] Lawson got a couple, one led to [Filipowski’s] second foul. Those plays are big.”
- Coach Scheyer on what was missing from Duke’s defense
“This would have been win or lose – you have to have a quick, short memory. [Georgia Tech] played last night, I didn't watch the game, but it looks like they played great against Mississippi State. They’re at home resting today. They weren't on the road. They’re at home. For us, we’re going to get back as soon as possible; whenever that is, and really have a day and a half to prepare. Then it’s an early game on Saturday. So, to me, it's a mental game. It's a mental toughness game. We have to have great focus, short memories. But also, you have to learn. We're going to watch film and I think the thing we're going to see is giving up layups. Giving up our paint too easily. I’m sure there will be other things that I’ll have to watch the film and process to see. But for me, it’s the defense and the collective effort on that end.”
- Coach Scheyer on the quick turnaround at Georgia Tech
Stats
The obvious stat from last night is effective field goal percentage, with a +17% advantage for Arkansas. With the free throws essentially even, Arkansas was much more efficient from the field, generating 1.15 points-per-shot overall, while the Blue Devils could only manage 0.81 points-per-shot on the night. In the second half, Arkansas shot 60.9% from the field, compared to just 38.6% for Duke. As I said a lot last season, more than one thing can be true. Arkansas’ defense made it difficult to score (including 10 blocked shots), and Duke had some good open looks that just didn’t go down. The key stretch in the second half came with Arkansas leading 44-43 at the 13:32 media timeout. From there, the Razorbacks outscored Duke 19 to 6 over the next five minutes. The Blue Devils cut the lead back down to 10 twice, but were unable to get it to single digits until the 2:59 mark. I was proud of Duke (and their full-court pressure) for continuing to fight, eventually making it a one-possession game.
Notes
The atmosphere in Bud Walton Arena was incredible last night. Objectively, games like that are one thing college basketball needs more of (minus the 9:23 ET tip). Credit to the Arkansas team, Coach Musselman, and the Razorback fans - they were incredibly deserving of the win.
In Case You Missed It: Justin Robinson was officially hired as Director of Player Development for the Blue Devils. JRob started his career as a preferred walk-on, earned a scholarship in 2017, and was a captain in his final season. He knows what it’s like to play at Duke, and was a terrific teammate during his time in Durham - congrats to JRob on the new role.
Next Play: Saturday Dec 2 | 2:15 pm CW | Duke is back on the road for their first ACC game of the season, traveling to Atlanta to take on Georgia Tech.
Thanks for reading, Go Duke!
Sources