I was trying to decide if I was even going to write anything about the game last night. I was so disgusted by the horrible play on the offensive end, I just wanted to forget it and move on. But just a few things.

Duke did beat Indiana, and that’s what matters, I suppose. But their offense was, well, offensive! I was actually surprised to see the boxscore and find that they only had 15 turnovers, because it seemed like a lot more. Maybe shooting less than 32% from the field made it seem like more. That kind of percentage was rare last year with Shelden Williams, who shot a high percentage.

Here’s the thing I’m most concerned about - the sophmores, and McRoberts in particular. He must start playing like a man on offense. He was 2-8 last night with only 7 points. He did pull 7 rebounds, but he must score more, I believe. I think even Vitale made that statement last night. Having him score in single digits is not going to work. They need two players in double figures every night - Nelson and McRoberts, and they’ll need at least a third, or several in the 7-9 point range. Their offense was horrible last night. Paulus, I’m still giving him the benefit of the doubt, but the “coming off an injury” excuse only works for so long, and time is almost up on that one. In another couple of weeks, he needs to be playing better, too. All I can say is thank God for DeMarcus Nelson.

Perhaps concerned is not really the right word. Disappointed may actually be closer. I’m not going into panic mode or anything. It’s just been several years since they had such a young team, and it’s hard to get used to again. I think this freshmen class has a lot of potential. In 1999, after losing 6 of the top 9 players, they had Jason Williams, Carlos Boozer and Mike Dunleavy come in and pick up where the other guys left off (although they were helped by a weak ACC.) In 2002, after losing those three to the NBA, they had a class with Williams, Redick and Dockery, who were still pretty successful alongside upperclassmen Chris Duhon and Daniel Ewing.

I think these freshmen still need some time to adjust as they begin playing stronger competition. They’ll get there, most likely. I don’t recall exactly what these other guys looked like early (although I do recall that the 1999-2000 team started 0-2 in November.) Scheyer has been relatively consistent, but didn’t shoot well last night (2-10 FG) and missed several easy shots. Thomas, Henderson and Zoubek I’m still not sure about, and I suspect the staff is still trying to find the right mix and rotations with so many people playing (which hasn’t been the case the last couple of years.) David McClure, a red-shirt sophomore, is looking better and I hope for more solid play from him. It’s important, though, that the three guys who played last year - Nelson, McRoberts and Paulus - be more consistent. Nelson is the only one doing that so far, in my opinion.

The bright spot was that the defense was pretty good last night, especially in the first half. Although I felt like Indiana was a little shaky in the first half. I knew they’d play better in the second half. I actually expected it before then. The last 30 seconds of the first half, when Duke (up 14) failed to score and then allowed IU to score and cut it to 12 at the buzzer didn’t help. I think IU got just a small shot of momentum going in and they came out playing hard to start the second. Duke’s defense was not bad in the second half. Their defense didn’t let IU back in the game, their offense did. They were horrible, shooting only 22% in the second half. That is unacceptable.

So, next up is Georgetown. Without a significantly better offensive performance, I can’t see them winning that game, even at home. Last year, Duke came off of shaky wins against Virginia Tech (Dockery’s half court shot at the buzzer) and Penn, and I had little hope going up against Texas. They proceeded to wipe the floor with them. I can only hope they come back like that this week. But without Redick’s 41 points, that may be more difficult. The way I see it, McRoberts is going to have to have a huge game or they lose.

This game, of course, was part of the yearly “ACC-Big 10 Challenge”, which the ACC has won all 7 years. After last night’s games, the ACC is up 4-2, with NC State, Maryland and Georgia Tech also posting wins thus far. The remaining 5 games will be played tonight, including Ohio State vs North Carolina. Duke improved to 8-0, the only team from either conference that has remained undefeated in the challenge.