I think Nolan actually had a good game. As did Mason, by the way.
I feel bad for Kyle, though. He played hard and was very good defensively. On offense, he scored plenty of points but he took far too many shots to get them. He hit only 6 of 19 shots. And once VT went to zone during Duke's second half run, they basically let Kyle shoot as many threes as he wanted. And he bricked three or four in a row, almost all of which led to VT rebounds. That's when we had the opportunity to put the game away and could not.
The VT zone clamped down on Nolan and Andre. When Nolan tried to drive to the hoop he had the ball consistently knocked away -- more VT fast breaks. Andre couldn't get free for more than 2 or 3 shots.
With no help from Curry or Kelly, and Kyle unable to hit the earth from three feet up, there was zero offense to pull Duke through.
Our guys actually played fine defense. VT scored few points. We just had no offense other than Nolan's play and Kyle's free throws.
All in all I'd say that Curry's collapse was the root cause of the loss. Young guys are going to have bad games -- and this one was terrible for him -- no points, few minutes and fouled out.
Just a sad, messy game that was painful to watch. We'll hope to forget it soon.
Posted by: dan
Date: 2/27/2011 11:43:41 AM
This should have been a win. Poor shot selection during the VT run that tied the game. Poor execution at the end of the game. Al is right, Nolan and Kyle needed more rest than just the timeout breaks.
Kelly needs to break out of his shooting slump or sit in favor of Dawkins against zones. Come tournament time if Nolan, Seth or Kyle has to sit we'll need another scoring option.
On another note, duhomme's post is not on the board yet but he wanted to say:
"let Jake, SFSF and Nathan how much I appreciate their messages. It's always a tough game for me. I miss her. The world was such a brighter place with her here."
Posted by: Al White
Date: 2/27/2011 2:50:24 AM
Even with the horrendous shooting, this was a win if either Nolan or Kyle had been able to stand up at the end. Just a minute or two of rest probably would have been enough. When. Will. K. Ever. Learn?
Posted by: T. Randall Taylor
Date: 2/27/2011 1:16:17 AM
That was absolutely excruciating.
Posted by: duhomme
Date: 2/26/2011 11:16:04 PM
Nathan, Jake, SFSF, and Dan ... Thank you all so much. Always a tough day for me, and never care who wins. Your comments help. To know Reema still reaches us. Dan, you're right. She is not dead. Thanks for bringing that verse back.
Posted by: Stephen Frazier
Date: 2/26/2011 8:04:10 PM
Has anyone heard anything about Kyrie lately?
Posted by: Nathan Leska
Date: 2/26/2011 7:19:48 PM
PSBAD. God I hate these *blanking* games, when the Bald Bastard has them whipped into a frenzy and they have absolutely nothing to lose. I still see a win, though narrow.
And I would be remiss if I didn't offer my family's love to duhomme for his family's loss of Reema. Gone too soon. Never to be forgotten.
Posted by: Jake
Date: 2/26/2011 4:29:15 PM
I've been thinking of Reema today, too. Her memory lives on. And that's much more important of course than anything I could say about this game.
Go Duke.
Posted by: SanFranSoxFan
Date: 2/26/2011 2:10:56 PM
Nicely done, Dan.
Go Duke.
Posted by: dan
Date: 2/26/2011 10:51:08 AM
This game comes down to the defense of Allen by our bigs and limiting Delaney. As long as Duke can weather the emotion of the PSBAD and not have a sub-par first half the game should go our way. VT doesn't have a lot of depth, so a healthy dose of the Duke bench may be the difference.
Go DUKE!
This was the game that duhomme would write a moving tribute to Reema. Duhomme if you are reading this site, this is for you:
"Come singing, saying praise Her beauty lives. She is not dead."
My prayers are with you and your family.
Posted by: KD
Date: 2/26/2011 9:30:11 AM
The Super Bowl atmosphere will make it tough for us tonight. Hokies are in a lather over this one and after dropping last week's contest to UVA, they are desperate. I like our chances in this one if we can avoid the mini-trend over the last few games of getting off to a slow start shooting the ball. I hope we come ready to play, or the game will be closer than it should be. Go Duke!
Posted by: tom
Date: 2/26/2011 8:46:16 AM
Short but sweet Matt. Tech is a football school. I have a cousin that lives in Blacksburg and her husband is a Tech alum. I told them about this Saturday and they didn't even know that there was a game or that they were playing Duke. ESPN being there definately hypes it up but the majority of the Tech fanbase could care less. They are just waiting for the football season to start. Lets up for a good clean game with no injuries, or Jimmy Dykes going, "that's a travel, that's a travel, that's a travel" while said Duke player is getting manhandled.
