IU struggled early. Obviously the first 3 games didn't prepare them for the effort needed to play at a top level as IU fell behind 16-2 early. But IU fought back and played hard which was nice to see.
Bottom line IU played a good game tonight. Marco Killingsworth took full advantage of Duke's lack of depth inside. In the first half Sheldon Williams was trying to NOT pick up fouls and gave up inside position and repeatedly let Marco get to the rim. Davis made a good call to go right to Marco to start the second half and Marco got 2 quick fouls on Williams. In turn Marco had his way inside for the rest of the game as Williams and McRoberts were in foul trouble. That is until the last 3 minutes when IU crumbled and failed to get the ball to Marco.
The last 3 minutes of the first half IU scored 3 points. The last 3 minutes of the second half IU scored 2 points. That my friends is a lack of composure down the stretch. You can make up your own mind as to why that happened.
Duke 75 - IU 67
I will make the following prediction... Duke has some very good players... but they aren't deep. That will hurt them this year. In turn I see Duke with a minimum of 6 losses. And they won't be #1 for long.
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Here is what Davis said about the game:
"This isn't a do-or-die situation for us and it's not a measuring stick for us because we know where we are as a team,'' Davis said. "We just want to come out and have some carryover from game one to now. Every game we play, we try to make a statement that we're getting better.
"But we're way past circling teams on our schedule. We've worked too hard to circle anyone. And everyone on our schedule wants to beat us bad, so that makes every game a statement game."
Since this game was a non-measuring stick statement game, what kind of statement did they make? So far, they can't close the deal.
Excellent observation about IU's points during the final minutes of each half. That's a very telling stat.
This team is certainly exciting to watch. The players fly all over the court. If somebody, anybody, could get them to focus when a quality opponent gets in their face, look out.
Spork Boy, you are spot on with your final comment. Unfortunately with Davis at the helm that isn't going to happen.
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