They Had Time to Prepare
Coach K is probably the best coach…maybe ever. He also has one of the most talented teams in the nation which is currently peaking at the right time. The last time these teams met, State faced a Duke team that was still trying to figure out who they were and how to use their pieces. Last night they faced an entirely new team with a ton of new dimensions. Gottfried pretty much had 12 hours to game plan for an entirely new team that is one of the most talented in the nation. Duke on the other hand had 5 days to focus and game plan for this game and it showed.

They Took Away State’s Strengths
Duke came out in a zone, but this was not your usual sagging 2-3. They pushed up on the guard and left a gaping hole in the middle, allowing Lenard Freeman to catch the ball in space. This was smart. Freeman has been a great addition to the starting lineup, but he’s far from being a factor offensively. When he caught the ball in the middle he was forced to make a decision. He had a wide open jumper (not his game), he could drive into the trees and try to either score or distribute (not his game), or he could kick it back out. The problem with this was that Duke never pressed up or never collapsed on Freeman. They left him wide open. They covered the kick outs and invited him to drive into Okafor. Freeman was rendered useless. Gottfried was much too late in realizing this. He needed someone who could catch and create in the middle, but State really doesn’t have that type of player. Last year TJ Warren would have been dominant in that type of space, but this year who do you go to? Caleb Martin could have been a factor there, or even Washington. By the time State tried this, it was too late, and as soon as they did, Duke went back to man. K basically disarmed State’s most dangerous weapons and made them to play outside of their comfort zone.

Too Much Adrenaline, Not Enough IQ
Instead of pulling back and trying to understand what Duke was doing, State just steamrolled full speed ahead, jacking 3s and taking contested shots. They were trying to make something happen but simply kept running head first into a brick wall. By the time they started to get comfortable it was already a 25 point game and Duke wasn’t taking their foot off the gas. This is where they needed Barber and Lacey to step up and not so much in a scoring role, but more in a leadership role. These guys needed to recognize what Duke was doing, adjust, and attack where Duke was allowing them to. Part of this also falls on Gottfried as they’d need the right personnel in there to get this done.

Defense Was Awful
State’s over compensation, slow rotation and no communication made life easy for Duke. The Blue Devils had 4 guys on the floor that could create off the dribble and that killed the Pack. State had Barber and Lacey who were able to stay in front of their men (at times), but after that it was easy blow by’s for K’s crew. They drove the lane, saw the help coming and quickly found the open man. Ralston was getting beat at will, Freeman had no business guarding Winslow and Okafor demands doubles no matter who he plays. This put State at a huge disadvantage and by the time Gott got a smaller, quicker team on the floor it was much too late.

Throw This Game Away?
You heard the announcers saying you just flush this game because there is nothing to learn from it. That, to me, is a huge mistake. Duke laid the blue print for dominating the Pack. Granted, they have the right matchups to be able to do what they did, but teams everywhere should take note. State needs to be able to adjust quicker, have guys ready to slot in at multiple positions when teams go small, and understand what the opposition is trying to do. Now, do I really think Gott and company aren’t going to examine this tape? No. I think they are going to have some long nights looking over this, but I think what they implement in the next week will be the difference between State losing early in the tournament and them making a nice little run. The best teams in the nation have guys that cause matchup nightmares and they expose those matchups. State needs to be real with themselves and understand where they are vulnerable, then make sure they have a plan in place to find a counter attack.

This was a nice dose of reality for the Wolfpack. This team was riding high after their flawless performance against Pitt. They now have to regroup and get ready for the big dance. No hanging heads, no questioning talent, just pure preparation. On Sunday we find out State’s first matchup and both teams will have the same amount of time to game plan. This gives State an advantage as they are not an easy team to figure out. They will likely see more zone than usual in the tournament, so Gottfried and company should be ready. This means maybe you see less Freeman against zones and more Martins. Or maybe you work on Abu’s ability to attack from the high post. Either way, you have to find a way to pick apart zones. Barber should be fine for the tournament (at least that’s what we’ve heard) so State should be at full force come tourney time.