Defense Rules Garden Doubleheader
by Ray Floriani
NEW YORK – Like defense? If you are a connoisseur of stops, deflections and making the offense earn every precious point, this was your night. The Aeropostale Classic at Madison Square Garden featured a defensive clinic in the nightcap as Duke edged Gonzaga.
Virginia Tech 80, Seton Hall 61
Duke 61, Gonzaga 54
The opener actually gave a display of some fairly sound defense. The final score was one-sided but the first half gave no clue that things would work out that way. Seton Hall struggled on the offensive end in the first twenty minutes, yet were only down seven at intermission. Over the course of the final half, Tech got out early and built a lead that reached 28 points. Offensively, Virginia Tech clicked, but credit for this impressive showing goes to the defensive end.
“We made a concerted effort to keep people in front of us, not get split (stop penetration) and contest shots,” Tech coach Seth Greenberg said.
Actually this has been a Tech priority the last few outings: play better defense with those points in mind. It just happened to be something that was stressed at halftime. Jamon Gordon (22 points) and Zabian Dowdell (12 points) did the damage in the Tech backcourt. Gordon was especially effective as he added 8 rebounds from the guard spot.
Seton Hall struggled offensively all night. Jamar Nutter shot 1 of 10 from the field; Brian Laing was 2 of 9. Paul Gause contributed 8 points but had 6 turnovers. Eugene Harvey led the Hall with 18 points but was 5 of 13 from the floor as a number of his penetrations were not finished.
“If we don’t score it’s difficult to get in our press,” Seton Hall coach Bobby Gonzalez said. The Pirates shot 28% from the floor and committed 21 turnovers. “Their size and athleticism really bothered us,” Gonzalez added.
The keys to Duke’s victory in the nightcap…
Defense. A staple in this program, the defense was particularly effective against Raivio and Eric Heyfelt. Krzyzewski made sure his club never lost sight of Raivio’s whereabouts. Heyfelt was played tough inside and had to work for every point in the paint.
Offensive execution. It got better as the game wore on. When Duke took the lead in the second half, they ran their patterns with more fluidity and confidence. Their ball movement on the perimeter was a thing of beauty.
Paulus. “He played the best game of his career tonight,” Kryzyzewski said. The sophomore lead guard hit the big shots (Duke’s scoring leader with 20), ran the club and sacrificed his body – literally. On one play in the second half, he tried to stop a guard exchange on the perimeter and went diving into press table. After a few minutes of respite and recovery, he was back in the game and helped Duke seal the verdict in the stretch.
Tempo. “The pace of the game was not to our liking,” noted Gonzaga coach Mark Few. The Bulldogs like to run and create opportunities in transition and Duke did a great job of keeping the contest at half court.
Duke was down 19-10 in the latter part of the first half. Then that defense paid off as the offense warmed up and the Blue Devils closed the half with a 21-20 deficit.
“That was big,” Few said. “If we made a couple close-in shots that were there, then we’re up about seven at the half and it could have been a different game.”
One of the reasons Duke struggled offensively in the first half had to do with the three-point line. Coach Mike Kryzyzewski made it clear he was taking nothing away from Gonzaga, which played great defense, but did note a lot of the Blue Devil shots were a bit far away.
“We run our offense with the three point line as a guide,” Krzyzewski said. “In the first half our kids were using the NBA three instead of the college three (both lines are on the Garden floor) as the guide. We do have a lot of young kids but that forced us into running our offense and taking shots a little farther than normal.”
Josh McRoberts of Duke also came up big. He did a good job inside with an 11-point, 11-rebound effort. The sophomore center also added 5 assists, one of which was on a backdoor pass to Paulus with the shot clock winding down and the Blue Devils nursing a slim lead down the stretch.
On the way to the interview room, official Tom Lopes was seen. I remarked that the game had “March-like intensity.” “That’s just what we said at halftime,” Lopes remarked. On this night players, fans, coaches, media and officials were all in agreement. It was like an NCAA tournament later-round game.
“You have two of the best programs out there in recent years,” Krzyzewski said. “There are talented kids, good kids and they all buy into playing hard and playing good defense.”
David McClure, a 6-6 sophomore forward, had a very effective six-rebound, four-blocked shot game coming off the bench for Duke. Raivio (4 pts) and Heytvelt (10 pts) were below par scoring but 6-2 sophomore Jeremy Pargo picked up the slack with a game high 21 points.
The crowd was a 19,528 sellout. Actually the first game between Virginia Tech and Seton Hall was sparsely attended. The 9 p.m. game tipped off to a packed house.
Gonzaga brought a significantly large traveling party. A young couple between games at a stand were both wearing Raivio jerseys with uniform no. 5. “We’re not family but we are big fans of Derek Raivio,” the lady explained. “Actually my favorite is (freshman) Matt Bouldin but his jersey isn’t out yet.”
They went on to say they are Eastern Washington grads and big ‘Zaga fans. They, like many in the party were in New York for a few days to see the tree at Rockerfeller Center and take in the holiday festivities. “This is a tough game,” the lady went on, “because Duke is our second-favorite team. But tonight it’s ‘Go Zags’.”
There are Spokane, Washington natives rooting for Duke. Amazing. Do the Tar Heels get that adoration 3,000 miles away?
On The Baseline
- Duke was the only school to bring cheerleaders. For a good portion of the squad it was their first trip to the ‘world’s most famous arena’.
“This (MSG) place is so much bigger than Cameron,” senior Ebony Thompson of Chicago noted. “The place is packed and there are so many Duke fans.”
Molly Rhodes, a classmate from St. Louis, added,” just seeing the place packed with Duke fans is just great.”
The ladies went on to say getting access to the Knick lounge for a pre-game Duke alumni and friends reception was a significant added thrill. - Duke was the only school with a band and it was a good one. During one timeout they played a B-52 classic ‘Rock Lobster’. That guaranteed them mention on Hoopville. Case closed.
- To all, best wishes for a great holiday season and new year.
