Duke gets by Albany 73-61 and Creighton Preview

Posted On: March 22, 2013 By: Cliff Comments: (zero)

It appeared that Duke would run away form Albany a couple of different times Friday night but the Great Danes battled back and got the lead under 10 in the second half before Duke was able to pull away for the 12 point victory. Many fans were thinking here we go again, Duke a #2 seed going to lose to a #15 seed just like they did Lehigh however perimeter shooting came through and the guys were able to get the win.

It was pretty much Seth Curry and Mason Plumlee on offense for the Blue Devils. Curry scored 26 points on 10-14 shooting, and Plumlee was 9-11, including six dunks for 23 points. I expected Plumlee to have a big game as Albany had no big guys that should have gave him any problems.

The defense is still what scares me with this team. I still haven’t realized that his team is not going to defend very well and they are going to lack rebounding. But for some reason, I still bring it up during the games as I tweet. Guys are playing to soft and not boxing out and getting rebounds. They need to man up and be more agressive on the defensive end plain and simple!

So up next the guys have a tough matchup with Creighton. If you have not seen Creighton play this season, keep your eye on Doug McDermott. McDermott is an all-american who can score from all over the court. He will get some nice shifty layups when in close, but can stroke the long range shot as well. He can easily go for 30 points if Duke does not man him up and be quick at doing it.

The Blue Jays will be trying to run and run all game long. They get a lot of points in fast break transition so Duke’s guards have to get back on defense quickly and pick up the man with the ball right away. The Jays can match Duke as far as three point shooting goes, so this is going to come down to who rebounds better and limits the second chance points.

Currently Duke is a 5 point favorite in the game which seems about right. It’s going to be close right down to the end in my opinion. Hopefully Coach K’s experience will push the team over the top and Duke will move on to the sweet 16.

@JustDukeCom

Category: Duke Basketball, Duke Basketball Game Notes