Duke Basketball Roundup

The first round of the NCAA Tournament is done and the podcast crew has many thoughts. They begin by looking at the performance of the ACC (not good) and also talk about all those fun upsets by double-digit seeds. Next, it is time to consult our brackets to see what we got right and wrong. Jason and Sam's picks are a mess, but Donald is doing pretty well. After the break, the guys spend some time talking about how awful the NCAA has been to the women participating in their tournament and they look at some of the high-profile coaching jobs that are coming open across the college basketball landscape. It is certainly possible that all these coaching dominoes will end up impacting the shape of the Duke coaching staff. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The podcast crew looks back on what we thought would happen this season with our annual recap of the stats game. Sam, Jason, and Donald have a good laugh as they look back on what they got right (not much) and what they got wrong (a lot lot lot). Plus, we look ahead to the NCAA tournament with our final four picks and some upsets that could make (or break) your bracket. And, seeing as the season is over, it is a good time for all of you to reach out to us. We have set up a survey to find out what you think of the podcast and to he[p us make it better. Please take a moment and go to http://tinyurl.com/dbrpodcastsurvey and answer the questions there. It should not take long and we really do want to know how we can make you love the DBRPodcast even more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The NCAA Tournament bracket is out, and for the first time since 1995, the Duke Blue Devils will not be a part of March Madness. The DBR Podcast crew is here to react to the news on Episode 295. Duke also passed up a bid to the National Invitational Tournament, presumably due to COVID concerns, and with not being selected as a replacement team for the NCAA Tournament, Duke’s season is over. Still, we quickly react to some of the ACC teams that made the Dance, and we comment on which teams got a difficult draw. After the break, we recap the ACC Tournament and the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets winning it all. We conclude with our final Player of the Week honors and one giant sneeze. We’ll be back at some point before the start of the NCAA Tournament to give a more thorough preview, and we’ll also have the recap of the Stats Game soon as well. If you have questions for us, hit us up at DBR Podcast at Gmail dot com! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It’s an emergency Episode 294 of the DBR Podcast, but it’s not the emergency we like. The Duke Blue Devils are out of the ACC Tournament after a positive COVID-19 test was found in the program. This all but ends Duke’s hopes of making a run and earning a trip to the NCAA Tournament. We jump on to provide our instant reactions to the news, literally as the proverbial ink was still wet on the paper. There’s not a lot of words that we can say to express how we feel about this, but crushed is a good start. To go through the entire season with our strict protocols remaining successful only to have a COVID test stop our season at the worst time is just incredibly heartbreaking for us as fans and especially for the players. The run through the ACC Tournament was so wonderful thus far, and we were excited for the game tonight against the Florida State Seminoles. FSU will now advance to the ACC semifinals, and Duke is done. We will be back later for more reactions to any new information we receive, but for now, Duke’s NCAA dreams are done, and we’re pretty sad and disappointed that our players didn’t get their chance to go for glory. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome to the "Mark Williams Basketball Report." The podcast crew is delighted to talk about another Duke win and to gush over the play of Duke's freshman center. They might use a couple naughty words to describe how Mark Williams played. The guys also have plenty of praise for Duke's defense against Louisville and discuss how Coach K and his staff put in a brand new scheme to foil Louisville's outstanding PG Carlik Jones. But, there is no rest for the weary because Florida State is next on the menu for the Blue Devils and Jason, Donald, and Sam have done their homework to tell you all about what to expect from the Seminoles. Here's a hint, Florida State is biiiig! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The ACC Tournament is here, and the Duke Blue Devils opened it in a big way with a 35-point victory over the Boston College Eagles. The DBR Podcast guy react minutes after the final whistle on Episode 292! The guys mention the terrific performance by Mark Williams, and they also give a lot of praise for the guards and how they played on both ends of the floor. Everyone on the team played and even some of the walk-ons were able to contribute, which is amazing to see. We also get into some of the things that can be improved, but there is a ton of great performances to take from this game. After the break, the focus shifts to the Louisville Cardinals, who Duke plays in the 2nd round of the ACC Tournament. What do the Devils need to do in order to once again survive and advance? Each of us pick a couple of focus points. Finally, ACC season awards have been handed out, and we have guys who made various All-ACC teams. We shout out those players who did well enough individually to collect some well-deserved conference honors. We’ll be back after the Louisville game, but don’t forget to subscribe, rate, and review. And, keep the great emails coming by dropping us a line at DBR Podcast at Gmail dot com! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Duke may not be playing well, but the Duke Basketball Report is here to talk about...uh...the Marvel Cinematic Universe? Skip the first four minutes if you don't want tv and film talk. Getting to the Duke game, we have words of praise for Mark Williams's offensive output last night, and some disagreement about the macro issues plaguing Duke at this point in the season. We all agree that something is wrong between game-planning, leadership, focus, and/or energy, but it takes us a lot of words to explain how we feel. After the break, we talk about Duke's upcoming appearance in the ACC Tournament, which begins Tuesday in Greensboro. Duke opens against a Boston College team that has had an even more tumultuous season than Duke has had to this point, and though BC may not pose an overwhelming challenge for the Blue Devils (ignore Duke's victory over the Eagles by a single point back in December, if you will), the road gets very challenging very quickly should Duke make it to Wednesday. We give out our last Player of the Week award of the regular season (guess who?) and celebrate Zion Williamson's surprise elevation to the starting lineup for the All-Star Game tonight to wrap the show. Stay in touch with the podcast by emailing us at dbrpodcast at gmail.com, and we'll see you again after each and every Duke game in the ACC Tournament this week. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Saturday is almost here! The Duke Blue Devils are set to take on the North Carolina Tar Heels in the 2nd matchup between the two rivals this season. Episode 290 is here to preview everything you need to know about it. We begin by recapping Coach K’s press conference from earlier Thursday, where his comments focused on the battle of the big men. Neutralizing UNC’s big men will be a big task for Mark Williams, Matthew Hurt, and even Jaemyn Brakefield. Then, we get into the analysis of the Tar Heels, keying in on the advanced metrics, the players to watch, and what Duke needs to do to beat them. A win could mean the difference between Duke beginning the ACC Tournament on Tuesday or Wednesday. A deep run in the ACC Tournament will be needed to reach the NCAA Tournament, but beating the Heels will help in how deep that run has to be. Finally, we close with a quick glimpse down memory lane on Jay Williams and how he decided to return to Duke for his junior year. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The podcast crew has a special guest, none other than former Dukie Cassius Stanley. Cash is getting ready to appear in this weekend's NBA slam dunk contest and he tells us all about his dunking idols and the surprises he has in store for the basketball world at All-Star Weekend. Plus, we go back in time exactly one year to hear how Cash thinks the 2020 season would have turned out... if Covid had not prevented Duke from playing in the NCAA tournament. Cassius has some very interesting insight into the troubles of the current Duke team and you simply cannot miss hearing about some of his favorite memories from being coached by Mike Krzyzewski. It is one of the most interesting interviews we have ever done here on the DBR Podcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Close, but no cigar... that seems to be the story of this season for the Blue Devils. Duke falls in another nail biter, this time to a confident and experienced Georgia Tech team. There was plenty to like from this game -- Mark Williams is turning into a beast and Wendell Moore is putting up stats in every category there is -- but there is plenty to be worried about too, especially the play of our young guards. Time is running out for the team to make its case for the NCAA tournament so the podcast crew takes a moment to talk about what will happen if Duke gets invited to the NIT tournament. We make the case -- pro and con -- for whether Duke should take a trip to the NIT for the first time in 40 years. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices