All, it's a hockey night in Pittsburgh (vs. Red Wings), so it will be crowded around the Palumbo (not in the Palumbo).  The puck drops at 8pm, so with our 7pm tip, it probably not going to be too terribly difficult.

The line opened at 7 points; now sitting in the 6 to 6.5 point range.  Pomeroy has this one as a Dukes loss, 72-65, giving the Dukes a 24% chance of winning this one.  I don't like the Dukes chances at all in this one, but what do I know.

Finally, here's the pre-game story from Craig Meyer in the Post-Gazette:
Defense a sore spot for Duquesne
http://www.post-gazette.com/sports/duquesne/2015/02/11/Defense-a-sore-spot-for-Duquesne/stories/201502110121

Phildog wrote:

I read that story, my thought no press like that is better, just don't report since no one will notice any way ( but us)

Plus how do find a cupcake OOC schedule next year almost everyone will be better than us, and will we still refer to our youth with 2 - 4 year starters and 1-3 year starter?

You need to put away the hanging rope and relax a bit.  It's getting a bit repetitive.  I feel your pain, but seriously take your meds!  

Great 1st half by the Dukes.  I have no idea why Robinson is riding the bench.  He looked really good in the short time that he played, 

Who was that team? 

Great victory for the Dukes.  It would be great if they could make a run and close out strong to give us some hope for next year.

Great win by the dukes. Micah and Dc played well. Ridenour and robinson played solid minutes. We didn't have stevens and Powell taking awful shots. Only thing they didn't do well was rebound. Go Dukes! Still didn't see Charlie at the game

Ferry finally put the right guys out there. 12 boards for Lewis, a big game for Mason, Colter continues his solid play, and Robinson gets in there, and plays well. Keep playing this lineup. You know, we bash Jones a lot, but we would love him on a good team. He does a little bit of everything, but his shortcomings are magnified on a bad team.

This game would really give me pause if I'm Ferry. I would certainly think you need to look at your rotations. As a fan I'm wondering as you CLK how does a guy who gets 6 rebounds 5 of which where offensive, 6 points and a block in 6 minutes of playing time not get more time and what took so long. Ecstatic about the win and the potential to close strong but what the hell has been going on. I have way more questions than answers.

I thought the energy level last night was the best of the year for this team.  Also the Dukes executed their offense at a level unseen this year.  Not to take anything from this victory, but Ferry played the LHTM (Let's hope they miss) defense and won the bet.  GW had good looks but could not make shots.  Still the Dukes refused to fold down the stretch.  Hats off to Jones, I thought he played one of his best games, and how about the drive by Gill beating his guy off the dribble..  He needs to do more of that.



 

There was a wrinkle with the LHTM tonight and it was guarding goes farther out front. Also, Robinson is a difference for Off rebounds. There was a guy in front of me who said Ferry doesn't understand why people are pissed at him. Really??  This isn't LIU where we want to wait for six years.

rittersdiner wrote:

I was at Duquesne last night. . . to use the parking garage for the Penguins game. At first, I thought my phone app was reporting the score wrong. Glad they won, but I wouldn't label it a "great" win if it raises your conference record to 3-8. Would like to see some consistency with the same good play the next two times out. That might be a reason for optimism. 

Agree. Boy, if we had those two games we pissed away (URI, and Bona), the tone here would be a bit different, although we'd still be lamenting the ooc. The one thing that Ferry has done this year that I agree with, is sticking with Lewis. He's raw, but not a stiff, and the payoff over the next two years could be huge. As most of you know from my previous posts, I love size. An effective big man is just such a problem for other teams to deal with. Ferry should be working with Robinson, to get him used to playing the 4. A front court with Lewis, Robinson, Gill, Powell, and whatever you can get from Sanders, could really be a load for other teams to deal with. The backcourt should be solid with Colter, Mason, and Castro. Jones and Jackson will handle the three spot. Hopefully, tonight is a harbinger of things to come, and not just one of those lucky days. Still need to become much better defensively though.
 

Simms wrote:

I agree with Ritters.  I refuse to get excited from one game.  Plus, I heard Ray say, "Wide open, missed it." way too often last night.  It sounded like we got lucky a lot.  

Agree, the Dukes offense was much improved, but that zone only works on teams that can't shoot the 3's and are determined to work to the paint like GW did last nite. Ferry has got to get a man to man defense going.  You can't force many turnovers sitting back in a zone, leaving your opponent no pressure, vs man to man.  If I were Ferry, I'd use the rest of the season to build next years team, and if, like he thinks, some players on this team can't play man to man, don't play them. Find some why to play pressure defense now for next year, almost all these players are coming back.

Phildog wrote:

Just caught the last 5 min, Dukes closed out strong, J Jones seemed to be into it.
Congrats to Ferry and the guys.

Hey Levon, I am on meds for a kidney transplant, but they don't cloud my mind!

Good one Phil,
Seriously, I was just having some fun, since the tenor of the posts in recent weeks has been so negative.  Clk came to your defense, but it wasn't necessary.  I've read many of your posts and often enjoy them.  Of course, I never said anything about you not posting on this board.  Hell, I have no control over such things, and rarely post here anyway since the posts always seem to revert to the Ron Everhart versus Jim Ferry contest.  I just want to support the team and hope they continue the highly entertaining style of play that we saw last night!
Best of luck with your recovery!