Duke Basketball Roundup

On this episode of the Duke Basketball Report, we have to dissect Duke's loss over the weekend to Louisville, a game that doesn't completely shut the door on Duke making the NCAA tournament, but it certainly hurts. First, let's get to the good. All three of the guys are excited to celebrate Matthew Hurt's performance at both ends of the court. If this was Hurt's audition tape for the NBA, the only clear flaw we found was his occasionally leaving a toe on the three-point line. Moving to the bad, Jason is fired up to talk about the guard play in this game. After a few weeks of improved performance, particularly from the freshman guards, this game was a major step back for the backcourt. After the break, we preview Duke's second to last game of the regular season, a return tilt against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. Duke already owns one win against them this season, and if Duke wants to stay in tournament contention, they have to make it 2-0 against Josh Pastner's team this week. Finally, we wrap with some discussion on the confusing NCAA COVID-19 policies heading into the postseason tournament, and an anticlimactic Player of the Week discussion. Stay in touch with us on the discussion forum, at dbrpodcast at gmail.com, or by leaving us a review anywhere podcasts are found. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Blue Devils are back! Duke once again looks like an ACC power after administering the third beat down in their past four games, spanking the Syracuse Orange. The star of the game was Mark Williams, who was dunking all over the smaller Syracuse front line. Meanwhile, Jeremy Roach and DJ Steward were leading Duke to one of their best assist days in decades. The podcas crew -- Jason, Donald, and Sam -- are quite excited at the progress the team is making and are eager for more more more games like this one. After the break, the guys are back to talk about the next contest on the schedule as the Devils looks to boost their NCAA resume by getting revenge on Louisville. Will Duke be able to stop the Cardinals potent pick-and-roll offense and do we expect big Mark to have another big game? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The DBR Podcast trio has calmed down a bit, but they’re still very excited to recap the big Duke Blue Devils victory over the Virginia Cavaliers. We break down all the good and even the veggies from the victory, powered by some excellent defense down the stretch and some incredible play from several players. After the break, we preview tomorrow’s game against the Syracuse Orange, and what the Blue Devils need to do in order to get the win and keep the momentum going. We also dive into the Bracketology, as our NCAA Tournament chances steadily improve. How does Duke’s remaining schedule help them in making the field once again? We conclude with Player of the Week honors, and remember: the DBR Podcast Player of the Week standards are high! Don’t forget to subscribe if you haven’t already, and please spread the word to your friends and fellow Duke fans! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

WOOOOOO!!! An emergency Episode 284 is here, recording seconds after the Duke Blue Devils take down the Virginia Cavaliers 66-65! Warning: there is a lot of cursing on this episode, and why wouldn’t there be?! We’re FIRED up after the big win, and we show just how pumped we are! This episode doesn’t have any of the normal analysis or breakdowns of the game. Just pure, raw emotion as we go through some of the moments that made us happy. We’ll break down the good and the bad on Episode 285, which you should find ready to go sometime tomorrow afternoon. We’ll do a full recap of this win and preview the Syracuse Orange game that takes place on Monday night. We can’t celebrate this win for long, but celebrate we must. That was a tremendous game for the neutral fan, and an even better one for all of us who rep that Duke Blue! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome back to the Duke Basketball Report Podcast, where we always look on the bright side of life. This week, though Duke lost one of its best players prematurely to NBA Draft preparation, we get to enjoy seeing Duke beat the pants off of Wake Forest in Winston-Salem. We start with the headlines and the good, where there is a lot to praise, from Matthew Hurt to Mark Williams to Jaemyn Brakefield. We also have admiration for the team's defensive effort and the continuing improvement in the passing game for Duke. Hopefully, this full team development isn't too little too late. As for the bad from the Wake game, we have a few limited points of improvement that the Blue Devils can check before facing Virginia this weekend, including wanting more guys to score in double figures (come on, Donald!). After the break, we dive into the limited but lingering fallout from Jalen Johnson's decision to leave the team late in the season. The big takeaway is that we know enough to know that we don't know enough. Looking ahead, Duke has a huge game against Virginia this weekend, and we dive deep into why this is going to be a tough challenge for Duke. Virginia is back to their plodding, efficient ways, and they bring multiple starters with experience from their 2019 championship run and some highly regarded transfers. Can Duke overcome Virginia's size and discipline? Stay in touch with us at dbrpodcast at gmail.com, and we'll talk to you again after the Virginia game. