Slow Watching Duke-Citadel Second Half

Here’s some of what we saw when we watched this game closely.

• 19:24: The All-Paul backcourt swings it around and Keels gets a three off but misses. Williams gets the rebound but makes the classic big man mistake of bringing it down. Still scores. This is one of those little things that Gonzaga’s Drew Timme is great at.
• 19:04: A number of Duke’s players are good at getting behind a player and knocking the ball loose, in this case, Keels. It occurs to us that the Citadel is a great warmup for Gonzaga because the offense puts so much pressure on you.
• 18:42: Williams is 7-0 but he makes guard-like decisions on passes, like here.
• 17:54: Brown has Banchero beat here and Clark scores inside over Williams for the second time in a row but not before Williams takes out Brown’s attempt at the basket. Brown may have caught a knee on the shot.
• 17:35: Roach tries a three which bounces long and Keels gets the board and makes a really nifty pass to Banchero. Can’t teach that.
• 17:00: We remembered this play because it was 17:00 on the clock and :17 on the shot clock and such a cool pass. Williams has a big man rep but he’s an amazing passer. And then look how happy he is about it after he does it. Very cool indeed.
• 16:49: If you watch carefully here, Moore is doing an amazing job on defense up until the drive but Williams appears to tip the shot.
• 16:24: Moore and Williams are having some great chemistry in this stretch but Williams bobbles the ball and can’t get the easy basket. So what does he do? Instant pass! For a three.
• 16:10: Keels just gets after Moffe on defense and then Moore and Banchero treat him like a blind billionaire in Central Park at night. Keels gets the foul but we love the aggression.
• 15:56: Williams isn’t going to let Clark score inside again. And keeps the block - loving that. Somewhere, Bill Russell is smiling.
• 15:47: What we love about this team is how quickly - and unselfishly - they’re moving the ball. Look at this cut and pass! Gorgeous.
• 15:10: We’ve said it before and we’ll keep saying it: offense or defense, you can’t ignore 7-0. Watch how Williams calls for it and Banchero delivers. He could have shot that ball himself but made the smarter play.
• 14:48: Banchero has a lot of skills but please note how many of them are below the rim. Like here. Roach gets the ball on the break and wants to take it in but Clark blocks. Moore’s on cleanup and scores again. His game has become extremely efficient.
• 14:31: Again, Duke is kind of brilliant at the kind of pressure Keels puts on Fitzgibbons here. Supah! He didn’t get the ball but he’s in his head.
• 14:01: This might look easy but keep in mind Banchero is 6-10. John helped get him loose though.
• 13:41: Just the latest example of Duke’s ballhawking defense. Nice strip by Moore. 18-3 run by the Blue Devils.
• 13:18: Remember what we said about being in Fitzgibbon’s head? Yep.
• 11:10: As Fitzgibbons tries to deal with pressure from Keels. No bueno.
• 10:55: A bit of payback as Fitzgibbons hits a really deep three.
• 10:30: Seriously, who told them it was a good idea to take the name off and just use the mascot? Do you know how many Bulldogs there are in college bask etball? C’mon, man.
• 8:37: Barring basketball malpractice, this game is basically over. But watch Moore show the Citadel some Bulldog defense!
• 8:20: Seriously, what’s up with the short shorts? Isn’t this a military academy?
• 7:41: The dichotomy between a military school and the shameless three point shooting is great. You can imagine Bob Knight, Don DeVoe and Jeff Bzdelik on a Zoom call saying what the hell? This is basketball. It’s not supposed to be FUN!
• 7:30: When Williams fills out he’ll hit this shot all day long.
• 6:54: Williams doing his impression of his future self. Bam!
• 6:24: People are always talking about Drew Timme’s footwork but Banchero’s is pretty
• 5:48: Looked like a flop from here. Whatever.
• 5:27: Clark missed this shot but look how beautifully it was set up.
• 5:21: Banchero takes a turn at point and sets up Williams for a sweet slam on the break.
• 4:53: Moore’s big fall. Scary, dude. Scary. Flagrant.
• 3:56: This is where Moore takes his backyard non-jumper. Keep in mind he just took a nasty fall.
• 2:27: This is the kind of thing that excites us about Jones. Smart!
• 1:07: John pounds one in in the paint.
• 24.4: Blakes closes out Duke’s scoring with a three.