Tobacco Road Report

By Michael

If you told Al Skinner that his Eagles would shoot an EFG% of 60 percent, score 1.03 points per possession, go to the line 28 times and make 22, and shoot 6-13 from three, I would think that he'd be happy to take that against Duke.

Unfortunately, his Eagles gave up an EFG% of 63 percent, only rebounded 61 percent of their opportunities, and turned the ball over 19 times in a 68 possession game. In case you're keeping score at home, that's a turnover on 28 percent of possessions.

In previous posts on Duke's play, TRR has commented on how the Dukies have resorted to on-ball pick-and-rolls in the hopes of generating penetration and open looks, mostly with limited success.

Evidentally, BC hasn't been watching game film. Ok, to be fair, Duke modified their previous solitary high pick-and-rolls by running more of a full side-to-side weave, but this is simply a variation on the same theme and BC should have been ready for it. Duke has run it in the past and it's part of the scouting report.

Once Paulus and the rest of the Dukies figured out that dribble penetration was back, the kick out to the three in the corner was open and so was the lob if the defender stepped up. Nelson and Scheyer responded by nailing 6-12 from deep and McRoberts had his best outing in ages, finishing with 18 points, 11 rebounds, and 5 assists on 9-13 shooting.

Yes, that was McRoberts doing his best Shawn Marion with the cradled, quasi-reverse dunk underneath. TRR saw it in all its glory in HD. We imagine the BC faithful will be waking up in cold shivers to that nightmare for weeks to come.

On the other end of the floor, Duke squarely got inside Jared Dudley's head and sat there for 40 minutes. I never would have thought that 6'3" DeMarcus Nelson would hold Dudley to 2 points on 1 of 2 field goals in the first half. That's a post-up situation waiting to happen and BC was never able to exploit it. Credit Duke for taking away the first options on the flex and pushing the offense farther out on the floor.

Even when BC made the run in the second half and had a serious chance to make it close, Dudley chose not to want the ball. With about 2:30 remaining and BC down only 74-68, the leading candidate for player of the year in the ACC had the ball on the block with his back to the basket against a much shorter defender, and he chose to try and force it to Sean Williams with a cross-court pass. Turnover. Game over. Thank you, try again next time.

TRR suggests that Dudley order a copy of Keyshawn Johnson's autobiography, Just Give Me the Damn Ball. You can find it here.

For now Duke (19-7, 6-6) has stopped the bleeding. Boston College (18-7, 9-3) is in no danger of losing a bid, but watching Duke undress them at home left TRR worrying about the killer attitude of the Eagles. One would think that BC should have a huge chip on its shoulder and be demanding respect. After all, they were first in the ACC and had only just broken into the top 25.

TRR reminds the Eagles that respect is earned, not given. With upcoming games against UNC and Virginia Tech, Jared Dudley and the Eagles will have ample opportunity to earn it.