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Whoa!!! Star freshman forward Jalen Johnson has opted to enter the NBA Draft (not a surprise) and will not be playing any more basketball for Duke (a huge surprise). Jason, Sam, and Donald hop on the line just minutes after hearing the news to see what they can figure out. What impact will this have on the team's on court performance and what may have led Johnson to make this decision? Join the podcast gang for all their analysis. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Episode 281 of the DBR Podcast is ready to take you into the week! On this show, the gang is here to discuss the big victory against the NC State Wolfpack. We discuss the emergence of Mark Williams, the return to form for Matthew Hurt, and how well the defense played on Coach K’s birthday. We also preview the Wake Forest Demon Deacons game that’s coming up on Wednesday night. Wake is struggling this season, and we focus on how they’ve fared since the last matchup between the two teams over a month ago. After the break, we get into the NCAA Tournament and the bracket preview that the selection committee released on Saturday. Duke’s not in it, but it’s still interesting to see what the committee is thinking in a unique tournament setup. Finally, we hand out Player of the Week honors. A couple of players are in contention, but will the gang all choose the same guy? You only know if you listen in, and make sure to subscribe and tell your friends! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Where has the defense gone? Notre Dame seemed to score at will against Duke on Tuesday and even though the Blue Devils had one of their best offensive games, it still ended in a defeat. Jason, Sam, and Donald break down what went wrong, including some individual players who really struggled to make a positive impact when they were on the floor. Ever the optimists, the guys saw some good news in the contest and they look ahead to how Duke builds on this against NC State in our next game this weekend. And, before the episode is done, the podcast team looks at Duke's remaining schedule to see what the team needs to do to make the NCAA tourney... and they reflect on some sage words from Coach K about how the tough times can lead to good times. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The DBR Podcast is back for some sad, yet hopeful, notes about Duke's loss to UNC last night at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Among the standout performances for Duke were guys who have been mostly stuck on the bench this season, like junior Joey Baker and freshman Henry Coleman. Baker had a double-figure scoring night and Coleman brought the intensity and energy that Jason, Donald, and Sam have all known was there but we hadn't seen yet. Additionally, we saw the Duke offense sharing the ball and hunting good shots in a way that it hasn't in a long while. On the bad side for Duke, the defense allowed career nights for multiple Tar Heels, including freshman Caleb Love, who was key for UNC down the stretch. UNC was making threes and taking foul shots at abnormally large rates, and both of those stats will haunt Duke when they look at the tape. We also strongly suspect that this will be Matt Hurt's worst performance this year in an otherwise standout sophomore campaign. Looking ahead, Duke hosts Notre Dame this week, two months after their first meeting, a game when Duke won by 10. Jalen Johnson was unavailable for that game and Wendell Moore was ineffective, so the crew feels hopeful that Duke will get back on track with those guys giving even average performances. Jason highlights the extreme nature of Notre Dame's playing style via the advanced metrics. Stay in touch with the DBR Podcast by emailing us at dbrpodcast at gmail.com and leaving us five-star ratings wherever you find podcasts. We'll be back after the Notre Dame game this week. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The DBR Podcast crew is here to break down everything you need to know about the big game this weekend with the Tarheels. Ordinarily, this game is huge because both teams are jockeying for position at the top of the ACC, but this year it is big because one team will walk away from it with an important step forward in the effort to get a NCAA bid and the other will have taken another step backwards. With that in mind, the guys break down the analytics, the players, and who each team has played so far in this crazy season. And their preview also includes some words from Coach K about the matchup. The podcast crew reads between the lines to hear some interesting analysis of the psyche of this year's very young Duke team. We wrap it all up with a deep dive into the NCAA NET rankings to see how Duke's resume is shaping up and what can be done to improve it. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices