Final Thoughts from Duke vs. Marquette

If my 3500+ word live blog wasn't enough, here's some final thoughts from Duke's 82-77 victory over Marquette:

• Mason Plumlee's performance can't be overstated. This is the player Duke fans thought they were getting last season and the player Duke fans have craved in the post for years. Time will tell whether Plumlee can build off of this and continue to grow, but for all the hype about Duke's perimeter talent this year the Blue Devils can't win a national title without solid post play. Plumlee could finally provide that for Duke.
• Turnovers could be an issue for Duke all season. The assist and turnover numbers for Duke's backcourt were inflated by the team's inferior opponents early in the season, but both Kyrie Irving and Nolan Smith struggled with turnovers against their first real competition of the year. Turnovers are to be expected in a up-tempo offense, but a majority of Irving and Smith's turnovers came not on fast breaks, but on poor decisions in the half-court offense. That will need to change, and quickly.
• Tomorrow's game will be very difficult. Kansas State looked dominant in a blowout victory over a solid, if slightly overrated, Gonzaga team. But the biggest challenge for Duke will be overcoming the crowd—forget the "neutral site" designation, the Sprint Center will be 90 percent Kansas State purple tomorrow night. Wildcat fans were so loud against Gonzaga that you could hear the roar from every big play in the Sprint Center media room.  This will, for all intents and purposes, be a road game against a Top-5 for Duke—which would be challenging for any point in the season, let alone five games into the season for a relatively young team.
• Theres a lot more coming on the blog. This tournament is called the CBE Classic for a reason—namely, the College Basketball Experience museum and the National College Basketball Hall of Fame that are conveniently located adjacent to the Sprint Center. Michael Naclerio and I plan on checking the CBE out tomorrow and documenting it on this blog, so be sure to check that out.