INsAniTY RePOrT on Michigan State v. Duke

My apolgies for the late post here from Wednesday. But some intel on the game and some intel on Duke and Michigan State.

(6) MICHIGAN STATE 79 @ (1) DUKE 84

Game Recap:

A close game on Wednesday judging by the score. But Duke held the lead for the whole 2nd half as they capitalized off MSU turnovers and had a wicked half-court defense that would make Hickory Husker Coach, Norman Dale celebrate with Assistant Coach, Shooter over a jug of Indiana moonshine!!!

Duke had amazing on-the-ball defense by stopping many MSU dribble penetrations with lightning quick first steps. On the rare occasion that an MSU player got by a Duke defender, the help-side was in perfect position to quickly cut off the lane. Plus, Duke’s positioning on the help-side and in the passing lanes called for many easy steals as Duke used their lanky reach to grab soft entry passes.

The Spartans 3 main players in JR. F. Draymond Green, SR. PG Kalin Lucas and SR. SG Durrell Summers got off to a super slow start in the 1st half, while Duke’s freshman PG, Kyrie Irving had a coming our party with 31 points, 18 in the 1st half. Duke had a pretty big run early in the 2nd half that woke up Michigan State guards Kalin Lucas and JR. G Korie Lucious. Those 2 eventually broke Duke ankles on dribble penetrations once Izzo set up a more spread out offense. But Duke, played typical smart hoops by eating up shot clocks, getting timely hoops from SR. Wing, Kyle Singler and hitting late free throws to weather the Michigan State comeback.

MICHIGAN STATE

This was a weird game for the Spartans. They have most likely the deepest team in the nation right now, but not the deepest bench just yet. That is, it seems like they haven’t found the right combination of bench minutes. They have low post presence, but their mojo is in the penetrating quickness of guards, Kalin Lucas and Korie Lucious. Draymond Green may be their best player and biggest threat as a 6-6 low post presence who can drain 3’s. He’s quite strong, but his combination of skills may get tangled in what the Spartans game plan must be on any given night. If anybody can untangle the Green web, it’s Tom to the Izzo!!!

Michigan State has all the tools for Tom Izzo’s lucky 7th Final 4 run. The aforementioned guard play and forward WMD, Draymond Green will hit all cylinders soon enough and should dominate another deep Big Ten Conference this year.

DUKE

Duke’s defense will set up all offensive opportunities this year. The defense that Duke demonstrated tonight shows that they will go through very few slumps throughout the season. Duke’s defense sets up easy open court hoops to make the difference and break the backs of many opponents.

There has been much fanfare about Freshman PG Kyrie Irving. Watching him on Wednesday solidified every scouting report out there. Kyrie is a game changer. The comparison’s to past Duke PG, Jason Williams (pre-Jay Williams that is) is quite warranted, but it seems like Coach Sha-chef-ramsey-ski is still trying to find Kyrie’s actual role on the team. Will he be unleashed as an open court scorer and disher? or will he control the game defensively and run the disciplined Duke playbook? Coach K, will most likely find a way to unleash both speeds out of Kyrie which will hide his weaknesses, which as of now, are few.

Right now THE BEST quality of Irving is that he takes all of the pressure off of SR. Wing, Kyle Singler. Singler has been a hot and cold performer his whole career at Duke. Now Duke doesn’t have to rely of the coin flip of whether they’ll get 25 points or 12 points out of Singler. Irving’s best quality is that he is a more consistent focal point for Duke than Singler had to be in his first 3 years at Duke. Now Singler can afford slumps like he had early on Wednesday vs. MSU, followed by the short streak of treys he had mid way through the 2nd half.

Duke’s main strength is in their consistency that Irving adds to the understated consistency that SR. G Nolan Smith adds. Nolan Smith plays the game with the blank assassin’s stare. He’s silky smooth and he finds a way to slither his way into the free throw circle for dribble jumpers. Plus add the big presence of under-rated Soph. F. Mason Plumlee.

Duke has it all right now. They are bar none the best team in the country right now. RIGHT NOW! It’s a long season, but Duke looks like they have the tools to remain consistent. DAMN!!!!

UNC Fan out!!!!