1/13 - MBB vs. Duke

[gte447f]

So close. Almost got that one in the win column.

 

[gte447f]

A few defensive lapses and poor decisions that resulted in turnovers were the difference in the game. Otherwise a pretty good performance, especially offensively.

 

[GTJason]

Typical Duke home officiating. At halftime, 19 free throws for Duke, we had 4.

I agree they got some home cooking but also it was clearly our game plan to let them know we were there. We didn't miss an opportunity to put a forearm or hip into whoever was moving the fastest. I do feel that although our screens were illegal, theirs were too and not called. The refs started swallowing their whistles on the screens when it became apparent we were going to keep giving the extra shove. Glad we didn't back down. I've seen too many times when we get a bunch of fouls called early we stop playing physical ball and we get ran out of the gym

 

[GaTech4ever]

We played pretty well. Didn’t like George chucking that three at the end, but it would have been great if he made it of course. Felt like some serious home cooking from the refs. Strange calls at times that just subtly put Duke in a good position or killed momentum - felt intentional because they happened in 50/50 situations.

I was there so I’m not totally sure what happened. But the refs just randomly stopped play after a huge shot for us at the under 4. And then shortly after they went to look at a potential flagrant that wasn’t even close to needing a review.

Honestly though, there was less home cooking than I expected.

 

[GaTech4ever]

It was a good look and he had shot well.

He literally couldn’t not take that shot. It was right in front of me. It would have been awkward looking if he didn’t take it

 

[Rzunz]

SWMBO and I were most frustrated with the obvious shoulders Filip was allowed to throw into Ndongo and others without a call.
The sequence when we missed a layup (plenty of contact, no call), then they come down 5 on 4 (our player was knocked to the floor), get a layup and one. Big swing.

 

[Tom]

Good to see two good halves. I almost thought about turning it off after the 1st half because I figured that was going to be GT’s one good half lol. There were some lucky 3s made in the first half but they were playing well on offense regardless. A winnable game at the end just got to cut down on some of those unforced mistakes. I’m surprised how often they blocked Filipowski shots. Also good to see Abrams back on the floor. Hopefully he keeps working hard.

 

[jbix80]

He literally couldn’t not take that shot. It was right in front of me. It would have been awkward looking if he didn’t take it

How was it at Cameron?

 

[bke1984]

B

Good grief! How in the world can anyone complain arter his game today. Wow!

I hear you, he was playing well. But he essentially put the entire game on the line with a shot that wouldn’t even give us the lead. We really needed to score right there and it didn’t need to be a three. He had a ton of space to get inside but chose the three and missed, essentially ending the game (particularly when we chose not to foul immediately). It’s nothing horrible, and I expect that he’ll learn when that’s the right shot and when it’s not as he progresses. Much more upset by the strange way the game was officiated. On paper it doesn’t look too bad, but the time and manner in which some fouls were called against us while calls were not made against Duke makes it easy to buy in to conspiracy theories.

 

[SandySpringsJacket]

Any idea why we let Duke run about 15 seconds off of the clock before fouling in the last minute when we were down by multiple baskets? I have never seen high school teams allow that to happen. They were just standing around letting the Duke dribble until they finally fouled.

 

[gte447f]

We didn’t want to foul with Kelly because he would foul out, and George was just unsure what to do because he’s a freshman. He was quite obviously looking to the bench asking what should I do. Eventually Kelly bit the bullet and fouled out to stop the clock.

 

[Techwood Relict]

This game will be a lot closer than everyone expects unless they call a couple of cheap early fouls on Ndongo.

Two minutes in, two fouls. Very prescient there 33.

 

[Techster]

I wonder what our record would be if we didn't go 2-3 minutes every half with a comedy of turnovers.

I thought we looked very good in stretches, but there's no moral victories. This was an opportunity missed, but we did it to ourselves.

We are what our record says we are.

 

[Northeast Stinger]

Bummed about the loss but extremely pleased with the effort -- really great game (outside of two short lapses in the 2nd half in a tough environment) and adjustments/gameplan by the Jackets tonight. Nait George whipping out the cojones of Jose Alvarado. The narrative from Duke fans will basically be that Duke had a ****ty game but make no mistake about it - this GT team can beat anybody in the country. We've got a team.

We match up well against Duke. Other than Filipkowski (sp). This was a credible performance by Tech.

My question for the basketball gurus is this. Is this the best this team can play? I ask because I sense that it is. We might get better breaks, more favorable calls from refs, make fewer turntables and win a game or two like this but this feels like our ceiling.

What do others think?

 

[gte447f]

Yeah, a lot of our turnovers are very frustrating to watch. One that really kills me but happens way too frequently is a guard picking up their dribble 30 feet from the basket or a guard giving up the ball to a big 30 feet from the basket. There should be very few defenders capable of forcing a good point guard or shooting guard into picking up their dribble or looking for a bail out from a non-ball handler that far from the basket. I think it stems from a lack of confidence. That being said, usually when this happens, no one comes to help.

 

[Root4GT]

We match up well against Duke. Other than Filipkowski (sp). This was a credible performance by Tech.

My question for the basketball gurus is this. Is this the best this team can play? I ask because I sense that it is. We might get better breaks, more favorable calls from refs, make fewer turntables and win a game or two like this but this feels like our ceiling.

What do others think?

Duke clearly has more better players than GT. That GT can play Duke to the wire in Cameron is a huge positive. We have a freshmen PG. So yes this is probably as good as we can play with this roster.

Frankly that’s not a bad place to be this year. The players are learning to compete.

 

[forensicbuzz]

I'm not one to gripe about officiating, but in the final 5 minutes, the refs seemed to swallow their whistles when the ball was on our end of the court and were quick on the other end. Prior to the final 5 minutes, I didn't really notice the refs, which is as it should be.

 

[gte447f]

We match up well against Duke. Other than Filipkowski (sp). This was a credible performance by Tech.

My question for the basketball gurus is this. Is this the best this team can play? I ask because I sense that it is. We might get better breaks, more favorable calls from refs, make fewer turntables and win a game or two like this but this feels like our ceiling.

What do others think?

Offensively, we were very good, but with fewer turnovers we could have easily taken a half dozen more shots and scored 6-8 more points.

There is plenty of room for improvement on defense. Personally I think certain players overhelp too much on D leaving us way too vulnerable to kick outs to wide open 3 point shooters. Also sagging off our man too much and ball watching too much, resulting in loosing track of our man. Next thing you know they are wide open under the basket for a layup. Both of these scenarios occurred in the closing minutes today and allowed a two point game to stretch out to a 6+ point game.

 

[forensicbuzz]

I thought we played for 40 minutes...well, 38.5.

 

[57jacket]

Duke clearly has more better players than GT. That GT can play Duke to the wire in Cameron is a huge positive. We have a freshmen PG. So yes this is probably as good as we can play with this roster.

Frankly that’s not a bad place to be this year. The players are learning to compete.

This! Absolutely correct