Duke won another close one last night at home against Kent State. They continue to turn the ball over too often. Jon Scheyer had 5 turnovers last night, which is unacceptable. The other thing that bothered me last night is that at times their defense seemed a little weak, and that’s been their strong point all year. Although the biggest problem seemed to be defending Omni Smith, who had 33 points. He was unstoppable. And, they still seem to be less confident on offense, but I think that’s beginning to turn.

The positives last night included this stat line:

• 19 points (8-15 FG)
• 6 rebounds
• 4 assists
• 6 blocks
• 4 steals

That was Josh McRoberts’ line for the game. That’s the McRoberts we all expected to see. He had an oustanding game, with 3 turnovers and only 3-7 from the line being the only negatives. With that line, he became the first player in Duke history to have at least 4 in all 5 of those categories. If he could continue to play this well every game, they will be a much better team. And they’ll need it once conference play starts.

Also a positive was the score - 79 points is the most they’ve scored since Novemeber 25th against Davidson (75), and it’s only the second time all year they’ve scored as many (they scored 86 on Columbia in the season opener.) They also had four players in double figures, something that has been rare not only for this team, but for several years at Duke. Jon Scheyer continues to shoot well and had 17 last night, while Nelson and Paulus had 18 and 12, respectively. Paulus’ 5 assists to 2 turnovers was a positive as well. They desperately need him to play better at the point.

Overall, a good win, even though it was, again, a tough one. As was pointed out on ESPN last night, this is not the type of Duke team that is going to blow people away like past Duke teams. But, their defense will keep them in games, and as their offense improves, hopefully they’ll continue to win those close games. Tomorrow night they leave home for only the third time this season, although, like the first two, it’s not a true road game, but a neutral court. They’ll play Gonzaga, which will be their toughest game since Marquette, which was their only loss. This game may tell me a little more about what this team is made of. As they head into conference play soon, and their first true road games, I hope I see more positives tomorrow night.

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On a somewhat related note, someone reached my site with the following search phrase:

Coach Dean Smith dies

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