Miscellany Before Maryland

I'm watching my first Duke game of the year - with the exception of the last minute or so of the near upset by Virginia Tech - and I'm struck by a couple of things:

Duke doesn't really have a half-court offense. They jumped out to a big lead at the end of the first half, but it was all by capitalizing on turnovers, which the Blue Devils do very well. Once they're facing five defenders on the other end, the most they seem to do is give Redick a perimeter screen before he launches a three or tries to beat his man off the dribble. It's a pickup ball strategy, and doesn't seem to be to difficult to beat.

(Of course, there's been practically no interior passing to Williams in this game, which is a credit to Smith and Hinnant. Perhaps against teams without a big frontcourt there's more of a system. If not, Williams is damn impressive to put up those numbers without much help.)

I don't know whether the Marshall-Redick jawing will get much play tomorrow - as of this typing there's a minute and half left and both Smith and Marshall have picked up fifth fouls on blocking calls - but I was amused at least. ESPN had already shown multiple instances of Duke players chest bumping during their run in the first half. Redick and McRoberts look particularly stupid doing it in my opinion, and I have no problem with an opponent mocking a team's celebratory tactic. Also note that the predicted offensive torrent from Redick that the ESPN broadcast crew would be the response never happened, even after Marshall fouled out.

ESPN has spent the entire game cutting to "celebrities" in the crowd (Doug Flutie, Bob Kraft, Tim Russert, Bill Belicheck). Is UNC the only place where non-basketball famous faces can't get tickets to the Duke game? You never see Donald Trump taking up camera time at the games in Chapel Hill like last year in Cameron, after all.

Vitale and Patrick's criticism of BC joining the ACC for mercanary reasons might sound better if it wasn't coming from people who make their money from college basketball, working for an organization that funnels millions into the sport. Just a thought.

Although the refs' loose calling of the game bit Tyrese Rice in the last 15 seconds (Why was he going for two anyway?) it was pretty illuminating to watch Duke players flop repeatedly on no contact. And by illuminating, I mean absolutely hilarious.

There are a couple of things I'm having trouble wrapping my mind around. First, that it's the halfway point of the season. In my mind, that doesn't occur until the first UNC-Duke matchup. Of course, the fact that UNC and Maryland are a game behind the rest of the league isn't helping. And about that mid-season list: Not only is Guillermo Diaz head and shoulders above Anthony Morrow, but Robert Hite should be on the list. And Greg Paulus shouldn't be sniffing at an all-ACC team at the point - put Tony Bethel or even Vernon Hamilton on there instead. They're doing more for their teams than Paulus.

The other thing I have trouble grasping is that Maryland is third in the ACC. The loss to Temple and the loss of their co-captain, combined with the general despair coming out of College Park doesn't bring to mine a denizen of the top 25% of the league. So it's not a surprise I think UNC will win easily tomorrow, although Mike Jones (MIKE JONES!!!) is only getting better, and Nik-Caner Medley is holding the team together on sheer force of will. But Carolina's outside game is getting better, and Maryland doesn't have the bodies to collapse on Hansbrough.

Oh and if you want the Maryland refresher course on UNC, the Washington Post is happy to provide.