First of all, it seems like everyone is picking the Heels to win this one. In a series that prides itself on defying the conventional wisdom there is concern that the Duke players will take this kind of mass backing of UNC as a point of motivation. I am not believer in reverse mojo or anything like that but it seems like sometimes when the conventional wisdom is so much in favor of one result the opposite happens. I hope we get exactly what we expect and then some where UNC’s perceived strengths are concerned.
Secondly, the officiating will be crucial tonight. I am never one to blame the referees for a loss. However it is foolish to think certain officials will not influence how this game unfolds. During the game at Duke last season, the crew which found some way to officiate an entire 40 minutes and not find a Duke foul on Hansbrough was: Karl Hess, Roger Ayers and Ted Valentine. The game at Wake Forest which had a ton of fouls called had Hess, Jamie Luckie and Bernard Clifton. Luckie was the official who massively screwed up in the NCSU-VT game on Sunday. So it will be interesting to see which officials are assigned though I can tell you Karl Hess has done back to back games already this week: at Pitt on Monday and at Villanova last night. Jamie Luckie worked the UVa at FSU game last night.
Six hours until College Basketball Armageddon 2009, Part I…
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THF, my eyes light up when Les Jones and Gary Maxwell’s names are called in the officiating crew, I hope they are involved in the game tonight. Roger Ayers, Karl Hess, and Jamie Luckie view a foul on Hansbrough as one that might be career threatening, other than that, it is great defense on Hansbrough. It is just the way it is. Right now, I would love for this game to be officiated without the 3 I mentioned earlier in Hess, Luckie, and Ayers.
I know that Mike Wood is one of the officials for tonight’s game. I do not know the rest of the crew, though.
Mike Wood has called two games this season with UNC in it: Oral Roberts and Miami.
As if Duke didn’t have enough motivation already, they now also have:
- Defying conventional wisdom
- Preventing Tyler and Danny from sweeping
- Shooting down today’s N&O article (which I’m sure is on some bulletin board)
I really thought we got the benefit of the calls in the Miami game. One of the few I have seen this year I can say that with confidence about. Hopefully Les Jones and Gary Maxwell will be joining Mike Woods.
LarryS, are you talking about the Caulton Tudor article? If so, I thougth it was a worthy piece on Duke. He said they are slow, and he predicted a 80-75 UNC win. It would be enough to frustrate me if I stopped there, but he did say he thougth Duke would win the regular season ACC. Yes, Duke does have pride, and the sweep@home thing should come in to play. It would if I were those guys.
My prediction
75-71 UNC.
I see that Sirius-XM may be declaring bankruptcy, which may be good news for all of us out of state Tar Heels who would like to hear the Tar Heels once again on clear channel 1110 WBT. Kentucky is on a clear channel and their game last night could be heard in 30 states. UNC going off WBT was a bad move after 35 years.
If Sirius-XM files for bankruptcy protection, it will be Chapter 11 reorganizational filing, as opposed to a Chapter 7 liquidation. The business will continue, but it will need to shed its massive debt-load to get in the black. You can bet there will be cramdown coming for the debt holders, much like Duke will be experiencing a cramdown tonight.
The refs are going to be crucial tonight. If they dont preform well we may as well kiss this game goodbye. A great game to figure out where the “double standard” really exists.
No, JBowling, I was talking about the article on how UNC had outpaced Duke in recruiting in recent years. Sorry I didn’t clarify.
LarryS, you can bet that will have an effect on the coaching staff, especially given the fact that the university has had issues with not being portrayed the way they want to be in recent articles and write-ups.
Very true, JBowling. I’m sure it’s hard for everyone involved with the team to not feel dissed. A unique aspect of this rivalry is, no matter how much credibility each team may have nationally, and compared to other good teams, it always comes down to one measuring itself against the other. And when it gets to game time, it always makes me wonder if having a chip on your shoulder works for you or against you in terms of maybe trying too hard or wanting it badly. I’m sure coaches have to try to balance all those emotions in order to get the team to execute properly.
Yeah, I am thinking that they will not be able to continue to pay big bucks for UNC sports and maybe they will revert to WBT.
“The refs are going to be crucial tonight. If they don’t perform well we may as well kiss this game goodbye.”
Come on, now. That is a little too over the top, no? Are the refs infallible? No chance, but to suggest before the game that they will be a major contributing factor is pretty ridiculous.
If dook shoots 30 free throws and we shoot 4 that would be a major contrubuting factor. Especially if 15 of those are fouls that didn’t really happen.
That’s not how it goes down. If anything, it will just be the fact that Duke is allowed to play a tougher, more physical defense than us. The free-throw differential is not what you need to take issue with, it will just be how many fouls will Duke committ that will be allowed. This is something that doesn’t show up on any stat sheet thus can’t be criticized. It will be a non issue as long as Les Jones and Gary Maxwell are calling it. Karl Hess and Jamie Luckie, I can’t say the same about.
Precisely my point. The referees can influence how the game is played. If they allow a lot of contact without fouls being called then it lessens the advantage the Heels have on the interior. It does not mean UNC still cannot win but it is something that must be overcome.
Y’all win! But lets see how many fouls that didn’t happen they call. Does anyone else other than me think K pays/blackmails/threatens the refs?
No…nothing of the sort. I think K does his share of verbal abuse in the direction of the refs and to some extent I think that garners some calls shading in Duke’s favor here and there but nothing so grand as a conspiracy. There are too many referees in college basketball for that.
Are you guys getting the State-Wake game down in North Carolina? All I can find is Georgia Tech and Virginia Tech?
It is not televised at all. It has been a point of discussion on 850 the Buzz how the ACC could allow a Big Four game to not be one of only four ACC games all season not on TV.
Why is the dook game only offered on Raycom? This is the biggest rivalry in the NCAA and instead they show us Oklahoma and Baylor and Texas Tech vs Kansas State? This makes no sense.
Duke-UNC is on ESPN and Raycom. If you live in North Carolina you will see it on Raycom. The rest of the nation gets it on ESPN.
The 2nd game will be a national game on CBS.
I guess State and Wake know which of the Big Four are the Big Two…. According to ESPN, State is all of a sudden, waxing Fake Forest by 20!
That makes more sense. Thanks THF.
Check back and forth if you care, sometimes they forget to black out ESPN.
State has hit 7-14 from three point range and 9-10 free throws to lead big, even though Wake is hitting 505 from the floor. Wake is 1-8 from three point range and 6-12 from the line. They sure made them against us.
I don’t care to hear Dick Vitale so I am glad I have the Raycom feed on this one.
I just finished watching us beat them in 2001 on the U. Boy, did Haywood look good. He was a real defensive force. Forte looked fantastic as well. Of course, Duke only made 13-27 free throws, which probably explains why we stole that one.
Rivalry aside, this is scary:
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/basketball/ncaa/02/11/menigitis.ap/index.html?eref=si_topstories
They are lucky they caught this quickly.
That disease or whatever you would call it scares the heck out of me! I am glad this one was taken care of.