Tape-Delay Blog: Duke-Georgia Tech

1:00: Okay, it’s on from Greensboro. I just caught the last few minutes of Gameday, and Bilas says West Virginia should have the final #1 seed. Lunardi still has Duke as of this morning. It’s up in the air, but at the very least it’s clear that we need to win this game. The stakes are high…the difference between playing a #3 or #4 seed in the Sweet 16 could be huge.

1:02: Vitale makes the great point that Georgia Tech has turned it over 55 times in 3 games. If Coach K watched the Maryland game at all, I’m sure we’ll be pressing and running. Plus, the Yellow Jackets are playing their 4th game in as many days. We should have a huge advantage.

1:03: Erin Andrews with the hair pulled back and a slight wave-type thing up front. Good looking gal, that Erin.

1:06: Duke can set the record for most ACC titles today. Currently, we’re tied with UNC at 17.

20:00: Duke wins the tip. Let’s run these guys off the floor. They’re not in our league. Go time!

19:16: Early turnover for Tech on a bad interior pass. Let’s hope that continues.

18:55: Nolan with a beautiful pull-up. We should be able to drive on these guys all day.

18:35: Steal and break-away lay-up for Scheyer!

18:15: Great D by Zoubek results in a steal. “Zoooo!” yells the crowd. Partisan group again today in Greensboro.

18:05: Beautiful crossover by Scheyer, but he gets stuffed. But then Nolan with another steal, and coast to coast for 2. 6-0. Keep it up, boys.

17:34: Zero shots attempted for Tech so far. And another turnover! Hewitt calls the desperation timeout.

17:10: Beautiful pull-up by Nolan. He’s hot early. 8-0. Shumpert missed 3, board for Zoubek, and a chance for double digits. But Singler misses the jump-hook.

16:25: It looks like Tech is starting to settle for long 3s. Believe me, we’ll take that. Oh man, flying rebound by Nolan. He came to play.

15:40: Damn, Scheyer misses a wide open 3 to push the lead to 11. Where’s that killer instinct? Tech gets their first bucket on the way back. Frustrating.

14:50: You are the man, Nolan. Devastating stutter step and a running jumper. Shumpert misses a 3 at the other end. Their legs aren’t looking good.

14:30: TV timeout. Two other games happening right now. Mississippi State is up 6-5 on Kentucky, and Temple’s leading Richmond 7-2. Early everywhere.

14:30: We’re back, and Vitale calls Tech’s offensive efficiency “so low that it’s embarrassing and humiliating.”

14:00: Georgia Tech’s press seems ill-advised, to say the least.

13:34: Stupid offense. Inability to score, and Tech finally hits a 3. 5-point game. I’m not saying they’ll be able to catch us, or win, but it’d be nice to have one game that doesn’t drag out til the bitter end. In happier news, the girlfriend just came home with an Easter lily. The rain has stopped just enough that we’re both feeling spring fever.

12:40: NOLAN FOR 3!!!! 11 points for the man they call Wind. 15-5 Duke, and it’s ANOTHER turnover for Tech.

12:26: Dear Scheyer, please come back. Now would be a perfect time.

12:13: Finger roll for Scheyer. HE’S LISTENING TO ME.

11:50: Deep 3 for Miller. Makes it, but I’ll take it. It’ll be a very long game if they want to keep chucking. TV timeout, 17-8 Dukies.

11:50: I like these muscle milk commercials. “Chet has been ejected from several co-ed softball games.”

10:42: Wow, Bell just rips the ball from Zoubek. No doubt about that one. And then Thomas has it stripped on a layup attempt. He just has nothing to offer on offense.

9:56: It’s pretty clear that the key to this game is running. The last few minutes we’ve been mired in a foul contest, and that just gives them a chance to keep their legs for a few minutes longer. A flowing game, with few whistles and lots of transition, helps us. 7-0 run for Tech.

9:23: Dawkins just can’t hit anything lately. And by lately, I mean the entire season except for like the first 5 games.

8:53: Thank you, Sing! 3-pointer, and we’re back up 7. But it’s the same shit as always. We’re up 12, we concede a run. We’re up 10, it goes back to 5. We just never put a team away.

7:58: Scheyer airballs a baseline jumper, and now another tv timeout. I’m already annoyed at this game. Where’s the killer instinct, guys?

7:22: Okay, good rebound by Dawk. Let’s go. Singler draws a foul on the drive.

6:39: FINALLY, BABY DAWK! 22-14 after the trey.

6:19: The refs, predictably, suck.

5:07: More grinding, more trouble on offense. Just fucking drive, please. What this the hold up?

4:51: Dawk with another long jumper. Love to see it. We need another shooter, especially if Scheyer continues to stink.

4:23: Zoubek gets bailed out by a foul call after having the ball ripped away again.

3:53: DAWK!!!! Huge slam dunk. Amazing. He looks happy for the first time all year. You can tell how much his teammates love him. Nolan looks like a proud father.

3:35: And here we go again. Three point play, and it’s single digits again.

3:35: I’m feeling negative for some reason today. Dawk is brightening it up a bit.

3:18: I’m trying to think of this song from the 90s, and it’s driving me crazy. The only lyrics I can think of are like “beasts fly together…make all the ladies sing…” or something. But these are clearly not the right lyrics.

2:38: Scheyer looks plainly awful. Discouraging to the extreme. It’s not just fatigue, and not just a cold spell. His confidence has taken a hit too.

1:49: Singler goes right into Shulman!!! Vitale calls the charge.

1:49: Hey Singler, love the effort, but let’s take it kinda easy, huh? The tournament is like a week away. Wow. What an athletic play, though.

1:30: Shulman wishes it was Dawkins that took him out instead of Singler.

1:10: 6-point game. Shitty half.

1:02: Singler gets fouled shooting a three. He’s 1-8 from the field today, which is why we’re not up by more. He gets just one of three here.

30.0: Holding for last shot, up 5. Beautiful J by Singler. And oh man, a travel call nullifies a Shumpert 3. Replay shows the call was good.

1.6: Let’s hit a 3 here gang. Nope.

HALFTIME: 29-22. Poor effort, on the whole.

20:00: We’re back. Shulman keeps pointing out that it feels like Duke should be up more. Which is the essential problem for this team.

19:28: Interior pass from Shumpert to Rice. 5-point game. This figures to be a painful second half.

18:58: Nolan for 3!

18:22: Scheyer fouled. It seems like he’s not even being his normal aggressive self. Singler is shooting like crap too, but he’s always in the mix, fighting for boards and flying into announcers.

17:37: Tech has outrebounded us 20-18, which also happened when they beat us at home earlier this year.

16:36: Scheyer Scheyer Scheyer. What are we gonna do.

16:00: WHY NOT JUST DRIVE, JON? DO FUCKING SOMETHING. GET BACK IN THE GAME.

14:18: A lot of nonsense, missed opportunities, and it’s 35-30. Brian, a fellow Dukie and a big-time pessimist, just sent me a message that said “this team is so losing in the sweet 16.” Hard to really argue right now.

12:49: Three point play by Singler pushes it back to 8. Finally, a press. Tech gets away with a walk.

12:24: Maybe I’m being hard on the Dukies. Tech has a lot of ability, and this is the third time they’ve seen us.

11:38: Just spent five minutes on the phone with the stepdad bitching about Scheyer. And he comes back and misses a wide open 3.

10:58: And we both agreed that Nolan needs to carry us the rest of this game. He starts it out well with a nice drive and a banked floater.

10:14: Turnover #15 comes on a great intercepted pass by Zoubek.

9:37: Scheyer misses another foul shot. Unbelievable. Shumpert makes us pay with a 3. 4-point game for the first time since the beginning of the game.

9:02: Schey gets fouled on a 3, and this team he nails them all. Over in the SEC, Mississippi State is holding on, up 2.

7:57: In a case of horrible timing, the groceries just came. Missed the action, but I see we’re still up 9. Temple is in a close contest against Rhode Island, and Miss. St. is BEATING KENTUCKY.

7:57: Just as I left, it looked like Scheyer was upset on the bench, and possibly being yelled at by Collins.

7:39: Three-point chance for Tech. They just won’t go away. Nobody ever goes away.

7:39: Watching the end of the SEC now. Bulldogs by 3, 1 minute left. Varnado misses a hard dunk, but gets fouled.

5:47: Back. Somehow we’re up 11. Scheyer has it stolen, easy dunk for Miller.

5:20: Singler makes two free throws count. This one is almost on ice.

5:00: Duke by 8, and Kentucky is down 1 with Miss. St. on the line. On the phone with stepfather, he’s ready for Coach K to blow the game with a stall.

3:27: Un-friggin-believable regulation ending in Kentucky. Back to Duke, and Zoubek on the line. Nails both. Ole Snowshoes. Gotta love him.

3:00: Hewitt proves how bad he is at game coaching. Just used his last timeout. Baffling.

2:05: Stepdad is looking like a genius. 5-point game, and the stall is resulting in turnover after turnover, bad shot after bad shot. Now Miller’s at the line with a chance to make it a one possession game.

1:26: This is so pathetic. 60-57, and we deserve to lose. After years of the stall offense failing, you’d think Coach K would learn something. But no, it’s the same crap every year. Timeout Duke. I can’t even watch.

1:13: Good drive by Nolan ends in a block. Miller goes in and out with the tie chance. Less than a minute left.

47.9: 1-point game. Incredible. Dunk gets them almost even.

18.0: THERE HE IS! THERE HE IS! SCHEYER FOR 3. FUCKING HUGGGGGGEEEEE!!!!!! Nice to see you, Jon.

18.0: So clutch. Unreal. All day he can’t hit the broad side of a barn, but when the pressure’s on he’s automatic. Scoop layup by Tech, and they’re hurt by their lack of timeouts. Singler gets fouled, he’s to the line.

9.0: Both go down! Tech with a last chance, down 5…

GAME: Ugly. Ugly ugly ugly. Coach K did everything he could to give it away. All you had to do to Tech was run them off the floor. This game could have been over in the first 15 minutes. The stall offense played right into their fatigue.

But that’s another ACC title. And man, did we earn it. Nothing to sneeze at, baby. And a huge shot by Scheyer. Hopefully that cures his confidence problems. Let’s hope for better performances in a week.